twobluecrows

Well, a year later, I finally have a home again. I've spent the last 7 months renovating a nice 1970 mobile home. It was a lot of good hard work and all that's left to do is some cosmetic work like trims and moldings, then whatever improvements I feel like doing in the spring. Time to swap!

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Well, you win some, you lose some. I had just finished my studio and was well into setting everything up when we got some bad news--the entire building was declared unfit for human habitation!!!

As of just before Christmas I joined the ranks of the homeless. I was able to stay for a little while, but around January 21 I went to Virginia for a couple of months, hoping to outrun the winter, but it followed me. I got to spend time with family, my car died so I had to go back into debt buying another one, and headed back up to CT on March 13. I've been couch-surfing since then, hoping to figure something out, trying to find something I can afford to rent-- nothing on the near horizon. I also just lost my mom, she celebrated her 90th birthday on March 14 and passed peacefully on April 12. So I won't be swapping for a while, but hope my SB friends will keep me in your thoughts and prayers and wish me luck.

August finds me finally in my own little home, with my new studio space about 1/3 finished. My friend/landlord had worked his butt off trying to make everything work out, and sadly for me, but very happy for him and his family, he'll be gone for 4 months on a long-awaited job. remaining is the making the last two walls: framing and drywall, (as well as taping and mudding all that drywall, and then a bit of color,) and the door, then my space will be complete and I can get back to work crafting and swapping! Wish me luck!

Closing ended up being May 18, so I'm out of that house, and still not in my new one--sort of homeless!!! I'm staying at my BFFs house nights for now, and days at the new place trying to help get it finished. All my stuff is still packed--just managed to find and install the computer so I'm not digitally living on my cellphone (I broke the 1gigabyte data barrier just the other day, still have a little less than one to use when necessary), but it's a temporary situation as we build the walls of my new home and studio. It's an adventure, but no swaps possible just yet. I miss all my SB buddies!!! Have a great summer!

AACK!! I put my house up for sale in January and accepted an offer just the other day! I HAVE TO MOVE AGAIN!!!!!

The closing date is April 25th so I have to get moving with packing and clearing out the garages, and it's going to be a bit of a solo job, so I'll be away from Swap-bot for a while.

UPDATE! I have finished up all my current swaps, so now I'm taking that break from swapping until I can unpack my stuff again in my new studio. Wish me luck!!

With the new Swap-bot Time Zone as UTC, I'm in UTC-4

My newest/oldest "Like"--I don't know why I never mentioned it here before, but I'm a Whovian!! I love Doctor Who, so anything, especially the latest (ie: tenth and eleventh Doctors) is Cool! There are some very cute amigurumi I saw on Pinterest tenth Doctor

and 11th doctor

First Swap--August 31, 2006 It's amazing after all these years to go back to the beginning and look at the old swaps! It's like an art journal! ...I want to do them all over again!

I mail from my house before or on the send date, so if the postmark is late, it's because the mail lady didn't turn things in for postmarking in a timely manner--it happens a lot! :(

I'm also making an extra effort to rate as soon as something arrives.

My Amazon Wishlist

GOT CDs? I STILL need no-good cds for a huge art project--any cd that has a unaltered shiny side is welcome (scratches are just fine)--in any numbers--I'm looking for 3200! I have about 800 so far, having just received a few more from another friend, and some came in a couple of swap packages!!! So PM me for my mailing address if you'd like to contribute and save them from going to the landfill! I will gladly return some postage to you, or trade something else. IF YOU'RE MAILING ME CDS, PLEASE USE MEDIA MAIL--VERY CHEAP, at least here in the US: 1lb=$2.38, 2lb=$2.77, 3lb=$3.16, etc.

TEA SWAPS: I don't drink any mint or spiced teas, and prefer fruity flavors. My absolute favorite is Peach or Mango. If I get ones I can't drink, I will share them with friends or family who will!

Not so fond of cutesy baby pastels or baby colors--I'm a fantasy-loving grown-up with rich taste!

I like rich deep jewel-tone colors, like Purple, Deep Velvet Red, Cozy Russet, Chocolate Brown, Forest Green, Bluegrass Green, the Buttery, almost golden-cream Yellow of a fall sunset...but my biggest real favorite is Blue--TARDIS Blue, Sky blue, Ocean blue, Royal blue, Indigo blue, Bluejeans blue, any rich shade of blue, with white, and/or silver.

PLEASE, NO PINK, ORANGE, YELLOWISH BROWN, AQUA, TEAL OR OTHER WARM COLORS in fabrics for quilt blocks, etc. A teeny bit of them is ok, but not the main or even secondary color, and Please! No Kiddie patterns. I have no little kids around to make things for.

