Odd Ducks Hometown Swap

Do you wear T-shirts, and if so, what size? How do you feel about NSFW stuff? I wear T-shirts in Woman L – no men sizes for me please, they are always too long as I’m rather short… NSFW is okay as long as it is text, no NSFW pictures please, my 6 year old is way too curious. But he doesn’t speak English yet, so text is no problem
would you like to receive a rubber duck with some sort of local twist? sure
Would you be interested in receiving any clothing items with said local theme? If so, size please?
pretty much every local theme would be welcome – but I forgot to mention one thing: I mostly wear black and dark colours, I wouldn’t wear white or pastel coloured shirts or other clothing. I wear a Woman’s L
If you live in the city, do you love it, or yearn for a simpler life in the country? If you live in the country or a small town, do you love it, or wish for the hustle and bustle of the city? I live in the city and like it as everything is close by… but it’s not a huge city, so it’s not that overwhelming here. Living in the country would have the advantage that it would be more likely to own some land too where I could grow a bit of my own food and probably have a few chickens – if my pollen allergy would let me work on a garden without problems
Are you allergic to anything? Food or otherwise? Food allergies are raw apples – not likely to get them – and everything to do with fish and shellfish. If it lives in water I can’t eat it at all is a good rule of thumb. Not even a tiny bit of fish sauce or shrimp paste in a meal, that could be enough to cause an anaphylactic shock.
Animals: Cats – cat hair causes asthma attacks
Fiber: Wool – I can knit with wool, but I can only use it for socks or non-wearables like bags, can’t wear it on my skin except on my feet. All other animal or plant fibers are fine. And I can’t spin anything with even a bit of wool, it causes asthma. So please no sheep for me
What hand-made item do you just have too many of or just do NOT want to receive in your box?I don’t really wear hats, have yet to find one I really like on me. Unless they have a brim, than it’s fine, I just look silly in everything without a brim.
Do you like kitschy, touristy type souvinirs, like key-chains, spoons, or thimbles with a local design? depends, to be honest… when the local design is too kitschy I don’t really like it, I’d prefer something fun especially if it is a decorative items. Key-chains are always nice
What about local recipes? Or spice mixes that might not be readily available in your region? I love to try new food, so recipes are always a good idea – but please non that use premade ingredients as a lot of them are not readily available here. Spice mixes that are used for local food would be great too, a lot that’s pretty common in the US isn’t available at all in Germany, so chances are good that I never tried it before. More about this can be found on my blog in the swap section.
Do you like fish? More specifically smoked salmon. No fish or seafood of any kind for me please, I’m allergic
Would you like to receive local tea, coffee, or beer? Yes, I saw that it’s naughty to send liquor but I can live with that if you can. I like all of them and would like to try something local – but only ground coffee for me please, I don’t have a grinder
So…. what’s your favourite thing about your hometown? Why is it more awesome than anywhere else on earth? I was born in a little part of Germany called “Saarland” right at the French border. And when I say right at the border I mean it – it took us 5 minutes to drive to France so we could get fresh French bread and croissants for breakfast. It’s a lovely region with lots of forests – but not where I would want to live for the rest of my life. Even the “big city” feels like a village, neighbours watching what you do, talking about it etc.
Now I live in Dortmund, in the middle of a region called “Ruhrgebiet”, it’s an area of high population density with one city blending in the next. But despite it being a region known for coal, iron and steel industry it is really green here with lots of parks, it’s sometimes easy to forget that you live in the middle of a rather big city. And you don’t need a car here, it’s cheaper and faster to use public transport. Lots of busses and subways I can use within Dortmund, regular trains that connect the cities in Ruhrgebiet with each other. And I love the cultural variety here, we have people from almost every country on Earth here and my son grows up with kids of all nationalities and religious beliefs and skin colours – it’s normal for him, I don’t need to teach him that those things don’t matter, just the personality of someone does. Of course that mix of cultures causes problems too, we have areas in our city where I wouldn’t want to live as there is too much violence – but I guess you’ll find them in every city. Unemployment is a problem too – too many people living here, not enough jobs. But then again, that’s a problem in every city
Do you collect the Starbucks mugs with City names? Or would you prefer another mug with a local theme? I don’t have a preference, but a mug would be great, as I could use it for my coffee or tea on a regular base
what kind of fibers do you like? are there any you hate, any you are allergic to, any you just plain don’t like? and what colors would you LEAST LIKE to find in your box? I can’t wear wool – but I can knit with it. Spinning wool is a bit no too. All other animal fibers are fine, but I like cotton blends or linen too. Probably not 100% acrylic unless it’s really soft or meant for amigurumi.
