My 2018 - This is my Hobby: Crocheting

This is my contest entry for My 2018 - This is my Hobby: by @anomadsoul! You can check out the details Here!

Throughout this post I will share my original crochet work. Everything you see was crocheted by my hands, in my spare time and with my own materials. There is a mixture of my work displayed from when I first started seven years ago up until now.

Why Crocheting Is My Passion

Crocheting is my passion because of the way it makes me feel and the many things I can do with it. It gives me a feeling of excitement, achievement, accomplishment, creativeness, originality, uniqueness, craftiness, ownership and frugalness!

I can save money by crocheting my little babies blankets and outfits to keep them warm as well as hats, gloves and scarves for the family every Winter. It’s a really great feeling knowing they were made by my hands. I can make myself the latest trendy items in any and every color combination imaginable. I can use my skills to give to those in need and make baby hats for the NICCU, hats and scarves for the homeless, and blankets to donate to shelters. Every year I make my family a new set so the last years set we can pass along to someone else. My children are learning at a young age how to give and doing so with a loving heart. ❤️

How I Was Picked By My Hobby

Seven years ago a good friend of mine and my mother decided to exchange skills. My mother wanted to learn how to crochet and my friend wanted to learn how to sew. This exchange in art happened at my place. My friend asked me several times if I wanted to learn as well but I wasn’t interested. The more they met the more the yarn was calling out to me. I tried to resist it, I tried ignoring the call, I even made excuses why I couldn’t but eventually gave in to the unique intertwined strands that mesmerized me. It was official, I picked up the crochet hooks that day and have been in a relationship with them ever since. We shall never depart!

The Health Benefits of Crocheting

Crocheting is a lot of fun but it also has some health benefits that makes me love it even more. A hobby that is fun and healthy...who could ask for more?

• Stress Reliever
• Depression Reliever
• Builds Self-Esteem
• Encourages Relaxation and Better Sleep
• Reduces Anxiety
• Helps To Cope With Loss
• Builds Community

I can surely attest to most of these benefits...

stress - Being a stay at home mom of four children with one on the way I definitely have my share of stress. When I am creating these pieces it relaxes me so much that I often fall asleep in the process. When my housework is done and all is well with my kids I sneak away to have some mommy craft time and oh it’s so nice and peaceful. It works out well because while my husband is gaming I’m crocheting until we agree it’s time to stop. 😄 It really is a fresh breathe of air for me and helps me to relax my mind at the end of the day.

self-esteem - Seeing my projects come to life and how I have improved over the years has really help build up my confidence and self-esteem. I am crafting things with my hands I never thought I could do. It’s a bonus when people are constantly requesting my work and wanting custom made items. In the beginning I would only use patterns but now I am confident enough with trying out my own creations which I have recently been working on!

loss - It’s been almost two years since we lost one of our twins. This was the most difficult time in my life. When I was working on my son’s crochet blanket it really help to ease a lot of tension and frustration I was experiencing during that time. I had a lot of anxiety worrying about the survival twin in my womb and how he was doing. Crocheting throughout the week helped me take my mind off of these things and focus on the good things that were still before us.

community builder - It is a great way to build community and bring other crafters together to share their passion. I am so passionate about this craft that I started a weekly initiative to share it with others and make new friendships with those that have like interests. If you search the #NeedleWorkMonday tag then you’ll know what I mean. Since starting this weekly initiative over 6 months ago it has grown tremendously and new friendships are being made as well as people being inspired and encouraged to take their skills to another level. We have a Blast sharing our work, tips, tricks and patterns every Monday!

Why Crocheting Is Affordable For Me

The first thing that makes crocheting affordable for me is all of the coupons I can use at the craft stores. I have an app on my iPhone for every store I purchase yarn from. I NEVER EVER pay full price for yarn and supplies. For example I always get 50% off a regular priced item, there might be a deal for buy one get one free, it could be 25% off a certain brand of yarn or even 30% off of my total purchase.

The second thing that makes it affordable for me is the opportunity to use my profits to buy more supplies. Every year I fulfill several custom orders for my clients. Recently I was blessed to be asked to sew hat and scarf sets for a popular hat store in my area. Not only am I able to save some of these profits to help benefit my family but I use them to keep bringing home new supplies and materials to stock up my inventory.

Practice Makes Better

Never would I have imagined I’d be making items for an actual store. The great thing about my hobby is that it can improve and improve over time. The picture above is the first hat and scarf set I made for my daughter. I have so many other items I completed when first starting and I love looking back on them to see how far I’ve come. The more I practiced the better I understood how the stitches worked. I could notice and fix my mistakes a lot quicker. Also, the more I crochet the more I want to challenge myself to learn new stitches and techniques. It’s a skill that keeps on growing and a hobby I will continue to love and enjoy forever (at least until my hands give out with age 😅)! The picture below is the recent set I made for the hat store.

A Pass Down Hobby From Generation To Generation

One thing I really love about my handicraft hobby is that I can enjoy teaching it to my daughters. This photo was taken two years ago of my daughter when she was five. She was so excited to learn how to do a slip knot and to create her first chains which are the first two steps in creating a crochet masterpiece. I hope she has a desire to continue learning and teaches her daughters as well. She loves watching my projects develop and I think this will help keep her interested.

This is my Hobby that I Love and Enjoy so much!

All photos are my own and are of my original work.

Will You Be The Next Chosen Crocheter? Will You Answer The Yarn Call?

Thank you for this contest opportunity @anomadsoul!

Huge shoutout to @rigaronib for creating my logo/banner!!! He was so awesome to work with and as you can see he produces great results!!!! Thank you!!!