How Crocheting Yielded a Good Return on Friendships and Money
Cultivating creativity in my late 30s and loving it.
At first, I was going to write about how age doesn’t affect what you can learn and when you can learn and add research to back it up, but I figured out fairly quickly — -
No one cares about that stuff.
People want to know how to develop creativity for peace or money and preferably both. So here is my own story, and I promise to make it as concise as I possibly can.
I was just a bookworm and could not create anything with my hands, so I left it to the pros.
All my life I admired those who could sew and create stunning outfits and then suddenly, in my mid 30s, I watched as my husband created these stunning necklaces with beads and people bought them! Regularly!
He comes from a family of crafters and so many times I went with them to yard sales, thrift stores, and craft stores. For some reason, I would wander down the aisle of Michael’s to see their colorful balls of yarn(otherwise known as skeins), and I would imagine making something.
Yet, I was scared to try something new. I just wanted to knit something and try. I felt everyone everywhere was making bank off of their talent and me being old(not that old), still not knowing what I wanted to do.
I felt stuck in my 9–5 call center job and was quite content to just read books, work, then perish to walk the sky beyond…
“There is a fountain of youth: it is your mind, your talents, the creativity you bring to your life and the lives of people you love. When you learn to tap this source, you will truly have defeated age.” ~Sophia Loren
The power of YouTube and good ol’ determination helped me a lot.
It was October 2018 and there was a storm coming. My husband, our friend and I went to Walmart to pick up a few items, and I still do not know why, but I found their craft section and was happy to discover they had yarn- and loom knitting kits.
I bought the all-in-one kit for beginners that came with a small black and white photo instruction booklet.
Immediately I hooked the yarn on and thought, “I can’t do this! I need help!” since I was on YouTube all the time, I found myself searching for “How to loom knit a scarf” videos and voila! I found hundreds of videos with detailed instructions.
At first I was mad with myself because I learn through reading and applying concepts, but I had to finally admit when I need help, so I found a wondrous teacher, Denise Canela on YouTube; she has a popular following and before long, I made my first scarf using the booklet and her videos.
Based on her videos, I made a small desk pumpkin that was wildly popular at work. I would set a dozen of these cute little guys on my desk and people picked from the patch, wanting to donate money for it.
This was new for me, because I stay to myself and am rather lowkey, but in the process I met new people I never thought I would talk to: bosses from other departments, ladies who I knew for sure I would never have a conversation with, and even better- they wanted to pay for my work.
Crocheting became a side hustle.
Finally, one day I remember one of coworkers saying to me with a really sad look in her eyes, “My ears hurt Erica. Can you make those little cushion things everyone’s wearing?”
I wanted to say yes so bad because the way she asked touched my heart. All of our ears at the call center were hurting badly from nine hours of usage.
“I think I can”, I said but my boss who has become one of my biggest supporters took me to the side and told me something I still hold dear to today. She said,
“The way you mastered making those cute pumpkins we love. I am sure you can research your way to making some ear cushions. I’ll even help you get sales.”
I didn’t know what to say.
My husband and mother both said that this was no longer just a hobby, but a possible side hustle for me.
I was nervous as heck, but for two months I researched on how to knit the ear cushions and was devastated to discover I would have to learn how to crochet, and boy, that was not easy!
I nearly gave up and even sold some that were kind of octagonal and not perfectly round. People were not giving up on me.
Suddenly I remember praying and asking for divine intervention. I wasn’t sure God cared about crocheting, but I was hoping he cared about our ears at least and…he did.
One day I combined what I learned about crocheting a circle, with a pattern and my ear cushions caught the eye of nearby department supervisors who wanted them for their groups and even the trainees coming in wanted them.
I quickly downloaded Cashapp and got approval to at least let people know through my supervisor they can get ear cushions in their favorite football teams colors and other colors.
In less than, say, six months I made $175.
The key takeaway in all of this:
- You are never too old. It’s cliché but it is cliché for a reason. You are breathing and you have a brain. You are never too old to learn anything, especially if it is a passion of yours.
- Today’s technology has really opened up doors for people. I can watch lectures on psychology and find videos on the proper way to loom knit a sweater all in one sitting.
- Listen to everything around you. I am not one to be nosy, but I caught several conversations at work about hurt ears and plain boring desks. I am glad that for once, I listened to someone else’s need so I can at least know what to make.
- Of course, as with anything, be cautious. I had permission to sell my items at my job, only for a short while. Make sure you know the policies and laws of your company.
Thank you for reading and I wish you the absolute best on your creative journey. If you’d like more stories like this one, let me know or you can subscribe.
