In a perfect world, we would have the time, energy and resources to indulge in every single hobby that takes our fancy.
But we do not live in a perfect world. We have work. We have lives to live. And we also have a limited amount of mental bandwidth to dispense with.
Some of our hobbies stay with us throughout our lives. Others gradually fall by the wayside as new interests, responsibilities and priorities take their place. Every now and then, though, something prompts us to revisit them.
For me, that prompt has been facing the prospect of re-entering the job market and the need to have something that keeps me grounded when the job hunt inevitably gets underway.
Some of these have been sitting patiently in the background for years. Others are more recent additions to the “I should really get back to that” pile. Either way, these are the hobbies that have been crossing my mind lately.
Cross Stitch
I picked up cross stitching proper in my 20s. So much time has passed that I can hardly remember the specifics.
The main appeal for me was the rhythmic nature of forming the stitches. There was something incredibly soothing about watching a design slowly emerge from hundreds of tiny crosses. It required just enough concentration to keep my mind occupied, while still allowing me to relax. Except when I found myself playing a spirited game of thread chicken, of course.
Over time, I found myself reaching for my cross stitch supplies less frequently. As life became busier, crochet and knitting gradually became my go-to needlecrafts. They were easier to pick up and put down, and often felt like the more practical choice for the amount of time and energy I had available.
Now that I’m at this major crossroad in life, coupled with my cross stitch to go kit glaring at me from my craft cart, I want to make space for it again.
I’d like cross stitch to become part of my regular hobby rotation. Something I can work on while binge-watching YouTube videos, listening to music, or keeping my hands busy during a voice-only work call.
Watercolour
Watercolour was a hobby that evolved from childhood art kits into a grown up’s attempt to find their voice within a different medium.
What I loved about watercolour painting was the simple joy of making pretty pictures. The child in you never fully goes away. It just finds another way to make itself seen.
When I first picked up watercolour painting, I had designated it as a “going out” hobby. The plan was simple: find a café, order brunch, and spend some time sketching and painting.
In practice, things rarely worked out that way. More often than not, my stomach would be airing its grievances loudly by the time I arrived. The immediate priority became inhaling the plate of food in front of me. By the time I was finished eating, bringing out my travel art kit was usually the last thing on my mind.
Looking back, I don’t think I stopped enjoying watercolour. Rather, I never found a routine that made it easy to fit into my life.
Knowing that my watercolour supplies have been languishing in my weekend day bag and my craft storage has made me realise that I’d like to make space for it again.
As my watercolour travel kit is relatively compact, it would make the perfect train activity for one of my commutes into Sydney for days out.
Tablet Weaving
This was most definitely a YouTube-inspired hobby. A video tutorial for a tablet weaving project showed up in my YouTube Feed, I watched it and decided then and there that was going to be my newest fibre-based hobby.
What appealed most to me at the time was the novelty of it. It was a craft that I had never encountered before, which meant that there was an entirely new set of skills to learn and a new way to make things with my own hands.
I had managed to complete a few braids, one of which still serves as the ribbon wrapped around the handle of my large suitcase. Looking back, I think that this is probably what I enjoy most about fibre crafts in general: being able to point to something and say, “I made that.”
Eventually, however, a combination of mistakes, frustration and the gradual fading of the initial excitement caused the hobby to drift into the background.
I don’t currently own any tablet weaving supplies, but I can see myself revisiting it one day. When I do, I’d like it to become a quietly reliable hobby that I can reach for during long stretches of uninterrupted time.
Almost like the background process of hobbies, if you will.
Whether I revisit all of these hobbies remains to be seen.
What I do know is that they have each occupied a place in my life for a reason. They challenged me, taught me something new, or simply gave me a creative outlet when I needed one.
Perhaps that’s reason enough to dust off the supplies, make some space in the schedule, and see where things go.
