Those of you from colder climes would argue with me that a Brisvegas winter is a bracing spring day… Houses here aren’t built for the slightly cold and sometimes you need a scarf. I made this little number for Miss CT and she loves to drag it behind her or put it around her neck take it off and start it all again. When it is not in action, teddy, loves to check himself out in the mirror (vanity is a curse, teddy).

This time the spirals are deliberate and to achieve the look I wanted, I used a hook that was on the small side for the yarn and increased, increased, increased. Just in case you wanted to know how I made this wondrous item. I can’t remember how many chains I made (but I did measure it around Miss CT’s neck to get the right length). First row is single crochet in the chain. Second row was three single crochets in a single stitch. Third round was two single crochets in one stitch. Fourth row was three single crochets in one stitch and I can’t remember what I did on the fifth row (blame it on the fear of running out of yarn and a few tipples). There is some yarn left and I am thinking of adding tassels at the end. What do you think??

     It should come as no secret that this year’s Christmas is a *little* bit tighter than it has been in past years.  Because of that, I’ve been relying on my (rusty) craft skills to make some of the gifts this year.

     When I first started this blog, one of the things I wanted to do was crochet scarves for all my kids.  They’ve never had scarves, but they love to use mine, and I thought it would be a nice gift.  I finished the last one about three weeks ago, but got sidetracked and didn’t take a picture until today.

     I plan to make Anthony a scarf too, but I was afraid that if I crocheted it, he would find a way to unravel it, so I’m going to get a piece of fleece, cut fringe on both ends, and knot them.  He’ll have a lot harder time destroying THAT scarf, or at least that’s my hope.

     I used the basic stitch my grandma taught me 25-ish years ago, when I was about the same age as my oldest kids are now.  I don’t know what it’s called, but I know that it makes excellent dish cloths (Merry Christmas, Mom!), scarves, and when chained in a circle, useless doilies.  (Guess what I found dozens of when I went searching for my old crochet hooks?)   *snort* 

     I’ve never done anything more than a few inches of crochet, which I gave up on when the sides resembled a triangle rather than a nice, even rectangle.  Maybe it’s age, or something finally clicked, but after 18 years or more of boycotting all things yarn, I had no problems making the uniform shape I was looking for.

     Alex’s scarf is the white multi-colored one.  I started it way too wide and ended up turning it sideways, which is why the pattern goes in two directions.  It’s symmetrical, so at least there’s that.  (His was the first one, and I was not about to pull out all the stitches and start over.)

     Kendra’s is brown and blue striped, made out of the softest, most fuzzy yarn I could find.  She loves the color blue, and a lot of her wardrobe is brown, so she can use it as a warming device and possibly also an accessory.

     Hannah’s is the pink one (of course) with the brown border.  Hers is longer than Alex’s OR Kendra’s, because her favorite thing to do is drape herself in my scarves like a Hollywood starlet.  I just realized that she has a matching pair of pink sunglasses, which means the look is complete.  Oy.

     It was a lot of fun to make these, and I can’t wait for my kids to see them.  I hope they love wearing them as much as I loved making them. 

     I also hope my hands stop cramping, eventually.  I’ve decided that crochet = carpal tunnel .

By Dara

Let’s admit it, the popularity of crochet has been around for decades and it’s only growing everyday.  Since Fall is just around the corner, I’ve been seeing more and more women doing some crochet work on the bus, subway and even during their lunch break.  I do a little crochet work also.  Mostly baby blankets  and  scarves as gifts for friends and family.  It beats laying around doing nothing when I’m at home.

Anyways, I wrote a blog a few months back called “Creativity Mixed In A Blender“.  In that blog, I had a few pictures of some crochet appliques that M&J Trimming does not have online.  So for this blog, I wanted to show everyone a few more crochet appliques that are not listed online.  However, you can order them by calling customer service at 1.800.9.MJTRIM.  Keep in mind that customer service is only available from 9am to 6pm EST and that’s from Monday to Friday.

Go to the eka shop to get yours! (be quick, I only have limited stock)

The summer crocheted cotton scarves have arrived at last!

I’m going to get them pictured and on the shop at ekawear.com asap.

I’m super excited as they are such lovely colours, they look so great worn as a splash of summer colour with an outfit, perfect!