What’s your favorite hobby to escape? This discussion is open to caregivers and former caregivers.

I took care of my mother who passed on and now my sister. I found the best rest is quiet time to read or pray...away from it all. Schedule time every day to relax and re-energize makes you a better care giver. Also reminding myself the patient is behavior is due to the disease.

Enjoying your favorite hobbies is a great stress reliever and an excellent way to get your creative juices flowing! Very self-fulfilling!!

Trish,

I have always wanted to learn calligraphy. It's so beautiful. Is it hard to learn? Do you find it is becoming a lost art in the day of computerized everything? There is something so special about something handmade, right? What could be more personal than a handwritten note, card, letter, invitation, announcement, etc. Have you sold any of your writings? You should.

I wish I had paid someone like you to address my wedding invitations. With all of my handwriting drills that were forced on us in my Catholic school by the strict nuns, I never had beautiful penmanship. My mother who had the same order of nuns had beautiful penmanship, so did my aunt. My father had crappy handwriting. I guess I took after him. I always thought it was funny how most doctors have crappy handwriting.

I enjoy creating assorted greeting cards and doing calligraphy. It's a wonderful and creative escape for me. I have even displayed and sold some of my cards at vendor fairs. I get many compliments on my cards and they have lifted the spirits of many friends, family and acquaintances.

My dH gave me some small paper butterflies for Valentine's Day.
I think they are for making greeting cards. I would like to make my own greeting cards.

Sew on patches of a coordinating pattern but in the colors you like better. Cover only part of it.

Or, cover one side only with a new fabric, and place the old side quilt face down.

But only if you are going to use it. Otherwise, donate the quilt, and make yourself a new one.

Cutting it into smaller sections is an interesting idea, the odd pattern isn't quite as overwhelming that way 🤔

cwille,

Are there any pretty parts at all? If there are maybe you could frame that one section of the quilt. Or sew into a tote bag? Line it with a coordinating fabric.

Yeah, some things tug on our heartstrings. My grandmother that I did not know, daddy's mom made quilts from scraps too. They were a poor family. They weren't pretty quilts but they were made very well. Daddy said that it was a group of ladies that worked together as a team, a quilting bee. I used to love seeing those quilts as a child and I knew they were special to daddy. Sadly, they were destroyed along with everything else in mom's house due to Hurricane Katrina.

I'm looking for suggestions from all the crafty people out there...

I have a quilt I made when I was younger, there is sentimental value to it because my grandmother and aunt helped put in a lot of stitches but it is an abstract 70's kind of pattern made cheaply with leftover fabric pieces that in retrospect do not compliment each other, in short it is UGLY. I have never found a way to make use of it, I almost gave it up several times but... the sentimental value keeps stopping me. Any ideas what I can do with it?

GA,

Mom was with me for 15 years. I no longer care for her. Long story. She is now with my brother and sister in law.

I am not aware of the swaying but movement is good. Whenever she did physical and occupational therapy it helped. She's 94 now. She's wearing out! She left my home shortly before she turned 94. She does use a walker but she would love to give up and go into a wheelchair. Everything is such an effort for her. I am sure I would be exhausted too.

It's devastating watching former active people deteriorate to horrible diseases. My mom used to do so many things, she sewed beautifully, crochet, knit, embroidery, etc. She sold lots of things at craft shows. Etsy wasn't around then. My grandmother made beautiful items too, as well as my aunts. My great aunts used to make items such as beautiful christening gowns and nightgowns with gorgeous tatting to the upscale boutiques in the french quarter back in the day.

NeedHelpWithMom, I'm sorry to learn that your mother lost motor skills.   I wasn't aware of that, and didn't intend to raise emotional issues.

Can she sit in a chair and sway?   If so, are you away of the Dance for PD therapy?

Elaine,

I love comedy shows too. I have no idea why people watch trash tv. There is a lot of crap on television! LOL

I like old movies too.

I wish my mom could have done the color books. The designs are pretty. My daughters love the intricate designs that are in some of the books. My mom lost her motor skills due to her Parkinson's disease. For those who still have motor skills it's great.

Elaine, laughter IS a good medicine.   

NeedHelpWithMom, I think coloring books can be soothing, perhaps because of the repetitive movement of the hands.   But I do think that it depends on the design, the difficulty and the person's individual interest.

If I told you that you could order a coloring book of flowers and garden scenes, would that appeal to you (yes, I'm teasing!)?

I think I've written of this before but it's worth mentioning.  It's the series of what I'd call mood, inspirational and adaptive books by Trevor Greive.   A friend gave me the Blue Day Book after my sister died, and it really helped me relax after that trauma.

The Book for People Who Do Too Much has some cute inspirational photos:

Cute photos of animals are accompanied by clever observations or questions.  One is a bear seated, paw over one eye, accompanied by a caption of headaches (from overachieving - too much salmon fishing, perhaps)?  

Another photo address overachievers' effect on those around them, with the photo showing 9 Huskies collapsed and sleeping while still tethered to  a sled.

The animals are adorable, and when accompanied by a clever caption, bring an instant smile to my face, and I can feel myself relaxing.  

Greive's art work and inspirations are better than chocolate, and for a chocolate lover, that's quite an admission.

