Elizabeth was a pleasure to “interview” via email, I really got a kick out of her answers. She’s even more charming and fun to be around in real life, I hope to have the opportunity to spend time with her again someday. And so, as promised, the interview I did with my first Blog Carrots Contest, Elizabeth of Trailing Yarn!
So, who are you, and where are you from?
I’m Elizabeth and I grew up in a one stoplight town in Southern Indiana. I didn’t know that pick-up trucks were considered redneck until I moved to Alabama, if you can believe that. I long for snow and hope to retire to a cabin in the woods.
What are your fiber pursuits, and how long have you been at them?
Currently I love spinning and knitting. Sometimes I crochet. I love color but I also adore a soft natural fleece with lanolin still in it. I’ve been knitting for three years and spinning for a little over two.
Which one would you say is your primary passion?
Probably knitting. Or spinning. No, knitting. Except that I really love spinning.
What were you like as a child?
Shy, a bookworm, a nerd until sixth grade. Having run with the popular kids and the nerds, I’d rather be a nerd.
What did you want to be when you grew up?
A writer. Wonder Woman was already taken.
What’s the best part of being an adult?
Wearing my pajamas all day if I want to.
What do you do for a living?
Legal secretary – I like the people but the work is soul-sucking.
If you could quit and work with fiber for a living, would you? And in what way?
Of course! I would dye all day and put a yurt in my back yard for my studio, like Sara Lamb.
Share a personality quirk or strange habit with me.
I have the attention span of a flea.
Do you have any fiber-person heroes/heroines/crushes?
I have an ongoing fiber crush on Abby Franquemont. She makes the best batts I’ve ever spun, drinks good beer and would totally take me to do donuts in her Trans Am.
What was the worst project you’ve ever worked on? What was the best?
I guess the worst is a lace shawl I did as a sample knit for a yarn company. I hadn’t been knitting long and didn’t know that I was wrapping the yarn the wrong way, so I knit the entire thing with twisted stitches. I feel so ashamed. The best project would have to be my EZ yoke sweater because I set a goal, spun the yarn, knit the sweater, cut my first steeks and most importantly – achieved my goal on time!
If you could change one thing about the country, what would it be?
I’d like to change the prevailing attitude that it’s us against them. Basically, I think Americans hold similar beliefs and aren’t nearly as extreme as we’re portrayed. It’s hard to be tolerant of extreme views but it’s easy to have mutual respect for a difference of opinion. I blame Fox News. ;o)
What are your favorite materials to work with?
Wool! I’m trying hard to foster a passion for cotton though, considering where I live.
If you had to pick five words to describe yourself, what would they be?
Smart, funny, self-conscious, talented, inquisitive.
Tell me about your favorite place in the whole world.
Paris. Cobblestone streets, incredibly clean, beautiful architecture, wonderful wine, the guard at Musee’ Eugene Delacroix once told me that Paris is an outdoor museum and it’s true. Paris is more than a place for me, it’s a feeling.
Do you have any phobias?
I don’t care for insects. I could never be on Fear Factor.
What aspect of the fiber culture as a whole do you like most? Least?
Most: the willingness of people to share their knowledge and talents. Least: that I need another room in my house to store all my stuff!
What are your thoughts on stash?
I’m coming to terms with my stash. I like it. It’s security. I’m trying not to let it weigh on me.
What is your Holy Grail of knitting/crochet? (What project would you love to be able to accomplish some day?)
Probably a Bohus sweater, or an intrictate lace project.
What is the best thing that’s happened to you because of your interest in knitting/spinning?
Meeting wonderful people like Tina!
