HI everyone! I hope everyone’s doing alright this week. It’s Spring Break here, which means that I’m somehow trying to do all the work I need to do while also hanging out with my kids. It’s been a challenge, especially since it’s crunch time in my teaching semester at NYU — I’m grading a LOT of papers, which is not my favorite thing — but we’re making it work. Sort of.
I love this question! I started knitting and sewing about 15 years ago and in the past few years took up weaving, which actually turned my hobby into a side business -- https://www.instagram.com/wild_blooms_design/.
I work full-time and parent two kids but this hobby gives me so much joy. And I can't decide how to channel it, whether to continue to grow it because I love it or if I will stop liking it once it grows more because a hobby and a "side business" can work at cross-purposes.
Awesome! I love your designs!! They're beautiful. I have thought about trying knitting ... I feel like I would enjoy it. My biggest hurdle is that I first have to learn how to do it, LOL.
PS: my kids often help me with my weavings (everything from picking out colors to finding branches on hikes to hang them on to actually weaving parts of the piece). This is a bonus because they learn a little bit about a different kind of art and how their contributions can result in this really cool creation!
I’m learning to paint with watercolors. It challenging and fun. I like to pair it with some Inner Lotus Music (YouTube) which is supposed to hit some creative and relaxing areas of the brain. Does it work? I don’t know but I really like it. My favorite artists to follow on IG are @andrea.nelson.art, @rebelunicorncrafts and @emjlefebvre.
I started taking piano lessons in Oct. 2022. I love it but it’s challenging (which is one of the reasons I love it)! It forces me to take time for myself, even if it’s 15-30 min. a day.
I am also a knitter and crocheter! I love that I can do it anywhere and while doing other things (like watching TV or riding in a car), so it is easy to fit in around a busy schedule. And as a stay at home mom, it gives me projects and goals I can complete for a sense of accomplishment - plus a nice garment in the end that I can use! I recommend finding a local yarn store to learn how to knit, and use yarn that you love (finding beautiful yarn is one of the many joys of knitting/crochet). I also make some money by selling crochet patterns I have designed (https://hookabee.com/patterns-2/). I highly recommend the hobby!!
Apr 6, 2023·edited Apr 6, 2023Liked by Melinda Wenner Moyer
I have been taking a pottery classes at an art room around the corner from my house. I can’t tell if I’m getting any better but I love using my hands to make something and more importantly missing bedtime once a week.
I also love to knit and usually do it on car rides or while commuting on the train. And I've been thinking about taking a weaving class. I find it easier to keep up with a hobby if I have to actually leave the house to go do it (e.g. workshop, class, knitting group, etc.). I also love gardening and my kids sort of get into it if I let them have a little square to plant whatever they want in. It always ends up a mud puddle by the end of the summer but whatever. I used to do pottery, guitar, and running but those have fallen by the wayside and I would love to read more but struggle to do it in a way that's sustainable (I can't tell you how many times I pick up a book and it's been so long since I last picked it up that I have to start it over again). I feel like since I've had kids, I can really only manage 1 hobby at a time with working full time. So knitting in cold weather and gardening in warm weather.
This has been a really tough one since the kiddo was born. I used to do yoga twice a week and was trying to get back into running. I also love to read and cook and bake, but it's all so much harder to make time for with a baby and now a toddler. But we're working on figuring out how to fit stuff into the schedule and the kiddo is interested in what I'm doing with cooking, so I'm looking to get him more involved with that, at least on weekends!
Yeah, it does get easier to make time for these things as they get older. I remember not reading a single book for like two years when the kids were little... now I'm like how did I survive?!
Seconding the comments that it will get easier to make time for your hobbies as the kids get a little older. I was able to start running and doing yoga again when my youngest was about 9-12 months old and sleeping consistently well - I could wake up early to run or do yoga without losing important sleep.
I also love listening to audiobooks. I'm not sure I'd call it a hobby so much as task bundling -pairing a task that I have to or should do (folding laundry, dishes, cooking dinner, exercising, cleaning) with something I'm looking forward to - listening to a great book.
For hobbies, I'm a knitter. It's portable, and since having kids I've mostly focused on simple stitch patterns that mean I can easily put it down and pick it back up again days later. I struggle to sit still without something in my hands, so I knit while I watch tv or movies or listen to audiobooks after the kids go to bed. A bonus is that my kids now have several adorable, matching, warm, soft, and cozy wool sweaters. My 4 year old recently asked me if I would knit matching sweaters for the whole family, including myself and my husband. So that's my next big project; I'm hoping I'll be done by next fall for Christmas card photos.
