PUBLISHED: 11-24-08

Que será, será

Taking on a whole new project

Last Christmas, my parents bought me a sewing machine. I asked for it because I was tired of having to buy clothes I figured I could make for less money. And I don’t know about you, but I find great pride in knowing I made something with my own hands.

The sewing machine is still in the box.

Even though I bought a Dorothy costume pattern two years ago so I could dress as one of The Wizard of Oz characters for Halloween, I let it sit in the closet because I didn’t have a sewing machine until last year, and then cut the pattern out this year to finally sew it up. Alas, I am still costumeless.

I can’t be the only one who picks up a hobby and ends up flaking out on it. We all get bored with things. I know I got tired of untangling my floss when I was cross-stitching. I was even distracted from drawing by the allure of knitting potholders, dish rags and later, scarves (one of which is still on the needles, waiting to be finished, maybe this year?).

With each hobby I pick up and desert, the related accessories pile up. It’s a bit of a problem. I always think I’m going to finish a project-though sometimes I have a problem even starting them-and then I never do. It’s a pity, because yarn makes a great gift.

On the bright side, at least my hobbies don’t involve technology. Improvements are made far too quickly for me to keep up!

Now that my mother is yet again trying to find me a Christmas gift, I find myself with a blank piece of paper and no clue what to put on my list. Maybe what I should be doing is making a list of New Year’s resolutions. Am I jumping the gun? Why get more stuff when there’s perfectly good stuff sitting in my closet that has yet to be completed?

I decided instead of getting a gift I might abandon, I should figure out some other options. Black Friday is coming, and my mom’s constant nagging for a list is getting stronger:

Stock. You know, in the stock market, despite the current outlook. If I lose it all, that’s OK, because it won’t feel like my money anyway. It was a gift.

Charity. If I have something donated to an organization that helps people in need, it’s much better than spending it on something that will only help me for the two months or so that it holds my interest.

A lesson or a class. A lot of my family members know things that I don’t. It’s especially meaningful if it’s a skill only one person knows how to do. My grandma could show me how to work her knitting machine over the course of a couple weekends. And instead of having to take a cooking class, my grandpa could show me how to clean a fish in a matter of minutes.

Sponsor a child. You know those people on the street that stop you to talk about Children International? For a monthly price of $21, I could help a less fortunate child here on American soil or abroad.

The best part about these ideas is that they leave almost no footprint. And those leftovers from my defunct hobbies? They can probably be donated or freecycled instead of collecting dust.

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