[Cause]

I need an outlet that doesn’t involve a screen. I recently got back into weaving paranoid bracelets, keychains etc which I enjoy and keeps my hand busy but truth is it goes by quick. I can weave a bracelet in ten min. I have gotten to the point where I weave Em, take em apart and weave Em again.

So what can I do? Any suggestions welcome. Knit a beanie? Do puzzles? What are you hobbies?

[nacht]

Practice Monlogues (not that I do it but hey you asked for it :-))

https://www.stagemil...ues-for-actors/

[RACHEL]

puzzles are fun,


https://www.guidepat...nstructions.php, these are instructions for making a yo-yo quilt, you can buy a plastic form for making and sewing the yo-yos but they are pretty mindless and you can make them while watching tv but keep your hands busy,

paint by numbers, or adult coloring books

diamond painting kits

[Mezla PigDog]

Podcasts and audiobooks? Same benefit as screen time without the screen so an easier transition to make.

Otherwise my hobbies are cooking and gardening. There are some funky houseplants you can get if you don't have a garden. Air plants, orchids, cacti. And you can grow herbs indoors quite nicely too.

[Mezla PigDog]

Oh yes, I love a jigsaw - goes really nice with a podcast or audiobook on a cold evening.

Oh and the cooking thing - making bread is quite the hipster manly pursuit these days isn't it? And you don't need fancy kit.

This post has been edited by Mezla PigDog: 03 December 2020 - 07:23 PM

[Maark Abbott]

You're in America now, right? Grabs you a bitter wood an' a knife and gets you to whittlin', boi.

Whittling actually seems kinda cool, being serious. Or you could try learning an instrument?

[D'rek]

Painting. It consumes a lot of time but isn't overly monotonous (yeah, learning the violin is cool, but are you really going to spend 3 straight hours doing your scales over and over and over and over again?), and the supplies are pretty cheap when you're just starting out. Doesn't have to be canvas painting, you could paint mini sculptures or figurines or tea cups or whatever, there's a lot of niches in it.

[QuickTidal]

I wil second third puzzles. I love a good puzzle, and there are well made ones, with cool art for not TOO much coin. Unless you go full Ravensburger!

I would also recommend (if you have some cash anyways, as it can get pricey) LEGO. As an adult fan of LEGO (AFOL) building a big set is a solid fun bunch of hours. I'll crack a beer, or have some tea and set to it.

This post has been edited by QuickTidal: 04 December 2020 - 08:33 PM

[amphibian]

I go for Wentworth puzzles. The wood pieces mean they're so sturdy and gorgeous.

[Macros]

Modern lego is too fucking dear man!

I'd second the woodwork idea but you're in an apartment in the city yeah?

Painting. Start with some of those paint by numbers

[Mezla PigDog]

Macros, on 04 December 2020 - 10:39 PM, said:

Modern lego is too fucking dear man!

I'd second the woodwork idea but you're in an apartment in the city yeah?

Painting. Start with some of those paint by numbers

Lego is one of the few good reasons to have kids. Probably cheaper just to buy your own adult sets though.

[Cause]

amphibian, on 04 December 2020 - 08:35 PM, said:

I go for Wentworth puzzles. The wood pieces mean they're so sturdy and gorgeous.

Damn you amphibian! Know I want one. But 100 dollars for a puzzle!!! Do you guys ever frame your puzzles? I always thought puzzle art was cool. My mother had one or two when I was ten, not really sure when they were replaced.

I have wanted to get into woodworking and lathe-work forever but not sure I can learn how to white l. There are maker spaces in Philli but I’m waiting for after covid.

Think I might get a crochet kit.

[Gwynn ap Nudd]

I'm a bit surprised at how tame the hobby suggestions have been. I was expecting things like base jumping, free climbing and parasailing.

Photography is another hobby I would suggest. Not something I would do at home, but if you have any interest in nature scenes, architecture, etc. it is something to look at. For another outside the house activity, try geocaching.

Jigsaw puzzles are good for cold rainy winter days. I wouldn't spend $100 on one though - local thrift shops always have a few with all the pieces at a couple bucks each. I used to know someone who glued their completed puzzles to fiberboard and framed them, but I never saw the point. That means you can't do them again. The more avid jigsaw hobbyists I know trade puzzles between each other, which you can't do if it is framed.

