What's your hobby?

I collect pieces of paper.

At one point it was Parisian train tickets until I realized just how bloody pointless that was and threw them all away. Nowadays it's fashion magazines, particularly beauty advertisements. They're all tucked lovingly away into plastic display books that'll break your back when you try to pick them all up at once.

I may be like Shadow Ferret! Right now I'm into learning the bodhrán (celtic drum) while staring at my guitar and banjo being ignored in the corner, tatting, trying to write novel #3, snowshoeing, and of course, READING!

Crocheting, knitting, baking.
In summer, I collect colourful lumps of old glass from a river. Nowadays, there's just forest around, but one, two hundred years ago there was a whole village with glass foundries and even a school which now serves as our holiday home. Some day I'll use all those chunks of glass for something beautiful (still waiting for the perfect idea to appear).

Lilly

Knitting and medieval crafts.

Gardening. And since it's December it doesn't look like I'm going to be doing much of it this month.

I also brew craft beer from here & around the world. At present, I have a Bavarian hefeweizen & a German Dampfbier bottled up. The Ingredients for an English ESB is waiting in the wings. I've gotten good enough at brewing & helping others that homebrewtalk is doing an interview with me. I have a book on my journey through homebrewing on Kindle as well.

I used to play the trumpet quite a bit, but I haven't touched it too long that my trumpet is less silver and more orange. I really should give it a salt bath sometime soon (douse in very hot water with table salt, baking powder, and aluminum foil and the chemical reaction draws the sulfur off of the silver in a few minutes wherever it's in close proximity to the aluminum). I also have a guitar that's needed a new set of strings for about a year now. Music was my first love of the arts.

But I'm fond of photography and will occasionally dabble in programming as well. I also easily get caught up in your basic arts and crafts: first beading, then paracord. I also like to participate in live-action role playing, which usually earns me a few odd looks when I admit to it.

I'm all about making things, but my main outlet anymore is costuming. Waaaay back in the day I used to do reenactment, and then the live-action roleplay, but nowadays I just go to cons (and Halloween, of course). Every year I try to add a new skill or technique; I've done wig styling, sculpted with Wonderflex, made steampunk-flavored props. This year's slate includes beadwork, embroidery, jewelry- and mask-making.

I also spin yarn, knit and crochet (less well than I knit). Been wanting to learn nalbinding, but there's always other projects getting in the way.

I saw some beaders! Beadworkers unite!!!

I have several muses that jostle each other to try to get my attention. I work full time as an accountant, so writing is among my hobbies. As well as reading, photography, beadweaving, digital painting and LARPing.

I do make money at some of those - writing, photography, beadweaving and digital painting. I do an art show circuit (about 10-15 shows a year) and make more than enough to afford to go to Europe every couple years. That allows me to take more photos to sell

Beadwork:

Primarily: sewing clothes and gardening (specifically, native plants/ecological gardening).

Sometimes: gaming and singing in choral groups.

Dabbling: photography, photo editing, cooking

This thread proves that writers are a diverse, fascinating bunch!

Folks, please be conscious of the size of your images! Folks on dial-up and folks trying to access using mobile devices are getting locked up when they happen upon these big, giant - albeit beautiful - images.

This helpful FAQ will be your guide...

I sew, make jewelry, make cloth dolls and last year I discovered Asian ball-jointed dolls, like the one in my avatar. They're really amazing. You can customize everything - hair, eyes, how their faces are painted, even modify them with different parts (like wings and hooves for a centaur or faun, for example) - pretty much how and when you want. They come in all sizes, from about 2" tall to close to four feet and everything in between. The only drawback is that they're not cheap, but the smaller ones can be reasonably affordable, and a lot of places do layaway, which is great.

Thanks to doll collecting, I started learning about photography - and got back into writing again doing photostories (sort of like comic strips) on my doll blog.

