Shadowspun

Hello. I'm your typical Pagan geek with a passion for history, 1776 (play and movie), Star Trek, Doctor Who, Torchwood, Sarah Jane, Stargate, Primeval, Captain Marvel and Batman, Valdemar/Mercedes Lackey, Tamora Pierce, Harry Potter and JD Robb. I'm also majorly obsessed with the space program, the Statue of Liberty, frogs, hedgies and the Mad Hatter in all of his incarnations.

My goal in life is to one day be a librarian and surround myself with the comforting smell of musty books for the rest of my life.

I have Celiac Disease and have included more info below. It sucks but I am now over a year gluten-free. Yay for me!

Cross-stitch, blackwork, designing cross-stitch and blackwork

Quilting - whole-cloth or applique. I just can't get into patchwork.

Crochet - I love love love amigurumis. They are the sole reason I was finally able to figure crochet out after YEARS of trying and failing. The only knitting I'll do is on the knitting looms.

Papercrafts - I'm not into scrapbooking but there are some random papercrafts that interest me. I especially want to start making and dyeing my own paper for some reason. Also, my nephew has gotten really interested in origami and is dragging me into it, too (willingly, of course).

Dyeing fabric and thread for my stitching.

I like to paint, but I'm not very good. Oh, well. I bought some watercolor tubes I'm aching to try. Maybe with the mandalas I want to attempt...

I also like to draw, but am not very good. Again, oh, well. I'm enjoying the attempts and I hope my victims, er, swap partners, are too.

Buttons, because I make a lot of biscornu

Statue of Liberty paraphenalia

Frog paraphenalia

Nascent teapot collection

Nascent Mad Hatter collection

Legos, especially Mini-figs

Embroidery thread - I consider this both a collection and a necessity to my main craft. I buy them even when I don't need them.

Bookmarks - even though I rarely use them. I tend to just read a book in one sitting.

Stamps - as a kid I collected them and got out of the habit as I grew. I'm collecting them again thanks to my swaps. I'd especially love it if someone from England could send me a used David Tennant/Royal Shakespeare Company stamp; or anything space, history or art-related from anywhere.

Tote Bags - I have a ton of them. I tend to put individual stitching projects in them so I can just grab the whole tote and take the project with me when I go somewhere.

Charles Wysocki

Norman Rockwell

Salvador Dali

James Christenen

Josephine Wall

Sabrina (pen & ink artist from Pennsylvania)

Peter Maxx

Leonardo Da Vinci (his notebook stuff as opposed to his paintings for some reason)

John Waterhouse

Piet Mondrien

Vincent Van Gogh (some of his stuff, not all)

MC Escher

Ansel Adams

My tastes are eclectic and run from traditional Irish music to electronic to rock to jazz to classical. Some of the bands/performers I regularly listen to on my iPod are: Seamus Kennedy, Jamie Cullum, Eva Cassidy, Harry Connick Jr., Louis Armstrong, Huey Lewis & the News, Queen, Billy Joel, the Pogues, John Mellencamp, Aerosmith, U2, Melissa Etheridge, Seven Nations.

Sci-fi: Doctor Who, Firefly, Primeval, Sarah Jane, Star Trek (all of them), Stargate SG1 & Atlantis, Torchwood, Eureka

Comedy: Castle, Chuck

Drama: NCIS & NCIS: Los Angeles, Numb3rs

Cartoons: Batman (all of them, but especially Brave & the Bold), Gummi Bears, The Smurfs, Voltron

Oldies but goodies: A-Team, Hogan's Heroes, MAS*H, MacGuyver, The Monkees

Most cheezy Syfy channel movies. You just have to love a production company like Asylum Films that has no problem letting their own blimp be eaten by a giant monster in the middle of one of their movies.

Documentary-ish: Mythbusters, the History Channel and History International

Fox Soccer Channel (Go Manchester City!)

Harry Potter series

Mercedes Lackey's Valdemar, Alta, Diana Tregarde and Elementals series

Star Trek books

Tamora Pierce's novels

JD Robb - I like some of her books written as Nora Roberts, but not a lot. I think it has to do with her following the characters and fleshing them out for so long.

