What are your favorite things to do? Do you quilt, keep fish, read romances or mysteries, bowl, square dance, etc? When did you start? What are you planning or doing now?
What Are Your Hobbies? How Many Hours Do You Spend On Your Hobby?
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40 Responses to What Are Your Hobbies? How Many Hours Do You Spend On Your Hobby?
I’m not a crafty or athletic person, so my hobbies tend towards the sedentary. I love to read, and I spend way too much time on the internet. I wouldn’t mind learning to crotchet, though I suspect I wouldn’t be good at it.
I also like cooking, though I do it more for sustenance than truly as a hobby. I used to bake a lot more and I’d like to get back into that.
I love to read, especially mysteries. I did get stuck on books about
Henry VIII. I also love to crochet, my mom taught me when I was a little girl and it is something I have always enjoyed. I find it easier than knitting.
Paula, I’ve tried knitting several times. I can’t ever get the stitches to stay on the needle. I don’t know the trick, but I’ve watched lot’s of times.
I like vintage collectibles, but I’m picky. I like to quilt. Nothing fancy, I make those quilts in a day, but they take me about a month and I don’t mind. I love picking out the patterns and the material. I work on them mainly in the winter and like to watch movies while I’m tying them.
Photography!!!!! I love taking pictures of kids and families, and my goal this year is to see if I can finally move off the auto button to manual. And because of my love for photography, I’ve moved into scrapbooking, which I also love but spend way too much time buying product and not actually working on pages – lol.
Reading is my hobby of choice right now. I spend way to much money on books. I put myself on a monthly book budget. People have asked me why I just don’t go to the Library and get books for free but I have a problem with strangers handling them and it freaks me out.
oh I forgot to mention I love the last option on this poll.
Sue, I have always been interested in photography and thought about taking it to the next level (really learning how to compose a picture, etc.)
Lily, quilting has also been on “my list.” I do really like the idea of doing something with my hands and creating something unique. Watching movies at the same time sounds like it is right up my alley (I love anything that involves multi-tasking).
Paula, you and my aunt should speak sometime. She has read EVERY SINGLE book every published about Henry VIII and his ? number of wives. I actually have the Alison Weir book about Henry sitting my bookcase, but I haven’t tackled it yet. Like Darlene, I prefer to buy from bookstores (I kind of have a thing about getting books from the library too) and I always have 7 or 8 waiting to be read.
The only mildly artistic hobby I have is gardening. I love to take a bare patch of dirt (or one with weeds) and nurture nature.
I love photography and since my first grandbaby arrived, he is my favorite subject. My husband and I also do some birdwatching. I take lots of pictures there also. For Christmas, he bought me a spotting scope which can be attached to my camera to “digiscope” I got some awesome video of a bald eagle and her chicks in March. I also love to quilt, although I don’t spend as much time doing it as I should. Funny thing, when my kids were little, I would spend alot of time sewing clothes for them and crafting. They are grown, my time is my own and I spend virtually no time doing the things I love. Every year, I visit the quilt show in Lancaster and vow that I will spend more time creating yet I never do. The weird part is that after I make something, I have such a feeling of fulfillment and accomplishment. Maybe you ladies can remind me once in a while to work on a project.
I love football. Mostly pro but I will watch college. I guess you could call that a hobby of mine. Some years I am more passionate about it than others. We have what we call football Sunday at our house and we have quite a crowd every Sunday. Different people show up each week but we always have a great time and there is usually some wagering done also.
I do like to read but I never find enough time to read as much as I want to. Something I do more in the summers and keep saying “When I retire.” I guess this blog really is quit a time consuming hobby for me and most times I enjoy it.
When I was growing up I was consumed with horses and everything about them. I rode all of the time. That is another hobby that I would like to revisit when I retire.
