What hobbies have you pursued that you later gave up? Was it just because it no longer interested you, was too expensive, or too time-consuming? Or were you just no good at it? Do you keep stuff around hoping for the day you decide to give it another shot?
I am a knitter and I’m kind of surprised at how long I’ve kept at it. That’s probably because knitting is really easy to start and initial supplies are cheap. I’d like to pursue some other crafts, but most of them require much more investment than I can afford. I did try pottery and took a couple classes but lost interest because I never really got the hang of it (I had trouble centering) and it wasn’t something I could practice at home.
I doubt I could remember them all. Something really exciting could hold my interest for as long as two years, but I’ll pick up another hobby in that time and eventually drop them both.
Flying R/C planes, collecting various things (knives, coins {ancient and modern}, trilobites, meteorites), ham radio, camping, motorcycling, mountain biking, archery, studying obscure history, paranormal, conspiracy theories, cooking, woodcarving, fencing (the sword kind).
Only shooting has remained fairly constant for the past 30 or so years. Still, I move between benchrest, pistol, cowboy, service rifle, self defense, hunting, and plinking.
Some things I quit because I lost interest, some because they took too much time, very few were because of the cost. I do keep most of it - I still have my first bow, my mountain bike needs work but it’s around somewhere, but the motorcycle and campers are gone.
Frisbee golf. I used to play every weekend, both Saturday and Sunday mornings. We had a gang that played together for years and years. When I moved to San Diego, the course at Morley Field not only cost money(?!) to play, but was always too crowded. The last round I played was in 2005. I still have all my golf discs, though.
I used to knit scarves when I lived in New Jersey. But I stopped, for obvious reasons, when I moved to the Land of Permanent Summer. I haven’t picked up knitting needles in three years. I’m not sure I remember how. But at least my sister has what I made.
I used to draw a lot. I’d give my drawings away as Christmas presents and fill sketch books in my spare time, but I have not drawn anything since I made something for Zoe a couple of years ago. I won’t say I’ve “given” it up, but I don’t think there will be a time when I will go at it with the same intensity. I just don’t feel inspired any more. I used to be able to pick up a pencil and not know what was going to pop up, allowing myself to be surprised by my own creations. But now I’m too anxious about wasting time to let myself goof off. If it can’t be impressive and perfect, why bother?
As far as my other hobbies, I pick them up and drop them depending on my workload and mood, but I never rid myself of them completely. I have these spells where I’m totally engrossed in hobbies, and then something happens–an out-of-town trip, a busy work schedule, a guest stays over,etc.–and the fever subsides. A few months ago, I was all about making these and rocking on my viola. But now I’m working on a manuscript, plus working out in the field. When I get home I’m too tired to do much. My toys sit on the shelf, collecting dust. But I know I will get back to them one of these days.
I admire people who never waver from their hobbies and connect with them on a regular basis.
I used to collect stamps, and still have my collection, but don’t do it now. I might still pick it up again someday; I really like stamps. I still enjoy looking over mine, and last year my daughter and I had a good time making her a little pretend passport with stamps from around the world in it.
I don’t currently cross-stitch, but may start again at any time.
When Deep Space Nine was still live, I put together an incredible scrapbook of articles and newspaper clippings about it. I also collected the magazines and various “cool” stuff at conventions. I got over that when I went to college without a television.
I was into goldfish while I was in college. Eventually I got tired of all the mess, and sold my fishtank. I also bred guppies with the computer game Aquazone during that time. Got tired of it.
Did mehndi in college, too. Had a pretty decent recipe for henna paste that dyed quite dark for the first day or two. Gave that up when I got tired of having fading brown drawings all over me all the time (and my friends got tired of it too). I did some really kickin’ designs. No wimpy vine around the ankle for me–I did full-glove and full-sock patterns with sunbursts, paisley, peacocks, the whole nine yards.
I used to quilt, and was pretty damn good at it. I’ve had to put it away for the most part now that I’m the one responsible for feeding and housing these heathens that I’m raising, but there’s still a quilt in the corner available to be worked on. Of course, I’ve put off buying a new thimble for oh, about two years now? But I haven’t given it up entirely.
And I don’t happen to own horses at the moment, but I’ll be back into that as well, once I move back out of town. It’s too hard and too expensive to board them, and too much of a time-suck. But I’ll get back into it one day.
Not much of a gardener these days either, but again: renting.