I also like to bake. Pre-kids, I used to bake complex and time consuming pastries and desserts. Now, it's mostly whole wheat breads and cupcakes. But I still really enjoy the process and experimenting with flavors. I'm on a forever mission to make the perfect whole wheat cinnamon-raisin swirl bread. And I recently made a strawberry-chocolate swirl bread that feels decadent but is actually the perfect breakfast.
Before kids I loved biking, especially on our towns bike path. I am occasionally able to workout on my spin bike. I miss painting and have had two canvases in my office started but untouched for months and months.
This is a really important question! I am very intentional about setting aside the time I need away from my family. I work from home, so it is crucial for me to get social time. Plus, hobbies feel like they ground me as a person and give me a sense of identity and fulfillment beyond the "mom" label. I feel like both a hobby collector and a stuff collector. I love to dabble in anything I can get my hands on.
I play ukulele, but I haven't been as into that since having kids (and my music buddies moved away). I participate in an annual DIY beard contest (that's what my profile pic is) and dabble in other quilting, sewing, and crafts projects. I go to live music at the dive bar after the kids go to bed. I shop estate sales and thrift stores. I dumpster dive! I just trained to be a docent at our newly renovated arts museum! And I put together gatherings with friends regularly. Lately, it has been simple-- Sunday morning breakfasts; easy, casual, familial, and sometimes they stretch into the afternoon.
My kids are little--1.5 and 4.5, so they don't yet have loads of activities and schedules that demand a lot from me. I expect as they get older, I will compromise on time more. But just as a day out and about includes activities for everyone, our family will always make space for each of us to pursue our passions. <3
In December I got into bead crocheting. It was serendipitous--my sister and I were texting about what was on our holiday wish lists, and she linked to a site that sold these tube-shaped bracelets made of tiny beads. I thought, “I wonder how those bracelets are made?” And fell down the rabbit hole of tubular bead crochet. I learned how to do it via YouTube (a steep learning curve, but I’ve got it now) and have 3 beautiful bracelets and am working on a fourth. I am a sucker for any art/craft project that involves a geometry or math aspect, and making the bracelets involves generating a pattern of what order the beads are strung in, before you start crocheting. Making a pattern that results in the design you want is challenging and stimulating, and the crocheting is calming and meditative. The beads come in hundreds of colors and finishes and are sold in these little vials and it’s all very aesthetically appealing.
Garment sewing, gardening, beadweaving/bead embroidery. I'd lose my mind without them and occasionally have to fight the feeling of selfishness to make real time to do them.
Apr 6, 2023·edited Apr 6, 2023Liked by Melinda Wenner Moyer
My new hobby this year has been starting a podcast with my best friend! It's about Anne of Green Gables and it's been so much fun! I've taught myself a lot about editing along the way and we love having this dedicated activity to work on together! It's been great for our friendship and I needed a new way to be creative. It's Kindred Spirits Book Club wherever you listen to podcasts if anyone out there loves Anne of Green Gables or just wants to hang out with us while we talk about books and life! https://kindredspiritsbookclub.podbean.com/
I've done a lot of sewing in the past as a primary creative outlet but haven't been inspired much this year.
I also foster kittens and currently have 2 babies that are 10 days old right now. I love seeing them grow and then finding them loving homes. It's a way of getting all the joy and cuteness of kittens without the 18 year commitment of a new cat. My husband and daughter help. But it is primarily my project!
It's as much work as you want to put into it! We script ours fairly heavily, which makes editing easier and I use audacity for free for editing! We put a fair amount of time into ours but the barrier to entry is pretty low! There is a learning curve for editing but I'm not tech savvy and I got the basics fairly quickly!
I've actually been discussing this with my partner recently -- I knit (typically in the evenings after the kids are in bed) and read before bed (though I try to keep myself to a single chapter or so, otherwise I'll stay up all night)...but my hobbies tend towards the solitary. I also WFH, and the general sense of isolation has been getting to me. I'd love to get into more "social hobbies" if that's a thing, but at a loss for what!
I love finding old chandelier parts and necklaces, taking them apart and constructing something new like a prism sun catcher. It is quiet peaceful work that allows me to focus and be creative.
Group fitness classes over my lunch hour. It's a nice break in my day. Gardening, when the weather is agreeable (which isn't very often in the Upper Midwest).
I have been having so much fun with dance and tabata group classes at the Y. It's so fun to exercise with other people. I go in the mornings after I drop the kids off, so it's mostly me and the senior citizens, but I'm loving it!
I love this question! I started knitting and sewing about 15 years ago and in the past few years took up weaving, which actually turned my hobby into a side business -- https://www.instagram.com/wild_blooms_design/.
