Rediscovering the hobby

[PinkCow]

If there's a thread like this already please let me know--I didn't see one!

How many of you have drifted away from the doll hobby only to come back again? Did you find it difficult to get back into the groove of dollies?

Of course I've been collecting since 2008, but I admit I've drifted in the past year or so. I want to be a part of the doll community again! I was just wondering if anyone else has been in this kind of position before, and if so, what you did. Did you just dive back into it? Or take a different route?

Also sorry if this is a weird thing to ask, but as I've been lurking around I was just curious.

[DollyKim]

With my brain injury I have come to accept that not giving a **** then suddenly becoming obsessed again is something I'm just going to do. It took me awhile to realize I shouldn't put any worry in to it because it's something I can't help.

The occasional thought about them is enough for a doll. I haven't sewn new clothes, or finished the last ones I cut out, for Xavier and family but I just bought them more fabric. They're sitting in their coffin collecting dust be we know the love is there.

[oniakki]

I find that i somewhat drift away and then come back with almost all my hobbies. Any particular one will sit idle for months on end, then be my exclusive focus for a month or three then return to chatting with the dust bunnies. I tend to keep them all in the back of my mind (so I manage things like keeping up with posts on forums), but in general I drift in and out of the hobby regularly.

[richila]

The easiest way for me to get back into dolls when I drift away is to start a Photo a day project with a doll.

[PinkCow]

This is all great feedback. Thanks for the input, everyone!

DollyKim, I think you're very right. Even if we collectors aren't actively doing things with our dolls, there's still a lot of love to go around!

oniakki, that's sort of how I am too. I may go a year without playing Pokemon, for example, and then dive right back into it at full force. Dolls are the same way for me, but I feel a little bad when I neglect them for too long!

richilla, that is an excellent idea! I may have to give that a try too.

[Trethowan]

I tend to rotate in and out of most of my hobbies. There are a few passions that never let up, but I don't have the time or stamina to maintain ALL of the activities I enjoy. My dolls rank pretty high on my hobby priority list but it's because they're tied into story telling. I think if there were no stories I'd own half the dolls and I'd not do anything with them. That said, I'd probably get a lot more work done if I weren't always working with them! hehehehe

[Iwa_Hoshi]

I get a bit of doll fatigue on and off, after a while I started to identify what causes it and whether its internal or external. If its internal, the most I can do is rotate my various dolls to switch their projects around by doing something simpler or not so time consuming or postpone a shoot. If I'm still feeling bummed out I just go read a few books and have a random doll accompany me. If you're tired go take a break, your dolls will always wait for you.

If its external drama. the most important thing is that I have to remember is that I got into this hobby because It is fun and a way to de-stress and not be distressed by outside circumstances or people. Failing which I figure I might have to change the way I interact with other people since certain triggers came from me and the cycle has to stop somewhere.

[DollyKim]

Recently I've been back in to collages and the dolls will have some spreads in a book I'm in the middle of. Actually had to make sure I had printed out pictures of some of them. Like the ones I just made this year and didn't print out pictures of...

*In the past I've done scrapbook pages and a bit of journaling about dolls.