Lived Experience Forum

[LilMapleLeaf]

Hi all,

Hope you are well. As someone with ADHD I have a plethora of unfinished projects, hobbies and crafts lying around the house 😶 I wanted to share some of them with you to hopefully help you feel not so alone. My current unfinished projects are:

- Embroidery sets (maybe like 6 of them)

- Crocheting a beanie (it was for my sister when she was working in a freezer... last year)

- Book binding (I will finish it! One day)

- My mums Christmas present, which was a wood burnt, resin pour board (looks great just need to clean it up)

- A couple of digital illustrations

- A dress I was making for Christmas day

- Christmas stockings for my pet mice 😂

I'm sure there is more but I can't remember 😂

What are your unfinished projects/hobbies you have lying around the house?

[Bow]

I don’t have ADHD but I am a crafter and have heaps of unfinished projects… and also material to start projects that I never actually started. 

- I have a huge pile of canvases under my bed. Some I have started something on, some are paint by numbers for a ‘rainy day’. 

- I need to grout a mosaic piece my daughter and I have started. 

- I too have some embroidery half finished.

- I got the supplies to do some resin work.

- does Lego count? I have a cupboard full of Lego sets ready to build. 

- crate of peg doll supplies

- macrame- I have made a heap of plant hangers. 

- water colour supplies! 

- dozens of plants that I have propagated in water that are ready to be planted. 

- sewing supplies! I have a cupboard of beautiful fabric and a daughter that now hates said fabric and prefers to pick her own clothes now 😢

I think that’s it! 😂

[Acanthiza]

I have so many unfinished projects... or maybe better to say abandoned @LilMapleLeaf 

Having a bipolar diagnosis now goes a long way to explaining why I have tried to make so many things, been hyperfocused on them and then given up and been extremely negative.

I guess the most egregious are unfinished novels, video games and a fair amount of instruments and recording equipment that really need some love. Oh yeah and drawing, 3d sculpting, painting etc and so on. Well I am glad I have learned a little bit of all of them I suppose, could have done without the weird grandiose thinking though!

Possibly a little similar to ADHD? I have heard there are some similarities. Anyway here's to having way too many projects and hobbies, still nice to aim big I think.

[Mara_S]

My child got diagnosed with ADHD and a lot of things are starting to click about me now. Funnily, this make me feel normal.

I also have crochet projects and knitting ones too. .y excuse is that my wrist is sore from too much computer mouse work so I take breaks.

I regularly start projects in the work area. I tried some side hustles to add to my freelancing and that's where the unfinished projects are just too many to list. Lol

What do you crochet?

[Patches59]

@LilMapleLeaf  I don’t have ADHD, I do have craft items that have been started or are waiting to be done.  Due to things that happened when I was growing up I got used to starting things and only sometimes getting them finished before they were bundled up and shoved into spare room and not able to be located when wanted to continue working on it.

At the moment I’ve got started

- knitted wombat blankets

- knitted  jumpers for young lambs

- crochet squares which will become part of crotchet spread for queen sized bed

- 1 diamond art pictures, 2 others need to be framed. Various others not started

- miniature rooms, 3 started, few not started

- 2 colour by number not started

[LilMapleLeaf]

@Acanthiza 

I've heard the same about the cross over of symptoms with ADHD and bipolar.

Oft, I feel the unfinished video games! The amount of times I have to restart a game because it's been years since I started it, then others that I just get sucked into! Currently put away about 170 hours in my current game (Baldurs Gate 3), on my second play-through at the moment!

Hey, you never know maybe in 20 years time you'll finish some! That's my hope for myself anyway, can't throw it away because maybe one day I'll finish it 😂

[LilMapleLeaf]

@Mara_S Oh absolutely, when you get the diagnosis it just makes everything make a little bit more sense and you don't feel so alone anymore thats for sure.

Aha I feel that! The amount of business ideas I've had and side hustles that I just never actually got into is A LOT!

Hmm what do I crochet? Rectangles mostly because I've never actually finished anything 

[LilMapleLeaf]

@Patches59 

Oh my goodness are you knitting things for actual like real life animals like wombats and lambs? Thats actually the cutest thing ever! Now I'm inspired to start a new crochet project (that will never get finished)

[Acanthiza]

I actually meant making video games @LilMapleLeaf ! Though now I think about it there are a lot of games I haven't finished 🤔 and some I have bought but never played! 🙀

Baldur's gate 3 is on my list but I am a cheapskate and they said they won't put it on sale 😔

I love the idea your house is just full of crocheted rectangles of all different sizes. That is what I am imagining you can't stop me.

@Patches59  lambs in little lamb jumpers 😽

I've looked after potty lambs though and they are a bit of a nightmare haha

[LilMapleLeaf]

@Acanthiza OH WOW! Making video games! Thats incredible! I can do like very basic block coding to make platformer games but thats about it for me 😂 I too have lots of games I've bought and haven't played... YET! I'll get there one day.

Would absolutely rate Baldurs Gate 3, I know it's expensive but for the amount of game play I've gotten, it was worth it for sure.

Aha no I wish, I unravel them thinking "I'll start again and finish it this time" but I never do. So more just boxes of yarn really