mskadie

Hi! Thanks for stopping by :)

My name is Kadie and I'm not so great at filling out profiles because there's almost nothing about me that is consistent... It seems like nothing stays true for very long. Like that Heraclitus quote, 'You can never step into the same river twice, for new waters are ever flowing onto you.' I think life as well as people are like that.

I love making crafty things with my hands, and I'll try pretty much anything once. That being said, I'd like to distinguish between arts and crafts: I'm not at all artistic, i.e. cannot draw/paint/sketch etc. to save my life, but I am creative. I love to create things.

The fiber arts are my strong point, and things like knitting, crochet, knotting, weaving and sewing are some of my favourite things to do. I love obscure or forgotten fibre arts, like macrame, needle tatting, naalbinding (Viking knitting, soooo cool), sprang... Right now I'm big into flat braiding and making awesome shoelaces.

I like to experiment with different mediums, and combine them as well :D

I think that yarnbombing is the greatest hobby in the world. If you want more information, please let me know and I'd be happy to send you my minizine on the subject.

I wish that everything in my life was made out of serapes. That's my ultimate in aesthetic awesomeness. I use them to make curtains or pillows or just to cover random surfaces whenever I find them for cheap. Too bad they're so hard to sew...

Reading is awesome and is another one of my favourite things to do. I love books that would be filed under 'Literature' or 'Sci-fi' in a bookstore, but don't be surprised to find me in other aisles as well! However, you will not find me reading 'chick lit' or best-sellers.

Favourite authors (i.e. have voluntarily read at least 2 books by them) include Verne; Vonnegut (!!!); John Wyndham; William Tenn; Huxley; Hesse; Saki; Steinbeck; the Brontes, especially love Charlotte; Margaret Atwood, probably because I'm Canadian; Francesca Lia Block; Anaïs Nin; Dostoyevsky; Tolstoy; Chekov; Gogol (love the 19th century Russians); Gabriel Garcia Marquez; Maugham; Camus; Sartre; Carroll; Tolkien; Asimov; Clarke; Herbert; Peake; Orson Scott Card; Douglas Adams.. hmmm and I guess when I was a teenager I was super into Ayn Rand, though my perspectives have changed considerably.

My favourite novel of all time has got to be Point Counter Point by Aldous Huxley. I love him so much and that book in particular is stellar. Other super super favourites are Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut, The Razor's Edge by W. Somerset Maugham, the Mysterious Island by Jules Verne and Demian by Hermann Hesse. I guess those are my top 5 by my top 5 :)

I also have a completely dorky obsession with both Eastern and Western philosophy. I can't seem to stop buying old anthologies in used bookstores. I think that's why I like classic sci-fi so much: it often asks very philosophical questions. I recently found out that my personal philosophy is nicely articulated in the teachings of J Krishnamurti.

I love reading zines. My favourites are the how-to DIY type ones, but I love perzines as well. I love getting to know people through their own publications and mediums.

I think I have the worst taste in music of anyone I know. It can be the absolute most cringe-worthy song you can think of, but if I associate it with good times, amazing people or a really excellent movie, I don't care what people think I love it.

I mostly listen to the kind of stuff that a lot of peoples' dads seem to like, preferably on vinyl. I love classic rock like Zeppelin, Deep Purple, the Who, Pink Floyd, QMS, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Tom Waites, ELP, Yes, Bowie, NY Dolls and the VU. This is probably what I listen to the most, but...

I love folky stuff from the 60's. My favourite album of all time is Bookends by Simon & Garfunkel.

I love proto as well as post punk. I guess I like punk as well, but I'm more a fan of what happened around the edges.

I love anything with a harmonica. It is my favourite instrument! Also, the banjo. You can't not smile when you hear the banjo. Don't laugh.

I love glam rock.

I love hair metal bands from the 80's. I have a major soft spot for people that don't take themselves seriously.

I love 90's alternative stuff, especially when I'm feeling angsty. It is after all what I grew up with and heavily influenced my later tastes. There's nothing like Rage when you're having one of those days..

