Hobbies

[laconicchick]

grumpygirl said:

And of course there are doxies, but I'm not sure they constitute a hobby.

They can be! (That is my high school lit teacher's site. She is obsessed with dachshunds and has them allll over her classroom. And she drew one of the cartoon ones in my yearbook!)

[Deleted]

Here are those online bead shops:

E-Bead Store

E-Bead Shop

Jewelry Supply

Jewelry Supply is the only one I've ordered from and I liked dealing with them.

[Deleted]

Cranky Old Broad, I just came here and saw your post. I got into beading through a friend, she makes beautiful jewelry, and she offered to teach me. I don't do bead weaving or anything too fancy or intricate, I mostly stick to earrings and bracelets. If you are not near a bead shop that offers classes on jewelry making, you might want to check out your library for beading books or get some beading magazines that show the basics. It's easier (I think) to learn from someone in person, but you can surely learn from books and magazines if you don't have the option of taking a class.

I get most of my beads at bead shows. You can see what you are getting and the prices are usually pretty good. I ALWAYS spend more than I meant to though, I cannot resist the temptation of the beautiful beads!

There are some great online shops also, I will post some links when I get home. Like Jensational, I have found that the bead shops in my area are far more expensive than either the bead shows or the online shops. Ebay has some good beads at good prices also.

And Mugsy's suggestion of starting out with a kit with beads and everything included is a great idea. I would not go out and spend a lot of money on expensive beads and findings right off the bat. I think Michael's has bead kits, I know I have seen them at Costco also. Oriental Trading would be a good place to buy from if they have an inexpensive kit, but I wouldn't buy a lot of beads from them, they are not good quality (the sparkle rubs off, boo!).

More later.....(I can talk about beads all day long!)

[grumpygirl]

laconicchick said:

grumpygirl said:

And of course there are doxies, but I'm not sure they constitute a hobby.

They can be! (That is my high school lit teacher's site. She is obsessed with dachshunds and has them allll over her classroom. And she drew one of the cartoon ones in my yearbook!)

Shakespeare with doxies. Oh, that is too fabulous. I love this Greecie site, I find out about the best things EVER. mycathatesyou.com and now doxies doing Shakespeare.

And not to mention great bead sites. I am going to save so much money by spending money on those sites! Heee.... ;D

[Cranky Old Broad]

Thanks for the response, TiaMaria. I've looked around town and we have one small craft store with a poor selection. One of these days, I'm going to have to take a drive into one of the "real" cities and see what craftstores (and goodies!) I can find. In the meantime, I'm trying to teach myself crochet to keep myself amused.

Why do they have to make crocheting instructions in Greek, anyway? *grumbles*

[Deleted]

Cranky Old Broad, I just taught myself how to crochet using this book[/color] and it was so incredibly clear and easy, that after one month, I'm making a really beautiful baby blanket with granny squares.

I never thought I'd enjoy crochet as much as I do knitting, since knitting is a passion of mine, but I'm so loving it!

[Mierin]

I've cross-stitched for years, though lately I've been feeling the urge to learn how to knit (Not sure why really, just do) I find cross-stitching very theraputic - and if I do it while watching a movie, I feel like I've been productive. :-)

[linared]

Cranky Old Broad, I just taught myself how to crochet using this book and it was so incredibly clear and easy, that after one month, I'm making a really beautiful baby blanket with granny squares.

eataknobatnight, I just ordered this book and I'm pretty excited. I've tried crocheting before and I hope this time it sticks.

[Deleted]

Hey linared, I think you'll really love this book. I've picked up crochet several times since I was a little girl, but this is the first time I really "get" it. Now I'm as addicted to it as I am knitting, if not more. The book makes it so incredibly clear, seriously. All the other Learn How To Crochet! books I've seen read like stereo instructions in Japanese.

The kit comes with some yarn, but I used a thicker yarn for my first couple projects in the book. Much easier than the yarn they provide.

Have fun and good luck! Let me know how you go.

[linared]

Thanks for the suggestions eataknobatnight. I used some of those other books and I couldn't even figure out how to do a slip knot. I did go to classes at Michaels but I didn't really have the time and I didn't like the instructor. She was kinda bossy and she smelled like salami.