kirstyross85

I am a 30 year old mum of two boys, aged 2 and 8 months (at the time of writing this) who has always been interested in crafting in some form or another. I am a qualified sports coach but since I have three slipped discs and have had to have a number of surgeries I no longer take part in my favourite sports or can keep fit enough to coach any of the others either. My favourite sports are Netball and Badminton, I have played both at club level and even at higher level in cadets.

I have a degree from the Open University and it contains Computer Programming course and English Language - part of my English Languages course contained a Diploma in Creative Writing and my first book Old Magic is available on Amazon.

I like to dabble in lots of different crafts, cross stitch, drawing, zentangling, painting, doodling and many other things besides. I have been collecting ATC's for over 6 years now, and have recently started swapping Zentangle tiles and other sizes on another site. Would love to swap with you all!

Favourite Music - well, I'm a little bit of hit and miss when it comes to music; I like classical, pop, dance, hip hop and even trance (just not at seven in the morning any more). I tend to find that I listen to music more when I am writing rather than crafting and I think most authors develop a personal playlist while they work on a project. At the moment mine is a bit of a guilty pleasure as it's the Pitch Perfect and Glee sound tracks.

Favourite Books - Ah, don't make me choose! My favourite author of all time is Sir Terry Pratchett but I am also a fan of Iain M Banks, Julie Kagawa, Iiona Andrews, JR Tolkein, JK Rowling, historical novels by Bernard Cornwell, John Hartley, Kirsty Ferry, Christian Jaques, and of course being an English student means I am a fan of Shakespeare, in particular A Midsummer Nights Dream.

Favourite Movies and Television - I don't tend to watch a lot of television or movies - I find the book is nearly always better but I do like Top Gun and Dirty Dancing.

Favourite Crafts - At the moment the majority of my time crafting is spent drawing, learning new techniques, doodling and zentangling. I also sew clothes for my boys on my machine.

Likes and Dislikes - I love chocolate - well most foods really, but am allergic to nuts and have to watch what I eat. I am definitely more of a sweet than savoury person. I drink coffee not tea, prefer dogs over cats, Rugby over Football (soccer), the teams I support (other than England) are: Manchester United, Denver Bronco's, Manchester Thunder Netball team. I don't really like birds and things that fly at me but like drawing owls and peacocks, natures scenes and fantasy scenes.

I have a NUT allergy so anything with nuts in is a massive no go area for me. I'm not a massive tea drinker - fruit teas are about it for me (not peppermint because I get pregnancy sickness flash backs)

My favourite foods are generally sweet - any desert recipes would always be gladly received especially if it contains coconut in some form.

I also like crockpot cooking/one pot cooking/slow cooking. Having two little ones can make time short so being able to throw everything in one dish is always a bonus!