Today the Wenches bring you a bit of Show & Share – we may write novel after novel, but we’re creative in other ways too. A writer can’t just write all the time! Each of us finds time for favorite hobbies and activities to balance all that writing and researching. Scroll down to see the creative, wonderful things we’ve been up to lately. Some of these hobbies find their way into our stories too. Read on to find out more . . . and be sure to share what you do in your spare time too!
What hobbies do the Wenches enjoy, and have those hobbies ever worked their way into the books?
Anne here. I have always had some kind of hobby on the go, ever since I was a child. I like making things, and my godmother, with
whom I often stayed, was a keen creative too. She taught me to make (and design) felt toys — mainly animals — when I was nine or ten and I made a whole menagerie – all very small, a max. of 3 inches tall. I taught myself to crochet from a book and made quite a few things, the biggest being a bedspread made of star-shaped “squares” which I crocheted on the train going to and from school — when I wasn’t doing homework on the train, that is.
When I started looking after a friend’s little girl on a regular basis we made things for the doll’s house, from clothes and hats for tiny baby dolls to all sorts of household items from polyclay. She used to decide what we’d make and one time it was, “I think the doll’s house needs to have a doll’s house.” That was a challenge, making teensy tiny things! Later the doll’s house also needed a tiny Christmas Diorama, complete with wise men, kings, sheep and camels. The sheep were the easiest. Most years I make my own Christmas decorations, some out of paper, others using clay, or natural seeds and seedpods. And for the last ten years or so I have made jewellery — mainly necklaces, bracelets and earrings from pearls and semi-precious beads. I don’t make things to sell. If I did, I think it would take the fun out of it all, so I mostly foist them on friends.
Pat says — Hobbies? Researching and writing aren’t enough? How about reading? Once upon a time, I used to embroider and quilt, but threading those needles isn’t easy with fading eyesight, and I’m no longer in need of nest feathering. So I guess playing in my garden and traveling will have to qualify these days!
Christina shares: I have lots of hobbies and yes, many of them make their way into my books. One of them is band weaving which Viking women did too so I often have my heroines hem/edge their garments with home-woven bands. Their technique was a bit different to the one I was taught but the result is the same. I made some for my own Viking costume and they’re very pretty!
I’ve been crocheting since I was very young – a friend taught me so that I could make clothes for my Barbie dolls – and I still enjoy that although I don’t do it as often these days. Like Anne, I made a bedspread, but I haven’t used it in years. A while back my daughter gave me a book with instructions how to crochet amigurumi, tiny stuffed animals and other things in the Japanese style. I tried that and quite enjoyed it.
A couple of years ago I joined a course to learn how to do weaving on a loom and became hooked. I have since made quite a few table runners and shawls/scarves. At the moment I’m in the process of setting up a new warp. It’s in shades of blue to match an old blue and white porcelain tea set I have. I’m planning to add some silver thread to the weft to make it sparkle a bit – should look great!
Recently, however, I’ve been concentrating on making a patchwork quilt. I did another course in order to learn how to do it properly, and I’ve been working on this quilt ever since. I cut out all the material (I’m very OCD so actually bought fabric so that the colours would match – I know, kind of defeats the object of patches!) and laid it all out on my carpet – see photo. It’s probably going to take me years to finish, but hopefully I’ll get there one day.
Other hobbies include gardening (badly), going to auctions/car boot sales/antique fairs and collecting all sorts of things I probably shouldn’t, going to the cinema and museum exhibitions, and of course reading. There’s never enough time for everything I want to do!
Nicola here. I discovered at a young age that I have absolutely no talent for creative hobbies that involve making things. My grandmother was a seamstress and she tried to teach me to sew, knit and crochet but the only thing I could do was patchwork, which I did enjoy. Even then, though, the stitching was rather uneven. I quite fancied weaving but given my track record my parents didn’t want to waste money on a loom!
Instead, I turned my attention to other hobbies, in particular singing, which was always a great joy of mine. I sang in choirs across the UK and toured France and Germany, which was wonderful for the music, the friendships and seeing amazing places. These days I still enjoy a good sing although my voice isn’t what it was. I’ve certainly had quite a few characters in my books who have good voices and enjoy music. The hero and heroine in my first timeslip, House of Shadows were both in the village choir and I loved writing about that.