I love many kinds of electronic music. Don't tell anyone but... I love happy hardcore. lol j/k I don't care who you tell as I'm sure they don't care either. I heart Scooter.

I love ambient & psybient music, which is technically electro but I think they deserve their own category!

I'll say it. I love really over-the-top dance music. The kind they play at gay bars. And I know you secretly like it too.. lol

I love music in different languages, particularly if I know a bit of that language and can kind of understand the lyrics if I listen to it enough. But it's ok if I have no idea what the song is about too. I love Spanish pop and Kraftwerk beyond words.

If it's weird, obscure, cult or a musical - or preferrably some combination of the above - I'm all there! I don't watch a lot of movies unless I'm knitting (though honestly I'd rather listen to podcasts, lectures from iTunesU or TED talks... such a nerd, I know!), but I like the things that no one else seems to want to watch. I really like B movies, and nothing makes me happier than a super dorky documentary. I do not like action movies or anything that draws people based on special effects, because when I 'watch' a movie I'm mostly just listening to it. I live through my ears :) dialogue and character development are important to me, and if I like the score I'm pretty likely to like the movie. I really love classic movies from about the 40's to the 60's. Early Technicolor makes my life.

I'm trying to learn Hindi, so I've started watching Bollywood flicks. I love them!!! Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated :D

Haven't had cable in a while, and I grew up without it as well. If I'm going to watch TV, it will mostly be reruns or CBC programming. I like things like Jeopardy (I lurrrrve Alex Trebek...), The Nature of Things and other documentaries. I think the only current show I follow is Mad Men. I will watch reruns of shows like MSCL, Carnivale, Wonderfalls, Freaks and Geeks, Flight of the Conchords, Beetlejuice (cartoon), Clone High, Captain Planet, Gummi Bears, the Raccoons, Venture Bros and random things that appeal to me.

I also make/wear a lot of kandi, and would looooove to swap for it! PM me if you want to do a one-on-one kandi swap :D I would kill for some international kandi! Or really anything made out of pony beads.

I am not a picky person and am extremely easy to please. I love trying new things and learning about other people and places. If you think that something is awesome, chances are that I will too - or I'll at least appreciate why you think it's awesome and will probably end up agreeing with you. I'm all about the random stuff that others have discovered, the more obscure the better! I am a firm believer in sender's choice. However, there are a couple things I'd like to point out about myself:

I follow a vegan lifestyle, so anything containing animal products will surely find another home - just not mine :) though I am ok with honey and wool (don't tell the vegan police! lol). Any questions, just ask! :D

Same goes for lime scented things - I just can't stand the smell. I think that's my only weird dislike. Oddly enough, I love all things lemon..

I can't think of a colour I dislike. I'm an equal opportunist where that's concerned! I think every colour can be beautiful depending on what it is used for and the colours that accompany it. My favourite colour is ALL OF THE COLOURS :D rainbows are my favourite!

I think that's about it..

Have no fear.... send me ANYTHING (with the exception of what I've just mentioned). Used, recycled, upcycled, dumpstered, regifted, repurposed, found objects, retro/vintage/thrifted.. In fact, I'd prefer those types of things. I'm really not picky and I'm not just saying that. It does not have to be in perfect condition. I find something interesting about pretty much everything and I really am quite resourceful.

Once upon a time I was rated a 1, and though I have been trying for over a year to fix it the user will not answer my messages. If you want the full story, I will happily share it with you.

When possible, I try to reuse or get creative with packaging. I'd love it if you did the same when sending to me! But if something arrives broken or damaged or - gasp! - not at all, please let me know and I will try to remedy the problem in whatever way I can :)

If you are sending to me and things happen and you are worried about being late, please don't worry. It's not worth it. Life comes before swap-bot! Just let me know what's up :) I do not want to be the cause of your stress or unhappiness and I will not rate you down because of situations outside of your control. Obviously.