Rhonda, I love watching birds too and for a few years there, I enjoyed identifying them. I never deadhead my flowers because 1, the new plants are free, and 2, they attract birds to the yard. I think I remember you are south Jersey? Have you ever gone to see the raptor migration at Hawk Mountain Sanctuary?
Ann, I have never seen that. My son went to Hawk Mountain for boy scout camp years ago and we drove him there but we weren’t really interested in the birds. We actually sort of got interested a few years back when we were on vacation at the Jersey Shore. We went to Cape May which is on the Atlantic Flyway and they were doing a raptor count in September. Then I found a webcam at Blackwater Wildlife Refuge in Easton Maryland. They show an active eagles nest in the winter and an osprey nest in the spring/summer. We actually went there for a valentines day trip and fell in love with bald eagles. They were everywhere. They have an eagle festival in March that we have gone to the past two years. You have quite a memory, I do live in South Jersey. We have also seen eagles in Cumberland County. I will have to go to Hawk Mountain someday. The only birds we get in our yard are pigeons.
We camped in New York state this summer and saw two bald eagles in the wild along the Delaware River. I can see how it would “hook” you. They are so beautiful and majestic and very exciting. I’ve been to the Cape May bird sanctuary too, but not in the fall, just the summer.
They count raptors at Hawk Mountain all through the fall. The peak season is coming, as it is at the shore.
Have you ever noticed the monarch butterfly migration through Cape May in September? We believe the monarchs that pass through our yard mid-Sptember are headed to the Jersey shore first, on their way to Mexico (or Florida.)
Like many of you, I love to read too. Paula, I am a mystery fan as well, but my obsession is Sherlock Holmes (Nancy Drew and Encyclopedia Brown when I was younger). I’ve read every Sherlock Holmes title, and I’m afraid the movie coming out this Christmas will butcher the books.
I teach English as a hobby during the school year. I run an ESL program off-campus, and I am thinking about getting certified after graduation.
Word and logic puzzles are somewhat of a hobby of mine. I love Sudoku, Wheel of fortune, jumbles, crossword puzzles, etc. I do them when I get the time. (Last year, I came in second in a Sudoku competition at school.
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I don’t think I blog enough yet to count it as a hobby, though I have kept it up since coming back from Spain. I will have a lot more to say once school starts.
Ann: When we were in Cape May for the raptor count that got us started on the birding, we went to a talk on the monarch butterflies. They had us tag one and release. It was neat. We have been on the Cape May ferry in the fall and the butterflies actually “hitch” rides on the ferry into Delaware. It is just fascinating how these birds instinctively know how to migrate to where their parents and grandparents have gone every year and then to come back to where they were born. Sometimes I think they have more sense than humans. I have to get to Hawk Mountain sometime.
Oh, how cool about the ferry, Rhonda! Thanks for the information. I have some family with a nice little shore house on Wildwood Crest, so now I am planning a fall visit! I didn’t know the raptors fly through there, but it makes sense. Great information, thanks.
Jasmin, I am also thinking about getting ESL-certified. It would suit my present position.
I am a lover of word games. We just picked up a cute little portable game called bananagrams. It’s just letter tiles. Boggle is my all-time favorite, though.
Ann: I sound like a travel agent now. The best place to do the Raptor Count is the Hawk Watch at Cape May Point, in the lighthouse parking lot. Then go down to Sunset Beach to watch the sunset over the bay. The cape may ferry passes right in front of the sun, it is beautiful. they do a nice flag ceremony there everynight. Another cool thing if you are in the area is the Cape May Whale Watcher. I got a really cool picture of a dolphin jumping out of the water. I only took me three years to get that shot! We have been going to the Jersey Shore the third week of September, staying in Ocean city but we always make a day in Cape May. Sadly this year, we can’t do it because of my hubby’s work schedule. It is so nice there in September – crowds are down, weather is beautiful and just about everything is still open. Have fun in Wildwood Crest.
I’m a binge knitter. I’ll work on a project for weeks. Then I won’t knit for months until the urge strikes again. I knit mostly baby things since they are fast. I don’t think I have the attention span to knit a whole adult sweater.
