Sell your hobby to me

[LadyCampanulaTottington]

I’ve just started a six month sabbatical from my business and I want to use the time wisely.

I want to find a new passion. I can play music and crochet. I’ve dabbled in watercolour painting which I will do more of.

I want to try as much as possible so I’m looking for inspiration.

What is your hobby and why should I try it?

Soap-making

You get the creative aspects of choosing your own ingredients & scents, with the fun science bit of essentially making potions! You can experiment with different butters & oils, smells, extras, & you'll never run out of soap.
You can give it as gifts, do courses in it, move into making your own cosmetics like creams, body butters, lip salves etc too.

Pilates. It's gentle and really easy to pick up, but it's so effective. There are lots of YouTube videos from absolute beginners onwards and you can also get books from the library. It helps with breathing, movement, strength and flexibility and can also help with anxiety. All it takes is 20 minutes a day and a yoga mat for a tenner.

Pricey and dependent in teachers in your area but I do aerial silks.
I’m revelling in going from being a little twig into having muscle definition for the first time in my life. I am so strong now.
I didn’t like the gym so picked something that looks beautiful.
Now I am my own circus and I think about it all the time

Fabulous suggestions thank you! I’m glad the thread is inspiring more of you!

I already cycle and hike but it was always at the weekend with DH. I think I might start cycling around my local area and explore a bit more.

@GETTINGLIKEMYMOTHER thanks for your reply. I'll have a Google, there must be other charities I could knit for. Those worry monsters do look fab though.

Rambling, great groups are available in most areas. The people are generally so friendly and have so many interesting hobbies as well as their love of walking in our lovely countryside .
You will be spoiled for choice in finding more new hobbies!

Another dressmaker here who hasn't bought clothes (other than underwear) from a shop since early last year. Love it. We have a thread over on Arts & Crafts for anyone who is interested in sewing. Will post a link.

Come join the sewists!

I love sewing and crochet. My crochet is mainly blankets and cushion covers.

I used to dressmake, but now it’s curtains, cushions etc. I got some stuff for making a patchwork bed cover which I’ll start on as soon as the weather turns worse.

Also gardening. I love climbers. You buy a small one and a couple of years later it’s massive. Clematis, wisteria and honeysuckle are fab.

Also DIY around the house, mostly painting and decorating. Saves a fortune.

Grow your own herbs and vegetables. You can get amazing varieties you’d never find in the shops and you can encourage wildlife in your garden. It is so satisfying figuring out what grows well at different times of year, planning your crops, harvesting your own produce. You don’t need much investment to get started and you need less space than you think - a sunny wall for a grow bag and tomatoes; a strip of ground and some rubber bean seeds and bean canes etc.

you can listen to music and podcasts while you garden too!

If I had 6 months off I would want to do more:
Reading.
Writing.
Baking.
Walking.
Cooking properly.
Spending some serious time in France to learn the language.

Can you tell me more about this? What are cozy games?

my contribution is yoga. You can do it just for the physical aspects or you can follow the spiritual path, if that’s your thing. You can do it in lessons or online and your can go away to yoga retreats.

Dolls houses and miniatures!

Satisfy the creative urge in so many materials, sculpting in Fimo, sewing tiny delicate clothes and bits, woodwork, pottery, painting, decorating… and more.

Assuage the collector's urge, by buying fascinating tiny things on eBay or Etsy. Or auctions. Or anywhere.

Share the enthusiasm on forums and at collector's fairs.

Learn skills on online tutorials, via specialist books or magazines, or trial and error.

Develop the “bashers' eye” and learn to collect dubious bits of tat or rubbish, for later creative use…
… or not.

Fill all the available space in your house, and more, with your beautiful buildings and the above collection of rammel.

Spend all your available income, and more, on the most exquisite tiny pieces you simply must have.

(sobs quietly)

Collectors'

This!

It can be as simple or as complicated as you wish. I started again by taking clothes I never wore and making them into something else.

Even if you only make knickers out of old T shirts you get a fantastic sense of achievement

Photography as you can then also be an amateur historian, or make scrapbooks, ect

Card games, magic the gathering. Easy to learn the basics although does get more technical with the rules, bit like being a solicitor at times, and can be from casual, to very competitive. Helps team building, and morale. Plus helps improve critical thinking skills and strategy skills.

Thanks for the link @dubyalass

@Giggorata How unusual! Do you have pics?

@ChocFreak , among other things, I recently made these Baby Bunnies in baskets, for a charity sale (a children’s cancer charity). Only about 17 cm long. I downloaded the pattern from the Lovecrafts website.

Open water swimming. Soothes those aches and pains. Great recovery exercise. A different way to experience nature at its level. No lane rage. No chlorine. Good for circulation and metabolism.

Water temperatures are higher than average this year and it's a warm time.

by the time you invest in neoprene in late autumn you're kind of committed to get through the winter

@GETTINGLIKEMYMOTHER you are crazy talented! They are gorgeous ☺️

@BogRollBOGOF Thanks for sharing. I love swimming but a couple of things stop me. I’m hypothyroid so my metabolism doesn’t heat me up quick enough so I get very cold very quickly. I have a wetsuit for summer swimming in the lake or when I’m on holidays. It’s that bad. I also don’t live near the sea.

I don’t know why that photo came up twice!

Amateur dramatics and singing in choirs are sociable, fun and give you loads of confidence that will serve you well in other areas of your life.
Plus it's indoors so no early morning starts or hanging around in freezing cold pitches.

Leatherwork. I used to love it, I made purses, keyrings, wallets. You need patience (and tools) but it's very rewarding.

😂. I'd second that!