Has anyone taken up something new?

Hello I'm new. Since I retired I have taken up aquarobics and stained glass. I have made some lovely things, albeit small at the moment.
But I'm really enjoying it.

Hello all.
Since 'retiring' - by which I mean giving up paid work 3 years ago - I've:
- taken on an allotment and become a member of the management group,
- been learning fine embroidery from an excellent 80 year old teacher who was trained at the Royal School of Needlework
- bought a new digital camera
- taken a course to learn how to use Photoshop
- become a church warden of a 13th century grade 1 listed church
- started a craft club with a friend (where we find ourselves teaching younger people some of the basics of knitting and crochet!,
- continued to maintain the church website
- started using Facebook and set up a church Facebook page
- fundraised and grant hunted to get a new ring of bells installed in the church (first ringing on Easter Day!)
- become a 'lady who lunches' so catching up with old friends
- took a class in 'chocolate modelling' so now make my own favourites of filled chocolates
- took up jewellery making which I sell for charity
- learnt to make jams and marmalades which I sell for charity
I too wonder how I ever had time to go to work! Life is never dull but I believe it is what you make it !

Boy, you have been busy, MaggieJ...and so many people ask the same question: how did I ever find the time to work!!!

Hi Maggie

I recently took up cardmaking but found no clubs or discussion groups in my area so I started one of my own. I began by hiring a church hall and advertised the club in my local papers' free commiunity page. We are a small group and chanrge £5 annual fee and £2 perbi-monthly meeeting to cover tea and biscuits, admin and rent. We slowly found that the outlay was more than our income in so we looked for a cheaper place.
Forunately an hotelier has offered us a room for free, provided everyone buys tea and biscuits. He doesn't care if there are two or twenty at a meeting, he just wants the hotel to be used. We now hold meetings every Wednesday for 1pm to 5 pm

We hold demonstrations from 1.30 to 3.30, and anyone new to the craft is allowed to use the tools and materials on hand for two metings to "have a go", after which they bring their own. Our local craft shop "Craftlandudno" displays our posters and passes out our leaflets and in return we encoriage our members to buy their materials etc.from there..

It doesn't take much to run a club, working with a small committee of Chairman/organiser and secretary, and an address book to keep in contact with members. At the moment we are small and non profitmaking so a bank account isn't needed. If numbers do grow then we will take this step further.

One way of raising money for your club is to locate an accessible table top sale, and encourage your members to make or donate cards to sell.

Another idea is to hold a raffle among your members, with members contributing towards the prize each week ie.a packet made up of backing papers and embellishments they no longer need, or rubber stamps they no longer use. But for heavens sake don't start your club with formal committee meetings, that's enough to put anyone off.

What a lot of very talented ladies we have on here. I agree with mollie, please show us some of your photos!

heleena, how fab that you have made your hobby into a business, well done, it must be really fulfilling to be able to do something that you enjoy as your work.

I usually dip in and out of various hobbies, I've got knitting and cross stitch on the go at the moment. I also got my glass painting kit out the other day and had a go with those, but alas I've had them so long, I think they are past their sell by date (so to speak), and they have gone a bit 'thick' in the jars. Maybe someone has a tip on how to rejuvenate them before I consign them to the bin.

I've also just bought some patchwork books from a car boot sale and I'd like to have a go at that too. I'm very lucky as I now have a 'crafty room' that I can use to not only store all my bits and pieces, but where I can leave projects out and go back to them when needed. My hubby decorated and kitted out, one of our smaller spare bedrooms as a dedicated 'craft room'. Bless him xx

Oh I am so jealous of you all, I am just hopeless with my hands. I did join a decoupage class at our local college and I did make a few pictures, but what do you do with them when they are framed? A house can only hold so many......and it wasnt a cheap hobby to be honest with you. I cant knit to save my life. I can crochet squares, and I do that in the winter months, I make dog blankets for our local greyhound rescue charity, so all my knitting friends pass on their left over wool to me. I wish I could follow a pattern when crocheting, because then I could make other things, but I only know that one stitch lol. I cant sew for toffee my skills stop after taking up hems lol. I am a good cook, but as there are only the 2 of us most of the time, I dont spend much time in the kitchen. So, what to do? Art? I cant draw a straight line, although I did learn how to face paint, and used to do it for our local scout group, but that seems to have gone out of fashion these days. Ho hum .....answers on a postcard..... lol

Oh Bunny62 you arent useless with your hands if you do all that, and like most things the more you do them the better you get at it.

I enjoy painting and drawing, but mine go off at a slant, but its stil fun.

Just for something different about 18 months ago I started learning to play drums, I have a lesson every 2 weeks(its a bit expensive) but it certainly stretches my mind and my limbs. I never realised how many different things you can get arms and legs to do at the same time!!!!

