Also on team knitting! 😆 It’s a hobby I’ve picked up (and then put back down) for years. As a nervous bean, my favorite part about it is that if you mess up, you can just rip it out and try again! I like the low-stakes feel of it. Plus, you can get really nerdy and technical if you want to (materials, patterns, skills… so much to explore here with fiber shed and dyeing and producers, etc etc), but if you don’t, you can also grab some cheap materials from anywhere and whip up a quick beanie in a couple of hours, which is super satisfying. Lots of great yarn shops in NY too!
Snail mailing! It’s a great way to connect with folks from all over the world and I love the unhurriedness of it all. It’s also such a treat to find new mail in your box! It’s an unexpected gift! Won’t ever fail to brighten up your day even just a smidge. It’s also fairly inexpensive and a great way to support the post! Alsoooo, stamps and postcards are tiny paintings/illustrations so you can definitely push that child prince thing further and claim that you’re an art collector now.
My vote is to keep reading! but add the Fable app bookclub! It allows you to chat with friends each chapter! I would love to join a justine snacks Acotar bookclub just saying!
I know you are in NY, but I live in Cambridge and in a rather small place. Would you consider Gardening? I enjoy watching the seasons pass, and creating a weekly arrangement from whatever sprouts that week. You could do window boxes, and I’ve done bulbs indoors (hyacinth is up next so that we have their fragrance to remind us Spring is almost here) this winter. I’ve enjoyed getting into landscape architecture, traveling to places like Mount Cuba (outside of Philadelphia) and following a master Gardeners to feel a part of a community!
just coming on here to say the sweet potato cake from a few newsletters back is next level delicious, the smoked paprika caramel is so incredible i could drink it
Knitting for sure! Once you get the hang of the basics the possibilities are endless and it’s something you will enjoy well into your old age- decades in other words❤️
I spent three days cleaning out 10 years of unread—mostly promotional and some personal—emails (not a hobby suggestion). In this new streamlined inbox it is easier to spot the good stuff like your newsletter. Your recipes capture my cooking imagination the way a good knitting or crochet pattern for a warm sweater can (definitely a hobby suggestion). Hear me out on knitting and crocheting. True, they can be solitary hobbies (not at all like pickleball). But, it’s therapeutic, meditative, and creative. Many scientific papers highlight the physical and mental health benefits of knitting.
The almost 2,000-year backstory is surprisingly macho. Early knitters were men making fishing nets. And then someone said, “neat, let’s knit sweaters.“ Men dominated the knitting guilds for centuries until some guy in England in 1589 invented a knitting machine that could knit 7 million stitches per minute. Men quit knitting, which is kind of sad. There was a brief resurgence during WWI of boys who “knit for the troops” But, they’re finding their way back. “Real men knit” is a movement.
I believe knitting and crocheting to be radical. Here’s a sampling:
Radical acceptance: “knitting through it” When my husband died in 2010, I knitted 20 pair of slippers as I journeyed through grief.
Radical community. First there was the “Stitch-n-Bitch” circle. Then came Camp Starlight hosted by the Portland’s Starlight Knitting Society. The camp is yurts, tents, camping by a lake. Fire circles with knitting, laughing, and beer. Morning birding, meditative nature walks, and instruction classes. It’s the retreat for outdoorsy crafters. Sign me up!
Radical patterns: this is not your grandma’s crocheting, check out the geometric and modern patterns from Finnish designer Molla Mills.
Radical statements. “Yarn bombing” is the soft and fuzzy graffiti for our times.
Radical politics: Upset, fed-up women and men take to the streets to protest by wearing pink “pussy hats”. I furiously knitted 15 hats in support of The 2017 Women’s March.
Radical art / environmentalism: A scientist uses crocheting and mathematics to create an environmental piece about the decline of our coral reefs. Check out The Crochet Coral Reef by Christine Wertheim & Margaret Wertheim. You can even contribute to the project with your own crochet piece.
A parting radical idea: knit an homage to your sweet potato.
Also on team knitting! 😆 It’s a hobby I’ve picked up (and then put back down) for years. As a nervous bean, my favorite part about it is that if you mess up, you can just rip it out and try again! I like the low-stakes feel of it. Plus, you can get really nerdy and technical if you want to (materials, patterns, skills… so much to explore here with fiber shed and dyeing and producers, etc etc), but if you don’t, you can also grab some cheap materials from anywhere and whip up a quick beanie in a couple of hours, which is super satisfying. Lots of great yarn shops in NY too!