Pink and pastels are a no go for me, other colours are fine. I mostly wear black, grey, darker shades of red and purples, but different colours as accents are fine too – and all earthy colours might be used for my boy. If it’s something decorative almost all colours except for the above mentioned pink and pastels are fine, I don’t really have a colour scheme for any of the rooms
Whats your wish? do you have any other lists of goodies or clues to what you might like? Mine is 479 and it has a link to my blog where I have a site for swaps and all questions from past swaps and this one, as well as a link to my Etsy favourites and my Amazon wishlist (most items are just to give you ideas about what I like, something similar handmade or locally made would be even better than ordered online)
How do you feel about art of a location that is local that has been purchased not made (in addition to a handmade item – I have seen a beautiful print of a local landmark, but I severely lack the skills to recreate it) That sounds good – not sure where I would put it up, but as long as it isn’t too big I’m sure I can find a place. And I most certainly won’t make any paintings or drawings myself, I have zero talent in that area
I am allergic to: Cats, can’t wear or spin wool, can’t eat fish or shellfish
I have the following allergens in my household (i.e., pets, smoking, etc): none
I love yarn that is: soft, natural fibers (everything but wool is fine, wool works for sock yarn)
I hate yarn that is: scratchy, 100 % acrylic (unless it’s for amigurumi, blends are fine), wool
My favourite colours are: Black, grey, purple, red – or jewel tones
Colours that make me cry are: pink, pastels
I have just arrived in your hometown, and I want to go see: historic sites, LYS, museums
I drink: tea (not too fond of green tea), coffee (ground please, don’t have a grinder), hot chocolate , soda
I like to snack on: Chocolate… actually most sweet or savoury snacks, I just don’t like liquorice
My hobbies include: knitting, crochet, sewing, polymer clay, dyeing, spinning, reading (or rather listening to audiobooks while I do any of the aforementioned)
Are you interested in local folklore or legends at all? Yes, folklore, legends, history… Whatever you got
What about used books? Yea or Nay? As long as they are in reasonably good condition
You would probably enjoy fantasy/speculative fiction????? Yes, I love fantasy stories
is there anything you collect? everything with dragons, so if your city/region has anything at all to do with dragons I’d be delighted to hear about it or receive an item with said dragon
do you have kids? Or little siblings who would like a treat? I have a 6 year old boy who always loves to find a little something in my swap boxes. Not much, just a candy with his name on it or a small toy like a toy car or so
Home decor like cushions, yes or no? I’d like to get a nice cushion
So living here in Central Texas the local flavors can be somewhat “spicy” and hot? Do you like spicy? mild? Both spicy and mild are good – I love spicy, my boy doesn’t
What about the more savory herbs? Hits? Misses? I think I like most of them, just not Anise – and I’m not too fond of mustard, always use less than recipes call for
how do you feel about cooking? If I were to give you a “kit” for a dish that centers on specific ingrediant from my part of the universe, would you like that? By “kit” I mean main dry ingrediants, flavorings and recipe that sounds great
how do you feel about mushrooms? don’t like them, sorry
local homelesss advocate transvestite who runs for mayor every few years LOL, sounds like an interesting guy
you like and drink beer??yes, but I’m picky… I like German and Czech beer and Guiness/Kilkenny
You like and drink wine? red wine , but not too sweet
You like and drink spirits? sometimes, but mostly in mixed drinks – and don’t like Whiskey at all or that Anise stuff
What’s your spiritual hometown? Is there anywhere you would love to live, or have lived, that you feel is just PERFECT for you? Phew, tough one… I really liked Cardiff and as I would love to move to the UK, Cardiff is pretty high on the list. But with a little one who doesn’t speak English and has just started school there is more to consider than just where I would like to live.
But I’m pretty content where I live and don’t really want to go away. There are a lot of places I like to go for vacation, but I’m not sure I’d actually want to live in any of them. But who knows, there are so many countries and cities I’ve never visited, I might go there some day and fall in love with it.
How adventurous are you with food? Like fusion cuisines? What about foods with exotic ingredients? Is there any foods I should simply avoid? I’m pretty adventurous, but I have a 6 year old boy who isn’t – not that I always care about it. I’d say as long as it has no fish/shellfish/seafood of any kind I’d give it a try. And the fish is because I’m allergic, so no oyster sauce, shrimp paste etc either. Take all allergy warnings for them seriously on packages, even small amounts can cause an anaphylactic shock, I’m that allergic.
