One day, for whatever reason, while cleaning my shelf my little hook caught my eye. I still had some of the yarn left, and just randomly searched on YouTube for some easy crochet projects. That's when I found Mikey's tutorials on The Crochet Crowd. Made a simple bootie, and then there was no turning back.
I realised that in school we did not even learn the names of the stitches, in fact coming to think of it now, we were only taught chain and dc! Within the next couple of months I managed to learn most of the basic stitches and techniques and couldn't wait to try bigger projects.
I started using my new found passion to make gifts for all occasions - baptisms, birthday's, baby showers, etc. As I started making more projects, I got more confident to try out more complex ones. And of course I had to show off my creations on FB to my friends. So I started an FB album dedicated to my crochet projects. Friends who saw them started commissioning items. Some were ambitious ones I wouldn't have picked up by myself.
Before I knew it, my hobby had turned into a full fledged business. I was grateful for every order I received. As things progressed, people started asking me to make things for which I couldn't find a good pattern anywhere. Soon I found myself "making up" things as I go. Once I realised I was able to look at a pic and write a pattern for it, things only got better.
At first I never intended to sell my patterns. I thought "these aren't that good, who would pay for these?". Then a good friend convinced me to put up a pattern for sale on Ravelry just to see what happens. I was surprised at the response I got. From then on I started keeping proper notes for all my own patterns, you know, in case they turned out well and I wanted to add them on Ravelry.
Opening my Ravelry store was the best decision ever. The whole process of designing, testing and releasing a pattern was so fullfilling. But I wanted to help others learn as I had. For free. So I then decided to create a YouTube channel to share free crochet lessons and some of my free patterns.
I must say I love where things are at right now. They may not be perfect, but I am grateful for what I have. Crochet has become such an important part of my life, it's almost become my identity. And over these years I tried Knitting too... Thought I managed to do some nice projects, it feels forced, it does not come to me naturally like crochet.
And somehow, I have ended up opening a hand dyed yarn store! That is also going quite well. Better than I expected. Best part is I always have lots of yarn at home. I couldn't be happier with where I am right now.
But one thing is certain, crochet is my happy place. There's no denying that. It's therapeutic in a way I can't explain. And the most amazing part of this entire journey, is the online crochet community. It started as a small group on FB way back then [you know... when WhatsApp didn't exist and Instagram wasn't famous yet]. I have found such lovely friends in this community, some of whom I haven't even met yet, but have become a part of my life.
All I can say is... Deo gratias et Mariae!