Any hobby (or other activity such as a sport, healthy exercise, maintaining a diet, or even advancing your career) will only succeed if you put continuing effort into it, and have a plan for finishing a project or achieving a goal.Sure, we've heard that before, and we all know it is easier said than done.
We start out enthusiastic and spend as much time as we can with our new hobby. But soon, other parts of our life and new interests get in the way, and soon we end up thinking less of our 'first love'.
Maybe we have a problem: maybe we have so many things we MUST do, such as work and people who need our attention, that we truly don't have much 'left-over' time to spend on things we WANT to do. That can be an even bigger problem when there are MANY things we want to do! :)
My hubby is a rancher, and I have goats and cows to milk/tend, chickens and a yard to care for, a goal to prepare home-grown, home-made meals three times a day to my family..... and LOTS of things I wish to do! I love my collection of African violets and other houseplants, that ranges from 250-350 plants throughout the year. I breed four types of canaries. I love to read about all these interests. TATTING and crochet are two more exciting creative hobbies I find fascinating.Making a plan and setting goals SOUND like the answers to the problem. But we all know 'nothing goes as planned'. And loved ones and living animals/plants take the first and best of our time, as they should.
But thinking about our priorities, our time, and our plans does help ... ESPECIALLY IF WE ARE HONEST about our goals AND our faults.
We have to ask the hard questions: Am I spending my time doing the things that are the most important to me? In the time I have left after work, what do I most want to do? What things are the most worthwhile and give me the most satisfaction? What am I doing wrong now? Do my goals honestly fit with my personality, my skills, and available resources of time, money, and space?
RENEWING MY TATTING HOBBY VOWS
1. What do you enjoy about tatting?
- I love the finished motif/project. There is something about a pattern that is made of rings and chains... an overall design that combines these two 'stitches' into something unique to each doily or tidbit.
- I love manipulating a shuttle. A crochet hook seems to move in such monotony. But a shuttle just flies in swoops and dips! :)
- The colors of the new threads are intoxicating! Wow.
- I like giving someone unusual and not common. Not only is it handmade, it is totally unique and one of a kind.
- Sharing finished work and patterns with other tatters is so much fun. Looking at what other artists are doing is exciting and encouraging. Local crocheters and knitters are so willing to share ideas, but I have never meet such a friendly, non-competitive group as all the online tatters! I think someone just mildly interested in tatting would enjoy being an observer or participant with the tatting bloggers! Amazing!
2. What goals do you have for your tatting hobby?
- Number One Goal is to stay in touch with the tatting bloggers. I think they are a wonderful 'support group' for staying 'sober and tatting'! :) An hour spent reading blogs, seeing the wonderful works of art, and printing off new patterns usually leads to at least a round of tatting on a small motif! :)
- Tat a doily for my mom... who has yet to catch the 'tat fever'! She crochets beautiful doilies, but I think she needs a push toward tatting.
- Finish the 25 Motif Challenge... after two failed starts, I need to finish this, just for myself.
- I still think a small educational display at some local event, featuring many items of tatting, but with a theme of butterflies, would be fun!
