WSG Newsletter: Hobbies

Issue: December 28, 2004

Foreword: The owner of Kwik Squares sent me an updated URL that prompted me to review this newsletter. I was astonished to find that only two sites had completely died. All others, now at least four years old, were still online, still being updated, with a few having been redesigned. I've added only two sites under Stamp Collecting (and they took some time to locate) and new content for the side panel. Most sites in this list will not win any awards for Web design - they are basic and utilitarian - but they can get you started with a new hobby. There is some e-commerce for products or services - likely the reason these sites are still available to us. This list may make you crave some spare time.

So Many Hobbies, So Little Time

Should we make time for hobbies? We know they can provide relief from life’s stresses and be a channel for creative pursuits. “Releasing your creativity will open your heart and help you reconnect with your soul” – so said an article on “10 Quintessential Rules for living the high purpose life” (Eye for the Future, Jan 2001). Now may be the time to take up a new hobby: writing, singing, painting, scuba diving.

In this newsletter we look at using the Internet as a resource for a few quiet hobbies: drawing or sketching, needlecrafts, woodworking, and stamp collecting. (Not scuba diving.)

Fine Arts

There may be an artist in all of us wanting to sketch a scene or create a collage. There are several tutorials on the Web for drawing and painting.

A Series of Basic Art Lessons: Dede Tisone-Bartels, a teacher, created this web site for her students. You may find it a bit rudimentary but some of the lessons are quite interesting.
http://home.att.net/~tisone/lessonpg1.htm

Art Studio Chalkboard: This web site is dedicated to lessons in drawing and painting. The drawing section covers perspective, shading and composition, and the painting section deals with colour theory and painting in oils. http://www2.evansville.edu/studiochalkboard/

BBC's Oil on Canvas Online: Explores “composition, portrait, light, perspective, colour, and brushstroke."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/ooc/index.htm

Carol Rosinski of Toad Hollow Studio: Carol Rosinski has over 20 years of drawing experience. She shares her tips and techniques, provides drawing lessons, a newsletter and links to other online artist resources.
http://home.earthlink.net/~crosinski
/toad_hollow_studio_freeart.html

Watercolor Instruction with John Lovett: Lovett works in oil, watercolour and mixed media. His web site has detailed notes on painting techniques and methods, information on art materials and design theory, clear instructions and high quality illustrations to compliment the lessons. Click on Painting Lessons on the menubar for a selection of illustrated art lessons. (http://www.johnlovett.com/)

Woodworking

There’s an enormous satisfaction in building even a birdhouse. These woodworking resources should get you started with your first or next project.

Woodworking.com is a portal site for the woodworker. Start with Woodworking 101 and move onto making a poster bed. http://www.woodworking.com/

Woodworker's Central: Search for plans, articles and over 1300 tool reviews; research different wood types with the wood sampler; exchange information with fellow woodworkers; and read the tutorials to learn new tips and techniques.
http://www.woodworking.org/

Woodworker's Journal: Online site for the magazine. Has some “Incredible Links” (http://www.woodworkersjournal.com/)

Do-It-Yourself's Woodworking: Find projects, plans, tips, and guides. Do-it-yourself experts are waiting in the forums to help. Can buy tools here too. (http://doityourself.com/wood/index.shtml)

Woodweb is actually a “vertical portal” for woodworking industry but there is much here that will be useful to the more advanced woodworking hobbyist.
http://www.woodweb.com/

Needlecraft

There was a time when women needed skill with the needle to clothe a family and decorate a home. Nowadays, men and women can do needlecrafts just for the pleasure and sense of accomplishment. Here are some resources to give you a hand in creating your needlecraft project. Be careful though, if you create the perfect piece you may be overwhelmed with requests from friends and relatives to do one for them.

Stitching:

The Caron Collection: “Dyed and gone to heaven needlework and handcraft”. Men are welcome. Some have written articles in the Feature section of special interest stories. This site has designs, online classes, guides, and a list of shops. Various magazines also provide some free designs. http://www.caron-net.com/

The Essamplaire: This mail-order business in Red Deer, Alberta sells authentic reproduction sampler kits from some of the world's finest textile collections. These are museum pieces and may have some complicated stitches. http://www.theessamplaire.com

Knitting & Crocheting:

Knit Crochet Patterns: This is really a store for buying patterns for all sorts of knitted goods and a package of four lessons - all at $5 or $6. There are some free patterns. Check Technical Info and Useful Links for more advice and free resources.
http://www.knitcrochetpatterns.com/

Common Threads: Take the online class and learn how to knit, chat with other knitters on the message board for advice. Join the Video Knitting Club and purchase up to 30 knit technique online videos - try the free sample video before you decide to join. (http://www.fiberartshop.com/)

WoolWorks.org: This volunteer-run site, has patterns, tips and techniques, a discussion forum, and an excellent index to other online knitting resources - one section boasts over 900 resources. http://www.woolworks.org/

