Hi there!
So, where were we? Oh yes — I still wanted to tell you how I ended up opening a shop on Etsy.
After my first crochet projects — a shopping bag made with double crochet stitches and a plant pot cover made with single crochet — I knew right away I wanted much more! I wanted to learn how to make all those beautiful things I kept coming across on Pinterest, Instagram, and YouTube. Mandalas, dreamcatchers, granny squares, bags of all kinds — anything the imagination can bring to life through crochet.
Then I discovered mosaic crochet and… I fell in love!
More recently, I’ve felt like making a few pieces of clothing too.
YouTube became my classroom, and mandalas were the first things I learned to make. This blue mandala was the very first, and it now hangs at the entrance of my home.
At a certain point, I started wondering what to do with all the pieces I dreamed of creating. That’s when the idea of opening an Etsy shop came to me — not as a business plan, but simply so I wouldn’t accumulate too many things from this new hobby of mine.
Soon enough, though, I ran into the bureaucratic hassle of selling physical goods internationally. Selling only within my own country wasn’t an option either, since Portugal is small and only now beginning to develop a wider appreciation for this handmade art form.
So if selling finished pieces in Portugal wasn’t appealing, and diving into red tape to sell abroad was even less so… maybe the answer was to create patterns! That’s when I discovered there are people around the world who buy instructions to make pieces others have imagined.
I decided to try designing my first pattern — just to “see how it felt.” And guess what? I loved it! I realized that I enjoy not only creating a piece but also the whole process of explaining how to make it.
And just like that, I was ready for a new adventure. That’s how I became part of the Etsy seller community.
I’ve also tried creating free tutorials for YouTube, mostly for stitches I learn here and there. But honestly, I don’t love editing videos — it wears me out. What I really want is to use YouTube less and this blog more.
Sending hugs and kisses — until next time!
TeresaM