I do needlework - needlepoint and cross stitch. I've always found it relaxing. Needlepoint is fairly easy; there's only one stitch in the same direction, and you work on an inked canvas with all the yarn supplied in the kit. Cross stitch is more challenging because you have to work off of a grid onto blank cloth, usually buy your own floss, and count your stitches from the provided pattern. I'm usually working on several kits at a time, and the one I pick up depends on my mood at the time (whether I'm looking for something easy to follow while watching TV, or if I feel like expending more brainpower). The finished product is wonderfully rewarding and they make lovely home decorations.

So many, my top ones would be:
Cooking, baking, sewing, board games, sublimation (shirts and mugs mostly), crafting, reading, puzzles...

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Painting (mostly watercolors) is my intensive hobby. I took it up 7 or 8 years ago. I sell some occasionally, and will give pieces to friends and family (only if they specifically ask for one, which happens fairly frequently; I would never just gift someone a random painting).

In terms of pure relaxation hobbies, reading and baking. Does eating too much of the things I bake count as a hobby?

How did you start?
Classes, you tube, etc?

I randomly took a watercolor class for fun and it turned out that I had some aptitude for it. I took a few additional classes and I bought and worked my way through a variety of technique-based books. I'm fairly advanced at this point but I still enjoy taking occasional painting workshops. I'm not a big fan of YouTube painting tutorials because they tend to be more of a paint-by-number experience where you copy individual strokes. For me, learning from responsive humans is best, followed by books.

That’s great! I’m a NP and I also took up watercolors as a hobby recently. I had taken art classes, including one college level watercolor class, as a teen, and the techniques came back to me. I think I could probably benefit from relearning some tricks and advanced technique. But my mantra has just been “draw what I see” with a lot of pre-painting sketching, and it’s been working. I work mostly from my own photos of people and nature. Some people have asked of they can commission paintings from me and I’m tempted to say yes only because choosing the subject and composition I find to be the most doofuclt part, and part of me things it would just be easier to work with a composition someone gives me and try to make the best of it.

Work on my vintage car, cook, workout, find cheap eats, and play tennis/pickle ball.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Guitar for sure. Sewing heirloom clothing, knitting, fixing old sewing machines. Also vintage jewelry, clothing.

How did this interest/hobby start? I feel like there's an interesting story behind this. Very cool!

It also leads to people just handing you their grandmother's old machines. I'm toting back a 1941 Featherweight given to me by my folks' friend.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Guitar for sure. Sewing heirloom clothing, knitting, fixing old sewing machines. Also vintage jewelry, clothing.

How did this interest/hobby start? I feel like there's an interesting story behind this. Very cool!

I love to sew, I love history and I know that the best machines were NOT made in China. I am also a computer geek so can get parts to fix older machines made in Europe. Half the time, the hardest things are getting the old screws out! When I get home, my husband is going to teach me how to replace capacitors from computer boards in the machines.

Honestly, I wish I had fewer interests - too much that I want to do, but not enough time!

I quilt, sew, knit, garden, bike, hike, camp, ferment, cook/bake on the regular and have dabbled in embroidery and block printing.

Anonymous wrote:Guitar for sure. Sewing heirloom clothing, knitting, fixing old sewing machines. Also vintage jewelry, clothing.

How did this interest/hobby start? I feel like there's an interesting story behind this. Very cool!

Guitar for sure. Sewing heirloom clothing, knitting, fixing old sewing machines. Also vintage jewelry, clothing.