What do you prefer: gloves, fingerless gloves, mittens or fingerless mittens? Or none at all? I like all of them – don’t have a pair of handknit gloves or mittens yet, just fingerless ones. But please, no wool, wouldn’t be able to wear wool on my hands
There is a section of Dallas with streets named after Disney themes. Which one speaks to you?Snow White, Peter Pan, Cinderella, Pinocchio, Wonderland, Candlelight, Sleepy, Dwarfs, Aladdin, Elfland. Snow White, Dwarfs, Wonderland, Aladdin, Peter Pan – in no particular order
If I was to get some pretty smelly stuff like lotion, soaps, etc. what would you like? Fruity or flowery..etc please nothing too smelly for me, I’m allergic to some scents… lightly scented soaps are fine, but I don’t use scented lotions at all and no scented candles or so
Musicals – yea or nay? yes, I quite like them
What kind of music do you like? mostly gothic and rock/metal, but I’ve been caught listening to some country as well. Or 70s/80s music, that’s what I grew up with. As a rule of thumb, when it isn’t rap/hip hop and has more “real” instruments than computers, it’s fine with me. I probably won’t listen to it all the time, but I like some variety
We have all given our color preference and we are a happy colorful bunch. Now how do you feel about neutrals? The natural colors from local fibers. Would be a disappointment if the whole box was a study in black and white and sepia or old photography? black and white would be great… sepia too – all natural colours from fibers are lovely. And I can always mix another colour into the project I’m making – or dye the light colours myself 
Would you enjoy a mix cd of the random mix of music that I listen to? Personally, I’d love that, but you may think it’s a bad idea.sure, I love to get to know new music
I am seriously thinking of making my partner multnomah would you like that if you were to get it in your box? I’d knit it in a color you said you liked that’s a pretty shawl, I’d love to get one
would you be interested in a scrap book of local landmarks and restaurants yes, that would be great
Do you wear shawls? If yes, would you want a shawl pin? Yes, I love shawls and shawl pins
stitchmarkers, yes or no? Yes, I prefer the snag free ones with just a loop at the top and they shouldn’t be too long and dangly
what kind of craft supply would you like to get? I can always do with another tape measure, for knitting needles I prefer the KnitPro wooden ones, I am slowly building my collection of interchangeables, crochet hooks are always nice, I never seem to have the right one at hand
What sort of knitwear do you make and hope for based on your climate? As we have rather hot summers and cold winters almost all kinds of knitwear would be appreciated… lighter, cotton type things for spring/summer and warm, animal fiber (non-wool) items for winter. I wear scarves, shawls, gloves, socks, sweaters, shrugs…
Does the idea of rainbow striped fabric make you cringe? depends on the item it’s for… I’m a goth at heart and mostly wear black and dark colours, so for wearables and accessories it wouldn’t be used much. But for a project bag or other craft supplies/storage I’d like to have rainbow stripes. For socks as well, as they are hidden in my shoes, just I know that the splash of colour is there
Do you wear jewellery, pretty hair slides or brooches? If so, what is your taste? Here in my home-area (I’m claiming the entire state as mine!) there are heaps of options for locally handmade earrings, necklaces, brooches and hair slides. All quite cute, often incorporating fabric, glass or wood. I wear jewelry, but no hair clips – fun hair ties might be used. As I stated before, I’m a goth girl, so something that fits with goth/lace/ruffles/romantic would be great. For metal I prefer the silver toned ones, not gold tones. And I don’t wear rings. For bracelets keep in mind that my wrists are tiny, just 15 cm around so a lot of bracelets are just too big for me.
Black tea, herbal tea, both or neither? black, fruit or roibos, I’m not keen on purely herbal teas – but herbs mixed with one of the other teas are fine
Churchmouse Yarns & Teas, my LYS, has a number of shop patterns. As a handmade item, would you like to receive Turkish Bed Socks, Welted Fingerless Gloves, or a Koigu Beaded Beret? Are there any of the other shop patterns shown here that you’d like to receive as a pattern? I’d prefer the Welted Fingerless Gloves, please no Beret, I don’t wear them
yarn with bling (or silver) in it – yes or no? sure, never had some, but it sounds fun
What are your feelings on knitted toys? Like things you could set on top of your computer or shelf nice idea – though it might be stolen by my six year old son… he already has my Mr. Pointy, a kitten and a bunny from a Buffy swap pouts
I’ve been researching some options for things to include & have recently discovered that some of the buildings that are part of the university I work for are historical landmarks. Would you be interested in knowing more about that sort of thing? yes, I’m interested in history so that would be great
Tea or coffee? I like both – but coffee has to be ground, I don’t have a grinder
If tea…honey or sugar? Exotic flavors of tea? again, both… exotic flavors are great, I love to try new things
If coffee…leaded or unleaded? Any favorites? Not sure what you are asking here, googling told me that leaded = caffeinated. If that’s right, then leaded
Yarn….laceweight, sockweight, or other? I use pretty much every weight, but for lace or sockweight please no wool
Do you collect anything in particular? Dragons, everything with dragons on it would be great
Movies…DVD or Blue Ray? I can play both – but I need the right Region code for Europe
