TaraInColorado

Eclectic. I try to be balanced. I love knitting, natural fiber yarns, obeying the spirit of the law and not the letter, fountain pens, yummy paper, rainbow colors, iridescent things, beads, nearly any kind of music, poetry, quotes, earthships, gardening, spices, people who seek to know the truth about themselves. I thrive on learning about the diversity of culture, opinion, and thought over the globe. I am fascinated with the beauty of humankind, especially our capability to empathize and find pattern and similarity with others even in the midst of personal fear and external chaos. I have a step-daughter in elementary school and a daughter not yet in pre-school.

Compassion rocks my world.

SWAP PREFERENCES I am very easy going and love to see what people come up with (I also love being introduced to new things) so don't feel like you have to stick to what I "like"... I share a lot of the swap bounty with my 8 year old (she loves learning about other cultures and places).

Kawaii: I love pretty much anything in this category. Memo pads and activity sheets especially. Not super fond of black & white, skulls or run-of-the-mill hello kitty.

Yarn: natural fibers (I'll take cotton over acrylic any day) I'm not what you'd call a yarn "snob" exactly (although I have my days...lol). Absolute favorites: self-patterning sock yarn in rainbow (bright, clear) colors, Noro (silk garden, kureyon, really anything--brighter colors), koigu, lorna's laces, anything super soft (blue sky alpaca). I knit a wide variety of items so I will find a way to use anything. If it is yarn you have spun/dyed yourself, I will love it. Especially if it is navajo-plied and variegated (think twisted sisters sock book).

Jewelry making: any glass bead with an aurora borealis finish, glass fruits, ceramic animals, Asian-themed, any sterling wire, small beads or findings.

Paper goods: I do not scrapbook, but I do build doll houses in which I use scrapbook paper for the walls and floors. So any scrapbook paper that looks like it could be a "floor" (checkerboard, wood print, an open rectangle with a border) or "wall" (stripes, small prints, anything retro) is cool. I love true vintage ephemera (old ads from the 1900-1970), old sheet music, old photos, etc. I have a ton of this stuff so if you alter books or scrapbook or collage and want some, find me in a swap and let me know!

Postcards: anything that expresses your personality I'll love. I love seeing people's handwriting. Also, neat stamps are always great, but obviously not a requirement.

Flamenco (my father is teacher of Flamenco guitar and performer of traditional Flamenco), Tool, Celtic (wooden flute especially, but anything, really, thistle&shamrock type stuff), Tori Amos, stevie ray vaughn, classical (chopin, beethoven, j.s. bach)...singers & standards, billie,ella, lena&sarah type stuff...so, basically, most anything, if it's well done and/or interesting. even rap (eminem, old NWA) and country (Johnny cash). I play the flute, and love to play in groups.

Never Cry Wolf, The Matrix, Lord of the Rings, Witness, A Fish Called Wanda, Ghostbusters, the boondock saints, Memento, Dead Man Walking, Mo' Better Blues, The Fugitive

Star Trek Voyager & TNG, Dead Like Me, Six Feet Under, Millenium, The Simpsons, law & order, Frontline, the daily show. I find TV to be a comfort--familiar sound, noise and light from a box--but it does not absorb me unless it's very intense. I am always doing something else when the TV is on.

oy. multitude. knit, crochet, any fiber art, making beaded creatures and flowers, paper craft, doll making (polymer clay), calligraphy, friendship bracelets, actual vintage ephemera collage stuff (I appreciate all the neat scrapbooking stuff available but I find I prefer stuff that people come up with on their own that's unique to them. I would rather have a sample of my grandmother's real hand-writing on the back of a photo, not a label that she printed.) I recycle goodwill sweaters for the yarn: I hand-paint them with fabric dyes, and then dismantle, straighten, wash and skein the yarn. It comes out beautiful, soft, one of a kind. I love to share this yarn, I would like to know what other people think about it...