Gardening is slowly becoming a new hobby of mine now that I have more time to spend outside and have learned more about plants and how not to kill them! Plus, I love photography, and I suspect that will become a real hobby soon when I get a proper camera. I’m looking forward to that!
Andrea says: I have always had a left brain-right brain love affair with books . . . so along with writing, I also really enjoy the artistic side of creating a physicl book from scratch. In art school I learned bookbinding, how to make marbled paper, and handset lead type—and print pages on a letterpress. Alas, it’s been a while since I’ve had access to a printshop but I hope to get back to doing more of the book arts. A friend of mine recently told me of a place not far from where I live that offers classes and studio space, so that’s on the wishlist fro the coming year. (Here’s one of the books I’ve made using marbled paper I made myself!).
In the meantime, I have fun playing with my Adobe Creative Suite design programs, where I can design my own promo memes, covers for my self-published Lady Arianna books, as well as various other graphics for greeting cards, etc.
Mary Jo here, and I have nothing like the crafty talents of Pia and Anne, or the gardening abilities of Pat and Nicola. I’m mostly just a dabbler. I learned knitting and tried to learn crochet but never much liked handicrafts. I like singing and have added my mediocre second alto voice to choirs and choruses at a different times, but that never led to touring in Europe as Nicola has done!
Does traveling count as a hobby? If so, I’m there! My mother was a world traveler and my two sibs and I inherited that passion. My first international trip was hitchhiking through Europe with a college friend after our sophomore year. That was just the beginning. I lived in Oxford, England for two years in my late 20’s and really, the traveling never stopped.
In recent years, we’ve done a lot of cruising because it’s so easy, like settling into a hotel that sails the seas. Much time is spent deciding where and when to go, and weighing different possible excursions. When we stop in Montenegro on an Adriatic cruise, do we want a boat trip on the long fjord that is the spine of the country or go to a live concert by three local musicians in a historic church? Or should we choose one of a dozen different possibilities? (We chose the church concert and the music and scenery were wonderful!) I definitely think my decades of traveling count as a hobby.
I think cats can be a hobby also, because they take time, money, and thought (and lots of petting. <G>) And they’re all such individuals. Princess Flufferbella is a Velcro cat who stays close to me, while Riley the Wrecker is active entertainment. Yes, I’d say they qualify as a hobby! Here are pictures of Velcro Cat on my desk and Riley the Roller, rolling:
Susan says: Writing, reading, and family take up a lot of time, but everyone needs a change of pace and a good creative outlet! Sometimes I would finish a book after months of work, and then rearrange furniture or spend a day painting a room a new color–a great change of pace, and not so much a hobby as an urge for a 3D activity with an immediate and pleasing result. Otherwise, I knit and crochet (my great-grandmother taught me to knit when I was small, though it took me years to get back to that and crochet too). Knitting is easy to do while watching TV with family; I’m no expert and have no aspirations as such! I just want an easy, low-stress, creative activity with a pleasing result. So I use fat circular needles (so easy!!) and a couple of simple repeating stitches, and I just knit back and forth, back and forth–scarves, throws, blankets, (easy!!). Counting stitches and keeping track of a design has no appeal for me, I’d have no patience for that. Here’s a pile of throws and scarves. I give them away, but somehow they keep multiplying!
And there’s art too. I went to art school years ago, though I just play around with it occasionally now. I still sketch and prefer dry color media too, though I don’t get to it as much as I’d like. Here’s a portrait sketch from my art school days (yup, Reader, I married him, and although he’s lost the hair and leaves his shirt on, he’s still pretty cute!). I would love to find time to go deep into the art stuff again. And while I haven’t yet included a knitter in my novels, more than one of my books involves art and artists. Meanwhile, I’d like to do more crafts and art, but there are books to revise, edit, and write–where does the time go?
So that’s some of what we do in our spare time! What hobbies do you have? Please share, we’d love to know!
