Life goes on

No matter how bad things can be, life around us does go on, and eventually we have to get back into the swing of things and remember our dreams and goals and the seemingly little things that make life good.

I’ve been busy with work at the newspaper. I’ve pushed myself to do things that are self-care measures for me, things like reading, meditating, and listening to music.

I picked up some crochet work to keep my hands—and my mind—busy. Sometimes I like to sit with Larry and watch a good TV show or movie. But it’s hard for me to just watch the screen. I get restless. So working with my hands helps.

I like using the crocheted knitted dishcloths, so I started one of those.

I like to crochet. But I’ve always wanted to knit. I knew how to cast on stitches and do the knit stitch, but nothing else. I read instructions, but I couldn’t make sense of how to do the purl stitch.

A couple of wonderful bloggers that I keep up with have started knitting and have written about their adventures. Buttons of Buttons Thoughts learned to knit and has created some beautiful scarves and hats. Her cows like to model those hats!

And Debbie of It’s All About Purple recently learned to knit and made a stunning scarf. I know she’s going to continue making lovely things.

These two women inspired me to try knitting again, and they encouraged me to get help from online videos.

So I did that. I watched a video on how to purl (over and over) and (finally) was able to call out to Larry in the next room: “I can purl!”

Here’s a sample of knitting and purling. It’s not perfect, but I had fun.

I still don’t know how to cast off work or how to fix mistakes, but I will learn. Meanwhile, I have a new hobby to enjoy and to keep my hands busy.

What’s the newest skill you’ve learned? And when you watch TV, do you have to do something with your hands, too?

I need a hobby: A Random 5

Honeysuckle on a tree, Leesville Lake, May 2013

The other day I wandered around a big box arts and crafts store, looking for a project to do. I walked out of the store after buying nothing.

I looked at so many different crafty things to do. I looked at cross stitch kits. I looked at yarn. I looked at art supplies.

I even looked in the children’s craft section to see if anything there appealed to me.

I couldn’t seem to get excited about doing anything.

I write a lot. Writing is my first love as far as activities go. I take a lot of photos. I read a lot.

But I need a hobby. I need something to do that helps me relax, challenges me, and gives me the sense of satisfaction that completing something does. I need some other ways to be creative.

Nothing seems to suit me. Maybe I’m just in a creative funk. Maybe I need to try something totally different.

My five random facts this week tell you what I’ve tried out in the past and still do sometimes.

I'm linking up with Nancy at A Rural Journal for Random 5 Friday.

One

I started piano lessons when I was 5 years old. I had been picking out tunes on our old Kurtzmann upright, and my mother wanted me to learn to play by note.

I took piano for seven years and organ for one year. When I was 13, I got tired of practicing and asked if I could stop.

I have a keyboard now, and when I play, it’s by note and by ear. I just play for my own enjoyment. And Larry and the kitties seem to like it.

Two

When I was 8 or 9 years old, my mother took crochet lessons. She taught me what she learned, and she also took me to class one evening. I started out making potholders.

When I grew older, I became capable of making baby blankets. And I’ve made some smaller pieces that my kitties have used to lie on.

Three

I took sewing lessons when I was about 14 years old. I made a skirt. That’s the last thing I’ve created except for some pillows.

I have a nice sewing machine that Larry gave me several years ago. But I can’t seem to get the hang of sewing. I can’t figure out the steps to take and how things go together.

Four

When I was in my early 30s, I took a drawing class, the only art class I’ve ever taken. I had to concentrate and work really hard. I didn’t draw well, but I did get better.

The only drawing I’ve done since are mandalas, which I like to draw and color.

Five

I started cross stitch when I was laid up after bunion surgery about 15 years ago. I obviously didn’t read the directions closely enough on my first project because I did the outlining first. My sister-in-law gently pointed that out to me when she saw my first efforts.

I enjoy playing with the colorful floss and creating pictures. I also enjoy the quiet rhythm of pulling the thread in and out of the cloth.

What are your hobbies? How did you discover that you liked doing those things? Do you have any ideas for me? Suggestions are welcome!

Playing the piano, then and now

From Microsoft images http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/images/results.aspx?qu=music&ex=2

I started picking out songs by ear on the piano when I was 4 or 5 years old.

My mother didn’t want me to play by ear, but by note, so she forbade me to play on the piano.

I played anyway, when she was out of the house.

When I was 5 years old, she let me begin piano lessons, which I took for seven years.

Today I still love to play, though I play on a keyboard instead of a piano. I play by note and by ear.

I don’t play very often, because it seems like there’s always something else to do. I recently sat down and played a while after work, and I found it relaxing and fun. I'm adding it to my "do more often" list for stress and anxiety relief.

When I was small, I would sometimes stand beside my mother as she played the piano, and I would play the tune along with her in the higher octaves. This semi-biographical poem reflects those times.

Duet

By Tina Fariss Barbour

Kurtzmann upright

my mother bought with her own money

earned at a third-shift job.

The elephantine piano captured me

as I played my whole notes,

one two three four,

rests, measures,

my knot of scales.

But sometimes I stood beside her

seated on the heavy bench and

we played together

her favorite, “Hi-Lili, Hi-Lo.”

She played by ear across the keys,

singing like Leslie Caron,

smiling at me,

my finger following.

What hobbies or interests did you develop in childhood that you still enjoy?

Starting a sewing adventure

   I can crochet. I can do cross-stitch. I can do a little embroidery.

But I can’t sew. And I want to.

A little background: when my mother still sewed, she was a wonderful seamstress. She could make anything—dresses, blouses, shirts, pants, quilts—and did it beautifully. As a child, I watched her sew and imagined that one day I would do it.

When I was 14, my mother let me take a sewing class through the local recreation department.



Here I am at 14 sewing in class.



I managed to make a drawstring skirt. But I remembered nothing afterwards about how I had accomplished it.

Flash forward 30 years. I decided I wanted to give sewing another try, so my husband bought me a great sewing machine for Christmas in 2007.

My sewing machine.

I managed to push through my procrastination and anxiety and learned to use the machine. I made some pillows and cut out blocks to make a little quilt. I didn’t do a great job, but I was learning.

Then things went south for my mental health—I went through an episode of depression and extreme anxiety, the worst anxiety and fear that I’d ever experienced. And the cover stayed on the sewing machine.

It’s been sitting downstairs in the basement in my work area ever since. But I periodically thought about it and kept telling myself that some day I would learn.

Last week, for reasons I still don’t understand, I felt the need and the energy to go downstairs and clear away the things I’d stacked around the sewing machine. I made room on my worktable. I dusted everything.

And Sunday night I sat down and loaded up a bobbin and rethreaded the machine.

It wasn’t easy. I didn’t remember how to do it, so I had to follow the instructions in the user manual, some of which I didn’t understand. Larry helped me and we finally got it done.

I took out fabric and looked over some patterns I have.

I decided to make an apron for Larry since he does more cooking than he used to do. It won’t be a feminine apron—I’m using material covered in a Virginia Tech motif. Virginia Tech is his alma mater.

Fabric with a Virginia Tech theme.

I’m going to try this. I know it won’t be perfect. I can’t guarantee that it will even be good. But something in me wants to try.

I’ve again pushed through the procrastination and the anxiety. I don’t know if it’s therapy, medication or both, but I’m feeling more like doing things.

And I want to make something for my husband.

Do you sew or do other crafts? What was the last thing you made, or what is your current project? Does anxiety or depression ever get in the way of enjoying your activities?