What's your hands-on hobby?

[NataLekku]

Tatting (lace making) is my newest hobby!  I absolutely love to shuttle tat!

 

I also really enjoy crochet!  I'm currently working on finishing the Roxas blanket (bottom right) for my hubby.

 

I enjoying designing and painting wooden ornaments (and plan on learning to use the saw from my Mom this year so that I can cut them out too). [pics on my blog]

 

I love costuming!  Current completed costumes: Sith Twi'lek, Orange Knight (Castle Crashers), Fire Bender (Avatar)  Current Project: Tauntaun  I have a lot of fun walking a local 12k each year in costume!

 

Gardening - I am super excited to have a place to garden this year!

 

Filk and music - I love the Filk genre.  I sing a lot.  I can play the clarinet and guitar.  I am currently learning the violin and bamboo flute.  I love trying new instruments.  I hope to one day be able to play the digeridoo better.

 

Writing - I am working on a Fantasy novel currently.

 

I've learned the basics of chainmail.  I used to instruct archery (I need to find a place to shoot archery again).  I will try just about any type of craft people are willing to teach me.

[I-Jo]

Oh we have such artsie people!  YAY

 

I love DIY.... I want to make jewelry  but just to many projects on the table as is.  Mostly I sew and bead- I gave up the yarn hobbies several years ago sad panda face.  I'm trying this year (hasn't happened yet) to make some work clothes for my self- I lost weight and I just bought a bunch of clothes- and now they don't fit- so I'd like to be able to make some pencil skirts that ACTUALLY fit me... also a huge gynormous fan of the sheath dress- so that's my goal- and make some fun summery swing dresses.  Otherwise I do belly-dance costuming- which is time consuming and beyond infuriating.   this has lead me to expand my sewing techniques- learn how to do bead embroidery as well as scale-mail.  totally awesome and fun stuff.  but again- time consuming and frustrating.

I'm gardening this year (it's been literally years- but it's going to happen) and I'm SO excited about it- fingers crossed I'll be saving lots of money. My boss was like- oh good- we can compare produce LOL

 

I used to draw and paint quiet a bit more- but it's been sometime- I mostly get inspired when I'm depressed- so it's hard when life is good to produce quality stuff.

 

Oh well. Yes- that's about it- and wrenching on my bike when I feel motivated- I.E. when I have nothing better to do and it's not cold and rainy out.  Otherwise I just take it to the shop

[re-animator]

I like to knit, even though I suck at it. 

I also like to tie flies for fly fishing when I'm home, they usually come out looking really derpy, but the fish don't seem to notice. Probably because they're derpier than the flies. 

[Jakob Kopfeld]

I like to knit, even though I suck at it. 

I also like to tie flies for fly fishing when I'm home, they usually come out looking really derpy, but the fish don't seem to notice. Probably because they're derpier than the flies. 

What kind of material do you use for tieing the flies? I know little of fishing, but fly fishing has always interested me!

[re-animator]

Pretty much anything, it depends on what you want to make. I usually use lots of feathers and fur for the bodies, beads for the heads and threds to keep eveything in place. And well those annoying little hooks that go eveywhere and seem to be attracted to bare feet. 

[ride_uphill]

My hobbies are dressage, sculpting horses, and cars.  I love playing with imports for sports like autocross and drifting... it's been a few years since I've been very involved (it's expensive!) but I am hoping to be able to come back to it this year!  I used to crochet and knit (learned in like first grade), but sort of burned out on it when I was younger.  I'm also looking forwards to learning more about gardening this year, and cooking as well.  I live on a little farm, it's silly that I'm a terrible gardener and cook haha!  Oh, and dancing!  I love to dance.  Mainly swing, some salsa, and I'm always game for anything else!

[Rhyme]

Wow, NataLekku, I'm impressed! I love your dragon necklace, how fashionably geeky is that!

[NataLekku]

Thanks Rhyme!  The dragons are fun to make. I'm starting to experiment with tatting up other geeky things as well - we shall see how my foray into pattern design goes.