I live on an RAF base, would you like an item with the station/and or squadron crests on it or a model of one of the aircraft here or would you be offended? I wouldn’t be offended at all… a model of an aircraft wouldn’t be too good, as I fear the boy might steal and break it
how do you feel about small touristy items from local sports teams? I’m not really into sports of any kind, but something small would be fine, especially when it’s about something that’s important to where you live. Kind of like our local football club, even people in the UK immediately made the connection when I told them that I live in Dortmund. Immediate answer – especially from guys – was: oh, BVB Dortmund, the football club
I would like to add some more goodies of the edible kind to your package, spoilee, but I cant ship you chocolate this time of year because it will melt before it even leaves the Post Office here…. what else would you like to nom upon? I like almost all kinds of treats – gummy candy and hard candy are fine, just no liquorice. From the UK I especially love Mint Humbugs and Treacle Toffees, but I’d like to try new things too. Cookies and crackers in all varieties are welcome, either sweet or savory. I like honey, local dried herbs or spices would be great…
Would you like to recieve flower packets (seeds) of my states flower? I don’t know what your states flower is… but as long as it will be small enough to grow on my balcony it’s fine – just nothing that would require having a garden
Are you into nature..if so would you like pics of nature (ie. birds, flowers etc.) from my hometown? That sounds lovely
Would you be interested ina cookbook that is/was done statewide or locally? Of course, cooking is great and a local cookbook sounds awesome
How about a map of the state? Yes, please
How about informational stuff about the state/hometown? Sure, I’d like to learn as much as possible about where you live
What are somethings I could make for you that you may really like? I’m easy to please, everything handmade will be loved by me. But if you want to do some colourwork knitting, that would be great, as I can’t do it myself and love colourwork items – but that’s no must.
How hung up on my ‘actual’ hometown are you? What if my swap package is partly from where I am now, and partly from where my family is from? Or where the heart is? I would love that… have been thinking about doing that too because I moved here 8 years ago – so I spent most of my life elsewhere. But I already have way too many ideas for things themed about this region, so I’ll skip the region I lived at before
I’m planning to bake you some cookies. Do you have an aversion to any (or all) of the following ingredients:
coconut, pecans (or nuts of any kind), dried fruits? (I would add chocolate chips to the list, but I can’t ship anything chocolatey in June.) I’m not fond of the dried coconut flakes in baking and raisins… nuts and other dried fruit are fine – and let me just say, I love homemade treats
Needle preferences? DPNs, circulars, straights? I use a lot of circs, especially my KnitPicks interchangeable ones. I prefer wood or bamboo over metal. DPNs are fine too, but I rarely ever use my straights
swing needles? never heard about them before, but they look interesting. Would certainly give them a try, just out of curiosity
when it comes to self-striping yarn, I’m not much for making the stripes line up. Stripes that match perfectly–in socks or wrist warmers or mittens, they seem so mechanical to me. What do you think? Do you need the stripes on the left to match the stripes on the right? Or is it okay as long as its the same yarn? I never make my stripes match, I just keep knitting whereever I happened to end the first piece – so unmatched stripes are perfectly fine with me, as long as I can tell that it’s the same yarn
Do you like donuts? yes
Would you have interest in local newspapers (alt-weeklies, etc.)?sure, could be interesting
Comic books: yes or no? yes
jigsaw puzzle? yes, both my son and I like them
do you spin or would you be interested in some local fibers? I do, but the fiber needs to be wool free
Coffee? Beans or Ground? ground, no favourite roast
What kind of beer do you like? Light, dark, amber, ipa, ale, lager, etc? Mostly German beers and Czech like Staropramen… Guiness or Kilkenny are great too
What about you spoilee? If you had a choice between White, Red, Slate, Eggplant or Black as a base color for a tshirt, what would you choose? Red (if it isn’t too bright), eggplant or black are my colours, I wouldn’t wear anything in white, cream or pastels
I’ve got a thing for fingerless mitts – would they be useful to you in the cooler months? I love them and wear them a lot
Do you like hot chocolate yes, in all varieties, with spices or without – just no artificial sweeteners please, sugar is fine – when I want calorie free, I don’t have hot chocolate
Spoilee, would you like your very own copy of Snow Falling on Cedars? Some Blues Traveler music? And while we’re at it, how do you stand on vintage items in your box (like used books or cool thrift store finds?) Yes to all of them… for DVDs they have to be whatever region code is used in Europe, I can’t play any others (unless my PS3 can and I don’t know about it yet)
Question about your pets. Are they big or little? Anything they can’t have treat and/or toy-wise?Have no pets, but a 6 year old boy who loves to get a treat or small toy with his name on it in my swap boxes – and I’m willing to get a bit less so I can share with him
adult large t-shirt: yay or nay? only if it’s women’s L… can’t wear male shirts, especially not L
How do you feel about items that, while they are not from my city, ARE from the general vicinity or the state I live in? I’m perfectly fine with that… might do it myself