[Malankazooie]

Some more ideas, if you're on a budget.

* Throwing stars (shuriken). Can be expensive if you get waaay into it. My brothers and I used to have great fun with throwing stars when we were growing up. You will need space and a safe target to practice on. Don't just go to a park and torture the trees (or cats ). Buy some thick plywood, draw some targets and get silly with it.

* Magic, or more specifically - magic with a deck of cards. A co-worker of mine went through a phase. He was trying to work out some of David Blaine's tricks. Being proficient with a deck of cards and adequalety pulling off tricks really requires the 10,000 hour rule. You're gonna have to practice, practice, practice.

* Juggling. Probably the cheapest. Just need tennis balls, oranges, golf balls, etc. I had a juggling phase, got pretty damn good at it if I say so myself *dusts-off-left-shoulder. Be careful though about cockiness. I pissed off my sister when she invited me over for dinner and was in the midst of making a cake and I grabbed some raw eggs and thought I would impress her. Didn't so so well.

[Darkwatch]

Knitting is easy enough to start with a good steady increase in difficulty. Same with crochet. Both are cheap to get into as well.

[Cause]

So I did my first puzzle. Very nice actually. Requires focus and is quite relaxing. Sadly my first puzzle was heavily weighted to the red spectrum and so the colorblindness made parts almost impossible for me, needed my cousins help. Was good fun though.

Actually going to pick up a second puzzle now. Local buy nothing group is awesome and often gives them away.

I saw a YouTube video about lego Empire State Building model and was gonna buy it looks awesome but 125 dollars! Wow!!!

[Mentalist]

If this lockdown continues past thaw, I'm actually going to invest some time into setting up a darts board.

It's been a long-term project, but I'm making that this year's resolution.

[amphibian]

Cause, on 03 January 2021 - 08:16 PM, said:

So I did my first puzzle. Very nice actually. Requires focus and is quite relaxing. Sadly my first puzzle was heavily weighted to the red spectrum and so the colorblindness made parts almost impossible for me, needed my cousins help. Was good fun though.

Actually going to pick up a second puzzle now. Local buy nothing group is awesome and often gives them away.

I saw a YouTube video about lego Empire State Building model and was gonna buy it looks awesome but 125 dollars! Wow!!!

There's puzzle swapping groups out there. I haven't joined them yet, but it will likely happen this year.

We do the Wentworth "difficult" puzzles because the pieces and pictures are so nice. However, I fucked up and got a 1000 piece extra difficult Van Gogh painting (Almond Blossom 1890). I got it as a hard challenge for my wife and I, but it's too damn hard. We spent a month chipping away at it most days for at least an hour and weren't able to finish the outer edges or significant patches of the middle. All the blue and white melts into each other in a way that's trickier than the other 1000 piece extra difficult one we did - which took about three weeks to do. https://www.instagra...id=g4h9e533pqlp

And since a 1000 piece is 730 mm x 510 mm (almost 29 inches by 20), the thing took up our dining table for that whole month.

So I guess my point is try for variety in the artwork rather than minute variations on the same ones,otherwise you'll be stuck for a long time.

[Vengeance]

Get a telescope and peep on people across the road or down the street. Bird watching.

Personally I like to Fly fish and I really enjoyed tying fly's. When I was younger I was really good at it. Now I just don't have the time to tie. But it was an enjoyable hobby that requires focus and patience. You don't need to fly fish in order to tie fly's. Just need a stand and hooks,yarn, thread.

If you want to learn to fly fish though you can get an indoor practice rod with a yarn line and learn to cast using that. I have one of those.

[QuickTidal]

Cause, on 03 January 2021 - 08:16 PM, said:

I saw a YouTube video about lego Empire State Building model and was gonna buy it looks awesome but 125 dollars! Wow!!!

That's nothing. I think I paid that for my Hogwarts Great Hall set...the one I'm eyeing is the LEGO Batwing from BATMAN 1989...it's $260 CDN, and never mind the bigger SW sets like the Millennium falcon that set you back $800-$1000.

LEGO is a very expensive hobby, and one that I only get to indulge like once a year, if that.

But if you've got some scratch to blow on a bigger project, LEGO is a blast.

You also need a place to put it though...I have run out of room. Wife got me the Obi-Wan's Tatooine home set last Xmas (it's about $40, or was) and its still in the box because I have nowhere to put it assembled.