[SalaManda]

I'm a crocheting knitter as weeeeell!  

 

 

I also love photography and cooking, reading and writing.

 

 

Good grief, sorry the photos are so giant. 

 

nataLekku, is that a Roxas blanket made of granny squares? Love it!

 

So awesome to find a bunch of like minded people such as yourselves!

[Jakob Kopfeld]

I'm a crocheting knitter as weeeeell!

 

 

I also love photography and cooking, reading and writing.

 

 

Good grief, sorry the photos are so giant. 

 

nataLekku, is that a Roxas blanket made of granny squares? Love it!

 

So awesome to find a bunch of like minded people such as yourselves!

 

 

Photography you say? How awesome is photopgraphy? Taking a snapshop of reality. Capturing a moment for eternity with a small black box? It's my favourite past time right after going to the gym. Do you have a good camera yourself? What kind of pictures do you usally take? Sorry for all the questions, I'm just excited about the noble art of photography

[SalaManda]

Photography you say? How awesome is photopgraphy? Taking a snapshop of reality. Capturing a moment for eternity with a small black box? It's my favourite past time right after going to the gym. Do you have a good camera yourself? What kind of pictures do you usally take? Sorry for all the questions, I'm just excited about the noble art of photography

Ha, I understand. I really really do.

 

I have sort of a love hate relationship with the noble art. I went to an art school and majored in photography. I hate techspeak and hipsters now because of it. I graduated in 2009 and it's taken me about this long to not feel exhausted by the thought of doing photography. It's not always the best idea to use your passions and try to make a career out of it. 

 

But! That being said, I am getting back into it. I haven't got a lot of gear, my old hunky 70's Olympus' mirror got jammed and no one fixes these things anymore, so I've gone digital with a Nikon D90 and it's a wee powerhouse. I enjoy it a lot. I suppose the sort of thing I like taking photos of are kind of like street photography. I mean, i don't set it up. I go out for a walk and I take photos of what I see. Hardly ever people as people are scary. 

 

I did a friend's wedding but I don't know if I could do that for a living. I find it very stressful to talk to people I don't know, let alone direct and arrange them. 

 

Some of the photos I am most excited about recently are ones of my Mum's garden, leaving the shutter open for long periods of time and using only the moonlight (and some ambient streetlights) to light it. They turned out very interesting.  

 

What sorta stuff are you into?

[Jakob Kopfeld]

Ha, I understand. I really really do.

 

I have sort of a love hate relationship with the noble art. I went to an art school and majored in photography. I hate techspeak and hipsters now because of it. I graduated in 2009 and it's taken me about this long to not feel exhausted by the thought of doing photography. It's not always the best idea to use your passions and try to make a career out of it. 

 

But! That being said, I am getting back into it. I haven't got a lot of gear, my old hunky 70's Olympus' mirror got jammed and no one fixes these things anymore, so I've gone digital with a Nikon D90 and it's a wee powerhouse. I enjoy it a lot. I suppose the sort of thing I like taking photos of are kind of like street photography. I mean, i don't set it up. I go out for a walk and I take photos of what I see. Hardly ever people as people are scary. 

 

I did a friend's wedding but I don't know if I could do that for a living. I find it very stressful to talk to people I don't know, let alone direct and arrange them. 

 

Some of the photos I am most excited about recently are ones of my Mum's garden, leaving the shutter open for long periods of time and using only the moonlight (and some ambient streetlights) to light it. They turned out very interesting.

 

What sorta stuff are you into?

 

That is a mighty fine camer you got there. I myself am the proud owner of the Canon EOS1100D. Or Rebel T3 as it is known in some places. I love it so much, sometimes I'm afraid I'll destroy it just from holding on too tight. Okay that might be a bit exagerated, but it really is my baby. Screw those hipsters, let 'em take pictures of their food with machines they don't understand and just use like a 5 yeart old would use a quicksnap digicam. 

