13 Questions - Lucy Neatby

I've been a fan of Lucy Neatby's work for years and I'm more than a little star struck around her. Last month, she came to Montreal to teach a workshop and while I couldn't attend, we did spend a day gallery and yarn store hopping. She also agreed to answer a bunch of questions...1. Childhood ambition?I do distinctly remember at the age of 8 or 10 being very desirous of being a boy! I'm not sure it was what could truely be described as an ambition though. As a teenager I hoped to take part in the Whitbread Round the World Yacht race, now I'd settle for the opportunity to cruise around the world under sail, no point in rushing, you'd miss all the interesting bits.2. Best/worst weather (choose one)?I love 'bad' weather. (Probably an essential requirement for a Nova Scotian resident.) I absolutely enjoyed our record breaking snow storm a couple of years ago. I like to 'pull up the drawbridge', suspend normal life and hunker down at home. But this kind of weather is so much fun when stuck at an airport. High winds and gales always make feel glad not to be at sea on such a night.3. Favorite food?Only one? That's tough. I'd don't like rhubarb or baked beans (especially together) but anything else is fine with me. I incline to ethnic foods if I had to narrow it down but my mother's steak and kidney pies and puddings were always a treat.4. Current book?Narrow Dog to Carcassonne, a travel journal of the trials of taking a whippet on a barge across the English Channel and through the French canal system.5. Guilty pleasure?I have to admit to a weakness for four suit Spider solitaire and lately Sudoku puzzles. Total time wasters but they seem to soothe the brain!6. One quirk?Me? I'm quite normal...I do adore colour, clothes and shoes designed for children seem to appeal to me than grown up things!7. Something you've never done that most people have:I've never owned or lived with a dog.8. Favorite drink:Tea, black China teas by preference.9. oddest job you've had:Directing shipping traffic in the English Channel from a redundant trawler. This was roughly like standing in the middle of the 401 highway waving a flag.We had to make VHF radio contact with each ship and if they didn't respond we would have to attract their attention with white explosive flare, that usually provoked a speedy response.10. last song you listened to (on purpose, not on the radio)Joel Plaskett Emergency, Nowhere With You. I've been on quite a music kick since I discovered Ipods.11. cities/towns/villages you've lived in, in chronological order:Runcton, W.Sussex, UKRudgeway, Glocestershire, UKCompton Dando, SomersetAldershot, Hampshire, UKEmsworth, W. Sussex, UKThe Wirral, Birkenhead, Merseyside, UKHaverfordwest, Dyfed, WalesDartmouth, NS, Canada12. Teenage ambition?See #113. Movie you'd most like to be a character in:Harry Potter... Mrs. Weasley or a professor at Hogwarts.More LucyHer website, where one can not only obtain yarn custom dyed to Lucy's specifications and her fantastic patterns, but also her dvds; I recommend these highly whether or not you've had the opportunity to attend one of her workshops, and for all skill levels. Oh, and don't forget the books!For those who seek instant gratification, her patterns are also available for download on The Knitting Vault.