Too many hobbies?
 

Am I the only one out there with a lot of crafty hobbies? My passion is quilting, but I am thinking of getting back into sewing garments, and I like to crochet and knit and have been known to make my own jewelry..... am I spreading myself too thin and should I just concentrate on a few hobbies become to really, really proficient? I think part of it is "play therapy" for me and I like having lots of different "toys" to play with. Anyone out there like me?

I edged a lot out when I started quilting. Quilting and gardening keep me happy and busy.
Only you know what you should do.

Me, too! Now I want to learn to tat.

You aren't the only one out there. I'm right there with you! I actively enjoy quilting, kntting, needlepoint, counted cross stitch and scrapbooking. The only craft I haven't done is tatting. I have also done crewel which I don't care for and I've crocheted in the past but with arthritis in my left thumb it hurts so I stopped that years ago...I prefer knitting anyway. I also love to read and decorate. I did buy a jewelry making kit and a few books on "how to's" but haven't touched them yet. You can see why I needed a reorganized studio of my own!

I used to knit and crochet and cross stitch and crewel and still love doing them except my hands will not cooperate anymore! Quilting, sewing, reading, volunteering, working, listening to music, watching tv - not enough time in the day or week!

Quilting, knitting, scrapbooking, crochet, soap making - yes, too many.

i knit for my DGKs for the holidays, so quilting usually takes a back seat during that time. i really miss crocheting. i find that i am not a good cross-crafter.

Its sort of off topic, but I am very much into cake decorating, and just got started in quilting. I've thought the same thing. My only regret is that how much these hobbies cost!!

thank you all! No more guilt about all my "toys"! Beside, I always say we have to keep learning new things to keep our brain sharp. This is how I justify my hobbies!

Oh yeah, quilting, repurposing old clothes, plastic canvas, embroidery...so many so little time!

Before quilting it was cross stitch, before cross stitch it was thread crochet. I also have a knitting machine but that is not a hobby, it's more of making fast scarves and hats. I can turn out dozens a day. I learned to tat but didn't do much with it and don't know if I remember how. I recently was in a needlework shop and the crossstitch bug bit. I'm glad I saved all my supplies. I like the cross stitch samplers on linen but my eye don't!

So many crafts interest me, it's hard for me to focus and actually get anything done. I find that I become overwhelmed by all of the projects that I want to start and I just freeze up. I have decided to limit my focus to "needlework". I found homes for my paint and silk flowers, I gave them to my crafty friends. My DDIL has expressed interest in jewelery making, so I will give that stuff to her(when I can find it). The beads I can keep for embellishments, right? When a not- sewing project comes up that I can't resist I buy only what I need, and give the left overs to my friends, or trade an item that I make for the item that they make in their specialty. My space and time are too limited to enjoy all of the crafts that interest me. I am organizing my needlework now and am finding way too many UFOs. Scrap booking is sooo tempting, but I just CAN'T do another craft. I have a feeling that, when I retire, I might get myself into alot of trouble if I'm not careful.

I began with jewlery making, then went to knitting, then spinning and finally quilting. In between I did a little bag making. I would like to try scrapbooking but I think I am going to skip the scrapbooking and try smashbooking which is a type of scrapbooking but more with objects. I love the look of the cross stitch on linen and I would love to learn that but I think I might venture into rug hooking next. I just love working with wool.

I think having varied hobbies is a good idea because they all work different parts of the brain and hands. I had some repetitive stress injuries (work related) so I find to protect myself I like to do different things.

When I was younger and wanted to learn new things I took classes at the university and learned photography,figure drawing, painting, sculpture, bronze casting and ceramics and short story writing. With the higher cost of tuition now days how in the world does a person learn a new hobby? I taught myself crochet, quilting and garment sewing, but I'm better at the things I learned at the university.

I enjoy many of the fiber arts and have lots of supplies and tools and enjoy them all! I started out garment sewing and still enjoy that. I then did hand embroidery and still enjoy that. Then I did bead work, tatting, crocheting, and started quilting when my youngest left the nest. I enjoy the variety that these different activities bring and the fact that some are great to do while watching tv with hubby and some are great to bring along to fill waiting times at doctors, airports, etc.. My thought is that the more interests we have the better.