Susan, what a lovely collection of hobby skills, very few of which I have! But the Velcro cat is snoozing about a foot away on my desk, and I have defined her as a hobby!
Mary Jo, it’s a great collection of pretty crafts and interesting activities, isn’t it? Your kitties are family, vocation, and hobby too, and traveling is an enviable hobby – and you’ve achieved expert status! 😉
What a wonderful post; thank you all for sharing your hobbies.
My biggest hobby is (little surprise here, I expect) reading. I also enjoy playing mah jongg (NMJL version) and making bookmarks from old library date due cards. You can see some at the following link and several more batches if you scroll down.
https://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/742513-artist-boardies-please-show-off-your-creations-here/page/2/#findComment-9750722
Kareni, your bookmarks are cute and very cool. Where do you get old library cards? What a great use for them. And reading as a hobby – I think we all share that one!! 😉
Thank you, Susan! As to obtaining the old library date due cards, I’ll confess to looking in library and ex-library books wherever I see them such as at libraries (public and academic), in little free libraries, in thrift stores, on the library’s Read and Return shelf, etc. It’s also possible to purchase both unused (Amazon) and vintage cards (on Etsy, for example) from various sources.
What a great idea, Kareni! And good use of old stamps and other odds and ends. Do you have a machine for encasing them in plastic? They look wonderful!
Thank you, Christina. When I’ve completed four or five bookmarks, I take them to my local copy shop to have them laminated.
Ha, so reading can be considered a hobby and I’m not a total slacker. Those cards are absolutely amazing!
Thank you kindly, Patricia. You are definitely NOT a slacker!
My two hobbies are knitting and genealogy. I’ve been knitting since I was about twelve when my aunt taught me. At first I made clothes for the dolls my sisters and I had, but later I graduated to making larger items. Now I’m never without projects on the needles–usually several, one that is mostly mindless so I can work on it in meetings and watching Zoom or sports on television.
Genealogy is utterly fascinating. It helps bring history to life when you discover events that your own ancestors participated in and visualize what their lives were like.
I am hooked on genealogy as well, Jane, although I haven’t had much time for it lately. It’s like a never-ending puzzle isn’t it – fascinating!
It’s always interesting to learn how others use their creativity, isn’t it? To have so many hobbies AND writing/editing/publishing/marketing books, too, indicates you all have more energy than I!
An aunt taught me to embroider when I was 6 and I’ve never stopped – all the women in my family and my husband’s have the pillowcases, tea towels, lingerie cases, etc, to prove it. Both my grandmothers sewed beautifully and started teaching me early on. For many years, I made most of my own clothes but these days, I most enjoy making things for my home or others – just finished a duvet cover from a gorgeous piece of 1930s floral upholstery fabric I found at a consignment shop (another hobby, if shopping counts!).
Shopping counts as far as I’m concerned, Constance. Looking around thrift stores is one of my pleasures!
I really envy you the ability to make clothes – I would love to learn! I was useless at sewing when I was at school but have since learned cross-stitch and basic sewing by myself. It’s great fun, isn’t it!
I used to do all that too. Where on earth did we find the time? But a duvet cover! That’s a project I hadn’t thought about. It’s always hard to find good ones.
So true, Pat! This will be the second one I’ve made – I’ve gone from making tailored suits and slacks to just sewing straight seams, but it’s relaxing and very pleasing to see something I’ve made in use!
What a fun post! You all are so creative in so many ways, but even other hobbies are fun, too, traveling, singing(both if which I enjoy!), whatever gives youpleasure, after all that’s what hobbies are supposed to do, aren’t they?
I enjoy doing needlepoint and my apt is full of things I have made and I also do needlepoint things for friends and family. I love choosing threads and stitches for my projects and see the canvas come to life as i stitch it. Pillows, trays, placemats, coasters, paperweights, holiday ornaments, small jewelry boxes, inserts for tote bags, belts, straps for handbags, you name it, I can stitch it!
Another things I love to do is collect litttle boxes, enameled, wood, ceramic that are reminders of places I have been and, until i ran out kf room, I loved collecting books! If visiting museums counts then add that to the list. I also love doing research for the fun of it, going down different rabbit holees and sometimes seeking obscure information on a topic. Something i am reading will grab my attention and I want to know more about it and off i go! I could happily spend hours researching some obscure topic(or some not so obscure one–a anything is grist for the mill! Most of the time is something historical, but there are other topics, too!
