Sarah @ pingsandneedles' photostream  

Hi!

I'm a nerdy painter teacher/trainer and crafter. I like geometry and science as much as getting my hands dirty in the earth or splashes down my apron.

I married and divorced in my late twenties, and now, 20 years later am currently single.

I'm starting to think a widower farmer in Australia/US with ready made kids and a verandah would be a good move LOL. I was unable to have kids, but my significant relationships haveusually involved being a step mum, and I love them all dearly, and they me.

My brother died in July 2010. I am still working through that. If he hadn't fallen ill I would NEVER have taken up sewing. That much negative has given me so much positive in return.

My cat also died in the summer of 2010 but I haven't replaced him. He was the last in a long line that started when I was 18, all related. I quite like the freedom and the lack of cat hair! I get random visits from random cats now ... I quite like that. I don't feed them.

I have no allergies, other than avocado - even whispering the word could, possibly, kill me.. However, if someone were to embroider or applique one I would laugh a lot and love it (before going into anaphalactic shock).

I love life with all my heart, but I don't always like it. That's ok




I thought I'd post the information most commonly asked for on swaps here - makes it easier all round ... if you have any questions just email ...

are you willing to swap internationally?
Oh yes, of course! For me it's the whole point of having some kind of connection on the old interweb. No borders for me!

favourite colours

love greys, whites and bright jewel colours (yum) - current faves are orange, yellow, lime, fuschia, pomegranate, chartreuse, aqua, purple. Like red in small doses.

unfavourite colours

primary and dull blues (makes my elbows scream, I'm synaesthetic so have quite interesting sound sense from colour), earth tones, sludge. (quite like browns though, as long as with brighter jewels)

Not so keen on muted pastels ... things like salmon pink, powder blue etc. BUT of course they can look lovely with a pop of white ...

Think I'm over aqua and red too ... I love it in other people's spaces, but it just doesn't go with mine ...

fabrics I want and love:

Etsuko Furoya,
natural linens,
Kaffe Fassett shot cottons and spots,
feed sack,
Michael Miller Ta Dots,
lecien dots,
graphic prints,
Aneela Hoey's Sherbet Pips,
Hope Valley,
Flea Market Fancy,
Monaluna,
Melody Miller's ruby star rising (especially the grey teacups! oh and the viewmaster and oh, the radios too) oh the list is endless and I'm on a fabric diet so this is killing me ...

I love the new Denyse Schmidt Greenfield HIll in Dogwood (the greens) and Ty Pennington's new Impressions line in Chartreuse and Grey.

I also like fabrics that are good for fussy cutting hexies and I love looking for new designers on Spoonflower.

my echino quilt is a good indicator of my likes and style!



or this ruby star rising ...


fabrics I really don't love:

Batiks, blenders, an absolute NO for me!

Now, the following are a bit of a swathing generalisation, because there are obviously individual exceptions! But I guess what I mean is I wouldn't like to see any of these dominating ...

Kaffe Fassett patterns (I'll stick to his knitting and tapestry... but see above cos I love the shot cottons and spots! )

novelty prints unless they're really not cute,

floral prints (unless small with heaps of white!)

Cath Kidston (overkill)

Kate Spain

Amy Butler (although there are exceptions)

Joel Dewberry (not my colours/patterns)

AMH Innocent Crush - I really dislike this, sorry

Heather Ross (I really dislike FFA - too cutesie and the colours don't work for me - but I love her Munki Munki designs)

Lizzy House Castle Peeps ...

styles I am drawn to

I'm determined to use more white this year! These are some lovelies from flickr that I drool over:



I love birds, apples, pears etc. but I'm a bit over owls, I'm a tad keen on foxes and squirrels at the mo !!

I'm a sucker for hexies!

If there are mystery gifts to be included I'm easy! I love fabric as there are so few shops here in Brighton and it costs such a lot in duty to buy internationally :)


:

If it's something handmade, I'd be happy and really delighted with anything other than a primary blue, batik and kaffe fassett union jack mug rug! LOL

I can't tell you how wonderful it is to receive something that someone has taken time to make ... nothing gets put away in a drawer here (well, apart from stuff that lives in a drawer, natch!)

But I also love notions, thread, ribbon, pins, pincushions, potholders, mug rugs., napkins/placemats ... I'm happy with edgy stitchery - swear words don't have to be *&!@ in this household!

things that I collect or decorate with:

Apart from fabric, which seems to decorate most of my rooms in one form or another, I'd have to say colour.

White walls, pops of colour everywhere .. .Quite a lot of pink seems to have crept in ...



Lime/chartreuse and grey in the bathroom, but it's creeping into other rooms too !

I don't really collect anything, other than flotsam and jetsam from the beach, books and a secret stationery hoard ... I might start a foxes thing this year tho ...

Bloggers & Crafters who inspire:

So many blogs I love - Lily's Quilts, Red Pepper Quilts, Oh! Fransson, I'm a Ginger Monkey, Texas Freckles, Film in the Fridge are a few, but so many more, look at my blogroll on my, er, blog ... pingsneedles.blogspot.com

I don't shop on Etsy, cos of import taxes here in the UK, but I have a jolly good browse once in a while.

copyright?

all my images are released under a creative commons license and I politely request that you give attribution where poss, but you are welcome to anything you want ... (that's mine) ...