I work full-time and parent two kids but this hobby gives me so much joy. And I can't decide how to channel it, whether to continue to grow it because I love it or if I will stop liking it once it grows more because a hobby and a "side business" can work at cross-purposes.
Awesome! I love your designs!! They're beautiful. I have thought about trying knitting ... I feel like I would enjoy it. My biggest hurdle is that I first have to learn how to do it, LOL.
PS: my kids often help me with my weavings (everything from picking out colors to finding branches on hikes to hang them on to actually weaving parts of the piece). This is a bonus because they learn a little bit about a different kind of art and how their contributions can result in this really cool creation!
I love this! I knit but haven’t tried my hand at weaving yet
Thanks! I’ve almost completely switched over from knitting. Weaving allows me so much creative freedom - no pattern needed!
I’m learning to paint with watercolors. It challenging and fun. I like to pair it with some Inner Lotus Music (YouTube) which is supposed to hit some creative and relaxing areas of the brain. Does it work? I don’t know but I really like it. My favorite artists to follow on IG are @andrea.nelson.art, @rebelunicorncrafts and @emjlefebvre.
Sounds so relaxing
I started taking piano lessons in Oct. 2022. I love it but it’s challenging (which is one of the reasons I love it)! It forces me to take time for myself, even if it’s 15-30 min. a day.
Love this!!!!
I am also a knitter and crocheter! I love that I can do it anywhere and while doing other things (like watching TV or riding in a car), so it is easy to fit in around a busy schedule. And as a stay at home mom, it gives me projects and goals I can complete for a sense of accomplishment - plus a nice garment in the end that I can use! I recommend finding a local yarn store to learn how to knit, and use yarn that you love (finding beautiful yarn is one of the many joys of knitting/crochet). I also make some money by selling crochet patterns I have designed (https://hookabee.com/patterns-2/). I highly recommend the hobby!!
your designs are so cute!!
Thank you!
I love making amigurumi - your designs are great! I make knitted, not crocheted.
Thank you! I have knit a few amigurumi, too! I find it a tad more fiddly with needles than a hook, but the end result is always adorable.
I have been taking a pottery classes at an art room around the corner from my house. I can’t tell if I’m getting any better but I love using my hands to make something and more importantly missing bedtime once a week.
That sounds like so much fun!
I also love to knit and usually do it on car rides or while commuting on the train. And I've been thinking about taking a weaving class. I find it easier to keep up with a hobby if I have to actually leave the house to go do it (e.g. workshop, class, knitting group, etc.). I also love gardening and my kids sort of get into it if I let them have a little square to plant whatever they want in. It always ends up a mud puddle by the end of the summer but whatever. I used to do pottery, guitar, and running but those have fallen by the wayside and I would love to read more but struggle to do it in a way that's sustainable (I can't tell you how many times I pick up a book and it's been so long since I last picked it up that I have to start it over again). I feel like since I've had kids, I can really only manage 1 hobby at a time with working full time. So knitting in cold weather and gardening in warm weather.
This has been a really tough one since the kiddo was born. I used to do yoga twice a week and was trying to get back into running. I also love to read and cook and bake, but it's all so much harder to make time for with a baby and now a toddler. But we're working on figuring out how to fit stuff into the schedule and the kiddo is interested in what I'm doing with cooking, so I'm looking to get him more involved with that, at least on weekends!
You will get there! I feel like it takes me to almost the 1 year mark after baby is born to really start diving back into my own stuff.
Yeah, it does get easier to make time for these things as they get older. I remember not reading a single book for like two years when the kids were little... now I'm like how did I survive?!
Seconding the comments that it will get easier to make time for your hobbies as the kids get a little older. I was able to start running and doing yoga again when my youngest was about 9-12 months old and sleeping consistently well - I could wake up early to run or do yoga without losing important sleep.
I also love listening to audiobooks. I'm not sure I'd call it a hobby so much as task bundling -pairing a task that I have to or should do (folding laundry, dishes, cooking dinner, exercising, cleaning) with something I'm looking forward to - listening to a great book.
For hobbies, I'm a knitter. It's portable, and since having kids I've mostly focused on simple stitch patterns that mean I can easily put it down and pick it back up again days later. I struggle to sit still without something in my hands, so I knit while I watch tv or movies or listen to audiobooks after the kids go to bed. A bonus is that my kids now have several adorable, matching, warm, soft, and cozy wool sweaters. My 4 year old recently asked me if I would knit matching sweaters for the whole family, including myself and my husband. So that's my next big project; I'm hoping I'll be done by next fall for Christmas card photos.