Here's an outfit I made for one of my dolls - this one is about 6" tall as well. The bodice of the overdress is my own design, the skirt and underskirt are from a pattern, and the sleeves are separate. It's a (very!) simplified version of a Highlander dress circa 1750 or so. I was going for effect rather than historical accuracy on such a small doll.

Fiona's Highlands Dress https://www.flickr.com/photos/128274396@N07/, on Flickr

This is going to sound like a strange combination, but my two hobbies are model trains, and cross stitch. Oddly enough, I've found that cross stitch has helped me in writing, by letting me clear my mind of frivolous thoughts so I can free-think about the story I'm working on.

I've had so many hobbies over the years. The main thing I've done for a long time is collect (or more accurately, accumulate) pottery and porcelain. Mostly British early 19th century but I'm quite eclectic. Plus I seem to gather all sorts of other antique and vintage bits and pieces. I love (really love!) going to car boot sales. And I fairly recently discovered dolls houses. You wouldn't believe how much space it takes up to keep all the stuff you need to make tiny things.

pine-delice said:

And I fairly recently discovered dolls houses. You wouldn't believe how much space it takes up to keep all the stuff you need to make tiny things.

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Oh, I believe you! I mainly sew doll clothes, so I have a lot of specialized tools and supplies--fabrics that are extra lightweight with tiny prints, miniature scissors, a tiny iron, etc. It takes up just as much room as sewing for a full-sized person. Maybe more, because I have a lot of dolls that I use as models, and I keep them in the sewing room.

With the dollhouses, do you make the furniture and everything, too? My grandparents were really into making dollhouses. They made several large, fully functional houses--complete with electrical wiring, so there were working lights in every room! When I was somewhere around 15, they bought me a kit to make a small dollhouse. After I assembled it, I carefully painted it, and added wallpaper and carpet to decorate the rooms. I didn't make any furniture, but still, it was a lot of fun! But I didn't have room to keep it, so I sold it at a garage sale for a lot less than it was worth. After my grandmother died, I inherited a kit for a much larger dollhouse, but I don't have the space to build it. Last time, I just put up a folding table in a corner of my bedroom and put the dollhouse together there. Now, however, I'm married, and we just don't have the space for that sort of thing. It's too bad, because I know I would really enjoy building it.

I was a traditional Irish dancer for years. Fortunately I never had to wear the wigs or the poodle socks or any of that rubbish (male privilege, hurrah!)

So if any of you are writing a novel taking place in the world of Irish dance, let me know, and I will give you all the information you need. Come to think of it, I've never read a fiction book taking place in the cutthroat, brutal world of Irish dance. I suppose it could work as a middle grade/YA friendship story. Or a mystery involving the murder of an up and coming world champion. It's not a genre I write in, but it's one I and a lot of people with my background would read if it existed.

I like trains. There. I said it.

I have a collection of model trains in the attic waiting for the space to enjoy them and then the boys can have them when they're a little older.

We also visit the steam railways and museums. I love the smell of burning coal and grease and oil, and it fits in with my fascination with Victorian culture and industry.

Craft stuff, beside writing, I enjoy modelling dioramas in card and clay, but I'm not very good at it. Need more space really to enjoy these things.

Dog agility is the only thing I spend much time doing aside from writing these days. I currently compete with my kelpie, Wiley, and am just starting training with my young border collie/Australian cattle dog mix.

The dog-eat-dog urban jungle where I reside doesn't allow the pursuit of many hobbies. I've basically shed all my long-ago hobbies simply due to the demands of city living. It's an hour commute via train to my workplace; and an hour to return each evening.

After my shift--and grabbing some nutrition--then naturally one has to put in an hour of fitness just to stay in shape. By then it's around 9pm. What kind of hobby can generate interest at 9pm on a weeknight? Not very many. Usually just crack open a book to keep up with my reading goals.

Therefore creative writing is really the best hobby and that's why it's my #1 past-time. I can do it anywhere; it costs nothing, and it is very restful. And it's a hobby which could conceivably generate supplemental income. Win/win.

