Meet Farida, Creator of Sweet Sunflower Root Doll

Have you seen the sweetest sunflower root doll?  Farida of Saints and Spinners donated this lovely creation for the auction. She also answered interview questions for me.

When did you begin blogging? What is the focus of your blog?

I began blogging in February 2005. Saints and Spinners started out primarily with a storytelling focus, but over time it’s turned into a blog that focused on music, especially songs to use in storytimes, children’s books, and textiles.

When you aren’t blogging, what might we find you doing?

I sew, play guitar, write stories and songs, and dig in the garden. If I were Zaphod Beeblebrox [of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy], I could do a couple of those activities at the same time.

How did you get involved with Kidlitosphere?

I used to work as a children’s librarian at the Central Children’s Room of The New York Public Library, and when I went back to visit in 2006, I met Betsy Bird of A Fuse #8 Production, who ushered me into the Kidlitosphere. From there, I made more online friendships, started reading more blogs, and gradually shifted my blog so that it could at least be a peripheral part of the Kidlitosphere.

What books are on your nightstand?

From the library:

Stonewall Hinkleman and the Battle of Bull Run by Sam Riddleburger and Michael Hemphill

Runaway Princess, by Kate Coombs

Up and Down the Scratchy Mountains, by Laurel Snyder

On loan from friends:

The Lizard Cage, by Karen Connelly

What I wish were on my nightstand:

Catching Fire, by Suzanne Collins (pub. date: Sept. 2009)

Fire, by Kristin Cashore (pub date: October 2009)

Where do you find inspiration?

The guitar is the perfect vehicle for making up silly songs. I’ve only been playing for 3 years, and I have my soon-to-be 6 year old daughter to thank for inspiring me to start. I really enjoy gardening, too—I’m not good at it and when plants flourish, they do so in spite of me, but I’ve found that the focus on digging and weeding helps to clear my mind of its clutter.

What was your favorite book as a child? As a teen? As an adult? Any particular genre stand out?

As a little girl, my favorite book was either The Daughter of the Moon by Gregory Maguire or The Four-Story Mistake by Elizabeth Enright. I read Frank Herbert’s Dune when I was eleven, and the landscape of that book stayed with me for years. When I was a teenager, Marion Zimmer Bradley’s The Mists of Avalon was so influential I was convinced that there had been a massive conspiracy to besmirch the good name of Morgan Le Fay. I have so many favorites as an adult, so I’ll pick two of the most influential books so far: Song of the Lark  by Willa Cather (because of its introduction to Wagner’s Ring Cycle) and Ulysses by James Joyce (because after 4 tries, I got the Harold Blamires guide and read the guide at the same time as I read the novel, and it was such an epic accomplishment for me that I’m still kvelling).

Favorite time of the day to work?

10 am and 9 pm

Chocolate: white, dark, or milk?

Dark chocolate truffles are quite nice

Coffee or tea or —?

Black tea with milk is my drink of sustenance, but I am a big fan of coffee-flavored milk as opposed to coffee itself.

Dance: Funky chicken or the tango?

I’d tango if I could. I’d wear these shoes.

Thanks so much.  I love those shoes and definitely would wear them to tango. Be sure to visit the Bridget Zinn Auction.

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