Lockdown hobbies

[DublinDoris2000]

I'm finding it hard to switch off after work and I'm looking for a hobby. In usual times I'd join a sports club or even a choir. What do you do to relax, or be creative at the end of the day?

I love knitting and colouring books, they have been great hobbies during lockdown

I taught myself to crochet in October & currently have three projects on the go, and a very small one lined up for tomorrow.

Other than that, I read. Usually horror.

I'm trying macrame :)

I read, draw a bit sometimes and do puzzles, mostly suduko (the evil samurai suduko from the Saturday newspaper lasts me all week)

Needle felting. It’s quite easy to learn, there are lots of online lessons.

Taking and then editing photos. If I can't or don't want to go out anywhere then I'll set up a still life scene on the dining room table using items I have laying about the house, take a photo of it and then edit it in photoshop, adding colours and textures. I sometimes do it with my dc's toys and try to create a composite using photos from previous trips out or images from the internet, for example I took a snap of dc 1's model Flying Scotsman and added it to an image of a viaduct. I can spend hours at the table or on my laptop just messing about with scenes or images.

jigsaws reading dot to dot
art journals & photo memory keeping

I have started downloading grown up colouring book pages. Also started going for a walk along the beach and finding an interesting rock. I then paint a funky design on said rock. I write poetry and occasionally brush the dust off my yoga mat for its given purpose. The more I do, the more I want to do :)

Photography and photo editing have become a thing for me, I've been doing a lot of landscapes but I switched to portrait shoots for family members lately. It all started with looking for a best skin retouching software (a very good list, by the way, if anyone's interested, too!) and now I take quite a lot of pride in knowing how to work with different tools and brushes and make photos better.

learn French this is my hobby now.

I'm teaching myself to play guitar. Also do drawing (paper and on my ipad) and embroidery.

Second needle felting. It’s surprisingly satisfying.

I also like knitting, crochet, jigsaws, adult colouring and drawing.

My choir is still not meeting and neither are the ballroom dancing lessons DH and I were having:(

I have taken up gardening. We have quite a big garden and it was fine but just a lawn and shrubs. We built a big patio last year and I’m now growing tomatoes and am going to be making a dry river bed feature. I have also made a miniature zen garden and am making some fairy houses for friends out of the logs from a tree we had to remove making the patio. I attach a picture of the mini garden.

I have also got back in to gaming and have just bought an x box series x with all the bells and whistles and was shooting aliens last night. DS was on holiday with his GF this week and saw the packaging on his return and was you got yourself a better x box than me.

I did masses of knitting, either Christmassy things for a late November raffle at Gdcs’ primary school, or else for charities like Knit for Peace and Knit for Nowt. Pre COVID I used to make twiddle muffs for patients with dementia at the local hospital - v good for using up odds and ends.
Still at it, much the same things, usually at least 2 on the go.

Cross stitch and blackwork keep me nicely distracted

I go for a walk each day which ensures I finish work at a set time. During the last fifteen months being able to watch films online has been very welcome.

I've started painting with watercolours...I enjoyed art at school but have never really had time to indulge since. But I've discovered that I have lots of inspiration, stuffed away from having seen other people's work that I have enjoyed over the years, and having watched a few YouTube videos, I'm raring to go.

Gardening. Have really enjoyed planting, watching things grow and planning new beds. Nature is amazing

Choral singing. For the past year this has been with the Self-Isolation Choir, although hopefully at some point in the future my original choir will be able to meet again. The SIC is flexible in that you can sign up to individual projects according to your interests and availability.

(You can attend the rehearsals and concerts "live" if you're free at that time, but plenty of us take part by watching them on YouTube afterwards).

watching the clock way more than normal to remind kids when their zoom meetings start.

swearing at laptops, password & wifi

I love to encourage kids and adults into painting. I'm an artist and lately I've been experimenting with new art forms like diamond painting, just search online ottawa mommy club what is diamond painting? Basically is a form of mosaic art, you take small, sparkly resins and affix them to a canvas that has a pattern on it. When you finish, you have a beautiful work of art that is sparkly and can hang on your wall.