rosiefsw

I live in South West England, close to the beautiful Devon coastline and on the edge of Dartmoor. My life is changing: my partner and I have parted amicably after 37 years and I am venturing out on my own. I have a lot of wonderful memories, but now it's time to create some new ones. A year on, I find I like living alone, doing my own thing, making my own decisions.
Toosie, 18 year old black and white cat has come to live with me. I think she likes the peace and quiet. Up until now I have always had dogs. I am learning Italian at a class once a week. My mother was Italian and lived in Trieste, N.Italy. My father was British and met her when he was in Italy in World War 2. But no-one spoke Italian to me!

Apart from walking (mainly with a group) I also do Iengar yoga because I think it's good for me to be stretched!

I have done patchwork and quilting for years. I've made big quilts in the past but now enjoy making patchwork bags of all designs & collecting bag patterns. Through Swapbot I am becoming hooked on fabric postcards and bookmarks. I have been teaching myself to crochet and find it quite addictive - just simple scarves, hats and dishcloths. However, being lefthanded does cause some problems. I'm into recycling in a big way. I'm fascinated by other people's cast-offs and find things to upcycle in charity shops and car boot sales. I love making envelopes from interesting paper and am developing an interest in origami.

Folk in all its guises - Dylan, Irish, female singers. Coldplay. Beethoven, Mozart, Bach.

I read all the time and I hate to get rid of books. I read detectives, Anita Shreve, Annie Proux, Sue Miller - I tend to be attracted to female novelists. I have shelves of books on patchwork, crochet, sewing, gardening & cookery. I love books of sayings and quotations. I'm in a book club which meets each month to discuss whichever book we have chosen. It's a great way of getting to know authors you haven't read before.

I try not to watch too much TV, but I like period plays, detective films, some reality programmes e.g. Celebrity Come Dancing.

I love to listen to the radio for news programmes, plays, documentaries and so on.

Anything to do with sewing, patchwork,crochet, vegetarian food; making cakes; gardening (particularly scented flowers like roses, lilac, pinks, etc), green politics. I love dogs and cats and hens, but at the moment I just have a very old cat living out her last days with me because her owner couldn't keep her. Colours: purple, pink, blue, green, red.
Silver jewellery & sparkly things. Italy & all things Italian. Greece for holidays. Yoga. Walking by the sea & in the hills. Wildlife and nature. Fabric, fabric, fabric - 100% cotton, batik, or plain-ish fabric for patchwork. If we are swapping fabric with a motif: cats, dogs, hens, hearts and butterflies are my favourites.

I love buttons, interesting braid and lace; fabric postcards; stationery of all kinds, especially handmade envelopes..

Chocolate & all sweets; particularly marzipan, fudge, liquorice, aniseed, peppermint and anything chewy. I love all animals. My 6 year old granddaughter. Honesty, kindness, peace.

I'm pretty laid-back about most things, and work on the basis 'I'm OK you're OK' (Eric Berne). Fabricwise, I don't like orange and brown. or children's prints, or Sunbonnet Sue.

I respect any religious beliefs you have, but please don't tell me about them.

I'm very conscientious about sending out my packages, so please tell me if yours hasn't arrived. Sometimes it takes an age to get to and from the UK. I love to give and receive hearts. If you're wondering... when I was first in Swapbot I was paired with someone whose taste was very different to mine and she thought the vintage stuff I sent was just a load of junk and she gave me a 3. Everyone else has been happy! I get very sad at people who don't rate the swaps they receive, and even sadder at the ones who don't send what they promised.

Fabric postcards and other handmade postcards. Origami paper. Interesting paper for envelopes. Handmade bookmarks. Handmade envelopes and cards. Pincushions.Needlebooks. In fact, anything you have put thought into and made for me will be highly appreciated.

This one is a special request, maybe for a private swap: would any knitters be willing to make me some colourful wool socks size 5 UK, 39 europe? In return I could sew you something, or send whatever you would like.

Postcards - both blank and written on. I'm not a collector, but I have amassed a huge collection!
Patchwork items like pin cushions, needlecases, bookmarks, cards and so on. Crochet hats and scarves. English chocolate like Cadbury's buttons. Biscuits and crisps. Old postage stamps, both used and unused from all around the world. Vintage postcards.