I Need a Hobby!! - Story City,IA

I vote for crocheting! I've been doing it for years & I love it. Get some yarn and a few hooks, or a starter kit with a book. You can find TONS of free patterns online!

My favorite yarn is Hobby Lobby's "I Love This Yarn." I think it is softer than the others!

Ive been making hair clippes, headbands, etc for DD- I have around 200 hair clips! My idea was to sell them, but taking good photos of something so small, was hard, I gave up. DD looks very nice with them in her hair though!! pretty simple, hair clips (from sally beauty) ribbons, buttons etc, feathers, flowers, and a glue gun. People certainly buy this stuff & for good $$ on etsy.com. I also just made my ring pillow for my wedding, that was easy as 123, and they sell for 35-50 and up on etsy! crazy!!! My plan is to do this for a little extra $$, but I just havent gotten that far yet.

What's wrong with Mamapedia all day. ;o)

I sent all mine to school then got a puppy.

I needed a hobby too and I tried many things before I found one I am passionate about. I started making stained glass windows about 11 yrs ago. I then went into making mosaics and I now have an art gallery that wants to carry my work. WOW:0) I was a business major and although I always loved art I just thought I was mediocre until I found glass. I also took a lamp work beading class that I really enjoyed. (lamp work beads are the glass beads on Pandora bracelets.). This can easily be done at home and is relatively inexpensive to setup. You would just have to find a class to teach you the basics. Good luck with your quest to find a hobby. This has enriched my life more than I can even express in writing here so I hope you find something easily.

Okay... I know you don't like traditional scrapbooking, but how about digital scrapbooking? You could make beautiful albums for your family AND use and display your photographs! Check out Creative Memories, they have a really easy software to use, and I'm sure you can find one of their consultants nearby who can help you learn some tips and tricks. Then when you're done laying out your album, just send it off to be printed, and they send you a beautiful bound book. I am a traditional scrapbooker because I like to work with my hands, but I have several friends who do all of their books digitally and they turn out great! Just a thought...

This is not at home but I LOVE animals, so I volunteer at a local animal shelter once per week.. Makes me feel great and it helps them out... Volunteer somewhere that your passionate about..

Beading
Pottery
Crocheting (I find it very relaxing and portable, can be done anywhere)

I'm an art teacher and I love art, but crafts have a place in my heart too. Aside from formal training in photography and pottery I tend to pick up a hobby, get comfortable with it, spend lots of money on supplies and then get bored and try something new!
I have made dreamcatchers, traditional leather native American clothing, beading (peyote beading to embellish my leather dresses, horn and bone pipe beads to accesorise the Nat. Amer. clothes, and metal and semi-precious stone), fabric dying (shibori, etc.), paper making, crochet, and right now the passion is anything I can make to enhance my twin daughters clothing or to dress up in. I am making corker, and other ribbon hair bows, tutu's and such.
My suggestion would be to try a few things, without investing too much, find one or two that you like that are affordable and see where it takes you. I'm thinking of dusting off the sewing machine and making pillowcase dresses.
Lately, I tend to want to make things that I can sell to keep up my habit of ribbon and fabric buying! Being able to sell your wares never hurts in this economy.
Oh, yea! One of my all time faves is GARDENING! Veggie, herb, flower, anything! The added bonus of food is nice too. There is nothing in the world like a fresh tomato!

Learn to sew. You can make cute outfits for your new one.

I love to crochet. I taught myself when I was 12, so I've been doing it a long time...but it's fairly easy to learn on your own if you get a good book or video, and you can quickly make some awesome things (way better than knitting, not to knock the knitters. I can knit, too, but it's just too slow and involved and if you screw up, you're starting all over). I make clothes for my children (jumpers, sweaters, hats, etc) and blankets, stuffed animals, and tons of random things for my six year old. "Can you make this cat a bed?" The newest one was "Can you make a lake for me to put by my castle for the swans to live in?" So yup, I'm crocheting a lake.

Great things about it, besides...it's super cheap, you can find good patterns at your library or online for free (or pay for them if you want), it's so fun to pick out new colors for projects, it's useful and rewarding...and I can do it while I watch TV! Bonus! Also, it's totally portable...have to sit in the waiting room for an hour? It fits in a shopping bag. :)

Volunteer! I also tried scrapbooking...i like it...It just gives me a head ache. I took up pressing shirts. I do that when I am bored with illustrating my book.

You can get cool iron ons at the craft store and take any kind of shirt and make it new!! I have revived alot of my old blah clothes this way!!

What did you do before you had kiddo? Take something you used to do and put a new spin on it. Take your photography...start playing with stuff in your house...set up a scene and take pictures of it...or go out in your yard and find things that look unusual and shoot it. Or take some pictures of flowers and play with the neg. Or take photo in black and white and add color to the finished copy! those look cool !! you would be amazed at the stuff you can find in/around your house to shoot photos of!!!!