I like some bright primaries and secondaries (remember your color wheel? --blue, red, yellow, green, purple) combined in fabric patterns and prints, but not so fond of yellow-green, orange and avocado for anything. Way too 70s and all that goes with that! LOL

Themes I like, for things like totes or other sewn items besides quilt blocks, are:

Crows; Doctor Who; Sun, Moon and Stars; Peacocks; Spirals and Labyrinths

I love sparkly shiny things with all the shiny metallics, especially silver and copper. Rhinestone brooches/pins/earrings (even broken ones or single earrings) are a favorite, I hang them on wide ribbons on the walls in my office.

I'm sorry, but I have to be very selective/restrictive about joining any more groups at this time--I have too much going on outside of Swap-bot and no time to give it the attention it needs right now. Thanks for asking though!

Collagist, book-alterer, assemblagist, and any other art form that catches my fancy! I live in the country for now with Henry my grey furbaby, His sister Pepper has been gone for almost a year. We miss her!

I'm fond of crows, magickal elements, celtic knotwork, crows, celestial imagery, maps and old texts, as well as exotic flowers and nature themes, and did I mention crows?

Steampunk is intriguing me, too.

Eloy Morales (these are hyperphotorealistic paintings!), Renato Muccillo Duane Keiser and Brian Lasaga are my favorite contemporary artists, JohannesVermeer my all time favorite The Girl with the Pearl Earring is my favorite Vermeer. . I'm fond of Mary Engelbreit, too!

My favorite things that I like to see around me at home are all small--I've been so used to living in a really tiny house--way before they became trendy, and not much wall space open for hanging things, lots of built-in furniture takes it up. But I like things with sparkly crystals, like rhinestone brooches (I have a collection of them on wide ribbons on the wall in my office), Celtic knot designs, crows, altered/decorated matchboxes, small boxes, postcards and ATCs, small art dolls/goddess dolls, wind chimes, crows, and tiny sparkly sun catchers, inchie charms, and other small charms--I have a hand-made wire charm tree hanging from the ceiling in a corner of my studio. And, crows, crows, crows--I love them!

**If I have not rated you yet--Please feel free to remind me--I'm trying to make a working system to do it immediately upon receipt of the mail, but some have slipped unintentionally through the cracks!

LIKES

I've listed a lot of my likes throughout, but here are a few more:

• miniatures--dollhouse 1:12 scale is fascinating in little things, paintings, furniture, Fairy Doors, etc. *Penmanship--nearly a lost art *Bookbinding--another reviving art

DISLIKES...

...for most things may be too harsh a word, BUT NOT FOR CLOWNS!!! PLEASE DON'T SEND ME ANY CLOWN STUFF!!!

I don't care for Kawaii- like things, cartoons, cutsey, baby, kidstuff, Disney, etc. Anime is interesting, but not something I go out of my way for, though I do like a lot of Japanese art and crafts.

Also Christian and other mainstream religious items--I don't have any objection to religious people, just don't need any religious stuff. I'm just a happy plain pagan.

I'm always on the lookout for nice colored bias stripe cottons for quilt blocks, like this one: and like this one not necessarily pastels, but thin stripes of different thicknesses, brights, rich colors gold and orange and brown are ok here. :)

I have thousands, literally, since I've been a chef for over 30 years, and spend a lot of time researching and reading cookbooks and magazines. I do love getting family favorites though, not from cookbooks particularly, but the ones your mom or aunt or grandma have in a little box or clippings or notes stuck in a yellowing book on a shelf.

My favorites are just about anything older than 1930, and as far back as you can possibly go! I have a copy of "The Form of Curye" which is a very early cookbook from the 14th century.

I'd love to receive scratch recipes for charcuterie of any kind, especially Italian Sweet sausage, and any other kind from any country's cuisine--Got a recipe for opossum sausage, or Ostrich or...??

Scratch recipes for anything we have to buy now, too--like pastas, noodles, cakes and baking things. Asian cuisine, especially Korean, any area of China and Japan, or India and the Middle East. Africa and South America as well--and why not Australia, too!? I'd love it all! Recipes for good Breads, Rye or other whole grain, too. Notes and stories about the recipes are welcome, too!! I really love that sort of thing, definite heart winners!.

Please! If you send me recipes, PM me for my e-mail address--I store the majority of my recipes on my computer, and prefer it there-though, if you really have to send recipe cards, I'll share them with others after entering the recipe in my files.