Sounds like you’re extremely busy, Jane, in the best possible way!
It’s fun to hear about everyone’s hobbies, and how creative you all are. When I was younger I did a lot more crafty stuff, including knitting and quilting. Nowadays my main hobby is gardening. I’ve been cultivating perennials in my yard for about 30 years, and you can see some of them on my Pinterest board. https://pin.it/6InIJfNys
I also grow vegetables, make jams and jellies, and do a lot of cooking and baking; cakes, pies, biscuits, muffins, everything. I enjoy experimenting with different cuisines, like Indian, Turkish, and Middle Eastern.
Wow Karin, what gorgeous flowers! I wish you could come and teach me – I definitely don’t have green fingers. I do like gardening as it’s very therapeutic but I’m not very good at it.
Many of them are different varieties of day lilies. They are really dead easy to grow, and there are so many different gorgeous hybrids now. They come back every year with no attention at all, and when they get big enough to divide, you can plant more or give them away to friends. And some of the others are species that are native to the East Coast of the U.S. that spread and thrive quite easily.
What a wonderful collection of photos, Karin. I admire your gardening prowess!
I am so jealous of your gardening skill, Karin – this holiday season, I even managed to kill one of those amaryllis bulbs dipped in wax that you don’t even have to touch! What beautiful flowers you have – and what pleasure they must bring to those who live nearby!
That pinterest board is stunning, Karin. It also took me down a rabbit hole, as pinterest has a habit of doing. *g*
I used to make a lot of jams and chutneys, but I don’t have the fruit trees anymore to support that habit —though I still save jars as if I’m going to. And I also enjoy cooking middle eastern dishes and those from India, Turkey and other places. I’m lucky here as we have a really wide variety of restaurant cuisines — one of the joys of a multicultural country — so it’s easy to get inspired.
Reading is my greatest hobby and passion and has been since I could string words together to make a sentence. I’m never without a book on the go. My grandmother taught me to crochet when I was about six or seven and like all little girls I made clothes for my dolls. My mother was always knitting, She made all our jumpers and cardigans growing up. I enjoy it too. I made lots for my children when they were small.
I enjoy making clothes still for dolls, ornamental ones really. It’s a great excuse because I have no grandchildren and not likely to either so at least I’m keeping my hand in. Great post!
That sounds lovely, Teresa, and it’s always fun to make miniature things so dolls’ clothes are perfect!
I love that Anne is foisting off her jewelry on her friend’s. I do the same with my knitting (mostly intricate lace shawls). Kntting is my meditation of choice.
Thanks, Barbara — yes it’s lovely to give things you’ve made to friends and relatives. Your lace shawls sound beautiful and I’m sure the recipients treasure them. I wish we could share photos in the comments.
I adore Anne’s jewelry and wished she lived closer! I’ve tried making jewelry but I’m not very good at it.
Pat if I lived closer to the wenches, you’d all be dripping with the jewelry I make. LOL
I love all your hobbies. I understand not having enough time. I used to do t-shirt painting. I started because I couldn’t find anything with a clarinet on it. My daughter played while she was in school. I did a few for her friends and others, flutes and saxophones. One of our camping projects for my senior girl scout troop was to do their own t-shirts starting with stencils. They did a good job. I haven’t done any in a while since my finger arthritis makes it difficult.
I am a retired nurse who is also a certified clinical aromatherapist. When I was still working I did blends for my patients. Now it is more of a hobby but on occasion I am asked to presentations.
Jan, how fascinating to make your own aromatherapy blends. They sound wonderful. And the T-shirts also sound lovely — I bet those kids at scout camp loved making their own designs. I’ve never done anything like that, though I did once paint dog paws all over the cotton jacket I used to wear only to walk the dog and go to dog park. It had a number of pockets in which I carried all the bits and pieces I might need — especially poo-bags.
I didn’t need them for other outings and it was useful to have everything in the one jacket..