I am with all of you. I love to knit, scrapbook, bead, garden and quilt. I am learning to do redwork and applique from a friend and have started to work with wool felt :) Quilting is my primary passion but I love all the above. I am excited that my oldest daughter has shown interest in crafts herself and at 19 she has started to make costumes and clothes..now if I can just get the 14 year old interested, we can go in business LOL

No, you're not alone AT ALL!! I tell people I have "Crafter's ADD" - I'm constantly being drawn to new things and also cycling back to old favorites. I pick something and become obsessed with it for 2-3 years, then move onto something new or back to something I've been missing. Right now quilts are my thing, prior to this it was sculpting with Fimo, prior to that was beading, prior to that was bookbinding, prior to that was painting murals and faux finishes on everything, prior to that was soapmaking, prior to that was candlemaking.....on and on and on!!

And I keep almost everything, so when something bites me again I can pick it back up. My garage is about 20% tools, 10% sentimental stuff I save for no good reason, and 70% crafting "treasures" packed away until something re-obsesses me or if I have a practical need for something. Lately my husband has been asking me to dig out my soapmaking stuff again - we've finally worn almost all the way through the 200 bar stash I made before packing it all away last time, LOL. Too bad for him I'm deep in the throes of a quilting obsession and can't be fussed to spend that much time away from my fabric! We might have to (gasp) BUY some soap! (From a local soapmaker, of course!)

There is no such a thing as too many hobbies. Here I go: pottery, quilting and sewing, crocheting, knitting, embroidery and silk ribbon embroidery (goes great with crazy quilting), gardening, stained glass (gave it up temporarily because my kids are too young to have that much led in the house). I love my hobbies, they are better than therapy of any kind and come Christmas time I rarely have to go shopping for gifts :) .

Quilting 80% of the time, but also knit socks, garden, cook, bake, motorcycle, read. Want to try my hand at painting, maybe in the fall.

I too have many crafts I crochet make jewelry bead embroidery cross stitch scrapbook make cards and do a lot of paper crafting as well as work with clay but I quilt the most for now anyway tomorrow who knows what will catch my attention My all time favorite is anykind of crafting with really young kids

You're normal...whatever that is! I quilt, "regular" sew (when I can't get out of it...), repair and alter clothing and other things, keyboard, play a full-sized organ, into photography, reading, etc. In short, everything but what I SHOULD be doing. My house is a wreck but I sure have a good time! So have fun and enjoy what you're doing!!!!

Oh I forgot.. to put Machine embroidery, card making and weaving on my first list. I'm not crazy about weaving but I've had a Cricket Loom for about six months.:o I've done quilling too.

When it comes to hobbies, I think "more is more". In addition to quilting (which is my main hobby focus), I also do cross-stitch, make soap & candles, garden (when my knee will let me) & am a voracious reader.

I love most all crafts..and if variety makes you happy, it is just perfect for you..Right now quilting is my main passion, but if that changes so be it!!

I'm just like that.

I keep very focused...
quilting: I do hand applique, piecing, paper piecing, and machine quilting. I do NOT do fabric folding, machine applique, hand quilting, embroidery, anything with Y seams... AND I do not "collect fabric" but instead buy for each project and keep a small supply of scraps (when it gets big, I make a scrap quilt). I generally use batiks and brights. I avoid homespuns, WOW, and some other fabrics. By limiting quilting to the parts I love, I keep the hobby fun.

weight lifting: I work out at the gym and use a trainer about 2x/month. I don't buy extra equipment or take classes.

cooking: I "eat clean" and am experimenting with trying a ton of new recipes and working toward eliminating all packaged/processed foods.

I have actually listed what I am interested in doing vs. what I admire. It keeps me focused and having fun. I also don't like doing anything "halfway" and I don't have alot of extra money or time so my strategy works for me.

I don't see anything wrong with having many hobbies. One day do one and the next day another. Somedays I feel like sewing and others cooking and others painting. As we get older we can cut out some or not.

I like to do different things too. I WILL NOT get into scrapbooking because I already have enough different things I like to do!!

