Tangled in Knots

Some of my friends and I decided to make a gag gift for one of our co-workers after he asked for a crocheted blanket for Christmas.  None of us have the time to make a blanket as we all have several other projects going on for family members.  So we decided to make a bath set of loofas and wash clothes out of scrap yarn instead of an adult size blanket.

I created a loofa as part of the set.  It was super easy and it only took about an hour to complete (pattern here).  Even though this piece was easy to create this is probably the most fun I've ever had crocheting, watching as it curled in on itself.


If you actually want to create these for bathing rather than gag gifts, I would suggest getting a soft cotton yarn as my loofa made from a mint Red Heart yarn is rather heavy and a little scratchy when it's dry.

I made this scarf for my husband back in the Fall of 2008.  Making scarves for men is often difficult because so often my crochet stitches appear very lacy.  I was able to make the scarf more masculine by using a slightly smaller crochet hook so there would be smaller holes between stitches.  I also used double crochet stitches and instead of creating two chain stitches at the end of every row before the turn, I only created one chain stitch.

He's worn the scarf enough for it to show some slight wear, so it's probably time for me to make him a new one.

I made this scarf about 9 years ago when my new college friend Becca asked for a white scarf for Christmas so that she could wear it with her beautiful new coat and her favorite pink and blue sweaters.  This scarf was made using only single crochet stitches and was crocheted widthwise.

As a "Dirty Santa" Christmas gift this year, I created another animal hat, this time a shark.  Even if you don't create the fins, teeth, or eyes for the shark the hat turned out very well on its own (pattern here).

I made my first baby blanket in the shape of a star with some yarn I had left over from several other creations (baby blue, white, yellow, and green).  I unintentionally followed the pattern incorrectly and it ended up being more of a starfish rather than a star.  I lost the pattern long ago, but it was a very simple pattern involving single crochet and counting stitches (similar pattern here).

For a dirty Santa gift, I decided to make a crazy hat, that hopefully one of the guys would end up with.  Unfortunately for me, a girl got it first and probably would have hurt someone if they tried to take it from her.  I found the pattern for this cute bird hat here.

This is one of the easiest types of cactuses to keep alive.  And it was very easy to make.  I found this pattern here and I made several different types of the cactuses on her site.

Ana has received quite a few of my scarves throughout the years, and you can definitely see some improvement in the quality of my stitches.  Here is the third scarf I made for my friend.

To make this scarf, I created a row of chains the length of the scarf.  After my first double crochet in the chain row, I repeated the pattern of one chain, (skipping the next chain stitch) double crochet in the chain.  I continued the pattern until I reached the end of the chain stitch.  I repeated the same process for Row 2, making sure I had a double crochet in every double crochet on the row before.  To get the to appropriate width, I made at least 5 rows with double crochets in every double crochet and every chain stitch.  To finish the scarf, I repeated rows 1 and 2 to make the scarf symmetrical.

Similar to Ana's Scarf I, I created this scarf using single crochet, but instead of making rows of single crochet along the width of the scarf, I made rows of single crochet along the length of the scarf.  I used my M size hook to make this a more lacy looking scarf than the first Ana's scarf.

This scarf was made by single crocheting across a row of chain stitches that were set to the wanted width of the scarf.  The row of single crochet was repeated until I got to the desired length.   I used Red Heart Baby Clouds Yarn in Water Baby for this cool green color.  I found this yarn very difficult to deal with because of an invisible thread that ran through the center of the yarn.  This also made it very difficult to take out stitches to make a mistake.  Regardless, the scarf came out very soft and warm.

I made this houndstooth scarf for my mother so she could show her Crimson Tide pride at work before game day.  I adapted this houndstooth scarf from a pattern for a dog's scarf.  Basically I increased the width and length by adding more stitches and rows.  The pattern itself is very simple.  Make a chain the length that you would like your scarf to be.  In the second chain stitch from the hook single crochet.  In the next chain stitch double crochet.  Continue this pattern until you reach the end of your chain.  Tie off.  Attach your second color of choice to the same side you began your first row of alternating single and double crochets.  For the remaining rows alternate your pattern.  So in every double crochet you will make a single crochet and in every single crochet you will make a double crochet. Always start your new row from the same side of the scarf and continue alternating colors until you have achieved the width you desire.