Mark Twain

Shakepeare's comedies - I loathe Romeo and Juliet. Please NEVER send me anything regarding that play.

Romances with a sense of humor and/or some paranormal elements like Lynsey Sands, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Kerrelyn Sparks, Nalini Singh, Lora Leigh, Susan Grant, Shelley Laurenston, Dakota Cassidy, Jean Johnson, Bianca D'Arc, Angela Knight, Susan Sizemore, Lori Foster, Stephanie Laurens, Lisa Kleypas, Janet Chapman, Alexis Morgan

Star Trek (big surprise there) except for Nemesis.

Star Wars - Return of the Jedi is the first movie I actually remember going to the theaters for when I was a kid. The newer trilogy kinda, well, not kinda, it does suck. Sorry, George. You should have left well enough alone.

The HP movies. Alan Rickman NEEDS to get best supporting actor for Deathly Hallows, Part 2.

The Creature From the Black Lagoon - my favorite old creature feature and other 50's and 60's B-movies like The Giant Gila Monster. Also, you just can't go wrong with Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, Night of the Comet, Chopping Mall, The Blob (both versions) or Killer Klowns from Outer Space.

all three Jurassic Park movies and really, just about anything Steven Spielberg has been involved with.

Musicals like 1776 (can quote line for line), Hairspray, The Pirate Movie, Newsies, Little Shop of Horrors

Disney animated movies - all but Bambi, Dumbo and Pocahontas, hated those three. I LOVE Beauty and the Beast.

It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World and The Mouse that Roared, Abbott & Costello movies, Arsenic & Old Lace, Oscar, Trading Places

National Treasure 1 & 2; The Mummy series (with Brendan Fraser, Arnold Vosloo and Jet Li, YUM!)

I have to add a new favorite: Tucker and Dale vs. Evil. It was awesome.

Animals: frogs (Northern Leopard and Spring Peepers are my favorites, with the plain old Bullfrog thrown in for good measure), hedgehogs, cats, all owls, ravens & crows, sparrows, gryphons, dragons, whales (especially Humpbacked Whales)

Colors: I like pretty much every color but bright red (Target Red) and pink. I like greens and blues the best, though. I love teals and turquoises that combine the two.

Scents: I like clean or Autumnal/Winter scents the best, such as pine, ocean, rain, pumpkin, lemon. I'm not a coffee fan at all. I very much dislike the smell of it. Not a big fan of florals unless it's light and subtle.

Not a big fan of cutesy stuff (Kawaii?) unless it has robots, aliens or frogs.

I love teas, especially herbal teas, Irish Breakfast, Earl and Lady Grey.

I mean no offense by this one, but I really don't like Christian-themed stuff. I'm not and just don't care to receive it. Unless it's Celtic-themed, then it will be appreciated for my heritage and passed on to my mother, who is big into our Irish heritage. The only other exception to that is if it has anything to do with Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, who is an almost-saint I felt close to as a child and still have an interest in.

I have Celiac Disease, which is an extreme intolerance/autoimmune disorder to anything with gluten in it. Gluten is found in wheat, rye, barley, malt and oats that have been contaminated by wheat or the others. If I receive anything with those ingredients and eat or wear it, I WILL become quite ill. Anything sent to me containing these ingredients will be appreciated and promptly regifted. If you have questions about whether or not something is safe, either ask me or type the name and gluten free in a websearch and the info will pop up. I will reserve the right to give a three if sent stuff I can't have, since I'm making it rather clear on my profile.

Safe foods and things for me that I like and might be swapped are: M&Ms (plain and peanut); Sour Patch Kids; SweetTarts; Dove chocolate; Peeps (who can live without Peeps?); EOS lip balm; some Burt's Bees stuff - Triticum in the ingredient list is a big no, that's wheat or if it says anything Vulgate, it's either wheat or barley. If anything else strikes me as something that might be swapped I'll add it later. LOL. Frustrating, huh?