New country, new hobbies

Some people have hobbies, some don't. Some people are collectors, some aren't. Some people are obsessive-compulsive, some laid back... I'm a compulsive hobby collector. And (not so) proud of it.

When I was growing up, I did the usual girlie crochet and knitting bit. That was about all. School and golf left very little time for anything else apart from story books in the car and while waiting around. Hmmm... that's probably how I developed the habit of always carrying a book or two in my bag wherever I go.

When I was working in London, knitting and crochet (and the books, of course) were portable. I could take them on the tube with me. They were great stress busters. Very soothing. Except the time when I completed a sweater and realized it was too small! Very annoying. I think I chucked it in the bin in a fit of pique. Anyway, we moved back to KL and had kiddo. She consumed all of my time for the 1st two years of her life (What can I say? Obsessive 1st time mom) until she started school, and there I was, at loose ends, with NO hobbies! Knitting in a tropical country is pretty pointless, and after the 5th doily, even crochet gets pretty dull. So I started taking beading classes. That went on for several years, pretty much everyone in the family got stuff thrown at them whether they liked it or not. Rosaries, necklaces, bracelets, whatever...

Then... Jakarta. The land of cheap materials. I carried on doing my beading initially, then a friend, BR, who paints the most gorgeous plates, introduced me to ceramic painting. Initially I was very resistant. After all, I was the kid my art teacher told never to give up my day job 'cause I would starve as an artist. But after some persuasion and lots of, 'It's ok to copy stuff you know.' I finally capitulated. Me being me, I bought every colour paint I could find. I had 2 different browns, 2 different greens, 2 different reds etc. That year, my parents got painted plates for Christmas.










Since then, I have added, to my hobby collection, scrapbooking and sewing. I still do the other stuff. But depending on mood, sometimes I feel like something completely different, so out come the sewing machine, or the beads, or the paints... The Man got so fed up with only having about 2 sq.ft. on a 2m long dining table for meals that he 'gave' me the dining table and bought a new one. It's now covered with 'works in progress'. Some I don't think I'll ever complete, but if it's in front of me, perhaps I can fool myself into thinking they'll get done at some point. The powers of self deception...

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My 'boredom busters'. Some of the things I've done over the last 2 years... (I just dragged and dropped the photos wherever. This whole uploading photos business stumps me...)