Hello fellow crafters! My day job involves mostly numbers and details -- so I do love getting home to my craft table and messing about with all the colors. With my youngest being 18, it's definitely time to make some "me" space in my life!

And there's something I'm into even more than crafting -- genealogy! I love history, and reading about the history of the areas where my ancestors lived.

I grew up with Joan Baez and Pete Seeger playing in the background, and my great aunts making us hand-sewn quilts that we actually used. My father was a classical pianist. For me, crafting is about taking a somewhat modern slant on tried and true old-timey handcrafts. Also, it can be therapeutic – a way to explore my feelings and awareness on a symbolic level.

On the side, I consult with new solo-preneurs about setting up their business, and have a little marketing workbook that has really helped some people. I explain setting up bookkeeping to newbies... and payroll. I like helping people realize their dreams. I work part-time for a small remodeling company, running the office.

Things I hope to do someday:

• grow flowers and use them for collage
• visit Ireland and learn about its culture
• create a complex crossword puzzle
• visit 10 natural hot springs
• raise a puppy to be a Seeing Eye dog

For a swap I needed to think about my favorite flowers. Here's my list:

• lupine
• snap dragons
• morning glory
• crocus
• bleeding heart

Favorite books: I do read a lot – I recently read American Nations, and also The Signature of All Things. In addition to a seroius book now and then, I'm often racing through either a science fiction or mystery. Also historical fiction, and a lot of the mysteries I read are set in the past. I'm currently reading (Mar 2016) the Commissario Guido Brunetti mystery series by Donna Leon – very subtle and very Venice. Also, I've read pretty widely in anthropology, psychology, with an especial interest in emotions/feelings, adult development models, and Jung's (and followers') shadow work. I follow a few blogs on paleoarchaelogy.

Some great mystery authors I've read recently:

• Fiona Buckley
• Sharon Kay Penman
• Anne Perry
• Tasha Alexander
• J. A. Jance

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I'm not quite as up on TV shows and movies. Favorites have been: loved Parenthood, Downton Abbey, West Wing, Gilmore Girls.

Movies I had fun watching:

• Mona Lisa Smile
• Silver Linings Playbook
• Little Miss Daisy
• American Dreamer
• Enchanted
• Secret of Roan Innish
• Becoming Jane
• Truman Show
• The King's Speech
• Good Morning Vietnam
• An Ideal Husband
• Being Julia

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I'm excited to learn collage, drawing, tangling and painting. I love many of the youtube channels that show Art Journaling – and applying that to a smaller canvas, like an ATC, seems like a good way to start to learn. My favorite artists consistently over the decades is Cezanne – I love his landscapes, the colors, and the way he simplifies the view, capturing its essence.

I'm fairly experienced at sewing and quilting, and love to make little gifts from my stash. I began quilting seriously 20 years ago when my daughter was young and I was at home. I made several queen-size quilts, and about 15 baby quilts. I machine piece and machine quilt. I like both traditional squares, and also artsy style quilts. I love paper piecing, applique and piecing all about equally. I tend to like rich jewel tones, low contrast, modern tone-on-tone prints, although there are big exceptions to all those in quilts I've adored.

My favorite "look" when I'm doing paper crafts varies between watercolor and batik. Probably because of my interest in folk arts, I like natural products and nature-based images more than plastic and vinyl. Just a personal preference. But I do want to stretch into unfamiliar territory as well.

Color combinations I love:

• burgundy with yellow ochre
• pumpkin with teal
• green -- goes with anything :) .

Crafting needs:

• the "positive space" left after punching a shape (e. g. a square with a star punched out)
• floral and vine stamps
• geometric or spiral stamps
• vintage or foreign language text
• foam brushes
• scrapbook paper ATC size or larger
• ephemera

Likes: most herbal and green teas, chocolate.

(Note:I'm allergic to scents, perfumes, parafin, and volatile organic compounds.)