apartmentcatEtsy

Hi! My name is Katie, and I live in Melbourne, Australia. I'm 33 years old. I live in an apartment with one boyfriend, one cat and about 3 tonnes of wool!

I work full-time and it takes me an hour to get to/from work every day, so sadly I don't get the time to spend on crafting that I'd like. These days I usually only join swaps that I am really excited about and can devote all my spare time and energy to.

My favourite things to do right now are:

• writing fiction and maybe starting another zine

Lately, I've also been interested in exploring:

• drawing, art techniques and finding my style
• embroidery and embellishment with felt, buttons, etc.

My inspirations include:

• nature
• retro, vintage and antique
• local art and craft galleries
• Mexican culture/art
• Chinese culture/art
• Japanese culture/art
• fashion
• kawaii
• artifacts and imagery from all religions
• crafty blogs
• people on the street (Melbourne's a pretty crazy town!)
• my own crazy brain

See the links section for my Etsy shop!

Books and authors I've really enjoyed included Lindsay Davis's Falco series, Neil Gaiman, Douglas Adams, Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy, The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, Phryne Fisher mysteries. I also love the classics such as Jane Austen, the Brontes, Romantic era fiction, science fiction and fantasy. One of my goals is to take a hefty chunk out of the list in '1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die' (Peter Boxall version).

When it comes to non-fiction, I like reading up about history, archaeology, culture, biographies, true crime, arts & crafts, fashion, religion & spirituality, paranormal phenomena and mysteries, and most things!

I like little bits of everything - dance music, pop, alternative, 80s and 90s pop, disco, jazz. What I really like is music with a positive message that makes me happy.

• all kinds of coffee
• all kinds of tea
• wine, spirits and liqueurs
• and all kinds of food!, especially
• Mexican
• Indian
• Japanese
• Chinese
• Thai
• Italian

I love cooking and baking, and I collect recipes and make my own recipe books. I'm also interested in 'old-style' kitchen stuff, such as making jams, preserves and liqueurs.

I'm interested in everything, really! I love reading and watching documentaries on any topic.

My favourite colours:

green purple pink blue
But anything that's bright and colourful is fine by me.

Other random things I like are:

• jewellery - earrings, brooches, necklaces and bangles
• make-up and beauty products
• taking baths and bath bombs/salts
• puzzle books e.g. Sudoku, crosswords and logic puzzles
• all animals, but especially elephants, wombats, dogs (e.g. daschunds/sausage dogs & chihuahuas), cats, sloths, whales, iguanas, and any small cute fluffy animals such as possums, squirrels or meerkats
• computer games, especially sim games (e.g. Sim City), puzzle games, online games (e.g. Big Fish) and history-based games (e.g. Civilisation)
• exercising - well, I try to, anyway!
• tennis
• the Olympics

• minimalist art and design
• 'neutral' colours such as beige
• soaps with artificial perfumes. I only use soap with real essential oils or shower gel.
• Disney or Loony Tunes (though I do like Pooh)
• bigoted attitudes
• raw tomatoes!

I like to think of myself as quite open-minded. I love bawdy jokes and double-entendres.

"I'd like to double her entendre!" - Todd, Scrubs

For example, one of my favourite TV shows is Blackadder. I don't mind swearing, as long as it's creative and not gratuitous. I'm open to most things that are risque, bawdy, burlesque, alternative, odd, kinky, different and generally out there. So don't be worried about offending me. Even if I am, I'll probably get over it!

** @Artistic - for organising angels for the Reading Log 2008 swaps, and for angeling me!

** @scuslidge - for angeling me for the Reading Log 2008 4th Quarter swap.