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Monday, February 04, 2008

Needing a Hobby - Susanna Carr


It was recently pointed out to me that my heroines don't have hobbies.

There's a reason for that: It's because I don't have a hobby. Arts and crafts are like foreign languages to me.

Which is kind of strange because the women in my family are hobby enthusiasts. My grandmother is an ikebana master (Japanese flower arranging), my mother sews and used to quilt, and my sisters do amazing needlecraft.

I can't do any of that, and, frankly, I'm a bit envious of their talent. So I decided to do something about it this year. I took a scrapbooking class. Disaster. How is it that everyone else could arrange pictures worthy of a magazine spread while mine just looked stupid?

And then there was my attempt at embroidery, which turned out to be a special level of hell. It took all my concentration and I kept messing up, not to mention the thread kept getting tangled. And I don't think the tension kinking up my shoulders—or that vein pulsing in my forehead—were good signs.

I don't think I'll ever get the hang of hobbies. Dictionary.com says hobby means "an activity or interest pursued for pleasure and relaxation and not as a main occupation." Pleasure? Relaxation? Are you kidding me?!

I'm told knitting is relaxing. I might try that, although I'm not sure if I trust myself with two sharp sticks.

What do you do as a hobby? What do you wish you could do?

Susanna

13 comments:

Lee said...

Hobbies.. you mean besides reading? Coz that's my favorite one!

Okay... I love to cross-stitch. I have this almost 3 feet by 4 feet embroidery on my wall, it's a splash of butterflies in every color. I made it years ago while I was doing my A-Levels. It took a full year, in between studies and exams.. and a lot of heartache caused by my then boyfriend. It kept me sane. Recently I've been working on a sampler of seashells. The design is tiny and complicated... but I'll get it done, one day. :)

I also love to make Batiks. I don't have the equipment to do it anymore but when i could, I used to have so much fun with it. I gave away most of my pieces to friends but I do have one left and it's a personal favorite. It measures about 2 yards in width and has the picture of a Chinese Dragon. It represents - in my mind - a lot of what I love and fear most.

I love playing with computer graphics and design too. I've just been trying to learn more about it as I go along.

Don't feel bad about the scrapbooking... I can't get the hang of it either. Maybe I'm organizationally challenged! :)

I tried painting - it was a disaster. So horrible, i'm too embarrassed to talk about it so we won't go there.

I failed at gardening too - the plants would see me coming and they'd wilt and die. I didn't inherit my mother's green thumb unfortunately!

Rebekah E. said...

Knitting can be relaxing, but can also be a pain in the butt. I knit and it can get so nerve racking when you mess up. But it is also a great feeling when you look at what you have created. I knit, sketch, read, and play on the computer. Those are a few of the things I do to relax. Oh, I also love to do jigsaw puzzles

Estella said...

I love to read! But cross stitch is my other hobby.

Jane said...

I hope watching tv is a hobby. I wish I knew how to knit. Knitting has become so popular recently among younger women. I also wish I was good at scrapbooking.

Unknown said...

I like to piece quilts and then of course there is reading, which is my favorite hobby. The problem I have with the quilts, you kind of run out of room to store them after a while.

Totebag Guest said...

Okay, reading is a hobby. I agree with that. But I have nothing to show off from reading other than an overwhelmed bookcase and an unusual vocabulary. ;)

Lee – what is batik? I haven’t heard of that. I’m with you on gardening. I tried growing herbs and nothing came up.

Rebekah—that’s one of my concerns about knitting! I get easily frustrated when it comes to arts and crafts, so I think knitting might be too much for me. I like doing jigsaw puzzles, but with other people!

Estella—I really wish I could cross stitch. Some of the best presents I received were cross stitched items for my home. I love them, probably because I know how much time and thought the person put into them.

Jane—That’s one of the reasons I thought knitting or cross stitching would be good, because then I could do something while I’m watching TV. I think I’m better off just watching TV!

Virginia—that would be a problems with too many quilts. I think it can be quite addictive! I’m always in awe of how quilters express their creativity.

Susanna Carr
www.susannacarr.com

Lee said...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batik

Here's an explanation of what Batik is.

and here's another link showing different designs - http://images.google.com/images?q=batik&hl=en&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi

catslady said...

Yes, reading is first lol. Through the years I've done different hobbies - self taught myself knitting and crochet (easier than knitting I think, needlepoint, crossword and jigsaw puzzles, even paint by numbers, xmas ornaments, ceramics and now I have to say blogging and entering contests.

Diana Holquist said...

My hobby is reading, reading, reading.

And my new hobby--making videos. Can't get enough of that. It's so fun. Way easier than writing...

--Diana

Donna Alward said...

I knit! I love it. I've just started teaching my girls who are 9 and 7. They are starting with very simple scarves. :-)

I am also musical, so I play piano just about every day. When my wrist was broken it was torture. Now that my cast is off, playing is really helping with the strength thing.

Lois said...

Well, yeah, reading. . . LOL Ah, playing (and I do mean playing) in Paint Shop Pro and icons. . . newswatching, science and I dare say a political junkie. :) That's all I can think of for me right now, I'm just too pooped to think of any more. LOL

Lois

Wolfy said...

A hobby that I have had for years is doing ceramics. I have done a lot as gifts for others, and have a lot on display around the house. I have Christmas, Halloween, Easter and Valentine theme ceramics I have done.

Another thing I like to do is jigsaw puzzles. I love to do them and find them a challenge.

And then there is reading, which is good at anytime.

Maureen said...

I am attempting to learn to quilt this year. It should be interesting.