Other hobbies usually mean going outside (bad weather?); going some place & returning (no time?) or hassling with crowds of other urbanites who have the same hobby (stress level?) or paying some fee to someone.

And then something else: as the www has taken over life, most people have become zombie-dronez who really don't even look up from their palm-devices anymore. So even if you have a hobby, it is invisible unless you somehow reproduce it & repackage it on the net. People get their life from Youtube, Netflix, and similar portals. If they encounter anything standing right before them, they don't see it, question it, or understand it. Much less can they converse with you about what you're doing. So, why bother? Why bother with any hobby which contributes to society-- when no one is even raising their head? Why draw, sculpt, paint, craft, or compete? I think all that has vanished. We're in a dystopia where people gaze at glass screens all day, like goldfish.

Sorry, just the way I feel about it right this moment.

Collecting succulents. Recently I've gotten into outdoor gardening now that I have my own place.

And drawing. I looove to draw. I have dozens of sketchbooks and I usually have one on me, whether it's my big one or my little one that I can throw in my purse. It calms me down and lets me sit outside of my brain for awhile. I tend to have less anxiety attacks and less anxiety as a whole if I've been good about setting aside time to draw. Weirdly enough it seems to help me learn, too. I've gotten in the habit of filling up sketchbooks in lecture halls because it helps me tune in better.

On a more positive note than my previous post, I have been pleased to see that several female friends of mine are avid crafters. They are crafty girls! I should've mentioned this earlier.

Yes indeed--even in the big city, crafts like wool-spinning, knitting, macrame, and beading are going ..well, if not exactly 'going strong' they are at least still 'in evidence'. I've got a fabulous scarf hand-knitted for me by an ex-GF. It's the best scarf I've ever owned.

Another one of these modern dames is a fanatic for scrap-booking; which I very much admire as a part of her character. More people should scrapbook than currently do. It's so much more interesting (personality-wise) than just being obsessed with hair and nails, handbags, & shoes. I mean, if you are raising a child, why wouldn't you scrapbook for that child? Why let the silly pace of stupid digital life these days, prevent you from being creative and meaningful?

One of my other confidants (the 'beader') was recently excited when I informed her of the new trend in survival gear which revolves around military paracord. Paracord is a wonder-material which is crucial in any bug-out bag; and preparedness-minded people have taken to wearing it around their wrists in bracelets etc. Stylish, intricately-woven accoutrements similar to the 'shark bracelet' trend which emerged after Spielberg's 'Jaws'. When in trouble though, you unwrap this accessory and it equates to twenty feet of fearsome paracord; strong enough to saw through wood or plastic or even metal.

Oh well. It's great to see these gals keeping such traditions going. I can also tell you that the fabric stores in my town are always filled with women ....what they are doing with their fabric purchases, I'm sure I don't know--probably making drapes or something? At least it's something. I went in there to nab some back-drop material for a photo shoot and the place was mobbed.

Besides writing?

I decorate cakes. Mostly fondant work. I've been doing it for about a year and a half.

I'm also taking up real baking, inspired by the Great British Bakeoff. I'm learning to make pastry, breads, tarts, and all the various fillings and incidentals that go with them.

Baking! The world's oldest profession...!

Myrealana said:

Besides writing?

I decorate cakes. Mostly fondant work. I've been doing it for about a year and a half.

I'm also taking up real baking, inspired by the Great British Bakeoff. I'm learning to make pastry, breads, tarts, and all the various fillings and incidentals that go with them.

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I'm starting to get into cake decorating lately, too!

That's cool that you will learn how to make bread and tarts, etc. (Oh, my dad and sister love watching those baking completion shows, including that British Bakeoff one.)

I've done mostly fondant modeling stuff this year, but I have been experimenting with other mediums such as Rice Krispie Treats (sculpted and covered with fondant) and gumpaste right now.

I hope to take some classes to learn some more buttercream piping and royal icing techniques, etc. Mmmm, buttercream! ^_^

Lately I've been knitting and crocheting. It helps clear my head and let the storyline ideas flow.