I love art. Painting, collage, mixed media, altered arts anything artsy is my hobby. I also love fabric and quilting/sewing. My dream is to retire and make art for the rest of my life. I also love Scrabble!
I’m a camera addict. I take tons of pics. I also love to bake.
Pam – your scrabble game comment reminded me of a game I used to love, but I can’t think of the name of it. It was kind of like word yahtzee but it was called something else. Ugh – now this is going to drive me nuts!
Hi Pam,
Welcome to Imperfect Women. Just wanted everyone to know this is a different Pam than me . This Pam has no talent at all.
I also like to do logic puzzles, sudoku, cross sums. and my favorite pixel puzzles.conceptispuzzles.com has the best.
Nancy- Maybe the game you are thinking of is Boggle? I think it involved throwing dice with letters instead of dots and then making words.
Pam- Everyone has a talent! Even you
Growing up my main hobby was sewing, there is something about cutting out a pattern, seeing all the pieces put together, making it into something special. Now that I’m retired I have a lot of time to devote to my hidden talents. This talent was brought out in me from my husband, who is a fantastic carpenter. Now I am on a new adventure on making salsa toughs, which my husband has named. There is nothing like the smell of freshly cut of wood and shaping it into something useful. Having a hobby is wonderful and I recommend it for all, it gives you self satisfaction, whic is good for the soul.
Welcome Patty,
That is an interesting hobby. Maybe you can write something up for us and send us a picture so we can post it.
Patty- what is a salsa tough?
Salsa trough? I need that!
I’m too much of a procrastinator to have a hobby. So with that in mind- here’s my list of things I want to do- you know, one day. I do read a lot though!
Complete a scrapbook
Take a painting class
Learn to quilt (I want to but I’m not at all confident I could do it)
Walk for a Cause- great at walking, horrible at raising money.
Sam, I am in awe of people who can paint or draw. I can’t do either. I even took drawing lessons from a really good teacher and I was hopeless. I could finally turn out something close to what we were supposed to be drawing, but it took me forever, lots of struggle and no fun.
reading, gardening and cooking. Now since Julie Julia I have dusted off my Mastering the Art, and have made that fantastic salad Nicoise, So worth it. And made home made mayonnaise, again – you look for things to eat with mayo, it’s so good. I even went and replaced a Le Creuset Dutch oven so I could make the boef, coc au vin etc although not til it’s cooler out.
I used to love doing little craft projects with my kids. One thing (this is silly but we had such fun at it) was making tiny dolls. We used clothespins (the old fashioned wooden kind) with the top of the pin as the head obviously, and then you paint the face, put on yarn hair, and fabric scraps and glue guns for clothes – we made them in pairs, one boy one girl, and used them to decorate. We do our own wreaths for Xmas and decided to do one for Thanksgiving as well – a bare twig wreath instead of evergreen, with little clothes pin dolls dressed in olden day fashions (knee breeches and waist coats for the men, long gowns for the women one year, another time we did farm style clothes, or pilgrim outfits are easy) and paper mums, acorns, dried flowers, etc. We have such fun doing those, and it’s amazing how good the clothes look with just scissors and glue gun and yarn or ribbon. My grandma used to sew tiny doll clothes for my trolls and there is something fun about making clothes so tinyand seeing these little charaters come to life, perfect for a doll house too instead of those scary plastic families.
Another tiny doll we make with pipe cleaners and a bead for a head. We did tons of fairies one year with red tunics and silk embroidery thread wrapped leggings, tiaras, wands, you name it -and I still have a few of them on the Xmas tree. They are graet because you can bend the limbs into all these great dancing shapes. We did a wreath of fairies with acorn caps, for spring. Fake fur makes great hats, Russian style.
