Crocheting granny squares. My daughter got into crochet and I wanted to knit for a while so I asked her to teach me. After learning the basics I picked up what I need so I can make myself a blanket while commuting to work.
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I recently learned to whistle as well! (in my late 30s). I'm bad at it, but finally can make a recognizable tune.
More recently though I've learned to cut my own hair :)
Okay, so the most recent skill that I learned - or am still learning - would be making chainmail armour (or just "maille" for the pedantic). In theory, I now have the knowledge how to start from an iron ingot, turn that into a wire and that into the little rings for the armor. But because I want to be done in less than a year (will be part of my wedding outfit), I started with pre-made riveted rings, which I simply bend open, connect to solid rings and then bend closed and press in the rivet.
But since I never get to talk about it in other threads, I also learned how to make super primitive candles. Just yesterday I made candles from pork fat chunks that I ground up in my mortar and pestle. You don't even need the little fabric to catch fire, you can just literally start lighting up the fat itself if you hold it long enough to a lighter
And before that, about one year ago now, I started learning to play the Herdy Gurdy, which is a lovely instrument, with a very lovely tone. And I even built one myself from a little do-it-yourself model kit, so to speak, which is called the Nerdy Gurdy. I started learning that because I was playing Sea of Thieves and I really enjoyed the sound of the instrument in-game. And then I also thought "hey, what if I not only learn to play it, but also learn to play it for my wedding in 2025?"
Edit because I feel this has been just a year of learning so much stuff for me: ASL. I started learning ASL about a month after I played VRChat for the first time and been practicing ever since. The chance of me getting good use out of ASL anywhere that is not online is pretty much zero, though, because I live in Germany lol
I recently learned how to use DAX expressions in Microsoft Power BI and how you can use them in measures so you can do all sorts of changes to datasheets so that when you make dashboards and data visualizations, it all looks super pro without complicated workarounds to make your data present nicely.
My employer didnβt read the description of the training and just signed me and a whole bunch of other people up. It was a certification course meant to train for the final exam but most of my coworkers who were there hadnβt even opened Power BI up before. I was just at the right experience level for this course though, as Iβve used PowerBI at an end user level for a couple years now.
Reading the Cyrillic alphabet.
It's not anywhere near as hard as it seems and there are so many times you encounter it.
What'd you learn it for (I personally don't see it often so you likely live near a Cyrillic-heavier region) and how? Also
I kept seeing more and more things in Cyrillic especially because of the war in Ukraine, so gradually learned more and more of it online, now I know at least all the letters used in Russian. Now I can read Cyrillic, although only very slowly, basically I do it like an elementary school child.
I live in Austria for context, no neighboring countries with the Cyrillic alphabet.
Last I learned about some local plants (like the stinging nettle) and which part is edible and most energy dense.
Probably rudimentary plumbing repair? (More specifically, replacing a bathroom sink faucet.) Via Youtube.
I did this one a few months back with a kitchen faucet! Great learning experience. I even learned that German faucets, at least, donβt affix to the counter the same way as American brands.
Nice! How long did it take, and did you hit any roadblocks?
Must've saved a lot of money there.
I've recently learnt how to pronounce Irish slender consonants after basically years of wondering how to do it.
I joined a climbing gym after learning how to climb, belay and rappel for a week. I love learning knots, so that's fun, but also all the terminology and techniques. Plus there's a whole social aspect to it (climbers tend to be pretty friendly). Turning out to be a healthy and exciting new hobby!
Also @fool I remember learning to whistle as a kid--my dad was slightly annoyed he had shown me how to do it because I wouldn't stop whistling the main themes from Indiana Jones and Star Wars
Climbing is great, because people tend to be friendly, and also competitive. But not competitive against each other, but rather against their own projects/goals. Makes for a super inclusive and comfortable social scene.
Cool! I'll probably try climbing some day, since sportsball never motivated me to stick on. (And bc of the functional muscle vs. gym muscle stereotype.)
As for infinite Indiana Jones... I'm trying my best to keep the songs I whistle different haha