Do you have a particular skill?

[ImprobablePuffin]

I want to learn a new skill for 2022. I can't draw or knit but wish I could, so considering these as options but I would like a broader range to choose from. Maybe something unusual.

So do you have a special/unusual skill that you have mastered or are learning that could inspire me?

Please take a moment to brag about what you can do!

Spinning (with wool, not the exercise classes).
Very meditative and satisfying and you can either knit/crochet the results yourself or give it away. You can either buy lovely posh fibres in gorgeous colours, or you can get back to basics and get a fleece very cheaply and process it yourself.
You can start off with a spindle rather than needing to invest in a spinning wheel.

I can play a couple of musical instruments but I found it quite frustrating and torturous to get to a reasonable level!

The thing I get by far the most joy, satisfaction and relaxation from is gardening. I really want to have more time for it and maybe do a course too!

@TheCountessofFitzdotterel is spinning a popular hobby or are you a dying breed? Sounds fascinating and something I wouldn't have thought of (which is precisely why I posted)

@LookdeepintotheParka I'm so unmusical it's untrue. My mother once tried to get me to learn violin at school and it just made no sense to me whatsoever!

I do love gardening although I'm a bit of a fair weather gardener truth be told, as soon as it even looks like rain I'll go inside

Spinning with a drop spindle and tablet weaving. Makes me feel like I am a viking.

surface pattern design using Adobe illustrator or photoshop! or you can use Procreate :)

@Stompythedinosaur

Spinning with a drop spindle and tablet weaving. Makes me feel like I am a viking.

That's sounds really cool! Do you have any pics of your creations?

@kokokokokokokokoko

surface pattern design using Adobe illustrator or photoshop! or you can use Procreate :)

This sounds right up my street! I'm quite creative but usually do vinyl cutting or ink sublimation. Would you be willing to post a pic of your work?

This is a pattern called Odins Eye that I have been working on with dd2 who is learning about vikings at school.

@Stompythedinosaur oh wow! That's lovely. It looks very technical! Was it very hard to learn?

hi OP, i'd love to post my work but it could be reverse searched on google leading to my identity! however I think if you are looking to do the easiest way to do pattern design, probably Procreate on Ipad is your best bet. Photoshop and Illustrator are also great but expensive and likely to take longer to learn.

you can also scan your hand drawn patterns and create repeats in illustrator or photoshop (and probably other programmes too!) if you prefer to work by hand.

you could also do something nice like linocutting! that's a good skill that doesn't take too much by way of expensive tools or time to learn, and you can sell your prints on etsy or wherever. If you wanted a press, people are using these cold press laminators as a cheap alternative and getting great results (look up the FB group using them).

@kokokokokokokokoko

hi OP, i'd love to post my work but it could be reverse searched on google leading to my identity! however I think if you are looking to do the easiest way to do pattern design, probably Procreate on Ipad is your best bet. Photoshop and Illustrator are also great but expensive and likely to take longer to learn.

I totally understand - thank you for all the extra info! I think I'd definitely have to go down the abstract route as I can't draw for toffee but it does sound fun!

I'm very disappointed this wasn't about Liam Neeson in Taken. I was expecting people to name change and tell me all the ways they know to kill people.

PS I make excellent cakes, bread and biscuits.

I bought a whittling knife, Christmas 2019 and now I sell carvings that I make using trimmings of the tree in my garden. I'm getting better still but it's fairly unusual craft in the uk, so people are always really interested.

@DisforDarkChocolate

I'm very disappointed this wasn't about Liam Neeson in Taken. I was expecting people to name change and tell me all the ways they know to kill people.

PS I make excellent cakes, bread and biscuits.

😂 I did not take into account the confusion I could cause with people thinking I was Liam Neeson. Please accept my sincerest apologies

@InconvenientPeg

I bought a whittling knife, Christmas 2019 and now I sell carvings that I make using trimmings of the tree in my garden. I'm getting better still but it's fairly unusual craft in the uk, so people are always really interested.

So interesting. You must have some serious skill!

My mother is the queen of learning a new skill or craft. She lives abroad where there are a vast array of reasonably priced community colleges offering everything from short courses for interest, to longer ones with diplomas. Over the years, between her and I, we've done the following:

• Basic floristry skills
• Basic lingerie making (that was in the 1970's!)
• Lead lighting (she made several tiffany lamps)
• Bisque dolls (the head, hands and feel and painting them and putting them all together)
• rock and roll dancing
• lindy hop
• Patchwork quilting
• Home made cards
• Oil, pastel and water painting
• Beginners massage course
• Thai cooking course
• Mediterranean and Asian cooking
• Italian for travellers (language)
• Basic butchery
• Fish and seafood basic incl knife skills
• Crochet
• Knitting

I've got an 850 day streak on Duolingo which I'm quite proud of.

@Bookridden

I've got an 850 day streak on Duolingo which I'm quite proud of.

That's phenomenal! What language are you learning? Are you always very committed to tasks or was it that your streak kept going up and you didn't want to lose it?

I took up hand embroidery this year. It's very meditative

I only do one exercise a day, so I probably haven't advanced that far. It's in German. I can say quite a few sentences though!

Try and learn to write with your non dominant hand. I had to 50 years ago when I slammed my right hand in a car door, and had to then. I practise it regularly now and I can still do it.
Try and learn to knit, try baby patterns first as they are very quick!

[quote ImprobablePuffin]@Stompythedinosaur oh wow! That's lovely. It looks very technical! Was it very hard to learn?[/quote]
It is very easy to start - you don't need proper tablets or a loom. You can start with pieces of cardboards with holes punched in the corners and some wood tied to a table or chair leg. Loads of online tutorials available. It is very easy to weave diagonal stripes or diamonds, though there are much trickier patterns for when you've built up your skills too.