 

I mostly do nature stuff. Mainly panoramas and Landscapes. A few macros here and there if the opportunity presents itself. I'd love to do some wildlife stuff, but no luck so far. I'm also trying to get into sports/events photography, which I haven't done so far, but has always interested me for the short window of opportunity you get in that field for a shot. 

Apart from that I do family events (christmas meetups, weddings/funerals, the works), but those only come around every so often and mostly lead to the same shots of the same people. 

My favourite thing to do with the camera is go on a hike and get some nice nature pics going. 

 

Long expose pictures can be very rewarding aswell. I haven't really done much in that field so far, but I've played around with it a little in my own kitchen. Some of the pictures turned out quite unexpected. It has a certain unpredictability to it that intrigues me, you know what I mean? But so far my friends were rather unimpressed with these shots because they fail to see the artistic appeal of incorrectly exposed pictures of everyday stuff 'That's a Teapot, DUUUH. WHy would you take a picture of a teapot?'. morons.

 

Did you get paid for the wedding?

[NataLekku]

nataLekku, is that a Roxas blanket made of granny squares? Love it!

 

It is the head of him out of granny squares.  I'm still working on putting his body and keyblade together.  All 922 granny squares are made and just waiting patiently to join the others.

 

You're crochet and knitting are lovely!

[Rastaban]

Photography - Black & White film (mostly) and sometimes Digital. I learned to process and print my film, and that is very hands-on. Other than that, woodworking, cooking (though this is more a necessity than a hobby), and gardening. Past hands-on hobbies have included model building, gaming (tabletop miniatures), and coffee roasting.

[AmandaM]

Another knitter here.  I've got two, soon to be three projects on the go - two afghans currently and I'm waiting for the stuff for my shawl to come in.  Pretty purple yarn and a kick-ass dragon design makes me happy .

 

I also crochet (not as good at that, though) and I read and write.  Planning a novel that I want to write for a novel writing challenge starting on April 1.

[roho_the_rooster]

Cooking. I like to get as scratch as I can. A recipe calls for Dijon mustard? Make it. Taco seasoning? Make it. I won't brew beer because I know I am too much of a slob to keep the tools clean enough to not accidentally invent a new species of yeast monster; but, I have friends who DO brew.

[Elder]

I crochet, bake, and garden.  Baking is something I need to stop doing, since I end up eating everything I make though T_T

I looove to bake as well, but I usually save my baking for Christmas time and go nutso for about a week straight!  Then I give 90% of my baking away as Christmas presents so it is out of the house faster.

 

 

I also read a lot, do a bit of sewing, and have started knitting.  I have a guitar that needs some light repairs and then I will start playing that as well!  Another sort of hobbie is riding my horse.  It's such a great way to unwind after a day when I go out to the barn and jump on to just amble around the field for a while...also trying to teach him to bow and lay down on cue!

[JonDixonYT]

Hobbies?

I love taking pictures but I've been uninspired in the past couple of years. I moved to the Yukon and I find it impossible to capture with the camera what I'm seeing with my eyes - if that makes any sense.  But maybe I just need to change my focus (ahem) perhaps some macro or something.  Recently my wife has been making a cook book so I got to take a bunch of pictures of baking, which was kind of fun.  It was interesting to plate the baked goods and try to come up with a way to really make them stand out.  70 pictures of different cookies on white plates gets boring, so it was a good exercise for my creativity.

 

I haven't shot film in quite a while because it costs so damn much to get developed.  But I really like shooting film.  I find that it really causes me to stop and think about what I'm taking a picture of and how I want to frame it, etc.

 

I recently got into flying model airplanes.  Its fun, but not a cheap hobby.  Turns out you crash them a lot more than you'd think (or I thought anyway)

[Rastaban]

Hobbies?

