sagesparrow

I'm taking a break from Swap-bot in 2014, so will not be hosting monthly mandala swaps. Please feel free to keep them going if you want to. I'll join if I can, and also try to participate in the group swaps. But I want to concentrate on my sheep and goats, and my spinning, weaving, and knitting. And also, sad to say, I am totally disheartened with the number of flakers this past year. And I have found that the system here tends to coerce me to compromise in my work, in order to please my partner and earn a heart. I have found that in some cases no matter what you do, you won't please your partner.
Thanks to those great swappers for a good time, and the rest of you, oh well.

I'm a retired programmer/analyst. I love birding (I travel as far as I can to bird), gardening, Blythe dolls, and knitting and crocheting with wonderful fibers. I have sheep, angora goats, an alpaca, and two llamas.

I love photography: of birds of course, and lately art photos of my blythe and basaak dolls. I have a Canon 7D with a Canon 100-400mm L-series zoom lens, and a Canon 40D that I use with a shorter Canon 28-135mm lens. I got a wide-format Canon Pro9500 printer that I am anxious to begin to use. I have a bird life-list, but also a photographic life list. I manage to shoot a decent picture of about 1/3 of the birds that I see.

I am a tea drinker in a coffee country.

Philosophy: I'm a practicing Kagyu buddhist. I make damaru tails (a damaru is a little practice drum, and is decorated with a tail -- a banner), so have lots of wonderful fat quarters around the house in order to make them.

Music: I like almost any kind of music, but especially jazz, rock and folk.

Books: Hard science fiction. Mysteries.

TV: I really don't watch TV, although my husband and I have been watching The Killing.

Favorite crafts: Knitting. Lately I've been learning to make clothes for Blythe dolls. Here is where the fat quarters find more use. And I have taken up, after many many years, drawing again. I love zentangles, and hand-drawn/painted ATCs.

Pets: We have a German Shepherd dog, a golden sable named Cosmo Kramer. Originally he was going to be named Max, but he earned his name in the first week that he was in our home. He'd enter a room just like Kramer on Seinfeld, and would do double-takes like him too. He was clumsy and would run right into a wall. I have a very soft heart for any dog, but especially GSDs.

I collect: feathers of different birds, bird ocarinas and whistles (very difficult to find)

Love: horses, dogs, travelling (especially to go birding), fb friends, art, gardening, hiking, the ocean, mountains, mid-century modern stuff, nature, moomins (especially Pikku Myy and Hattifatteners), blues and greens, amigurumi, tawashi, yarns of natural fibers, skulls, Day of the Dead motifs, black teas, stickers, Maneki Nekos (beckoning cats), Sacred Hearts, the Virgin of Guadalupe, zentangles, narwhals, hand-crocheted or knitted wool sheep!

Hate: nothing much, EXCEPT for: 1. girly girly, too sweet 2. bling 3. Clowns, circuses (ew!!!!) 4. flavored teas. I like good old kick-in-the-pants black tea.

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Note: I always send my swap. If you do not receive it, please message me. If you don't see my rating, I haven't received your swap OR I have forgotten, because sadly my memory is not what is once was, if it indeed ever was. So please remind me. ALSO, I mark 'sent' when the item is actually at the post office or in my mailbox. That may occur on a day which has no mail service, like a Sunday or holiday. Just sayin'.

A list of people who have flaked on me or in my swaps. I'm a lot less tolerant of flakers now. People put effort and love into their art and craft, and do not deserve to have a swap taken lightly, even though it may seem unimportant. And a swap can always be made up and the rating changed, if you show you care.

girlfiddler Zentangle Pattern Variation Swap

Lucky12324 Moomins ATC #1 Pikku Myy

Lucky12324 Moomins ATC #2 Moomintroll

sammyclaire January Mandala 2012

gabfab1 March Mandala 2013

TiffanyTangles November Mandala 2013

renfro13 November Mandala 2013

TiffanyTangles December Mandala 2013

These people are late for swaps. I'll remove from the list when they send.

None right now :)

Non-Raters: If you don't rate, I am going to assume that you actually received the swap. If you do not receive a swap, please contact me and I am happy to resend. I've had some get lost in the mail... ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++