Kids have to be old enough to use hot glue gun though, so at least 6 0r 7 as that stuff is HOT. My 4 YO nephew wanted to get in on the act so he designed and made choices and drew the faces and I glued. He loved his little men – Spider man, power ranger, etc. Kept them occupied and creative and off the tv/ computer a few hours. We do it when it’s too lousy to go outside and it’s a treat to go gather the acorns, dig into the fabric scraps and see what beads or other little things Michael’s has. even did a pipe cleaner dog with felt ears that was so cute I keep it on my desk.
Here is a great craft to do with kids; I’ve run out of little kids to do it with so I hope someone gets some use out of the idea.
Crayola makes this stuff that is like playdoh only it’s soft and moldable when it comes out of the pack and then hardens in the air. They have it at Michael’s. Wish I knew what its called. anyhow, we got it in white although it comes in a lot of colors. We made snow men, three balls on top of each other as with a normal snowman you would make as a kid, about 3″ high. We used a bit of orange for a carrot nose, some black for coal buttons and eyes and then made scarves and hats out of fabric. I made a little snowman dog. Then you take your snowman, or in our case a snow family, and put it in a fish bowl with epsom salt covering the bottom, as snow. We had enough of this molding medium that we made a little igloo snow fort and a pile of snow balls for their snow ball fight. Takes half an hour and not messy at all; even your 3YO can make and stack balls for the men and the fort, and stick on the nose, eyes etc. It does dry out pretty fast though so plan ahead before you open it.
We used it as a centerpiece at home for the kitchen table, and gave some away for gifts for my daycare kids’ parents, and I got way more compliments and thank you’s on those little simple gifts ($10 fish bowl, or less, I collect them from yard sales) and a few bucks for the modelling stuff. They are so cute, you have a little winter vignette, a cute scene inside a fish bowl. if you are a decent sculptor you can make the dog look like your own breed which we did. They don’t pack all that well but are so easy to make that the process is really the fun, rather than the end product – make new ones next year.
We also do a craft that is so easy and can be beautiful depending on the jar and ornament. I read about this in Family Fun some years back. You take a clean glass jar with a lid that screws down, Ball canning jars or spaghetti sauce jars work well. Do different sizes and shapes. You get a Christmas ornament that fits into the jar and is small enough to dangle inside it. You hang the ornament in the jar by using pretty ribbon rather than an ornament hook and hot glue it (after measuring) to the inside lid of the jar. Put epsom salt in the bottom of the jar for snow and screw the lid down. The ornament hangs suspended in its own small snowy showcase. You can put ribbon around the outside edge of the lid if seeing the “Classico” offends you! Or cover the lid with fabric glued down tight but I never bother, it looks fine to me without it. We put three similar ornaments in three different sized jars and arrange them on the windown sill, the guest room bedside table or give as gifts from young kids to a grandma, babysitter, etc. Nice craft and we have jars with our own fairies in them, or Xmas tree ornaments and did ones with pine cones as well, which are really nice too.
i forgot to say on the jar ornament thing, I think the actual instructions involved punching a hole or drilling one in the jar lid so you can pull the ribbon up through it and adjust the height of the ornament and tie a bow on top, or at least that’s one way to do it but the whole ice pick thing is a little nerve wracking – I had my husband do that ahead since when I tried I nearly impaled myself.
As with anything involving glass, you have to monitor it pretty carefully if the kids are little.
Another good one is to make ornaments out of flour, lots and lots of cinnamon, ( almost equal parts so go to Sam’s or somewhere that has giant cinammon containers becuse the ones at the gorcery store are way too small and expensive) and just enough applesauce to get it to form a dough, not too sticky. Roll it out with a rolling pin like a pie crust although thicker – maybe a third of an inch or so – on waxed paper and cut it into shapes with cookie cutters, heart shape, acorn, angel – the smaller cookie cutter shapes worked best for me. leave it on waxed paper to dry. Experiment with the dough so you know it’ll dry sturdy and not crumbly. It should be a dark cinnamon color. You poke a hole in the top with a chopstick or some such, and when it dries hang if from the tree with a thin ribbon. They smell fantastic and I still have ones my daughter, now 19, made when she was five and they still hold up! You could do a thumb print on them … on a heart shape, it is very cute.