I love taking pictures but I've been uninspired in the past couple of years. I moved to the Yukon and I find it impossible to capture with the camera what I'm seeing with my eyes - if that makes any sense.  But maybe I just need to change my focus (ahem) perhaps some macro or something.  Recently my wife has been making a cook book so I got to take a bunch of pictures of baking, which was kind of fun.  It was interesting to plate the baked goods and try to come up with a way to really make them stand out.  70 pictures of different cookies on white plates gets boring, so it was a good exercise for my creativity.

 

I haven't shot film in quite a while because it costs so damn much to get developed.  But I really like shooting film.  I find that it really causes me to stop and think about what I'm taking a picture of and how I want to frame it, etc.

 

I recently got into flying model airplanes.  Its fun, but not a cheap hobby.  Turns out you crash them a lot more than you'd think (or I thought anyway)

 

Food photography is all kinds of fun! It's one of my favorite subjects. Just remember to light from high above and behind the subject and use a bounce card to fill the front! There are so many blogs and websites out there to draw inspiration from for sprucing up the platings. Have fun!

[JonDixonYT]

Food photography is all kinds of fun! It's one of my favorite subjects. Just remember to light from high above and behind the subject and use a bounce card to fill the front! There are so many blogs and websites out there to draw inspiration from for sprucing up the platings. Have fun!

Thanks!  This was in the deep dark winter of the frozen north, so the only real option I had was to use the window on the back door (which faces southish) to light the plates and fill with my aftermarket flash - but it was fairly flat light since the sun isn't particularly high in the sky during the winter.  I found that I liked the pictures better that weren't filled with flash though - seemed like I caught more detail without it and a longer exposure time.   Mind you I was really just reviewing on the camera screen, my better half took them to the computer and used the ones she wanted in the cook book.

 

I've been waiting for a good night of northern lights to see if I can get some decent pictures of them.  I'd like to get a trailing flash one with me standing below them, but that hasn't happened yet.

[RocketsMcGuire]

Guitar! Recently I've been playing a lot of fingerstyle. Keeping with the nerd theme, I learnt a lot of songs from FF, Mario, Zelda, and Chrono Trigger/Cross. There are some nice songs from Studio Ghibli films I'm learning at the moment. lonlonjp on youtube was a huge influence.

 

I love my capo c:

[Storin]

Photography - Black & White film (mostly) and sometimes Digital. I learned to process and print my film, and that is very hands-on. Other than that, woodworking, cooking (though this is more a necessity than a hobby), and gardening. Past hands-on hobbies have included model building, gaming (tabletop miniatures), and coffee roasting.

Hi Rastaban,

Unfortunately model building and miniatures are also past hobbies for me. Work and working out take up most of the free time. But good news, last weekend actually made myself (and the wife) paint some miniatures. Got about 2 hours in, until the neck seized up. Obviously I need to do it more, right?

[SuperUnison]

I like mucking about with a load of different stuff. Unfortunately I've got a fairly short attention span so rarely become a master at anything.

 

Guitar - taught myself bass at 18, switched to guitar a year later, been playing ever since! I think I've been in 15 or so bands in that time, and toured a bit, released stuff, met a load of awesome people. I genuinely don't know what I'd do with myself if I didn't make music.

 

Design/art stuff - Dabbled with stencil based graffiti a bit, though much less often these days! On the other hand, stencil and spray paint is a great way of labelling your music equipment. Do some design stuff too, posters for gigs friends are putting on, a few record sleeves n that.

 

Puppet-making - For a video my band are going to do I've made some puppet (like muppet) versions of us! Would post pics if I had any here. It required learning how to sew, actually went and bought myself a sewing machine. Strangely, girls found it really cool that I knew how to make stuff like that.

[sozzielou]

My main hobby is photographing Blythe dolls, like the one in my avatar. I am currently half way through my third year of 365 (a photo of the same doll every day for a year) and I take part in, and help arrange, various projects and challenges for fellow Blythe photographers.

[Guest asdf]

I thoroughly enjoy making things out of chain maille, silver and clay. Separately. Not together This summer I think I'll be shooting to make a quilt out of all my old funny shirts I don't wear anymore.