Hobbies are apt to run away with us, you know; it doesn't do to be run away with. We must keep the reins. George Eliot

I love the #52 stories question for this week. It is "Do you like to dabble in lots of different hobbies? If so, what are they? Or do you have one primary past time that takes up most of your free time and energy? I'm a hobby purest. I generally choose one hobby and pursue it exclusively, and passionately until I move onto something else.

When I was first married I loved to crochet. Crochet was a great way for me to relax and still feel that I was being productive. I usually crocheted as John and I watched TV in the evenings. The first year we were married I crocheted a beautiful granny square afghan in yellow, brown, and orange for my new father-in-law Keith (I will try to find it and post a picture). I crocheted prolifically! I was in Mormon Handicraft one day and noticed the crocheted baby clothes they sold. Eureka! A light went on--what if I could make money doing a hobby I loved. I made a crochet baby dress and a pair of loopy booties and approached the Mormon Handicraft manager to pitch my wares. She was gracious and kind and agreed to sell (on consignment) my booties but rejected the cute dress saying she had multiple contributors making clothing for baby girls. BUT, then she made a statement that inspired me, "We have nothing for baby boys. If you design something for baby boys I know we will have a market for it." I went home that day and designed and started making a baby boy blessing romper that became a Mormon Handicraft best seller. I don't have an exact number but I made and sold dozens of these blessing rompers over the next few years. I also made blessing rompers for several nephews and most of my grandsons.

Andrew sporting a grandma romper

One funny experience: When Jake Black was born I made him a white and blue romper for his blessing but I didn't want to be pushy so I didn't give it to Judy. The night before his blessing Judy called me and wanted to know where Jake's romper was. I ran it right down to her house but I didn't have the regular loopy booties to go with it. Judy insisted she had to have the booties too. I crocheted most of the night and was still sitting in the car finishing them minutes before the meeting started. I never procrastinated romper/bootie production again.

In 1983 I designed a female version of the blessing romper and entered it in the craft division of the Highland City Arts and Crafts Show. I took grand prize--I was thrilled. Here is Samantha modeling the award-winning romper!

Eventually, I started figuring what I was making per hour when I figured my time and expenses and found I'd never get rich crocheting:)

Next, I decided to be a painter. I dabbled a bit in oil painting. I took classes with both MeraDee Peck and Letty Boyle (both who went on to be accomplished painters). One day in a community ed class we were supposed to bring a picture from home to inspire a painting. I had my canvas but I forgot to bring a picture. Letty brought a card she'd received to class. She tore her card in half and we each painted our half. Ok, I'm not an artist but I'm still proud of my amateurish effort. Shortly later a tole painting shop opened in Pleasant Grove and I fell instantly in love. Tole painting is a form of folk art. The shop's proprietor was Doris. I took classes at Doris's shop for years and I painted dozens of projects. My favorite project was a chair I painted for Mariann. When the old Central Ward building was demolished in 1980 the church sold all the furniture. Mom bought a tiny wood chair from the Jr. Sunday School room that she gave to Mariann. When I finished the chair I put it on my dresser and admired my handiwork until I had to return it to Mar. I still have a chicken stool project I painted for me.

I learned to cross stitch in Primary on a stamped fabric but the first time I saw a counted cross-stitch picture in Heinzelman's needle work store in Provo I was hooked. Counted cross stitch is like needlepoint where the thread is stitched into the fabric to create a design or picture. Heinzelman's sold cross stitch books that I purchased to guide me as I stitched. Fabrics used in cross-stitch include linen, aida, and mixed-content fabrics called 'evenweave'. I took my cross stitch with me when I attended Keith and Steve's Little League baseball games. When we recently cleaned out the basement to create the basement apartment I mourned a bit as I sent a whole box of cross-stitch books to the Deseret Industries.  (I kept my "Jingle All The Way" sweatshirt pattern in case I ever need to make another). My favorite cross stitch project was a set of Norman Rockwell pictures I stitched for Mom. They hung on her wall until she passed away. It tickled me every time I saw them. They now hang in my upstairs bedroom.

My next hobby came in about 1990 when the scrapbooking craze hit Riverton. Scrapbookers put their photos and memorabilia in scrapbooks on pages they decorate with stories and stickers and decorative paper and. . . Connie and I went monthly to Jaime Tolhurst's house to scrapbook and chronical our family's lives. I have over 15 scrapbooks that I love to look through and reminisce but they take up a lot of space. When the scraping craze died down I was left with a room full of scrapbook supplies--what to do all this paper, ink, punches, and stickers? And my latest hobby addiction was born. I love to make cards!!!! It fills my soul, it calms my nerves, it fulfills my creative urges. Whenever I have a spare few minutes I make a card. I've had to ban myself from clutter traps (see Don Aslett) like Michael's and JoAnn's because I have more card making supplies than they do and don't even bring up Stamp in up--I'm an addict! 

I've left the best for last. I do have one life long hobby--I love to read. When I was a young mother I mostly read Harlequin romances, Essie Summers, Betty Neels, until the new Harlequin books became so trashy they were bordering on pornography. As I evaluated my reading tastes I decided to tackle something a bit meatier. I challenged myself to delve into the classics--Austen, Gaskell, Eliot (hence my title to today's post), Dickens. My love of great writing led me to major in English at BYU and to pursue a Master's degree in composition. I'm not a novelist but I'm conducting a deep and abiding love affair with words.  Through reading I travel the world, I travel through time, I explore the unexplored, the magical, the theoretical, the historical. As long as I have a book I will never be lonely or bored.