to knit or not to knit?

okay, that's not really the question here. i LOVE to knit. i would knit all day long if i could. if i could find the perfect job, it would be a job where i could spend 1/2 the day proofing fantasy books before they hit the shelves (because i'm all about grammar & spelling . . . no really) and i could spend the other 1/2 testing patterns & yarns for companies or for catalogues to show pieces. ooh, that would be sweet.

favorite cast on method? i prefer the knit cast on. why? you ask. because i can't figure out the ding-dang long-tail cast on no matter how many books i see it in & no matter how many different ways i've seen it demo'd. i like the cable cast on as a back-up, but only use it if i need something that isn't gonna move from the way i put it on the needle from stitch 1.

i hold the yarn with my left hand, but i'm right handed. probably a throw back from my years of crocheting.

i do not flip my knitting. i always knit backwards no matter what size the piece is or what stitch is called for (garter, stockinette, eyelets). i might flip the knitting in the first few rows so i can get the feel of a new pattern, but from then on, it's all backwards for me. it just feels so much easier for me. my tension was always off when i would flip the knitting and the ends would look gap toothed, but the middle would be tight. maybe i was nervous. who knows?

i have a lot of projects i am working on & a lot of other projects that i am planning. it makes me wish i could draw, but sadly all i can draw is rudimentary flowers. the most complicated thing i can draw is a "stick cat" with an oval body, circle head, triangle ears, stick legs, & S tail. yep. it's real tough on the artistically challenged.

i'm planning on writing some of my own patterns & adapting others since we don't have any of that "high-brow" cotton yarn in TN that most projects call for. we have wool, acrylic, & wool/acrylic blends. unless you want to by the 4 oz skein of cotton that comes in colors i think i saw my granny wearing.

if anyone knows where a girl can get a decent fix for her yarn habit in Nashville, let me know!