I need a hobby.

I mean, shit, it all can’t be work, work, work… right? I certainly don’t want to be defined only by my job, where I spend 40 of my 72 waking hours each week, assuming I get 8 hours of solid sleep at night.

I’m at a point in my life where I’m thinking, “there’s got to be more to life than this”. I’m bored and wanting some action. Of course, contributing to this blog is already an extra-curricular activity but it’d be good to talk about something. I can’t be constantly ranting about this and that, though, admittedly, that was my original intention.

It’s not like I have no idea what I want to do… I have interests, but they’re just that — interests. I’ve tried to knit, crochet, sew, stencil fabric, container garden and other stuff, without any sense of long-lasting satisfaction. The problem is that I’ve been all over the place, never finishing what I started and never devoting serious time to hone any of these crafts. Maybe it’s because I need deadlines. Or personal goals to work towards. I really, truly do live vicariously through other peoples craft blogs, and I think it’s time to get my ass into gear and do something real. You should see all the bookmarks I’ve got in my browser. It’s pretty crazy.

But a requirement of being crafty, for me, is that the end result must be practical and useful. I find tons of projects that are cool, but I just know it’ll end up collecting dust. I guess that’s why I’m leaning towards wearable goods rather than decorative ones. Perhaps it’s also that I studied fashion design and have a thing for clothing (that’s a personal information freebie for you readers).**

So, needing a starting point, I’ve taken stock of a fraction of the craft supplies I’ve slowly acquired over the years, namely the knitting/crochet stuff, and decided to try my hand at knitting again. I’m warming up with a simple garter stitch scarf, as you can see. It’ll be good for wintertime and use up some of my yarn stash. I figure I can do this while watching what little entertaining TV there is.

Did you know that I’ve only ever successfully finished two knitted items ever? One was Calorimetry from Knitty, which was actually fun and something that I wear to this day. The other was an ad-hoc scarf that I designed myself (I say designed, but really it was a computer-generated random sequence of knit and purl stitches).

I’ll obviously have to make more of an effort, and work on my stick-to-itiveness when it comes to personal projects. Wish me luck with my current knitting WIP (work in progress).
 
 

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** Yes, I could start a side business and sell my handiwork to avoid the dust-collecting factor. In fact, I should try to come up with a secondary income source, you know, just in case. And I’ve actually always wanted to have my own business. Back in the day, I used to sell arm warmers on ebay when they were the hot accessory for party kids. Made a killing. So I know it’s in me. And with the existence of etsy, and the push for handmade goods, the odds may be in my favour. Maybe. But I’m no where near ready.
 
I’m hoping to eventually try my hand at silk screening. It’s something I’ve always wanted to try but wasn’t willing to invest in something I was just curious about (at the time I was just an hourly-wage slave). Now, despite stable salaried income, I’d like to find a more DIY way to this craft that doesn’t necessarily require crazy-expensive equipment, like a press. I think Peach Berserk has the right idea. I wish I had kept her DVD.
 
I’ve started sketching, and it’s become evident that I’m a bit rusty. Practice is needed. But I’ve got time; a certain someone over at CJCustomz *ahem* needs to decide if he’ll give me a hands on demo of the silk screening process.
 
So I’m thinking I can eventually take a stab at silk-screening / sewing / selling some stuff. Honestly, the most ideal situation would be to have an equally interested partner to share the joys and sorrows of such an endeavour. Plus there’s the motivation factor. But that’s a whole other issue for another post.