I am a children's librarian who lives to make things (though I'm currently fighting some serious health problems, so not swapping quite as much as usual - found out I'll be having surgery soon, and looking forward to being healthy!). My profile is a little less organized than it used to be because I accidentally deleted a good portion of it and am having to reconstruct it. Oops!

If I am not creating and sharing what I create, my life feels flat and boring. I’ve tried many different mediums and am almost entirely self-taught, but I tend to cycle through my favorites as my mood changes. I enjoy doing whimsical things like leaving handmade stuffed animals on park benches, hanging poetry ribbons from trees, leaving behind tatted butterflies, and crafting in public. Currently, my strongest interests are textile design, sewing (often with reclaimed materials), paper cutting and layering, making strange stuffies, tatting, crochet, and printmaking. I just started lucet braiding to make skirt drawstrings and purse handles, and I am working on a yo-yo quilt, so 4 inch or larger scraps are very, very welcome.

I have been learning paper cutting as part of a grant project about Hans Christian Andersen and his scherenschnitte. It is beautiful and well worth a look if you didn't know he cut paper as well as telling stories. Fascinating guy.

I create my own fabrics using fiber-reactive dyes, then block print them with soft blocks I carve myself. I mostly use that fabric to make bags, skirts, scarves, prayer flags, and aprons. I like to mix my fabrics with reclaimed materials in projects whenever I can for added personality. I’m learning to sew garments, but only simple ones at this point. I love to make hand-sewn stuffies and primitive dolls, and am experimenting with different techniques there.

I crochet mostly small projects like dish cloths, amigurumi, and recently finger puppets. I like free-hand, doodling embroidery. I've been experimenting with dying cotton yarns and tatting thread as well. I make beaded and mixed media jewelry. Lately I have been making lots of rolled paper beads. I like to hand-carve stamps to use in my projects, often from original papercuts or rough doodles. I make mini-zines when the mood strikes, again roughly doodled and very by-hand...I also occasionally make cold-process soap, lotions, and other herbal creations. I experiment with ATCs and postcards, and occasionally with low-tech photography such as pinhole and cyanotype. I do suminagashi (ink marbling) some as well.

Starting out with a quick wishlist to make things easy for partners:

Fabric pieces for a yo-yo quilt project - fat quarters, scraps four inches square or more, sections of old sheets or clothes...etc. Mostly cottons, but other similar-weight fabric is great too.

Watercolor, washi, rice, handmade paper (ATC or postcard sized)

Zines (by you or others - epecially crafty themes!)

Wallpaper samples for making beads

Back issues of craft magazines, or even just a torn out article...I love new inspiration! I adore the Somerset publications, and am rapidly becoming fascinated with British publications like Mollie Makes and the various crochet, sewing, embroidery ones. Quite cool!

Odd colors of buttons, even/especially trimmed from old clothing (smaller is great - I use them for stuffie and finger puppet eyes)

Acrylic and cotton yarn leftovers for making finger puppets. I love yarn balls, and it's extra special when I find the person who sent it to me wrapped a charm, or a few bright buttons, or something like that in the center. I think they are called magic yarn balls? Was such a delightful surprise the first time!

For those of you in the Pacific Northwest (or other places lavender grows), I would LOVE some dried lavender from your area.

I always love embroidery floss, vintage laces, and trims!

HANDMADE BY YOU! I love incorporating handmade into my everyday life. From dish cloths to napkins to pillowcases to toys to bags to pincushions...the everyday is more special if someone's heart and hands have influenced my surroundings.

In general, I love whimsy, delicacy, occasionally some darkness, and old-fashioned fairy-tale themes, but am not overly sentimental. For example, I love Brian Froud but not so thrilled with Ann Geddes, and I love classic fairy tales but usually not Disney-style ones. I have an Etsy list up top for aesthetic inspiration.

I love woodland themes (owls, trees, hedgehogs, deer, flowers, etc.), Asian themes, cottage style, daffodils, the moon, the colors red, blue, green and purple (though I'm fond of any color that seems appropriate to its use, so am not particularly picky there). I love tea and chocolate. I also love vintage, and have a special place in my heart for old hand-embroidery, even if damaged and worn.

More than anything else, I love receiving handmade items in swaps. I use handmade dish cloths daily, and have a great collection of softies and drawstring project bags (somehow never enough project bags, though). Handmade is awesome, the best thing ever! Receiving something made from the heart is the best thing I can imagine.

