Hobbies and Crafts

Hello Everyone,

I haven't posted on here for ages but I do check in from time to time to see how everyone else is doing.

Anyway, because I am so bored with being stuck at home day after day, I have decided to do something useful with my time and start writing an online blog about hobbies and disabilities.

I personally feel that having been able to find new ways and gadgets and ideas to continue my sewing, which is my passion, has been good therapy for me. I will start off by writing the blog about what I have done and tried, (the successful and unsuccessful ideas!) but I would love to hear from you about how you've adapted in order to continue your hobbies. Maybe you've started a new hobby that you hadn't considered before?

I won't mention anyone's name on the blog without asking them first, but I'd like to be able to recount other people's tales of what they have done and how they manage.

I'd like eventually to build a sort of central database with links to different suppliers for various gadgets and tools, so you could choose your hobby or craft first, say 'Fishing' and then you click on that and it would take you a list with links to various articles and suppliers.

That's the plan anyway, it might turn out to be more trouble than it's worth, but hopefully it will all come together nicely and it won't be so difficult in future for people to find out about things that can help them continue with their hobbies.

So what do you think? Good idea or daft? You can always Private Message me if you don't want to tell everyone else what you do, but I'd love to hear everyone's ideas.

Thanks

JoJo

[LizzieMay]

Hi that's a great idea. Bar of luck with it

[Hidden in reply to LizzieMay]

Thank you LizzieMay!

[AuroraB]

Great idea JoJo - you get to have fun with it and help others to continue having fun in their lives. Win win I would say.

[Hidden in reply to AuroraB]

That's what I thought too, thanks Aurora!

[AuroraB in reply to Hidden]

With regard to knitting and crocheting - have you ever checked out Ravelry - they even have a group related to fund raising for NRAS. I appreciate what you want to do is different - but you might gather some interest for one element on that social network site. When I typed arthritis in to the ravelry search engine about 6 different groups came up.

[Hidden in reply to AuroraB]

Oh thank you Aurora! No I didn't know that about Ravelry. Brilliant!

[gilox]

Have found it difficult to knit,so have started to crochet instead,there is no weight of the piece you are working on,its much quicker than knitting too, as I find it quite hard to hold a sewing needle for long I'm making baby blankets,beanie hats,(also hats with owl faces) anything that needs minimal sewing! I have been asked to do a craft fair in a couple of weeks, its a real "lift" to think I can do something that other people may be interested in,ok may not sell much, but am looking forward to meeting new people,& if I don't sell anything,hopefully a charity would be glad of the bits! Good luck with the blog, Gillian.

[Hidden in reply to gilox]

That's brilliant Gillian well done! I haven't felt brave enough to do a craft fair yet ( although I love attending them!) It'll be a lovely experience and I'm sure you will sell some items, who can resist an owl hat? So cute!

I too, struggle with knitting. I find the needles too 'thin' to hold for long and as you say, the weight of the knitting becomes an issue too as it grows. One suggestion made to me was to do straight knitting on a circular needle so that the weight of the knitting falls in your lap, but to be honest, I still found that a bit of a faff and the needles were still hard to hold, so maybe crochet is the way to go! Also you can get some lovely 'fat' handled crochet hooks now, much kinder to the hands and easier to grip!

Thanks Gillian and good luck with the fair!

JoJo x

[nomoreheels]

What a good idea JoJo. Wish you luck in this & the link for suppliers gadgets & tools sounds a great idea & would be useful for me. I'm not a great sewer but sometimes it's necessary to do running repairs & I struggle sometimes & can only do it on a good day. Anything that can help would be appreciated but looking where to look for aids is a nightmare!

Can't help wondering what hobbies would need a PM?!! The mind boggles!!!

[Hidden in reply to nomoreheels]

Thank you, I hope it will be useful, I think I might need some 'tecchie' help along the way but thankfully I do have some friends who work in IT so they should be able to help out if needed!

Of course, if anyone out there knows of a site that does this already, please share!

Ooh I don't think there are any 'secret' hobbyists here, just I know some people read the forums but never post because they are shy, that's why I said people could PM me if they would rather! What were you thinking? Lol

JoJo x

[nomoreheels in reply to Hidden]

Not sure but neither am I sure I want to think too much about it!!lol

[Hidden]

You can probably guess one of my hobbies by my name. Writing poetry - some of which has been posted on here. x

[Giggle]

Hi, have you searched for sewing groups on Ravelry? I'm sure there are groups on there dedicated to sewing too. I also saw something on there about someone trying to start a site similar to Ravelry but more sewing based. I can't remember any details though so that's not much help really lol. I like to crochet and use the soft gripped hooks. They make it so much easier. I've found crafting so helpful especially as its something i can do when I'm unable to do most other things. Good luck with your blog xx