Turning My Hobby into a Blog

I have mentioned several times that I started a crochet blog some years ago, and lately you might have noticed me mentioning it on social media a little more, and that’s because I am turning my hobby into a blog. So, to start at the beginning, I’m am the crocheter behind Pretty In Crochet, a crochet blog I started in 2017. I really didn’t know anything about blogging then, but I was really into crocheting and wanted to share that with the world. The crochet community is large and creative, and it was just so inspiring to me that I wanted to be an active part of it. But, I had no idea what I was doing. I bought my domain, paid my host and got started.

I enjoyed crocheting and blogging about crochet, but I didn’t do a lot of research into the work of a blogger, as I was a full time teacher. My job, especially at the time, was extremely stressful. My anxiety was so bad that I had heart palpations, butterflies in my stomach and racing thoughts. Crochet was my relaxation, so it was hard to do the work required to run a blog. Eventually, I ran out of steam. I crashed and burned and just stopped blogging. Turning my hobby into a blog made my hobby a job and that made it exhausting instead of fun and relaxing.

But I never stopped crocheting. I wasn’t as active in the community as I had started to be, and then eventually I decided to begin this blog. And I really dived into the work of blogging and have been having a blast ever since. Even though there are blips here and there. Pretty In Crochet however, sat on the internet, forgotten. Mostly.

Spreading my Wings

For the past two years, thanks to Covid, my pregnancy and mat leave, I have been at home. This has allowed me to really work at being a blogger. It’s been hard though, as being pregnant is exhausting, and caring for a baby is time consuming. I don’t know as much as I would like. However, the more I worked, the more I realized that I wanted to continue to share my love of crochet with the world. So I did that, and you know I love crochet. However, I also knew the best way to really share crochet content was to have a more niche blog, which I already had, and to dive into the crochet community in a big way. So I decided to begin to work on the blog again, and have been doing that for several months. It’s so going though, as I don’t have a lot of time.

But, the more I dive back into the community, the more inspired I am and so, today I wanted to announce to all of you that Pretty In Crochet is back.

You can find me on Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook too. I also have a Ravelry and Ribblr store.

In the past, I shared some tutorials and projects I was working on. I also created some simple patterns, which are for sale. However, these days I want my crochet blog to be more, so that turning my hobby into a blog will continue to be fun and energizing. So I am doing more than I did in the past, running the blog more professionally, brushing up on the industry and playing with yarn.

I’m really spreading my wings when it comes to blogging. And it’s scary. As I’ve said, I don’t know everything I think I ought about being blogger. I don’t always feel that I am doing all the things I ought be doing, or even doing them right. I’ve probably made mistakes I don’t even know about. Am I taking on too much? I don’t know! Probably! But maybe because it’s scary it’s good?

How I’m Turning my Hobby Into a Blog

Well, it’s pretty simple to set up a blog and start sharing some photos and knowledge. But we all know that it takes a lot more than that to get people to your blog. So here is a little of what I’m doing to run a more successful crochet blog.

• crochet everyday (swatches count)
• read about crochet (blogs, books, etc)
• learn more about fiber
• take lots of pictures
• learn more photography skills
• learning more about short form content
• consuming crochet content for inspiration and knowledge

It’s a lot and the going is slow, but I am enjoying the process. Even when it’s infuriating, which is often as some days I feel like I’m pulled in a thousand directions. And I’m not always sure I am doing the right things.

But the thing is, I can learn. I can learn to be better at the craft of crocheting and to be better at how I manage my time and run my blog. Blogs. So while the idea of running two blogs scares me and I often think I’m crazy, and possibly even stupid for attempting to do so, I know I have the energy and passion to pursue both blogs. Will there be ups and downs? I’m sure there will be and that’s okay. I’m crafting a plan so that I can manage my time better and be more productive.

I’ll share more about the productivity plan in another post.

Final Thoughts

While I’m surprised I’m doing this, at the same time, I am so super happy I decided to take this leap. To me, this is like sky diving. Only, more safe. I hope you will head on over to my crochet blog, maybe follow me on my socials, and even learn to crochet. Why not? I have talked a lot about how good it is for your mental health and I’d love to be your teacher. Wish me luck on this adventure!

Do you have a second blog? Let me know in the comments.