Odd bits and pieces about me:
I collect cast iron trivets and carved, wooden fabric stamps. I obsess over art and craft books and magazines, especially ones from overseas. I have a Yorkie who's the light of my life, and even my friends who normally dislike little dogs love her. I want to travel, but for now my health prevents it...after I heal from my surgery and get my life back on track, I intend to take on the world! I have been to Senegal (in the Peace Corps), England, and Bolivia, so I got a start, at least. I live in a very cute, cottage-ish little blue house that needs some serious cosmetic work inside, but I love it.

I’ve listed lots of likes so that partners have guidance, but please don’t feel constrained by any specifics! Surprises are thrilling, too, and you can always feel free to message me with questions. One of the reasons I like swapping so much is that I find I am introduced to so many new ideas and aesthetic styles. Some of the most special swaps I have received contained lovely items I would never have thought to ask for. And just so you know, extras are always lovely and appreciated, but you don’t have to include them to get a heart from me. I give those for the actual swap items, so there’s no pressure to add more if you don’t want to! Of course, if you feel inspired, go wild...

I love private swaps. I will rate everyone when I receive your package. If I somehow forget, I won’t be offended if you remind me. I post up top if I am going to leave town, so I won't disappear unexpectedly barring some awful disaster.

My goal is to make people's day. Life is hard sometimes, and nothing makes me feel better than making people feel good. As such, I always try for a heart in my swaps but will never bully you for one. I will rate a "1" for flaked swaps, but if you have an emergency, I will work with you - given a choice, I will always choose kindness! That said, my biggest pet peeve - bigger than non-rating or flaking - is receiving a swap that had obviously no care put into it whatsoever. Very depressing to me!

I recently deleted a good portion of my profile by accident and lost my list of flaked-on swaps, but I don't plan to reconstruct that...too much trouble. I'll start a new one when I have to!

I most often read books intended for children and teenagers - hence my career choice of youth services librarian. I absolutely adore art and craft how-to books (to the point of obsession!)

I'm a movie freak! I love to watch movies over and over while I make crafts, and I have been stuck at home a lot recently, so they are very important to me right now... My favorite movies of all time are Labyrinth, Amelie, Suspiria, and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. Analyze that, if you dare! An origami documentary I saw recently, Between the Folds, is amazing - I recommend it to anyone with artsy interests. I adore Spirited Away and My Neighbor Totoro. I'm addicted to Dario Argento flicks now, as they are incredibly inspiring artistically and a great dark fairy tales and giallo(s?), and I can just close my eyes during the scarier death scenes. I tend to prefer the ones from the 70s and 80s, when the bloody stuff is a little less realistic by modern standards (I do NOT enjoy things like Saw - way too realistic for me). I also love the original three Star Wars (the newer ones do not exist in my world), Bull Durham, Stardust, the Witches of Eastwick, Pride and Prejudice (the one with Colin Firth, naturally), Mirrormask, Howl's Moving Castle (the book is excellent too), Juno, Lord of the Rings, Torso (what awesome camera work!). Another huge obsession of mine is older, black-and-white horror movies. Vincent Price and Barbara Steele are awesome! I've been watching the Crawling Eye, House of Wax, Terror Creatures from the Grave, etc.

I am joining groups and swaps now that relate a lot to fairy tales and children's literature, so will flutter on about those for a while. I love folk tales and fairy tales in general, as well as mythology. Some of my favorite children's books and authors are Hans Christian Andersen, the Little House series, Susan Cooper's Dark is Rising sequence, Gaiman's books for kids, Shannon Hale's Safe Keeper trilogy, Betsy Tacy, Wise Child by Monica Furlong, Anne of Green Gables, Coraline, Alice in Wonderland, and I will keep adding here as I go. I am very fond of classics like Beatrix Potter, Andersen, Grimm, Margaret Wise Brown, etc. Picture book favorites include Corduroy, Where the Wild Things Are, The Duchess of Whimsey, The Wishing of Biddy Malone, Fancy Nancy, Goodnight Moon, the Little Island, I Ain't Gonna Paint No More, and again, I will keep going! As for favorite fairy tales, I made everyone call me Cinderella for over a year when I was a child...delusions of grandeur much? I'm currently obsessed with Hans Christian Andersen's Princess and the Pea and the Steadfast Tin Soldier.