Discovered yet another new hobby

Do you know that feeling? You already have enough hobbies, and then suddenly you find something new.
There are these coloring books for adults. I’ve always loved to color, and now I’ve bought one of these books. Everything else is on hold for now—it’s time to color. It’s incredibly relaxing, and you can still be creative.

My question for you: How many craft hobbies do you have? Do you switch things up every now and then? It’s good to keep things varied, and you’ve got more than enough ideas.
I hope I’m not the only one who feels this way. As long as it’s fun.

When my kids were younger, we tried all sorts of things. We had plenty of craft paper, craft foam, Window Color paints, fabric markers and chalks, and natural materials galore. Doing it alone is only half as much fun. That’s why I almost exclusively knit, crochet, and sew these days.

As a kid, I tried my hand at everything. There wasn’t a single thing I saw that I didn’t want to make myself… I had to try everything ;-)

Now I’m just happy if, between building a house, my full-time job, household chores, my sports club, and everything else, I still find time to create amigurumi and write patterns :) (On top of that, there are the little stuffed animals based on comic book characters or the like that someone I know orders from time to time ;-))

But who knows… Once the house is finished and if there ever comes a time when I scale back my work, I’ll try my hand at one thing or another again :) 

I recently bought a kumihimo set. You can use it to make braided cords. It’s a nice change of pace, and you can quickly whip up a pretty little gift.
Other than that, I make little things out of Fimo every now and then.

It’s nice to hear that you have several craft hobbies, too.
Oh yeah, Window Color—that’s right, I used to do that a lot with my kids back then. We’d stick things everywhere: windows, doors, the glass porch in Grandma and Grandpa’s garden, the bathroom tiles at home...

I have some Fimo clay too, but I haven’t found the time to work with it yet. Back in the day, it was Suralin.

The “artichoke technique” was also a big thing for me at one point (crafting with ribbons and Styrofoam), or tying friendship bracelets (the regular kind)—Kumihimo wasn’t around yet back then.
The things we try! Not much has actually changed—just the abundance of great options and inspiration.

Right now I’m “only” crocheting (since I only have time for hobbies on the weekends)—but lately I’ve been thinking more and more about asking my mom to teach me how to sew after all.

There are so many great and creative ideas for small and large sewing projects—that really appeals to me.

The only thing that’s still making me hesitate:
That would mean I’d have to buy a new cabinet for all the sewing supplies, like all kinds of fabrics and accessories—not to mention the sewing machine itself, of course ;-)

.... And my apartment is already overflowing with yarn! ;-) People would probably think I’m crazy if I started collecting fabrics on top of everything else :-)

Oh well! It’s nobody’s business, right? ;-)

I used to do a lot more, too. Actually, I jumped on every trend.

From plaster masks to Bel Vetro, Window Color, silk painting, or the artichoke technique…
The only thing I’ve never tried is decoupage.

I used to try everything with the kids, too. I still do that now, but my main focus is on knitting, sewing, crocheting, and decorating candles.

Since I enjoy doing all kinds of handicrafts—crocheting, embroidering, knitting, macramé, sewing—have I forgotten anything? Oh yes, felting—that’s the only thing I haven’t tried YET.

So since I enjoy doing all of these, I try to do other hobbies with my family.
My husband introduced us to his hobby, so the four of us do archery together. I wish I were as good as my daughter (7)—I’ll never catch up to my son (9) anyway. They’ve both grown up doing it.
And other than that, we go skiing, ice skating, biking, hiking… The athletic side doesn’t come from me. But my kids are exercise junkies, so I just go along with them.
  My son wants to learn rock climbing now. I think we’ll give that a try, but I’ll have to see if I stick with it as a new hobby.
It’ll be just like with my daughter and horseback riding. I take her there, watch her, and have time to crochet on the side and enjoy the peace and quiet.

But I think with kids, you can try just about anything, and some things end up sticking with you. 

