Melanie Toye's Hobbies

Image by Kristin Baldeschwiler from Pixabay Reading is fun, informative and can provide growth, pending the topic of course.  Here are six reasons why reading should be in your top ten hobbies: 1. Reading is relaxing  Find a quiet and comfortable place to read and reading immediately becomes relaxing. There are not heaps of hobbies that are simply relaxing. Especially reading fiction, reading is relaxing. Sometimes non-fiction you may need to do certain activities or focus on a particular paragraph to brainstorm how you can add it to your life. But the majority of reading is relaxing.  2. Reading can be free Depending on how you like to read books or buy books from, reading can be free. The library is always a first choice if you want to read free books. The library even lets you hire out ebooks to read for free. Next level up is you can buy cheap books under $5 each at a second hand store and some of those books are in excellent condition. And of course you can buy an e...

Image by wal_172619 from Pixabay I read on a lot of Facebook crocheting groups, if it’s possible for people to make money crocheting?  The simple answer is yes!  The more thought out answer is, how much can you make an hour? How much are you looking to make? A full time wage or some extra cash on the side that you don’t need to rely on for bills etc. maybe you want some fun money or money to save for something like a holiday. So think about what you want to use the money for? Then work out if your time is worth the money that may come in from crocheting? If you need money that you rely on for bills, it might be better to look for work that you may receive a higher sum from.  You can easily work out your hourly rate. So how much is your yarn and may be even the pattern (if you are buying one). This is your cost outlay. You may even be paying for an online store such as Etsy or eBay.  Now work out how long it takes you to crochet something. It could be two small objec...

Image by Дарья Яковлева from Pixabay The simple answer is, it depends. However, after crocheting two blankets I found out some things. The yarn I use to crochet blankets is Arcylic 8ply and it goes well in a normal load of washing in the washing machine. It’s also super warm. So sometimes blankets are actually quite thin and although my blankets look thin the yarn is warm and cosy, which is exactly what you are seeking in winter. Also, I can choose how I want my blanket to look with either one colour used or multiple colours used or multi-coloured yarn.  So what about cost? Well I’m making an adult sized blanket and my Arcylic yarn costs $2.50 AUD. I need about 14 yarns (sometimes I don’t use all the yarn) which cost around $35 plus shipping. Many blankets for sale are around $35 upwards.  Also it can take me a couple of months to crochet a blanket, where if you buy one, it’s just delivery time you are waiting for. But there is something special seeing your children wrapped u...