Hobbyist

My husband says I am the only person he knows who makes hobbies hard work.
I've had my fair share of them. And he is right.
My skills were only passable when I took art classes as a child and again in college. Neither watercolors nor oils were my forte' so once upon a time I decided to try tole painting. I didn't paint all that well, but I worked at it. I abandoned that to take up sketching because I thought it would be easier. It wasn't.
From there I went to handwork. Cross stitch was popular at that time and sewing over lines or into pre-set areas didn't sound all that hard. It was. I invariably selected large and/or complicated patterns and inevitably tired of them before their completion.
My paternal Grandmother and Great-grandmother were avid quilters. They spent the better part of every winter standing at quilt frames spread out across the den of my grandparent's house. I wish now I had shown an interest in learning from them. I was about as interested in learned to quilt as I was to crochet or knit or tat or can.
The regret of not following that particular family tradition led me to bid  on quilting lessons a few years ago, thinking I would pick up on the skills of my grandmother and great grandmother. I learned the basics during the six weeks I attended the class. I even made a few small throws and baby quilts. But, true to form, I selected patterns that were too complicated for my proficiency, or lack thereof.
That particular hobby was made more difficult by the fact that I did not know how to sew on a sewing machine before I started the classes. I didn't take home economics in high school.  Back then, students had one free hour and cheer practice trumped home ec on my schedule. My quilting instructor could have made far more progress with me had she not had to teach me to thread a sewing machine.
I still do a little quilting from time to time. I have tried some applique. But my serious hobby of the past few years is scrapbooking. I find it very therapeutic, especially when I "scrap" with friends who can help me accomplish my often complex page goals.

I am trying to simplify them. Really, I am.