The Needle Ten- Knitimals

It's time for The Needle Ten! Random questions, random answers. Dadaist fun for the whole family!
This week's Needle Ten is by Danamarie of Knitimals. Catch up with her on her blog, or check out her cuties at www.greenstarstudio.com.

1. Black and white or color?
color, always color

2. Analog or digital?
in terms of clocks? digital (especially alarm clocks...i'm usually not awake enough to figure out the hands); in terms of everything else, analog. I guess if I think about it, my artwork is sorta "analog" in an often
otherwise digital world.

3. What is your favorite material to work with?
when I'm working 2D, watercolor. otherwise I'd have to go with super soft baby alpaca yarn. oh, the baby alpaca! the snugglier and squishier and more like a warm sweater on a cold day, the better. I like yarn that feels like thick socks when you're watching snow fall. and it's gotta be a good color.
kumquat or peacock is good.

4. ESSAY QUESTION: Two trains are heading in opposite directions at different speeds. If all things are equal, where are those trains going? And, most importantly, are there owls on board?
um, ok, this is ridiculous. I think we all know there are ALWAYS owls on board. what kind of trains do YOU ride? let's get serious here. I think the trains are going to maine & florida, and I think I am on the one going to maine. I also think I have owls on my shoulders. and we are all eating
grilled cheese and drinking orange pop.

5. Who is your favorite: Author, artist, musician?
james joyce, followed closely by a.a. milne; john singer sargent, followed closely by every illustrator whose books I obsessed over just as much when I was 4 as I do now; when I think about it, I like to picture buying a ticket to a show where andrew bird, neko case, isaac brock, ben folds and ben
gibbard spend the night writing songs on the fly, while I knit and throw out suggestions for topics to write lyrics about: "isaac, use TURNIP!"

6. If you received a sudden windfall of money, what would you do with it?
by windfall you mean...? well, the practical part of me says: "pay off my student loans and car, then move". the fun part of me says: "naturally, we'd take a cruise to iceland!". the practical part of me then says: "can you even TAKE a cruise to Iceland? I mean, have you researched this?". Then the
fun part of me says: " what does it matter? we have butt-loads of money! we'll buy a yacht and just figure it out!". Then the practical side jumps in and says: " ok, but you don't know how to sail and iceland is far away...why don't we spend some money on sailing lessons and go somewhere closer, like maybe the delaware shore". Then the part of me that remembers that other people are reading this says: " in truth, it would all depend on how much money we're talking. I hate having debt, so I'd really like to erase mine. then I'd like to find that "perfect" house in the woods in maine, for
my little family. if there was anything left, I'd give a fair amount to my family to help with their debts. after that, I'd donate money to a few charities, plan a trip to iceland, buy an alpaca (oh, baby alpaca!) and a great dane and spend the rest on opening my own store.

now, if by windfall you meant two or three hundred dollars, well, then I'd
buy yarn.

7. Winter or summer?
winter. totally winter. I work with wool...

8. What is your favorite: word, color, mental disorder?
word: might
color: many will tell you its lime green, but they are wrong... it used to be (until all anyone ever gave me was lime green stuff), now its the one-two combo of baby blue & chocolate brown.
mental disorder: this is interesting. I'm going to go with OCD, because I know and love many of the afflicted.

9. If you could change your name, what would you change it to?
recently I've wished I had a bird's name (not like parrot, but something like "wren"), but I wouldn't change my name even if I could (I'd have to get all new business cards and re-record my voicemail message... it's just not worth it)

10. How do you, personally, define "plush art" ?
I guess to me, plush art has to be just that" PLUSH & ART. everything I make is meant to be viewed as art, not just a doll. I want people who buy my work to think about it and really appreciate the work that went into making their special piece. I spend just as much time and energy and use just as many elements of design & aspects of my formal art training in making my plush work as I do my paintings, so why should they be looked at any differently? I think plush art has a great opportunity to bring art to people who wouldn't otherwise have it or understand it, and I am thrilled that I have a job that makes me happy and lets me make other people happy.

so... soft, huggable, 3-D, creative, well made, inventive, original, honest, unique, daring, new, special.

As always, if you'd like to see your answers to the Needle Ten posted, just email them to theneedle.org@gmail.com.