The Free Knitting Pattern NetRing: There are now 180 sites (December 2004) in this net ring that was begun in September 2000. The members cover yarns, knitwear patterns, and techniques. All must provide one free knitting pattern in order to belong to the ring. http://www.ringsurf.com/netring?ring=knitring;action=index

Crochet.About.com: Sandi Marshall is a longtime crocheter and the guide at Crochet.about.com. She has put together a veritable encyclopedia of crocheting covering patterns, sources, how-tos and charts.. http://crochet.about.com

Quilting:

World Wide Quilting Page: This web site has been serving quilters since May 1994 and claims to be the largest quilting site. Scroll down the page to the section - Topics - for a wide selection of resources: how to's, and a list of links on topics from quilter's associations to supplies.
http://www.quilt.com/MainQuiltingPage.html

Kwik Squares: Kwik Squares has calculators for doing the squares and triangles used in quilting. The calculator is for sale, but the online lessons in quilting are free.
http://myweb.cableone.net/sligar/quilt.htm

McCall's Quilting: This is the web equivalent of the newsstand magazine. The articles are not full text (you'll need a subscription for that), however there is a good section of quilting lessons as well as lots of full colour pictures of gorgeous quilts.
(http://www.quiltersvillage.com/mccalls/index.htm)

Stamp Collecting

Stamps are among the most popular of collectibles. They can be displayed well, are easily traded, don’t take up a lot of space. One might collect stamps of a particular country or focus on themes or be a generalist. Some enjoy the art, others the errors. The following are just a few of the many excellent web sites for philatelists.

Coins.About.com: This about.com guide covers coins and stamps. Eduardo de Resendes is the guide. Catalogs, basics, software are here as well as recommended sites for collecting specific countries or topics. (http://coins.about.com)

StampLink: StampLink is a directory to philately sites for a wide range of stamp-collecting concerns: dealers, clubs, shows, periodicals, software, and even the basics. Useful site although garish in its colours and design unchanged since 1996. (http://www.stamplink.com/)

The Royal Philatelic Society of Canada (RPSC) (http://www.rpsc.org/) Founded in 1887, this "is Canada’s national society for philatelists (stamp collectors, enthusiasts and aficionados)." Membership is $30.00 CDN but there are plenty of free resources in the Online Library and Reference section. You may want to check the American Philatelic Society (http://www.stamps.org/) as well.

StampHelp.com. "Stamps for beginners and philatelic collections" created by Frank Mardle in the UK - clearly an enthusiast. The site is extensive but introductory. Does keep tabs on clubs, associations, and upcoming shows. http://www.1840on.co.uk/index.html (New to WSG)

Stamp2.com: Aims to be the "definitive portal where philatelists and hobbyists come together to trade, study, exchange information and get the latest news of the philatelic world." There is an extensive library of tools and articles, and until March 2004 it was awarding medals to top philately sites. Unfortunately, there seem to have been fewer updates during 2004. http://www.stamp2.com/ (New to WSG)

Searching On Your Own

Every hobby imaginable is represented on the Web. You won’t have any trouble finding information sites, discussion groups, and suppliers.

Using Directories:

The broad subject directories like Yahoo, Looksmart, and Open Directory Project will have a category specific to your favourite hobby. Look for category headings such as Recreation | Hobbies (Yahoo), or Lifestyle | Hobbies (Looksmart). At Open Directory, look under Recreation or Do-It-Yourself.

About.com has many guides to arts and crafts, pastimes, and collecting. As we have seen, these guides are comprehensive and current. There is a full list of the hobby guides at (http://home.about.com/hobbies/index.htm).

Looksmart Canada has a large section devoted to hobbies and pastimes praticised in Canada. Among the categories are arts and crafts, astrology, games, pets. An A-Z Index picks up the rest. Scrabble, as it turns out, registers as a strong interest in Canada.
(http://canada.looksmart.com).

Using Keyword Search at a Search Engine:

When looking for something very specific, use a search engine. Our favourite is Google but Yahoo, Ask Jeeves, the new MSN Search, and others will do very nicely.

To search for stamps from Sierra Leone, enter “sierra leone” stamps. For plans for an English garden bench, enter “English garden bench” plan. If you know the name of a company that supplies tools or material you need, enter the name to quickly find the home page. For example, entering Sculpey will find a company that sells polymer clays. And if what you would really like to do is learn to dance the tango, try tango lessons along with the name of your city.

Conclusion

We owe it to ourselves to find some time for a hobby as a break from daily pressures and to express another side of self. The hobby may exercise the body or mind or both, and will mean meeting other people of like interests. It opens another world. We’re fortunate today to have the Web close at hand to help us do it.

Newsletter by Gwen Harris and Laryssa Tyson. Updated December 2004. Originally written in February 2001. Gwen still hasn’t found any time for hobbies unless you count surfing the Web.