Crocheting and knitting! Very nice and mindless once you learn how
Crocheting is a nice hobby!
Snail mailing! It’s a great way to connect with folks from all over the world and I love the unhurriedness of it all. It’s also such a treat to find new mail in your box! It’s an unexpected gift! Won’t ever fail to brighten up your day even just a smidge. It’s also fairly inexpensive and a great way to support the post! Alsoooo, stamps and postcards are tiny paintings/illustrations so you can definitely push that child prince thing further and claim that you’re an art collector now.
My vote is to keep reading! but add the Fable app bookclub! It allows you to chat with friends each chapter! I would love to join a justine snacks Acotar bookclub just saying!
Have you explored the clay world? It’s an all consuming hobby, so many directions to turn. And by coincidence, most potters are great cooks !!!
Buy a paint by number!
I know you are in NY, but I live in Cambridge and in a rather small place. Would you consider Gardening? I enjoy watching the seasons pass, and creating a weekly arrangement from whatever sprouts that week. You could do window boxes, and I’ve done bulbs indoors (hyacinth is up next so that we have their fragrance to remind us Spring is almost here) this winter. I’ve enjoyed getting into landscape architecture, traveling to places like Mount Cuba (outside of Philadelphia) and following a master Gardeners to feel a part of a community!
just coming on here to say the sweet potato cake from a few newsletters back is next level delicious, the smoked paprika caramel is so incredible i could drink it
Knitting! There are several great shops in Brooklyn. If you go to Woolyn on Atlantic Avenue, tell Rachel the owner that I sent you.
Ballroom dance! Find a meetup that gives a lesson prior to the dancing. It’s so fun and you can go alone or with a partner. Highly recommend!
Knitting for sure! Once you get the hang of the basics the possibilities are endless and it’s something you will enjoy well into your old age- decades in other words❤️
I spent three days cleaning out 10 years of unread—mostly promotional and some personal—emails (not a hobby suggestion). In this new streamlined inbox it is easier to spot the good stuff like your newsletter. Your recipes capture my cooking imagination the way a good knitting or crochet pattern for a warm sweater can (definitely a hobby suggestion). Hear me out on knitting and crocheting. True, they can be solitary hobbies (not at all like pickleball). But, it’s therapeutic, meditative, and creative. Many scientific papers highlight the physical and mental health benefits of knitting.
The almost 2,000-year backstory is surprisingly macho. Early knitters were men making fishing nets. And then someone said, “neat, let’s knit sweaters.“ Men dominated the knitting guilds for centuries until some guy in England in 1589 invented a knitting machine that could knit 7 million stitches per minute. Men quit knitting, which is kind of sad. There was a brief resurgence during WWI of boys who “knit for the troops” But, they’re finding their way back. “Real men knit” is a movement.
I believe knitting and crocheting to be radical. Here’s a sampling:
Radical acceptance: “knitting through it” When my husband died in 2010, I knitted 20 pair of slippers as I journeyed through grief.
Radical community. First there was the “Stitch-n-Bitch” circle. Then came Camp Starlight hosted by the Portland’s Starlight Knitting Society. The camp is yurts, tents, camping by a lake. Fire circles with knitting, laughing, and beer. Morning birding, meditative nature walks, and instruction classes. It’s the retreat for outdoorsy crafters. Sign me up!
Radical patterns: this is not your grandma’s crocheting, check out the geometric and modern patterns from Finnish designer Molla Mills.
Radical statements. “Yarn bombing” is the soft and fuzzy graffiti for our times.
Radical politics: Upset, fed-up women and men take to the streets to protest by wearing pink “pussy hats”. I furiously knitted 15 hats in support of The 2017 Women’s March.
Radical art / environmentalism: A scientist uses crocheting and mathematics to create an environmental piece about the decline of our coral reefs. Check out The Crochet Coral Reef by Christine Wertheim & Margaret Wertheim. You can even contribute to the project with your own crochet piece.
A parting radical idea: knit an homage to your sweet potato.
I saw a video once of making cards and I've always wanted to start since!