New interests?????
In my mid fifties I got involved in hot air ballooning and twenty years later I still enjoy it. But those gas cylinders get heavier!!!!
To keep the mind active play bridge or Scrabble.
New member Padonks

Oh Bunny62 I'm with you on the cooking thing and wondering what to do with all the things I make... must be the puritan in me! I long to really let rip with something big and bold and colourful that has no real purpose other than I enjoy doing it BUT...

What sort of drums quidlebet? Bet your neighbours love you!!!

Padonks - I have no head for heights but always think hot air ballooning must be very special...but isn't the landing a bit undignified?

I saw an advert for a 10 week continuing education course at Oxford University on Creative Writing - Life Writing, so enrolled on that as a new experience. It is all done over the internet so fits in easily with other commitments. (Pity I am unexpectedly moving house at the same time!)
I can see that such courses could become quite addicitive - a bit like Gransnet! Must logoff.....

Nono - I saw that course and was curious - is it interesting, challenging, fun?

mollie - yes all of those, It is making me use my brain, think differently and see things from different points of view. The participants, about 25 of them, are from all round the world and the tutor, Cherry Gilchrist, is excellent. I have no experience of writing so it is all new to me. I had no particular ambition to write when I started but now I am rethinking that as a possibility.

Hello maggiej, I have been chairman of our friends of our local church, enormous fun but very time consuming, we are trying to launch a web site! But are very slow at it. We have just had a giant book sale raising over£2000 for our local church, one things leads to another. We help with the art club and wI and music society, so lots to get involved with, the problem is how to find the time with two lovely grandchildren and a third on the way.

Me too Nannyliz Love cardmaking Have enough xmas cards made to last me for years !!! Have converted a redundent bedroom into my craftroom as i also paint ceramics !!! I also attend classes in both so have made lots of crafty friends !!!
My grandchildren love making cards we have lovely times expressing our artistic ideas on each other !!!

I'm surprised only one person here has mentioned playing bridge. My husband I took it up 18 months ago as beginners and are now addicted! It's a brilliant game at all levels.

I have taken up singing in a choir! Its wonderful fun.

I used to watch work colleagues play bridge during lunchtimes and it baffled me...I don't think I have enough memory to keep track of what's happening, CathyS!

What sort of things does your choir sing, Diva...are you traditional and angelic or the rowdy, clappy, sort? I love all sorts but I can't open my mouth to sing in public although I have a voice like an angel in my head!!!!

I passed my Bike test 15 years ago but had to give it up due to arthritis....bummer

Try Zumba. It's great fun. I even tried a Zumba Class in France. You don't need to know the language, just follow the moves the teacher is doing. Great music.

Hi Nannyliz - I make cards too, I'd really like to find an outlet for them apart from friends and family, it would be helpful if I could make a bit of money with them too. Trouble with only making them for birthdays etc unless you know loads of people you can only make so many!!

Grumpyoldwoman they have some reasonably cheap sox in Matalan, if you have one near you. Not sure if they do online shopping or not though.

Rosiesposies I've also taken up ceramics - went to a local art class - actually more like a workshop as we all do what we want and the teacher just comes around and advises us or takes over and does it. I started with a 'proper' picture of flowers on a canvas but it took too long for me - all that acrylic paint - I got bored!!
Then I saw some of them painting ceramics and haven't looked back - although I have the same problem with that as I do with cards - not enough people to make things for!
I've made 2 mobiles for my grandsons - one was trains for Henry - painted on one side and the letters of his name on the other and an elephant one for William - more elephants obviously as a longer name!! They both seem to like them as they make an interesting noise when banged!!

Hello!
I'm new as well. Gosh, there are some productive people on this forum!

I'm not yet retired but recently have enjoyed making a few things like dresses for my grand-daughter and an art case for my grandson. I get enormous pleasure from creating something a bit individual and I like to think the children are happy with my efforts too!!
The www is amazing - there are some incredibly talented people out there, making all manner of beautiful things for their homes and families etc. A great many of them generously share patterns, techniques and info - definitely worth a google. I would be happy to share some of my favourite addresses if anyone is interested but need to check the protocol for this first, I imagine it might be necessary to seek their permission first.

I retired through ill health back in 2002. I had had my third stroke and I loved writing so despite, or perhaps because of, my problems I did a diploma in journalism and passed.
I wrote for the internet a a local paper for a while but had to give up when the arthritis got too bad. So I took up photography. I love it. I write short stories and stories for children, sometimes on commision from the grandchildren.

I now make cards and with my husband's help make jewlry sometimes. I particularly like card making with my grandchildren who are 10 and 7 (their brother is too young at the moment but give it time!)

Next I want to take up painting even if I have to adapt the way I hold the brushes.

I hadn't sewn since the late 70's when our sons were little ..then came 5 grandsons in the last 5 years !
I bought a basic sewing machine and started making bibs and blankets and taggy toys .I now have a stock of presents ,from baby items to school bags and cushion covers ,for friends and family and basics waiting for the next baby :-)