One can never have too many Hobbies! For me its quilting, garment sewing, crocheting. cooking, smoking foods in our smoker, and recently I have been looking at embroidery machines just in case I need something else to do! The only problem with too many hobbies, I tend to have a few UFO's around the house because I have stopped in mid project to start another one!

I think hobbies make for a happy, well adjusted, interesting person. Only you can know if you are into too many things, but who says how many is too many? I love to do all kinds of things and knit when I feel like it, quilt when that's what I want to do, read when I'm tired, etc. etc. Different hobbies for different moods. If they bring you pleasure - keep it going.

I have had too many for too long...it just got to the point where I could not fund them all sufficiently with either time , or money. There is so much to "play with" in quilting.. the methods, styles, colors... I keep going deeper and deeper into quilting. I trimmed out some of my other hobby supplies , when I asked myself .. do I want to do this ... or sew..?!

How wonderful! Tatting is going to a lost art. My DGM use to make that shuttle fly producing the most beautiful lace shawls, doilies, etc. She told me when I got older she would teach me, but when I turned 10 she developed Parkinsons and that ended her tatting. If you are lucky enough to find someone who tats and can teach you then you are one lucky girl!

I dabble in different things. I used to knit, crochet, cross-stitch, scrapbook, garment sewing, quilting, locker hooking- almost all simultaneously! I constantly had a project going in all of these catagories and realized that I wasn't getting many of them done. A few years back, I decided to decrease my hobbies and picked quilting as my main one. I then had a huge garage sale and sold almost everything connected with those other hobbies. It gave me cash in my pocket and room in my house! I will still go back to them every now and then but then I only buy what I need for a particular project and it quenches my desire to do something other than quilting. I still love yarns; beautiful colored, fluffy, nubby, soft and silky. I can spend a long time in the specialty yarn shops, just oohing and awing over them and touching them. But I'm not buying them for a someday project and then never using them. Of course, that right has been transferred to fabric for quilt making!!!

I used to do all sorts of crafts also, painting, needle point, crocheting, embroidery and quilting, but making quilts is my passion. As I got older I knew I would never live long enough to make all the quilts I want to make, so my hobby room became my quilting studio. I am retired now, and live alone so all my time is devoted to my sewing. I am in my sewing room everyday and I love it. I also make crazy quilts so still do lots of embroidery, silk ribbon embroidery and bead work.

My first love was knitting, then cross stitch, oil painting, pottery, hardangar, (Norwegian embroidery), then quilting. Since I retired it is mostly quilting, however, in moving a couple of years ago I came across my tatting box with all my shuttles and thread and have been doing some of that again. It is so fun to have several things to look forward to. Life is good!!!

I say do what you like! Keep learning new things, it keeps your mind active and may help symptoms of old age away.
I wish I had more time to do the things I love, I love scrapbooking and I am a new quilter. I also would like to sew for my grandaughters. I love to cook and we remodel houses, some we flip and some we rent. I still work full time, 4 - 10 hour days so I can keep my grandbaby one day a week and I keep the other one one night on the weekend. Whew, seeing this in black and white makes me tired and I see why I neve have time for my hobbies.

I was crafty for years, then a crochet fanatic but mostly I quilt now-it's amazing though how other crafts can lead to problem solving or inspiraiton for quilting

I am totally in love with piecing quilt tops. I love everything about it, especially choosing fabrics that will go together and wind up as something beautiful. I also created stained glass pieces for many years and feel a little guilty that I have abandoned that art/craft for the time being. I don't have time to do both because they each consume so much energy to plan and create. My DH would like me to use up some of the huge amount of glass I've accumulated over many years and work with that again, but each time I see a new fabric line I love, I get deeper into quilting. I had to give up the piano, guitar, crocheting and knitting because of the loss of use of some of the fingers on my left hand caused by a botched surgery 10 years ago. But every day I wake up is a good day and I can still sew, what a bonus! :thumbup:

Busy hands are happy hands! Life is too short to just sit and veg in front of the tv. Don't just sit there, do something!
To me, there's nothing like that sense of accomplishment. I, too, have many varied interests/hobbies, and sometimes wonder about the ADD thing! Lots of things to do, so little time....