I read the prompt for this week and screamed a big YES! There are thousands and one hobbies out there and out of all of them, I decided to settle with crocheting. A big emphasis on the "settle".
This is because, over the years, I've come across so many things that I like to do; painting, producing musical beats, photography, diys and the others, but for some reason, I find crocheting more relaxing and soothing.
This is really amusing however because I wasn't really receptive to the hobby on my first encounter with it. It looked to me like turmoil and truck loads of stress and I like to avoid stress with all my might.
Fast forward to a few months after my initial encounter with crocheting, I decided to give it a try. I said to myself "fret not, a few weeks into crocheting, you're going to give up and you could go back to your normal life". I was so wrong.
A few weeks in, I already loved the whole package. The challenges, the precision needed and most especially the final products. I was in my learning phase with YouTube videos as my main tutor.
Learning was fun but soon enough, I started running out of space to keep my crafts. First, I put them all in a bag and then I had to transport them into a box. With each passing day, my crochet collection kept growing and this was beginning to take a toll on my minimalist lifestyle.
The imbalance reached its peak the day I stepped into my room and in every corner there was a crocheted material. Was it the crochet gloves or the crochet scarf, the random pouch bags or the crochet petals? I honestly do not know how to describe how I felt at that moment. You know when you love doing something but you know that if you continue at a particular rate, you would probably lose your mind because of the cluster you've made? This was how I felt. At one point, I almost concluded that minimalism and crocheting couldn't go together because the minimalist in me was at loggerheads with my love for crocheting; while one party was screaming for space, the other was yelling for cluster. Something had to be done.
I realised that irrespective of how hard I try to squeeze all my crochet items into one corner and ensure they remain there, I will still get to a point when they become so much. So I thought, why not make them and gift them out? That sounded like a genius plan to me and I must say that so far, the plan has worked tremendously.
The joy of practising what you love and also putting a smile on people's faces when they receive the items you made is just so overwhelming. It is like killing three birds with one stone. This way, I've created a balance and also created space! I hope you'd agree with me that It's a win-win situation as everyone is happy. This would certainly continue till the day I decide to monetize this hobby, which is probably when I've optimally mastered the skill;)
Love,wongi ✨