I used to make chain-maille. I just kept putting off working on my last suit. It is still around waiting for me to finish it. I think last time I worked on it was 5 years ago.
Skying. Car accident did major damage to my femur. I can not get back into it.
Stamp collecting from age 6 to age 34 (didn’t seem to be getting anywhere, repetitious stuff, but I still have the collection. I tell my friends to sell it when I cark to pay for the funeral). Rock and mineral collecting for a few years (again, still have the collection). Magnets, ornaments, dragon stuff, fantasy art trading cards, creative writing – most gathering dust or packed in storage boxes.
The interest in history is still holding on, though. My bookshelves are groaning with stuff on general, local and transport history. If ever that gets to be a former hobby – I’ll either be dead, I reckon, or there’ll be one heck of a garage sale!
Building model planes. Half of 'em broke somehow before I even got them done. The rest tended to do so shortly after, result: I rarely had more than 2 on display at a time. Then there was the sitting indoors breathing all the goddam glue.
Shortwave radio listening. This was cool for about a week during the beginning of the Gulf War. After that you were stuck with some of the lamest programming imaginable, which was damn near unlistenable half the time.
PPppppppppssssst MOnstro ! Google around for Charity Knitting. It doesn’t have to be for you. Check out Knitting for Peace at your local library or LYS. Lovely book with nice pictures and a very inspiring and humbling.
I, too, collect stamps. They are not organized and in a box, but they are mine to take down and look at when the urge hits. I also have a very small collection of old money and furren coins.
But, I’d have to say that Knitting is my obsession. Low start up, portable, very sociable. Can be as complex or as brainless as you want it to be. It’s taken me thousands of dollars through sewing, various hand crafts to find my way to Knitting. I jumped in head first and feel like Esther Williams in a swimusical.
I used to draw when I was a kid, and I was pretty good. When the Batman TV series was all the rage, I used to draw intricate pictures of the Batcave and the Batmobile. Wish I still had any of them. I also liked to design the blueprints for recording studios, and how to incorporate a studio into a fantasy home. I haven’t done any of that in ages.
I used to love doing calligraphy. It was fun and relaxing, and at the end, you’d have a piece of art. I’d occasionally do small projects for friends (lettering the inside of blank cards with a custom greeting, or lettering wedding albums, for example), but that led to my stopping when one friend commissioned a huge project that would have taken weeks, gave me an unrealistic deadline, and promised to buy me a beer for doing it. I lost interest after that.
Still, it left me with extremely neat handwriting, especially with block capitals. Which come in handy with another hobby I’ve never lost interest in: crossword puzzles.
Oil painting. Though a few times my work actually approached artistic competence, it more often turned out to be just “coloring”. A kid with crayons could do almost as well.
I didn’t want to paint enough that I would do it, even if I didn’t think it was good.
I used to play guitar, but I gave it to someone as a gift.
I used to sew, but my sewing machine doesn’t work much anymore.
I used to cross stitch, but I haven’t done any in like ten years.
I used to crochet, but I haven’t done any in like 25 years.
I used to ride my bike, but my son got older.
I was always nuts about photography, and got to be pretty good at it. I worked for some small newspapers so I had lots of practice; went to some seminars and workshops, even got to teach it at the local junior college. When the college closed its communications program and threw out all of its old darkroom equipment, I was able to salvage over $10,000 worth of it. My dream was, when my wife and I built our dream home, I would have my darkroom. However, when dream home time came, I’d also accumulated a shop full of woodworking tools and machines. Since it was cheaper and easier to build a new woodshop than a new darkroom, I went with the woodworking. The photo equipment ended up in the dumpster. Can’t say I have any regrets, though.
This is a former hobby of mine. IN my case, I got into the gem side of mineral collecting, and there came a point when I’d already got most of the collectible stones, and what I still didn’t have was either not worthy gem material, like flourites, or else the really expensive stones that are not in the average collector’s budget.
But I still love the subject, and look at museum displays of gems and minerals whenever I can. And of course I still have the collection. My first major gift to my wife (girlfriend at the time) was having one of my blue topazes made into a pendant for her.
I used to have lots of hobbies. I built scale models, I did some oil painting, I played golf, I competed in triathlons, I made chain mail armor, just to name a few. Gave them all up mostly for the same reason: my wife hates them because she thinks hobbies are a waste of time. She always says if I have time for a hobby, I have time to get a second job.
