I cannot count my day complete
'Til needle, thread and fabric meet.
~Author Unknown

Sharing a common thread with those who love the art of hand embroidery

Wednesday, January 11, 2017

I have often heard from others ..........when their husbands retire,

their needlework drops drastically because their husband
keeps them "busy".

my husband was forced to retire when his place of employment
closed it's doors..........
During the time he worked.......he worked long hours
and did not spend much time in front of the television.
Now that he is home .......he has learned how to " enjoy" his free time and has discovered  friends from his past..................
John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, The Lone Ranger.....
and countless more...........
He can spend hours.......sitting in the same pose........starring at the screen.
which gives me a lot of time to do my stitching.
I have started stitching some designs that I have stitched in the past
and am not sure what I will make of these as of yet.

 I stitched this little teapot
and have started another set of these on tea towels......


and I decided I want to make another little "crazy quilt" using my candle design that I 
had created a while back.
While bullets are zinging and arrows are flying in the living room, 
I am in my studio........stitching away.
How about you?  Do you have more time to stitch......or create.......... now that your 
husbands have retired.......or are you busy doing all of the things 
you want to do together?








15 comments:

lil red hen said...

Interesting, Kathleen! The farmer and I do a lot of outside chores together, but I don't go to town and about with him. Those are the times when I can quilt or work on things in the sewing room. He falls asleep almost as soon as his bottom hits the recliner, and since he doesn't hear well, we don't watch movies, etc. Sometimes I feel very lonesome, but then, as long as I can hear him snoring in his chair, I know I can work on whatever project I have. :) I'll be watching for updates on the crazy patch project.

mamasmercantile said...

A little bit of both, we do projects together and visit places together but have separate hobbies. It seems to work for us.

Sharon said...

While we do things together, we also have our own separate interests and hobbies. My husband likes all sports and still plays tennis competitively, golf, fishing, basketball, etc. He also loves to garden and anything outdoors related. Me, not so much...my hobbies are anything related to using a needle and thread. So we walk and cook together, have church-related activities, visit relatives on both sides of the family, and travel together. I think we have reached a happy point of the together activities and time for our own interests.

Sherri Farley said...

We do both also. During the day (now that he's recovered from neck surgery a year ago)
the hubs is usually in his wood working shop. I generally spend a small amount of time every day on a project, but not as much as I used to. My bachelor brother had a stroke a year ago and now lives with us. Luckily, he has recovered well, but no longer drives and has some impaired vision. (not safe around a cook stove!) It seems as though I spend more time cooking etc. I really can't complain, I consider myself lucky, things could be worse and I am blessed to have them both. My only real complaint is I have no control of the TV remote with 2 retired men living in the house!!!!!!

Bev said...

It took a few years... to get him into his hobbies....but now we both work on hobbies...AND he loves working in the kitchen...so it has worked out well!

~Lavender Dreamer~ said...

My husband has been retired for over 10 years but he works as a volunteer...almost as many hours as a regular job. But a lot of what he does, he can do at home. So we stay busy at our own tasks but take time to do things together too. It's been very nice. Sweet hugs, Diane

The Tea Lady's Journal said...

My husband still works a M-F job, he is sometimes gone from 6 am to almost 6 pm. He tries to come home for lunch most days. So I try and stitch a little first thing in the morning. Then I do house chores and get ready for lunch. When it is laundry time and I have ironing I try and get some time on the sewing machine as well. He encourages me to have fun and stitch. On the weekends I try and spend as much time with him as possible; helping him with one of his projects or we do our shopping together. I do imagine things will be quite different when he is retired and able to be home more often.

Carol- Beads and Birds said...

Terry's health limits what he is able to do. Yes!! He is dedicated to the Encore TV station that is dedicated to Western movies. We watch and re-watch Gunsmoke episodes. I am able to stitch and try to find lap work so I don't have to leave him alone. I've thought maybe I should move my sewing machine to a room adjacent to the living room. When the weather turns to Spring and Summer we will be outside as much as possible which is always a good thing.
xx, Carol

Tammy@T's Daily Treasures said...

My husband doesn't know what to do with himself when he's not working. He had to go to the hospital yesterday morning and tomorrow morning will have minor surgery. Yesterday, he stayed home and was practically in a state of depression. He loves going to work. And when he's home for extended periods of time, he can kind of drive me crazy. :/ You've been doing some lovely stitching. Best wishes, Tammy

Linda said...

Your embroideries are gorgeous!

Debra said...

I love the westerns too-and so does my husband. He's not retired yet-a few more years to go-but he's looking forward to it. I think he will find lots of stuff to do when he does retire-but his fav thing to do on days off is go for rides....I mostly want to stay home! But I go with him of course!!!

Abby / Linda said...

My hubby is semi-retired, and when he is home, he interrupts! Not that I mind, I love being with him, but his train of thought is not my train of thought. I may want to stitch and he may want to talk or go shopping! We usually come to an agreement of what to do when, and then there is his TV time, that I sit in the easy chair, half watch and sew! Good times!

The Tea Lady's Journal said...

I forgot to mention how much I love the stitched Tea Pots and the beautiful Crazy Quilt! I look forward to seeing more.

Sheryl said...

My husband retired this year and is still sorting himself out. My routine has gone to pot and I find less uninterrupted time for my hobbies. I enjoy having his company at home where he helps quite a lot, watches football on the TV and then spends hours walking which is his hobby. I asked him when I would `retire´ and when he said `never´ I promptly decided that I would only cook midday and he could make the supper.

Gina E. said...

My husband retired when he was 70 years of age, mostly due to his deteriorating health. I was so relieved to have him home where I could keep an eye on him, instead of worrying all day about him. He was a bus driver, then a courier, and the traffic is just getting worse all the time, so he is happy that he is no longer out in it! Before he retired, I spent a lot of time on my craft projects, and being with likeminded friends, but I haven't been as free to do that in the last 4 years, although he doesn't mind me spending time in my craft room, as he will be doing his thing in our back yard with his aviaries (birds), or watching t.v. which is something I NEVER do.