fortannam

I am hoping to connect with people from all over the world. I love learning about people and other cultures. Swapping should be fun and without stress, no drama, just loving, positive people trying to connect and grow!

I will almost always have my items ready to mail as soon as I get my partners snail mail address, so if you don't receive something from me, please let me know! I'm always happy to re-do.

I will NEVER flake!! I will also ALWAYS rate as soon as I receive your item(s)!

I PLEDGE TO RATE!

ABC's of Me: A: art, apparel, avengers, apples B: buttons, books (see that section), bookmaking, blue, balloons, buckles C: coffee (anything related to coffee), cross-stitch, costumes, cats, crafts (see that section), Christmas anything, crochet D: design, desserts, drawing, dachshunds E: ecru, eolienne, eyelet, embroidery F: fabric, fine art, fashion, fonts, fat quarters G: grimm, gelato H: hello kitty, history, hand bags, holly/Christmas, handmade I: ink, indigo, ikat, inchies J: juxtaposition K: kites, khaki L: letterpress, lace M: music (see that section), muji, maps, moos, mountains N: nature, night owl O: outdoors, oatmeal P: postcards (vintage, touristy, artsy), painting, pouches, paper crafty/handmade, printmaking, patches Q: small quilt items for uses not in a big quilt R: royalty, random crap, retro, religious S: sewing related, scraps (of fabric/trims/paper), shells (especially abalone), spring T: theater, theatrical, television (see that section), textiles, typography, toggles, trims, tassels, twinchies U: useful things, urchins V: vintage style, violet, variegated W: water color, wrapping paper, wall paper, winter X: xerox (old, vintage) Y: yellow, yardsticks, yuletide, yachts Z: zippers – all kinds/styles, zines 3-D: printed items, stuff with filling, paper pop-up

• anything for kids (mine are out of the house)
• actual food items
• anime/graphic novel/video game related
• nudity/horror/violence
• licorice/anise
• cigarettes/smoking

My college degree is in fine arts and I’ve taken classes in oil, watercolor, etc. I also minored in Costume Design and so love history and cosplay. My “medium” is more into fabric and fiber. I love vintage fabrics, buttons, trims.

My favorite color is that dark blue that sometimes looks purple. I like yarns, cording, and threads. I like paper, paper crafts, and sometimes sew paper to fabric. I have a sewing machine, a serger, and a coverstitch machine. I have a dedicated craft room with shelves of paper, fabric, beads, rubber stamps, yarns, trims, patterns, crafty magazines, and jars of buttons.

I put my love of sewing to work in the sportswear and outdoor apparel industry. I currently am Product Engineer at Columbia Sportswear Company, with 25 years of experience including Nike, Castelli, Merrell, Norm Thompson Outfitters, and Sebago among others. My work in the industry includes developing garments, fabrics, and trimmings.

I teach sewing classes and lead the Fabric & Fiber Meet-up (we're doing virtual meet-ups during the pandemic!) at our local library maker space. The maker space (called the Collaboratory) helped me learn: 3D Printing, Sizzix Big Shot and Silhouette Cameo die-cutter, and the Glowforge!!

I’m also a member of the National Button Society, Oregon Button Society, and Portland Button Club. I enthusiastically continue to learn about button collecting and history. I presented a lesson at the NBS annual convention in 2019 about how buttons are made today in large scale industrial button making processes, and small-scale buttons made at home.

Just finished season 1 of Space Force! Hilarious!! Loved Eureka And The Expanse! I also enjoy Victoria on PBS Masterpiece – mostly due to the history and costumes. Star Trek fan by default (my family loves it so I watch). I also love the entire 6 seasons of Grimm – mostly because it was filmed in Portland and I personally know a lot of the extras & side characters from working with modeling/talent agencies here in Portland through my jobs. I have a desire to watch The Crown – but it will have to wait.

I am making hundreds of masks for this pandemic! In between I discovered (through a swap!) "scrappies". I like to sew fabric and paper together. I am working on sewing my scraps of fabric together to make new fabric for an over-the-shoulder bag. I have made some hand-made postcards. I’m discovering modge podge and have some wood I want to decoupage on.

Right now I'm reading "Worn Stories" a collection of stories from famous people about one single garment/piece of clothing that has stuck with them. It's super interesting!!

My favorite books are historically accurate fiction about places or people (not science fiction/fantasy/romance/horror/etc.) I like something that is at least loosely based on reality. I enjoy travel writings, biographies, and text-book type books on textiles, fashion, sewing, costumes, costume history, etc.

My favorite music depends on the day. I love everything from Classic Rock to Classical, from Country to Alternative Grunge, from Showtunes to Pop. Everyone in my family plays and instrument and/or sings – except me (I play the radio). I’ve always been around music and had an appreciation – but for me it’s driven by the mood.