I need a hobby!

[readingismycardio]

I often hear people having 'hobbies', sometimes even multiple hobbies. I love reading and I do it almost daily, I love working out three times a week, but other than that I have no hobbies. I love travelling too, but that's surely not a hobby, since I do it two, three times tops a year.

I am 30, no children as of yet - had a miscarriage in November, working on it... I work full time, but I do need a distraction from the whole fertility saga. I am also not particularly crafty!

What are your hobbies?

Thank you!

Volunteer one a week with Brownies or cubs. Your local girlguiding or scouting groups will be very welcoming to new helpers.

I also crochet - recommend Bella Coco on YouTube for absolute beginners.

Agree about choir- brilliant fun and great for mindfulness!

I bought a vintage dolls house and am in the process of doing it up. It will be a period house so I'm currently researching and buying antique pieces to fill it with (1900-1920s is my chosen period)

It's err not particularly cheap to do it the antique way but you could do any sort of house you fancied!

Foraging for plants, fruit and mushrooms is my hobby :)

it's free, you follow the seasons, the more you learn the more you realise you have to learn.

you can make some things from food to drinks to soap to candles and lots more.

you can do it alone or with someone, and it always gives you something to look forward to when you are waiting for something to be in season.

@readingismycardio I learned by following Bella Coco's beginners series on You Tube, which you can find here:

blog.bellacococrochet.com/absolute-beginners-crochet/

I tried a few times from books and failed totally, but found the videos very accessible and easy to follow. I found them from Mumsnet recommendations, so very happy to pay it forward!

Once I was comfortable with the basic stitches, I used other Bella Coco videos to try some different kinds of granny squares, then some very simple beginner patterns, all from videos. Then I started trying some written patterns and now I feel confident to tackle most things.

I find it very satisfying seeing things come together, and the whole process of crochet very calming. Good luck!

I also don't have any extravagant hobbies. Rather like yours: books, sports. I decided to learn how to bake cakes, because I suck at it and I would really want to know how to make nice birthday cake or Pavlova, so this is what I'm doing during weekends.

I would really love to learn how to knit too

You could go to art, language, yoga, cookery or pottery classes

I occasionally cross stitch, often don't have time for it (have a 4yr old) but it's easy to learn and following patterns so yoy don't need to be crafty

Quilting. Watched a few YouTube videos (recommend the late Melanie Ham) then bought some squares (called charm packs) and had a go! I'm now making a quilt for my bed- it's more complicated than I'm used too but it's a lot of fun. Listen to podcasts and audiobooks whilst doing it.

Become a volunteer marshal at motorsport events, gets you out of the house every weekend and you might save a life.

Some ideas for you..,

making candles/soap
water colour painting
sketching
knitting/crochet/sewing (learn skills or develop your current skills and then pick some projects to do)
jewellery making
making lampshades

I know you mentioned you’re not particularly crafty but with practice and exploring different crafts you’ll soon develop skills and get a lot of enjoyment out of it.

😊

I love making beeswax candles. I can happily rummage about the local charity shops for a couple of hours finding little glass containers and things to make into candles. They're always well received at Christmas too, wrapped up in cellophane with chocolate coins and candy canes and tied with ribbon.

Scrapbooking. I ordered a load of photos from FreePrints and ordered a nice journal from Amazon. There's tons of scrapbooking ideas on Pinterest, TikTok etc. it can be super messy I'm not neat with it. Just a nice collection of memories

Doll-house making. Get a kit like this, assemble it, decorate it, fill it with beautiful furniture.

It's mindful, therapeutic and absolutely thrilling to watch it all come together. It's also absolutely addictive so tread carefully.

I do ballet classes a couple of times a week and at home every day. I’m very immersed in it anyway as my DC do ballet, and are involved in competitions and so on, so it made sense as a hobby for me (and I did lessons until teenage years). I also run a couple of times a week, occasional parkrun.

I’m learning another foreign language and a while ago I started learning to play the lyre (though I don’t spend much time on this so will be a long time before I reach any sort of proficiency.

I still want to learn to crochet

salsa classes and then you can go to the social dances too.

There's a super cool latino dance class in our town and DH and I wanted to go for ages! This is the sign to actually book it!

How about photography?

It's something you can do outdoors or indoors, and it really makes you look closely at what's aroud you - it's surprising how much detail there is in things once you look.
It can be a bit expensive to start with if you want to buy cameras and different lenses, but the cameras on phones these days are so good you could give it a good try without buying any other kit.

Crochet frankly saved my mental health when I was ttc, 3 years in, I had an op for fertility and was on bed rest. I sat for hours with a crochet hook and ball of wool and had Bella Coco on YouTube. Hey presto!

when we finally conceived, I carried it on and made my little one a beautiful blanket. Finished it in the delivery room

im not crafty either, but it was pretty straightforward and it’s nice to “make” something

Best thing i have taken up in the past year or so is joining a choir. Great stress release, made loads of friends and quite social.

Great thread OP, thank you!

What a great thread 👏 I've been singing in a community choir for almost 13 years, doing yoga for 6 years too & a HIIT class twice a week. I walk dogs for The Cinnamon Trust Charity & used to volunteer as a befriender for Age UK. I'm a SAHP though currently so I have lots of time for hobbies. I try & do a walk every day to get my steps in, either with dogs or on my own. I learned how to crochet just before lockdown but I can still only do basic granny squares. I have made 2 big blankets though that I'm quite proud of - it made my fingers ache though after a while (I think I might have osteo arthritis like my Mum/Nan 😪 so I don't crochet much anymore. Plus the yarn was getting pricey). I love crafts though & this year would like to try a beginner's painting class (but I'm a bit scared/anxious - thanks a lot peri menopause hormones 🙄)

Salsa sounds great, OP!

Great thread too. I'm going to try the crochet links and look at other suggestions

Family history!

I knit my own clothes/sew my own clothes. There's something very fulfilling about making things your own colours/textures. Very easy to pick up knitting and there's vast amounts of youtube videos showing stitches or techniques, lots of free patterns on ravelry and I use Instagram to find cheap patterns made by some very talented designers. Good luck in the other aspects of your life.

I've just started crochet. It's surprisingly relaxing, I say this struggling to get to grips with a triple stitch. There's loads of beginners you tube videos and you can purchase a start pack off amazon really cheap (10 to 15 pound including starter wool).