Am I crazy to even consider this?

[goingtobefree]

I am a hospital consultant after been in training and having relentless exams for the last 15 years. I work full time with 2 DDs (10 and 3 year old). I have also been involved in cancer research and going to have VIVA for my research degree soon (matter of less than a month).So going to be free soon ...

I love my job but I want to develop some sort of hobby - I do read a lot but want to go out and learn something totally different to what I have done in the past.

I was thinking of photography or dress making (dreams of taking beautiful photos of my DCs and making beautiful clothes for them ...:)). I am slightly apprehensive about this but am I mad in even considering this.

Any other advice and how to go about doing it is very warmly accepted and valued.

It is an occupational hazard - married to another doctor and most of my friends are medics/house wives as well. Don't really know who to ask?

Try reading the threads in Arts and Crafts/inthe club/just for fun etc.

I recently started knitting again and keep chickens.You could also look for blogs on things which might interest you

thanks.I will visit those sections.

Like you i'm awaiting viva and with christmas coming have been spending a load of time crafting.

I took up dressmaking about a year ago and i was surprised how quickly i got the hang of it. I had done a bit in school but i was absolutely terrible then. I did an intro class which was run by my local John Lewis and then bought a cheap second hand sewing machine. Kids clothes are really easy to make, you can often buy "1 hour" patterns and obviously they don't use much material. I even made myself a bridesmaid dress once i got more confident. Definitely take a look on the arts and crafts sections as there is loads of great advice there.

It's not difficult, about the third thing I made was a boned silk ball dress, but you need a child free space.
I haven't dome much since I had the DDs because you really need a dinning table like space that you can leave covered in work in progress.

Dear goingtobefree I am thinking you need arty right side of brain stuff for your hobby.

You don't mention dancing. Or singing. Or painting.

Dressmaking is fun. I am hopeless at it but fortunate to have John lewis and a local sewing shop. So I get those Simplicity very easy patterns and do practical stuff. Skirts and curtains, William Morris duvet covers and ladybird wings for DD ballet shows. Most of the fancy sewing (smocking etc) was done before the dc were born and after that not till they were in the sixth form. DD wore her spotty ladybird skirt I made her for school leavers for ages, she loves it so, and I did a bolero for her Oxford ball gown.

I find it takes up space (you will have to be careful of pins with your 3 yr old but the 10 yr old will love it) and I don't like to sew by artificial light in the evenings, and my eyes are terrible and it's now more of an empty nester thing for me. But you sound v brainy and probably have a big house where you can set up a little sewing room as a friend of mine did, so will probably be better at it than I. Just don't get a Cath Kidston sewing box: they are too twee. Unless its a present of course.

If you are doing oncology an allotment might be the thing, as it will be nice for you to watch things grow, its outdoorsy and family friendly and eco friendly and trendy.

Lots of people do photography but I think by itself it is not challenging or mindless enough. Another friend of mine would go around photographing birds moths and butterflies as an ancillary to her birdwatching hobby. She used to take her son on long walks to find the birds/moths etc. That was nice.

Good luck with the viva. Very impressive. Well done. Deserves to be in the further education thread. Let us know how it goes.

Thanks again for all the valuable advice. Came home very late from work so could not reply soon.

funnyperson - Really impressed with your dress for your daughter.That is something I would love to do.
I am not in oncology and don't really like going out in winter but do like fresh vegetables..
I don't have a big house as we worked in different parts of the country and never bought a house till recently, would love to have an extra room for hobby/lounging etc., I am going to contact John Lewis to see if they offer any lessons locally.
Silly me, don't really know what possessed me to post it in further education section (I think my mind has been trained to view anything/everything as another exam /assessment).
I will report back as to how I get on with it.

Oh.. can dance a bit, but can't sing to save my life. Did try painting once but again not for me.