ShannonS

I'm just a girl, living in Chicago. I love swaps, and crocheting, and blogging, and having as much free fun as I can here in the city.

• I really like it when my items are wrapped, especially during the holiday season and around my birthday. I put the items in my stocking and under the tree, and it's a fun surprise!

• I don't collect anything, and prefer items that I can use.

• I'm a grrrly girl. I'm all about the pink, the cute and the sparkles!

• I have two cats, Hooghly and Howrah. Hooghly is named after a river in India, and Howrah is named after the famous bridge that crosses the Hooghly river.

• I LOVE handmade, recycled, thrift store, rummage sale, used, upcycled items.

• I read. A LOT. Used books are the BEST!

• I like silly windup toys and plastic animals (especially dinosaurs).

• I am very into aroma therapy and I love handmade soaps.

• I don't use artificially scented anything, as I get hives, fevers, headaches and nausea from some scents (not all).

• I love to travel. My favorite trips have been to India and Peru. I love those countries.

• I am an avid scuba diver.

• I drink both coffee and tea.

• For me, really good tea is a treat and I drink it to celebrate stuff. I like looseleaf and bag tea.

• I'm a chocoholic, and I especially enjoy unique/gourmet/very dark chocolate.

• I'm an omnivore, and I'm trying to eat meatless 3x a week (for my health, the environment and my budget), so I'm always looking for vegetarian recipes, especially with beans. I love beans.

• I love crazy, happy socks. I have big feet - a size 10-11.

• I also love scarves, the kind to wear to work and the kind to wear outside to keep warm.

• I never meant to, but I seem to have created a collection of enamel badges/medals from various countries and wars. I don't collect them, not really. I just seem to acquire them, and I love wearing them, but I'm not attached to them.

• I'm a history buff, and I really enjoy reading about WWII.

• I lived in Japan for 3 years, and desperately miss it, especially the food, kawaii, and onsen. I hope to go back soon.

• I do not like overly religious items, as I am not religious.

I love to crochet and work with beads.

Crocheting: I prefer natural fiber yarns, nylon is as artificial as I'm willing to get. I'm not a yarn snob, but I only use acrylic for amigurumi. Art yarn makes me very, very happy.

One of my favorite things to do is scour the rummage sales and thrift stores in wealthy suburbs; the yarn finds are amazing! I know I've said it many places in this profile, but I really do love used, recycled and upcycled items, and that includes yarn. It works for me, as many of my projects only require one or two skeins.

However, I am currently collecting plastic shopping bags to make plarn, so that I can make crocheted shopping bags. I love love love malabrigo, as well as artsy crochet hooks and handmade stitch markers (that can be used for crocheting).

In terms of projects, I enjoy scarves, hats and mittens, and I'm always working on washcloths. (And I like recieving washcloths, too!) I also crochet quite a few amigurumi, the cuter the better.

Beading: I do make jewelry, although I haven't in a while. I have been making a lot of stitch markers and bookmarks, and will be selling them on etsy eventually. I prefer natural stones, but use anything.

My favorite music is world music. Right now I'm obsessed with Habib Koite and Bamada, and Novalima. I also love love love classical guitar and classical in general. I do like alternative rock, although I am not so into the more morose/depressing genre, nor am I into music with violent or misogynistic overtones.

The Harry Potter Series, Little Women, The Sea The Sea, Peter Pan

Used books, in semi-ok to like-new condition are my favorites. I don't mind markings, dog ears, etc, although I do draw the line at missing pages.

Overall, I love juvenile fiction, and like to read the classics - but only when the book is an antique or vintage copy. I especially like Louisa May Alcott books. I like vampire books, but am not obsessed, and I've found Oprah's book list is a great resource for finding good reads.

In terms of nonfiction... I really enjoy recipe books that are "from scratch" type books - I don't like "semi-homemade" type recipes. I also enjoy craft-idea books.

I am a Humphrey Bogart fan, and have most of his movies memorized. My favorite is the Roaring Twenties.

Ugly Betty and Grey's Anatomy, definitely.