See if you can take a few classes at the local community college before your newest arrival arrives! Many times you can look online and they offer really reasonable 2 or 3 session classes so you can try a few things out and see what you like.

I don't have time for hobbies anymore, but if we can sell our house and move closer to my office, I would love to get back into:
- Flower arrangements (neighbors would bring their flowers and containers over and I would arrange them for them)
- Reading non-research materials
- Knitting (so relaxing)
- Yoga (starting classes again next month)

How about sewing? - you could make adorable clothes for your kids, save money - maybe make a little business making cute clothes for others, too. You don't have to be super creative, the patterns out there give you all the ideas, just flip through the books and pick what you like, and pick out cute fabrics.

I wish I was good at sewing, it isn't really hard, I just haven't practiced enough - too many hobbies here, jack of all trades, master of none, LOL! Let see, I do crochet, looom knitting, hair bows for my daughter, polymer clay ornaments and nativity scenes, beading, orhter general crafts, plus cooking, baking, all the other household chores and taking care of the kids, LOL - lots of hobbies!

Right now, crocheting is my favorite, as it is portable, and simple, you can make many different types of projects, bags, baskets, clothing, rugs, toys....TONS of free patterns online, and the supplies can be very inexpensive. I have a 4 year old and 2 year old, so some of myother hobbies are a bit too much - have to go to the base ment craft room, o they have small parts ( beads, pins, needles) or are too easy for the kids to "mess it up" - This, I just keep a basket right next ot my recliner in the TV room where we spend most of our family time, and i crochet as they play or watch TV. I am making my mom a sweater right now, just finished a toy sheep and a purse and a few hats before this.

Good Luck Choosing!

I like to cook, bake, can homemade jams, jellies, salsa, pickles. Sewing and/or knitting is a good thing too. Find something that you enjoy, but is also benefitting your family!

A couple people have already suggested volunteering, but I thought I'd put in my 2 cents. When I was pregnant and had a toddler that was still napping, I used my extra time to help a local charity with their administrative work. (I called local businesses to arrange discounted services for families with critically ill children.)

So, if you don't want to leave the house, you can still volunteer. Check out www.volunteermatch.org. You can even find virtual opportunities, like helping kids with their homework online!

This is a great question and I loved reading the responses!

I pour a lot of my energy into cooking (and sometimes baking) and photography/our family website. I love photography too and wanted to keep photos of our girls organized and available to friends and relatives who don't live close by, so I used Google Sites to build a free website with photos that I update weekly or monthly. You can see it at www.thebrockfamilyalbum.com

I would like to have another hobby that doesn't involve a "screen" or cooking though, so I'm definitely going to keep track of these responses.

Do you have a blog? I post on my blog almost every day. Then I get it printed into a book each year. It's a journal/scrapbook in one, and then my family and friends who don't live near me can see what's going on with the kids and our life.

I also love to bake bread, read and look at cookbooks when I have some down time.

I feel the same way! :) I've recently started couponing.... and it's kind of fun :). Try pocketyourdollars.com if nothing else you can save money!

I was in the same boat. Then I realized that I love cloth diapering. Which I knew that before but I didn't put it to good use. Good use meaning I'm mow actively participating as a chapter head of the local "club" an also now am moderator for a fb cloth diapering page.

I know cloth diapering isn't everyone's cup of tea so perhaps you could make a blog about photography around the house. Make everyday items art, so to say. Start a photography page on fb and watch is grow. Volunteer on the PTA.

I recently had the same problem, a son in K5 and a 1 year old that naps for 3 hours at a time! I started knitting and I love it, almost done with my first baby blanket! I signed up for a class at a local yarn shop but had already taught myself from you tube by the time of the class. You tube was great and I also checked out all the knitting books I could from the library. I get most of my yarn from Michael's so it is reasonable price wise which is good because I don't have much to spend on the fun stuff. You can always find coupons on their website and most always get a 40% off coupon after each purchase. If you enjoy it, you can check out ravelry.com where you can get free patterns and all the info you could want. I hope you find just the right hobby for you, my husband had been telling me I needed one for 18 years and I'm so thankful I found one I love!

I enjoy Machine Embroidery. The machine does all the work. I also blog about my grandchildren... mostly my youngest son's daughter who I am around much more. I haven't been very good at it since we lost our son last summer. Sewing is pretty easy with most patterns. I loved making my daughter a lot of sundresses when she was little. A simple pillow case sundress is very simple. Shorts and halter tops are also very easy.

I learned how to decorate cakes with fondant and gumpaste.

I work on my project car.

I've been contemplating getting a pottery wheel.

I've tinkered with some sewing.

I do small home projects (many on my own).

It all depends on what you're 'in to'. Anything that uses my hands is something I love doing.