My hobby is my 101 hobbies: Fascinated with creating things

Ok, I really don’t have 101 hobbies, it just feels like it.  Maybe I’ve tried 101 different things that could become hobbies but I don’t have 101 hobbies.

I am the type of person that has a hard time doing nothing. So as you would imagine, I have lots of hobbies I do to pass my time. I am also constantly trying new things. I have always been attracted to arts and crafts. Here are a few that have held steady with me for quite some time.  

I enjoy the creative aspect of a hobby.  Although I will constantly say I am not creative, I strive to do better every day. I believe creativity can be developed.  A hobby can help you do that.

Sewing

When I was growing up, my Mom taught me how to sew at a very young age. After all, she wasn’t going to make my Ken and Barbie clothes. I enjoyed it from the very beginning. I have, over time, sewn a lot of different things.  

I have made curtains as a young adult looking for a fancy look and a not-so-fancy price tag. I dipped my toe into quilting when I made a baby quilt for my nephew. I was looking for something different and found quilting. I quilted on and off for several years until finally I got bitten by the bug, bad.  

Quilting as a hobby

Funny but true, I quilt all day with Rhapsody red, and when taking a break, I still come up with my own quilt ideas to make. Of course, I have many other interests as well. Sometimes I think too many.

Dying fabrics

In the same realm, I recently tried dying fabrics with natural items. New hobby, maybe.  I have used blueberries and turmeric. I made a tote bag and decorated it with the turmeric fabric in the shape of a hibiscus. It was a gratifying process. I have prepared several yards of silk and linen to dye but have yet to dye it. Dying is a messy, long process. Fun fact, avocado pits dye the fabric pink. I plan on trying avocado, and onion skins, and more turmeric.  Will that become a hobby, probably not but I want to experience it a little more.

Scrapbooking

I am a big scrapbooker. I started scrapbooking in 1997-ish, so I could document our lives. Scrapbooking is another creative outlet that is directly preserving memories. I try to journal on pages to jot down the things that you don’t see in the photos. I have many albums and have pictures for many, many more.  

Reading

I’m not sure reading is a hobby but reading is another thing I have enjoyed since childhood. I remember having an entire wall dedicated to bookshelves with my books. Yes, I was a bookworm. I would read late into the night and couldn’t stop. On many nights my Mom would come into my room at midnight, 1pm and make me go to sleep.  

I continue to read both pleasure books as well as educational books. I buy too many magazines; it’s an addiction. I enjoy detective and spy stories most of all. I have read all the John Grisham books, the Jack Reacher and Harry Bosch series books. No romance for me. And sometimes you will still find me reading at midnight because I can’t put the book down. I enjoy both “real” books and reading on my iPad.  

Nature, is that a hobby?

Nature fills my spirit. Living in Florida, mountains aren’t near, but my husband and I frequently go camping within our state. I make it up to the mountains several times a year and go hiking. 

My daughter and I have completed 2/3rds of the John Muir Trail. That was an experience I’ll never forget. Nature lets you disconnect from the stresses of everyday life and brings you back to what’s essential. 

It gets smoldering in the summers in Florida, so I do more outdoorsy things during the fall, winter, and spring. I enjoy gardening.  Sometimes even the weed pulling and laying mulch.  Its the process of nurturing. 

Photography

I spend most of my spare time on photography and focus on floral photography and infrared photography. I post floral images on Instagram as @atroffer. Check them out. I most like abstract floral images. My husband and I both enjoy landscape photography. That is a subject matter we have in common. He is the technical brain, and I am more the creative brain. Although he has his own fantastic creativity with photography. I’m blessed that we share several common interests.  We are talking about making this a little more than just a hobby buy we’ll see.

Learning

In between and as part of all of that, I have a thirst for learning. I don’t ever want to stop learning. It is terrific that online learning is so convenient nowadays. Some of my most significant improvements in quilting were because of online learning. I definitely recommend it.  

Discovery

I like trying new things.  I may not stick with them but I try them and experience them, its always satisfying to create things.  

I am forever chugging along with something. Sometimes it could be said, I should be doing other things, oh, such as house chores. But what’s the fun in that.

You can read more about me in this POST.