I've always been a crafty gal, but it wasn't until 2003, at the age of 30, that I finally got serious about knitting and crochet. Why both at once? Well, really I was waiting for a chance to get together with my friend Alexandra, a super fiber freak, for my first knitting lesson. I got impatient and taught myself how to crochet!

Mostly, I used instructions in a vintage Lion Brand crochet kit I'd had around forever. I also looked for help on the internet, but without a lot of luck. I mean, the basics are there, but when you move on to looking for projects that are actually stylish and fun, there really isn't much (except crochet me, of course -- but it wasn't born yet back then).

I got the basic stitches down by way of a few pot holders and a doily shaped like a cat's head. But when it was time for something I could wear that was suitably creative and funky, I decided it was going to have to be up to me. I started collecting inspiration.

In August of 2003, I attended the Michigan Fiber Festival, where one can purchase all kinds of great fiber-craft supplies (and pet the llamas too). While there was no vendor dedicated strictly to crochet, one woman sold crochet hooks that she hand-carved out of found hardwood twigs. They came in all kinds of shapes, some with the bark still on, and they weren't too expensive. The wood was incredibly smooth, even where the actual hook was carved, so I bought myself one. If nothing else, it would look nice in a jar with other hooks and needles.

A little later, I was talking with some friends and was reminded that my parents used to co-teach a macramé class at their church in the 1970s. I remembered all the knotted belts and bags, among other things, that my mom has long since sold at yard sales. Though the macramé look is not exactly my thing these days, there was something to be said for the humble
earthiness of it -- something that clicked together with my recently purchased twig-hook.

At that point, I didn't have much of a yarn stash yet, but on a trip to one yarn store I had picked up a single ball of Dalegarn Kolibri, a shiny 100% cotton, in an indescribable mauve color. Even from the early days of this knitting/crochet thing, I really wanted to avoid amassing a bunch of odd yarn that I had no real plan for. So after I got the twig-hook, I saw the Kolibri in my yarn basket one day, and suddenly it had a plan!

Or, at any rate, it had a purpose. Without any stylish patterns out here, I decided I would try to make some kind of simple skinny scarf out of it. I wanted it to be really loopy and open, with the macramé in mind. Also, since the twig crochet hook is about a "P" (10mm), I figured my stitches would end up very loose, and would help that little 105m/115yd ball become something big enough to be wearable.

Using the few basic stitches I knew, with the intention of leaving in any mistakes and even deliberately making a few, I chained 10 or 15 stitches and let the scarf grow from there. It was quick and really easy, just like the pot holders. But when I finished, the end result seemed artful and interesting to me. I wore it out in public, and it got a lot of compliments.

The fun of this project, or really non-project, is that several random things came together to inspire me. How I interpreted the inspiration could have gone a million ways. I could have added beads, for example, if I really wanted to draw more blatantly from my macramé memories. Or I could have used
a heavier weight yarn, or incorporated several colors, or added length or width. The possibilities are nearly endless.

If you like the irregular loops in the scarf, there are many ways to make them. The easiest way is to just not pay attention and see what happens. For a little more deliberate experimentation, try this: about one-third of the way into a row, chain two or three stitches instead of doing the next SC or DC or whatever. Then in the next row, just work a regular stitch into the loop caused by the chain and continue on. Voilà!

Above all, I find it's best to stay alert for inspiration in the world. You never know what past experiences, found objects, or interesting fibers could come together into something lovely. And crochet happens to be a great medium for experimentation right now. It is just waiting for the artisans of
the world to bring it back to life!