I also like to bake. Pre-kids, I used to bake complex and time consuming pastries and desserts. Now, it's mostly whole wheat breads and cupcakes. But I still really enjoy the process and experimenting with flavors. I'm on a forever mission to make the perfect whole wheat cinnamon-raisin swirl bread. And I recently made a strawberry-chocolate swirl bread that feels decadent but is actually the perfect breakfast.
Before kids I loved biking, especially on our towns bike path. I am occasionally able to workout on my spin bike. I miss painting and have had two canvases in my office started but untouched for months and months.
This is a really important question! I am very intentional about setting aside the time I need away from my family. I work from home, so it is crucial for me to get social time. Plus, hobbies feel like they ground me as a person and give me a sense of identity and fulfillment beyond the "mom" label. I feel like both a hobby collector and a stuff collector. I love to dabble in anything I can get my hands on.
I play ukulele, but I haven't been as into that since having kids (and my music buddies moved away). I participate in an annual DIY beard contest (that's what my profile pic is) and dabble in other quilting, sewing, and crafts projects. I go to live music at the dive bar after the kids go to bed. I shop estate sales and thrift stores. I dumpster dive! I just trained to be a docent at our newly renovated arts museum! And I put together gatherings with friends regularly. Lately, it has been simple-- Sunday morning breakfasts; easy, casual, familial, and sometimes they stretch into the afternoon.
My kids are little--1.5 and 4.5, so they don't yet have loads of activities and schedules that demand a lot from me. I expect as they get older, I will compromise on time more. But just as a day out and about includes activities for everyone, our family will always make space for each of us to pursue our passions. <3
omg your DIY beards are so cool!!!!!!
In December I got into bead crocheting. It was serendipitous--my sister and I were texting about what was on our holiday wish lists, and she linked to a site that sold these tube-shaped bracelets made of tiny beads. I thought, “I wonder how those bracelets are made?” And fell down the rabbit hole of tubular bead crochet. I learned how to do it via YouTube (a steep learning curve, but I’ve got it now) and have 3 beautiful bracelets and am working on a fourth. I am a sucker for any art/craft project that involves a geometry or math aspect, and making the bracelets involves generating a pattern of what order the beads are strung in, before you start crocheting. Making a pattern that results in the design you want is challenging and stimulating, and the crocheting is calming and meditative. The beads come in hundreds of colors and finishes and are sold in these little vials and it’s all very aesthetically appealing.
That's so cool!!
Garment sewing, gardening, beadweaving/bead embroidery. I'd lose my mind without them and occasionally have to fight the feeling of selfishness to make real time to do them.
My new hobby this year has been starting a podcast with my best friend! It's about Anne of Green Gables and it's been so much fun! I've taught myself a lot about editing along the way and we love having this dedicated activity to work on together! It's been great for our friendship and I needed a new way to be creative. It's Kindred Spirits Book Club wherever you listen to podcasts if anyone out there loves Anne of Green Gables or just wants to hang out with us while we talk about books and life! https://kindredspiritsbookclub.podbean.com/
I've done a lot of sewing in the past as a primary creative outlet but haven't been inspired much this year.
I also foster kittens and currently have 2 babies that are 10 days old right now. I love seeing them grow and then finding them loving homes. It's a way of getting all the joy and cuteness of kittens without the 18 year commitment of a new cat. My husband and daughter help. But it is primarily my project!
Oooh so cool about the podcast! I've been considering starting a REALLY casual podcast... has it been a ton of work?
It's as much work as you want to put into it! We script ours fairly heavily, which makes editing easier and I use audacity for free for editing! We put a fair amount of time into ours but the barrier to entry is pretty low! There is a learning curve for editing but I'm not tech savvy and I got the basics fairly quickly!
I've actually been discussing this with my partner recently -- I knit (typically in the evenings after the kids are in bed) and read before bed (though I try to keep myself to a single chapter or so, otherwise I'll stay up all night)...but my hobbies tend towards the solitary. I also WFH, and the general sense of isolation has been getting to me. I'd love to get into more "social hobbies" if that's a thing, but at a loss for what!
yup, I also gravitate towards solo endeavors....
I love finding old chandelier parts and necklaces, taking them apart and constructing something new like a prism sun catcher. It is quiet peaceful work that allows me to focus and be creative.
Group fitness classes over my lunch hour. It's a nice break in my day. Gardening, when the weather is agreeable (which isn't very often in the Upper Midwest).
I have been having so much fun with dance and tabata group classes at the Y. It's so fun to exercise with other people. I go in the mornings after I drop the kids off, so it's mostly me and the senior citizens, but I'm loving it!
Oh I’m trying to get I to gardening this year , any good people or resources you can point me to? I live in the upper Midwest too (Madison, WI)