National Hobby Month

Did you know that January is National Hobby Month?

Nope? Neither did I.

I've been a longtime crafter. I learned to knit at five and didn't make anything but a mess, but when I

Mirabilia - The Kiss
One of the many cross stitch projects
I'm working on.

was eighteen I picked up those needles and remembered everything. I was soon knitting and designing my own sweaters. Well, not exactly designing. Taking patterns and changing them so that the end result was unrecognizable and completely mine.

I taught myself to crochet soon after and then I discovered cross stitch.

That was the death knell for knitting and crochet It didn't help that I had a little one who decided to cut holes in a heavily cabled sweater I was making. She survived.

I became very good at cross stitch and was even paid to do it. DON'T DO THIS. There was one piece I did on 40 count over one thread. It was awful and I hated it and in the end all those hours and hours and hours and never ending hours and mind numbing hours of work gave me two hundred bucks.

You can't make money doing cross stitch. You make it by designing patterns or selling supplies. The hours required are too great. And for me it wasn't enough to do simple cross stitch. I had to learn the beading and the specialty stitches and hardanger which is cutting holes in fabric which can lead to hard anger.

Current knitting project.
Mine is in variegated
blues and greens.

This past year I took up knitting and crocheting again. I no longer had little ones to cut holes in sweaters (she cut holes in one of my cross stitch projects too and it wasn't hardanger. Yes, she survived.)

My yarn supply was fed by a part time job at a local craft store. Now just like my cross stitch (about twenty projects on the go) I have several yarn projects. happening.

Yarn takes up way more space than embroidery floss.

Knitting has changed a lot since my early days. Now I have interchangable wooden needles and there's techniques like entralac and new ways to cast on and bind off and knitting entire garments in one piece and top down sweaters and two socks at a time and...

It's a little overwhelming.

I've also just aquired a small table loom. It's so easy I'm told. Just setting it up has taken me days and days and I haven't even started making anything yet.

Included in my to do list - learning to quilt, learning to bead, scrapbooking (okay maybe not) and a desire but no talent to paint like Donna Dewberry.

The nice thing about crafting is that it doesn't require anyone else. It's not like another favorite hobby of mine, acting, that does need other people. In fact other people have to let you into their group and give you something to do. It requires initiations and the willingness to look like a fool in front of strangers and the distinct possibility that you will fall on your face. I love it.

I also have more books than I can read. I have started collecting Christmas movies. I collect favorite TV shows. My children tell me to turn down my music.

Hey, if it wasn't for the loud music I would be the stereotypical grandma. Except I rarely bake cookies and I don't have a rocking chair.