Learn Spanish (Latin America): Me emociona que practiques el ganchillo conmigo. - It excites me that you practice crochet with me.

The verb emocionar expresses an emotion. When a sentence has a verb of emotion in the main clause and a new subject in the dependent clause (it excites me that you practice), the verb in the dependent clause must take the subjunctive mood.

Why is the sentence built as Me emociona rather than Yo emociono?

Emocionar works just like the verb gustar. The thing causing the emotion (the entire clause que practiques el ganchillo conmigo) is the grammatical subject, and the person feeling the emotion (me) is the indirect object. It is structured like 'That you practice crochet excites me.'

Do I always need the article el before ganchillo?

Yes, in Spanish, when you talk about practicing hobbies, sports, or games in a general sense, you need to use the definite article (el or la). So, 'practicing crochet' naturally becomes practicar el ganchillo.

Does Me emociona always mean 'It makes me emotional'?

While it can mean 'it moves me' or 'it touches me', in Latin America it is very commonly used to simply mean 'it excites me' or 'it thrills me'. Here, the speaker is just really excited to crochet together.