We made gift bags too – decorated paper lunch sacks by gluing Christmas tree shapes cut out of fabric onto the outside of the sack with those shears that have the rickrack shape blades, the kids can even glue beads or large sequins on their fabric trees like ornaments – and put the gifts inside, in plenty of tissue paper, then punch holes in the top of the sack once you fold it over as you would with a lunch in it, and pull a ribbon or yarn through the holes to tie it in a bow and close it. I don’t know who was more excited about those little nickel Christmas gifts, the parents or the kids. My kids kept wanting to open the sacks fifty times and check that their fairy or cinnamon heart ornament was still in there and the parents too were always trying to peek before Christmas.
Can’t wait til I’ve got grandkids to do this with!
whosMindingtheKids, I like the cinnamon, flour and applesauce ornaments. I think we will give it a try. My little one would have a good time. I would love to have that smell in the house during the season. Maybe, also as a potpourri something the rest of the year. I’d like to hang them in the kitchen. So neat that they hold up. The smell of cinnamon is so cozy.
Lily I wish I had that recipe for you all I recall is that it took an immense amount of cinnamon. We have a Middle eastern deli with a food store not too far from us that sells spices in huge containers for about $6 – so about 20 times the spice you get in the grocery.
You might be able to google that recipe because I think it was in Family Fun. I highly recommend their craft ideas for the holidays, they are simple, not expensive and so much fun to do with your little one in her or his apron standing on the kitchen stool. OMG. Wait. Maybe it’s not flour but cinnamon, and some kind of glue. I’ll research it and if I find it will post recipe.
Write things down, is my lesson.
lily here are three recipes and I am glad I found them, it wasn’t flour, it was GLUE. So you cannot eat them of course.
The recipe is
1/2 cup ground cinnamon,
1/3 cup applesauce, and
1 Tbs. Tacky glue
Mix in bowl and stir until well blended. Work mixture in hands for three minutes to form a ball. If it is too dry, add applesauce, if too wet, add more cinnamon. Knead ball on cinnamon-sprinkled surface until it holds togehter well. I roll this out and use cookie cutters for the shapes. I also use a drinking straw to cut a hanging hole. These can be air dried for 24 to 48 hours. Turn several times. They can also be baked in a slow oven.
This link has some other recipes that include orris toor, cloves, etc
.make-stuff.com/projects/cinnamon_ornaments.html
this looks like a good site for other craft projects.
I spend so much time reading the Gosselin Chatter that I forget the other items you have here on your site. My bad!
I’m a hobby all by myself. Let me see, over the years I’ve knitted, crocheted (is that how you say that?), oil painting wood and canvas, wrote childrens books (unpublished), needle point…. you name it, I’ve probably tried it. Fifteen years ago I took up quilting while making a stuffed dog for my son (then 2) and haven’t looked back. I’ve branched out to emboridery (with a machine) and am now finding ways to put them together. I find it’s provided me the best “me” time when I go to the sewing room and get lost at the machine. I also do some stitchery so that allows me to hold fabric and spend time with the family. So far, my favorite quilt has been the one I sent my daughter off to college with. I made blocks of stitchery with loving phrases to guide her and help with any loneliness. I stopped by her apartment a few weeks ago while in the area and was touched to see it drapped over her couch. For me, they are memories in fabric. I know it’s not for everyone…. after my father died I made a quilt of angels for my mother, I don’t think she’s touched it, uses a generic throw my brother’s wife bought her while mine is on a quilt rack by her hidden back door under a pile of pillows…… typical of my mother. Needless to say I don’t hand make her gifts anymore… haha.