I like watching some kind of comedy show or comedy movie to take my mind off my Mother. My brother told me this tactic when his son died in a car accident in 2003. He said he was seeing a psychiatrist after his son died and he said comedy is the best medicine. To be able to laugh. So tonight I watched Saturday Night Live. It was a repeat from the Christmas show 2019. Eddy Murphy was the host. He said he hadn’t hosted in 30 years. It was so funny!! He brought back his characters that he use to play, Gumby, Mr. Robinson and Buckwheat. It was so funny!!! Laughter truly is the best medicine!!!

Pr0fr3ssOr,

Don’t you like the puzzles better than the trendy coloring books? I get bored with the color books.

Jigsaw puzzles, real ones or online, help me to detach from the stress of the day. When i complete a puzzle I feel I have accomplished something and I have something pretty to look at. Total win for me,

GA,

I would love to try a quilt. I haven’t ever tried quilting.

I have been doing bead crochet. Haven’t completed a project yet. I am just practicing some designs.

Today's a good time to think about crafting.  In my area we're recovering from subzero wind chills.  My car doors were frozen yesterday and probably still are this morning, so my mind turns to something creative (as opposed to indoor work!) to do while the sun warms up the car.   And what else but crafting?

For years I've subscribed to the Dover weekly selection of various publications, including their fairly extensive offerings of Art Nouveau designs.

They're featuring some again, beautiful, stunning designs, especially in stained glass.     Most are copyright free, so they can be incorporated into designs.  I've used a lot of them for handmade Christmas cards (a project that took far more time than I could ever realize).

This is one that's really caught my eye: 

https://sep.yimg.com/ca/I/yhst-137970348157658_2611_536434269

I'm trying to figure out whether the petals are colored, painted, or a mix of something like glass used in stained glass designs.    In applying the designs, they  could also be colored with pastels, or painted with oils although I don't have the skills for working with oil paints.

My creative instincts are stirring!    I'm seeing quilts in some of the patterns and probably will head upstairs to the quilt stash by the end of the day to design quilts that I never will finish.    I think some silky kind of fabric would work well for the petals, although I've found that 100% polyester isn't that easy to work with.  Satin would be better; it's thicker and less flimsy.

What are you working on now?  Quilting?  Crochet?  Knitting?   Painting?  Woodworking?

Tree Artist,

I wish we could send photos on this site. I’d love to see your paintings.

I cross stitch when I can sit for a bit. I read a lot at night. When not reading, etc., I mow, clean, do yard work and anything else that either needs doing or that my husband or mother can think of.....

I read. A lot! Fiction and nonfiction. I am interested in everything and love when I learn something new. Years ago, as a teenager, I read The Once and Future King by T. H. White. At one point, Merlin tells the young Arthur, “The best thing for being sad is to learn something.” I think I really took this to heart, because I delight in learning.

When I am not caregiving or watching grandchildren, I also crochet, garden, take yoga classes (actually more like stretching classes), ride my bike, and sing in my church choir. I am also an artist. I paint in oils - mainly landscapes, though I have been in a slump. I have plenty of inspiration of what to paint. I can get inspired by flowers growing in a ditch. I just can’t seem to bring myself to pick up my brushes lately.

GA,

Will do.

NHWM; please check your messages.

Tacy,

Love your honesty! You sound like me as a kid. I was picky, picky, picky. Hahaha

Try going to Catholic school with nuns and we had ‘plate check’ at lunch. This is why I brought my lunch!

The times that mom was out of bread for my PB&J sandwich and I had to eat lunch at school I was punished for not eating!

Ooooh, agree on the lemon poppyseed. Very good! I like doing cookies with my daughters or my great nieces. Fun!

Becky,

Yes, it has to have cream cheese icing!

That’s wonderful for you to make that for them. How lovely. It’s a beautiful cake.

I will try doing a red velvet cake one day. I saw a recipe for red velvet brownies recently. I don’t know, I am kind of a purest with some things. I think just a classic red velvet cake would be better.

And I really don’t go for all of those fancy flavored cheesecakes. Give me a classic New York cheesecake! Don’t screw it up with all the extra crap.

NHWM. Red velvet is the easiest cake ever. I like to make hummingbird cake - a little like carrot cake. For my son’s grooms cake I made a triple recipe of red velvet cake. Transported it packed in ice from Martinsburg WV to Morgantown because of the cream cheese frosting.

Tacy,

PBS does that English baking show. It is so different than the food network shows. They can bake! Baking is a work of art. I think a pastry chef is harder than a food chef because it is less forgiving. Baking is more precise. All cooking is chemistry but I think baking is harder.

I do simple baking. I am in New Orleans so of course I do bread pudding. I can do quick breads like banana, zucchini or pumpkin. I can do a basic yellow cake from scratch. I can bake brownies from scratch. I don’t like prepared mixes. I am a from scratch in all cooking. I can also do a carrot cake. Want to do a red velvet cake!

I am intimidated by pie crust. Not sure why. But I can do a cobbler from scratch.

My hubby does an amazing New York cheesecake.

I have to share my baking because we can’t eat it all.

Becky,

Flannel backing does sound warm and cozy!

Oh thanks, GA. Cotton batting, cotton fabric or a poly/cotton blend. I don’t have any glue except for Elmer’s and E6000.

The boards are #2 yellow pine from Lowe’s. 1 X 6. I cut them into 10 inch pieces.

I do have a power screwdriver.