Hello @Bastelfan,
I read your profile text where you write that you’ve just discovered “this crochet site.” Welcome! But as a crafter, I really have to mention that this isn’t purely a crochet site—it only looks that way :-)—there are also knitted, sewn, and crafted patterns here, as well as many other techniques to discover.
About your question: My main activity at the moment is, of course, paper crafting, but actually I’d love it if I could provide for myself as much as possible with everything I need. That’s why, after many years’ break, I started knitting again and now at least make my own scarves and yoga socks. And I keep trying something new. For example, I’d like each of my craft projects to have its own little basket, but I don’t want to buy any more plastic baskets, so I’m currently weaving baskets out of newspaper tubes. They don’t look particularly professional yet, but they serve their purpose, are environmentally friendly, and cost next to nothing—those kinds of hobbies are my personal favorites anyway :-).

As I can see, I’m not the only one with so many hobbies after all.
Thanks for all the nice replies. Reading through these reminds me of a few things I used to tinker with a long time ago.
There was this Keramofix stuff where you could cast plaster figures and then paint them.

I also have a sewing machine at home, but I rarely use it—just for mending clothes.
Though I do have quite a few fabric scraps; I’ll need those for the linings of my crochet bags.

Decoupage was also one of my old hobbies, as was crafting with those little clay pot figures, embroidery with thread, or beadwork.
I used to make bracelets and necklaces with those bead looms. Oh well, it never gets boring—it’s just that eventually you run out of space for all your craft supplies.
And next year we have to move. You know what that means. :-)

I never wanted to try napkin decoupage, but well, at some point I did after all.
Glass engraving, tatting, knotting—I had to try them, and I still do them sometimes.
Mostly, though, I knit and crochet; I embroider when needed, and I also make cards or little things like that.
You need some variety.

That’s true—variety is a must. You just work on whatever you feel like doing at the moment, or maybe there’s a celebration coming up and you need to whip up a gift quickly.
My relatives really appreciate homemade gifts because they come from the heart.
The range of crafts is wide, just like in this craft forum. The great thing is, you can fully express your creativity and share it with like-minded people. It’s totally awesome.

I like to draw—especially perspective and creating illusions with shadows.
When I feel like it, I do origami.
Photography is my top hobby, including macro photography.

I mainly sew, but every now and then I also pick up my knitting needles, and I crochet once in a while—though not very often. I used to do needlepoint, but it’s become too difficult for me with my hands. I’m not going to open up another *project* ;-)—it’s enough as it is :-) Then there’s photography as a hobby, which I share with my husband.

Love, Inge

I used to do or try out a lot of different things. These included window decorations and mobiles made from construction paper (I have about 150 workbooks and books on this), embroidering tapestries, embroidering tablecloths, knitting sweaters and socks, writing poems, stories, and travelogues, doing crafts, making flower and Christmas arrangements, drawing, and reading (if only so many books wouldn’t pile up…), my CD and record collection, etc., etc.

These days, I still make a window decoration every now and then, rarely knit, and have discovered diamond painting. My passion is and always will be crocheting, especially filet crochet.
I love to take photos—and I do it a lot. I also discovered coloring books a while back. It’s fun and relaxing.

I’ve prepped a few stones that I’d like to embellish using the decoupage technique. My artistic skills aren’t good enough to paint them myself.
I’d really love to be able to sew. I do have a sewing machine, but we don’t really get along… It was like that even back in school. And I’m drawn to mosaic patterns.

Best regards, Marlies

I’d love to do so much more crafting, but there just aren’t enough hours in the day.

I knit and crochet—every day

—and I sew—preferably something with appliqué. Gift bags made from old clothes, for example.
I made a school cone for my grandson featuring Mario



Then I embroider—first I sketch the design, then I embroider over it. The cow ended up on a pillowcase



I enjoy decoupage—on tins and stones 



And then I paint everything I can find 



I’m always looking for new ideas to try out for little gifts







I could show you pictures endlessly... and there’s so much more I’d love to try... 

During my stays in rehab or the hospital, I was able to try out a few things, like decoupage and painting stones. I’ve also done some felting, though unfortunately my needles keep breaking.

At home, I prefer crocheting right now.
Love, Gabi