Snow Flurries? Winter Coat? Get Me to My Yarn Stash Post Haste

It wasn't just the nasty weekend weather or even the turning of the calendar to November that gave me the itch to pick up my sticks, as knitters say. And, actually, I grabbed my hook, but we'll get to that. It was the necessity to buy a winter coat and the color of said coat that made me want to make a scarf to go with it, or accent it actually, since the coat is just so red. It's an unusual shade of red, and although it looks rather fuschia now on my monitor, it is just a deep, jewel-tone red, but not a burgundy or a maroon or a brick. I can say that with some expertise, since I spent the better part of an hour digging through my yarn stash trying to find something to match. I had planned all along to use black but realized all black was going to be no better than the all red coat. So I used TLC Macaroon in a nubby black with cream. That particular yarn has been "stashed" for a few years to go with a stuffed cat pattern. Don't ask. I mixed it with TLC Amore' in red velvet, which has been stashed ever since I made the sock monkey afghan. Ask away.

Both the sock monkey afghan (and baby hat) pattern and the pattern for this one-skein scarf come from Debbie Stoller's The Happy Hooker, a hip, indie-style irreverant pattern book that is most certainly not your grandma's crochet. Besides the double-crochet scarf here with shell trim, you can find beanies, skully sweaters, hats and potholders as well as trendy sweaters, skirts, bags and more. It really is my go-to pattern book, even though I spent another hour or more today thumbing through my crochet books, trying to find something to make. More times than not, I return to the simplicity of double-crochet, and the patterns in Stoller's book, while looking elaborate when done, are mostly quite simple. Without this book, I would have never attempted a sweater, which I in fact attempted, finished, and brought home a blue ribbon for my efforts.

These aren't the greatest pictures, but I just felt like crocheting, and I felt like blogging about it. I've been seeing so many darling knit gifts on etsy where I've even sold a few knit things of late, and in the Vintage Indie Market Guide and on friends' blogs. Knitting or crocheting just make me feel all warm and fuzzy. How about you?