Mrsfabicons

Due to redundancies and general restlessness (and a heap of envy about the fact there were no 'gap' years when we were young people - better late than never!) we are leaving our London home and having an adventure this year - hopefully travelling around the UK's inland waterways on a narrowboat. Eventually I will blog this journey or put up a Facebook page for the boat so people can follow our progress. So without a reliable postal address for a year I won't be able to do any swaps but I'll be back to SwapBot when we resettle. Thanks to everyone who I have swapped with here, it has been bunches of fun! Blessings on you all.

I am a magpie. I love finding and collecting shiny bits of stuff that have been overlooked or discarded by other people.I like recycling these cheap gaudy bits of junk and giving them new life and transforming them into something beautiful. My creative work mainly consists of very kitsch and quirky stitched collages of beads and found objects usually centred around a saint or goddess which I call fabicons. If you are interested I have posted pictures of a few of these on my Flickr account (link above)

I am a kind, generous and loyal person with high standards of personal integrity. I commit fully and don't do things by half measures so will be a good swap partner. I do live in an household with animals and smokers, just so you know ahead of time.

I like rock and blues.

Very wide ranging taste in literature. My favourite authors include Charles Dickens, Mark Twain, Kurt Vonnegut and John Irving. Oh and I should probaly mention the 300+ textile art and embroidery books - lots of them are vintage and the coolest are from the 1920-30's full of art deco line drawings.

I love small budget independent films that make you smile. A great favourite is Amelie. Time travel is a favourite theme too.

I can usually be tempted by a costume drama...especially a Dickens adaptation. I also like tv cooking/chef shows but would probably rather be baking or cooking than watching.

Embroidery, embroidery, embroidery in all its creative and glorious forms...Bead embroidery, free machine embroidery and canvas work for choice.

And then there is just beading which is always a great joy...will have a stab at all the techniques but probably am most proficient at brick and square stitches. I love creating impromptu jewellery and wearable collage by combining vintage bits, buttons, crystals and beads from the carboot sales, charity shop or remnant bags with treasures from my stash.

Just getting into Art journalling and intend to explore this further on our journey.

Proud 'mum' to Opal - our beloved gray and white rescue cat. The twinkly Opal has brought much liveliness to our household and has a full-on approach to life - which is a good thing, most of the time. And she can't believe her luck in being the embroiderer's cat - so many fibres to tangle and so little time!

Very devoted to my guardian angels, saints and spirtiual guides. Use the oracle cards on a regular basis. Angels provide much of my creative inspiration as well as a huge amount of assistance and instructions for life...when I remember to ask them!

I just completed my second degree Reiki course and am finding this energy healing and the five principles to be very calming and central to my life. I have just begun to practice professionally in a very gradual and gentle way.

Colours: Green (all shades), blue, aqua, purple, pinks and red. Metals: all silver finishes, bronzes, tarnished copper and old gold.

The divine: angels, saints, gods and goddesses, religious medals-memorabilia-imagery-prayer cards, churches, temples, shrines, nichos, rosaries and other devotional items, milagros, totems of protection.

The sea: fish, shells, mermaids, boats, the tideline, the pier, tacky souvenirs.

The sky: clouds, moon, sun, planets, stars, storms, rainbows, comets.

The land: Mountains, waterfalls, riverbanks, trees, growing useful things like vegetables & fruit and all flowers but especially snowdrops, iris, peonies and roses.

Creatures: Cats especially, dogs, sealife in all its forms, birds, snakes and lizards, dinosaurs.

Stuff: Beads, buttons, sequins, sew-on rhinestones (especially rose montees) vintage costume jewellery (even broken that can be reused for components), bubble gum charms, tiny plastic figures and toys, crystals, polished natural stones, dimante, christmas baubles and shiny fibres.

Food & Drink: Flavoured teas (especially fruity white and green teas, spicy black teas, honey flavoured - love Lipton's melissa - and anything Celestial or Yogi) though alas I am trying to reduce my caffeine dependency and am exploring more herbal teas.

I don't wear make-up. I don't have pierced ears but love vintage clip-ons.