This year, 2016, I was eager to learn how to crochet. Honestly, I did a bit in primary school. We studied the basics for both: knitting and crochet and we were asked to choose one and to do our project: a knitted or crochet scarf. I choose knitting so I never had a chance to develop the crochet techniques that  I’ve always found so intriguing.

A few years ago I received a very special gift from my sister-in-law: a crochet scarf. To this day, it’s one of my favorite scarf and I wear it whenever I get the chance.

The opportunity to start crocheting presented when my best friend came up with the idea of hand-making our gifts this year. At first, I freaked, like any normal human being who has never done this kind of thing before. And the doubt settled in for a good week or so. Would I be able to do anything she liked? (She is a very picky person, mind you) How much would I need to buy? And from where?

To get a better understanding of what lay before me, I started searching for hand-made presents online. And boy, I found A LOT of options!  But nothing that I saw myself going, nothing that was just RIGHT. The task remained daunting still.

I’ve always been a very creative person but I’ve never had the pleasure of making anything from scratch (You might have guessed this by now ;] ) My best friend, on the other hand, loves creating all sorts of crafts and jewelries and I’ve been on the receiving end of her creativity on more than one occasion. (She is annoyingly good at this sort of stuff, I promise.)

BUT, there is something I AM good at, or so I like to think. 😉

Yep, you guessed it: cooking. I let myself get excited for oh about four seconds before my best friend’s words came back to me; “NO COOKING.” (I cook for her quite often, so it’s understandable. Sad, but understandable.)

Nearing the end of my patience, I asked my family, my daughter in particular, for advice. She recommended that I knit something. And then it hit me: “What if I learned how to crochet?” It is unexpected and new and I’ve always wanted to try it.

I started right away by watching YouTube videos and I have to admit, I L-O-V-E-D it. The videos are a lot of fun to watch. And very inspirational. So I bought a crochet needle and some yarn and started to learn.

Here is the result. I hope you like it!

Handmade Christmas gifts: Coaster set and trivet.

The trivet:

the coasters:

and a Ginger-man cookie Christmas tree ornament for her niece 😉

Unfortunately, we were not able to meet until today and I am so nervous. I hope she will like it 🙂