I admire those who scrapbook. There is a lot of time and money in that hobby. I have a friend who has made wonderful memories for her kids with her books. She always tells me I’ll be sorry I didn’t make them for my kids. I do think she’s right…..
Kat I love your idea of the throw or quilt with the phrases in it. I bet your mother keeps hers separate because she cherishes it so much and doesn’t want it to be ruined by the cats lying on it, or something, not because she doesn’t appreciate the work or the sentiment. Scrap books are special but there is nothing like a quilt to wrap yourselves in that warmth, effort and loving thoughts from your mom, auntie or grandmom! Mom’s love handed down comes in a lot of different packages and each one is valuable.
I have a quilt my grandmother made, she used scraps of her aprons, my grandpa’s flannel plaid shirts etc and I love having those in my quilt and have just replaced the padding in it which was getting pretty beat down, now it’s perky on the inside but still faded as to the fabrics, but I love using it and showing my kids which one came from a dress I had when I was five, or my grandma’s apron, or a baby blanket piece she used. I have kept that quilt special, for days when it’s super cold or when I or my kids are sick, and they love getting it out of the chest and getting to use it. That will go to my daughter in her Hope chest and while I hope she uses it I also hope she doesn’t use it to death, and can pass it on in her turn.
I don’t know anyone personally who can quilt and nor does she, so this is very special for us.
I like to scrapbook but for my daughter the things I’m trying to amass are made of textiles, a crocheted (IS that how you spell it?) afghan for her couch, that her dad’s sister made, the quilt, her dad’s mother’s Irish tea pot with its knitted tea cozy, pillow cases my mom embroidered with gorgeous orange poppies, etc. You can buy all kinds of new things but nothing’s as special as those things handed down, that you can feel. I have to find someone who can quilt as I’ve saved favorite dresses, shirts, baby blankets to use in quilts for each kid, which I will have to have made, possibly baby blanket size. I’m betting the work will cost hundreds and will be so worth it!
i read a lot but i don’t think of it as a hobby. it is something i do each and every day…i love to read.
i used to cross-stitch and paint/draw. now i scrapbook and try to learn more about taking better pix. i have been scrapbooking for several years and enjoy it a lot. i have met some amazing women i never would have if not for that hobby. i am so thankful to have found that creative outlet.
i also have a habit, not a hobby…the computer. i can easily spend hours on here and i am beginning to wish i didn’t. i get so much more done when i limit my internet time. lol
Hobbies! I’m glad these threads get “reactivated” from time to time, because I hadn’t seen this one. It’s great to find out a little more about what interests the people who post here. Yes, my computer and I see way too much of each other, too, Kimmie. I laughed at Darlene’s post about number 5 on the poll. If it does count, then my answer is number 4 for October.
Three of my main hobbies are actually “joint” hobbies with my husband. We love to camp, and he has a passion for sailing, so that has become a hobby. His dream has changed from wanting to retire, sell the house, and let a boat be our home to keeping the house and cruising about 6 months a year (whew! I’m talking him down). We also enjoy vegetable gardening.
My solo hobby is computer related. Since 2005, I have been scanning my photos that are pre-digital age, and the photos of my parents (and their parents…) into the computer. It is time-consuming but fun. I’m lucky to still have both my parents, but they can no longer recall much about their photos…(note to you younger whippersnappers, quiz your parents and grandparents while you can!)
Another computer hobby started last Christmas. We got a turntable with a USB connection for the computer. Yes, we have vinyl albums, and I am slowly getting them on my computer. Another fun but time-consuming project. I’ve done a few albums for others, which is sometimes painful. Thirty minutes of listening to “The Cornell Chimes”, even though I’m sure it’s great if you’re there in person, is a bit tough to sit through (lol).
I was so happy to hear about the cinnamon ornaments. We received one as a gift from a relative a few years ago. It is heart shaped, decorated to look like leather, stamped with designs that represent the 4 seasons. That looks like a fun project, and now I have the recipe.