I’ve always been hard to fit. My feet were always long and skinny — shoes needed to be at least a size 10 and as narrow as you can make them. Then I broke my foot in 2010. Even though the break healed well, my right foot no longer tolerated the weight distribution from a good pair of pumps. That eliminated nearly all of my heels from the rotation. Never mind that I still keep a few (like those Italian boots with the 4″ heel) that I hope will magically fit again someday. (Narrator: They will not.)

But then I noticed something weird: even my flat shoes weren’t fitting right anymore. Shoes that I used to be able to wear all day at a conference became shoes that pinched my feet for anything longer than a walk to the mailbox. When I was pregnant a dozen years ago, my feet seemed to grow half a size or more, so I was solidly 10.5-11. (Want an adventure? Try finding 10.5N shoes.) And recently I tried on a pair of shoes that were actually too narrow. What’s up with that?

Turns out, this is normal. According to the Cleveland Clinic, feet naturally get longer and wider as we age. And as if that wasn’t enough, “The fat pads that cushion the bottom of your feet grow thinner as you grow older. So your feet absorb less shock, which can make them feel sore and painful when you walk around in thin-soled shoes on hard surfaces.” Well, I suppose that explains it.

My favorite brands

I have a few go-to brands for comfortable shoes. Not surprisingly, all are European. I find that European brands are cut a little narrower overall (somewhere between a U.S. narrow and medium), and are designed for walking comfort.

Ecco is, of course, a classic. Last week I scored a pair of Bluma slip-ons at a discount store for — brace yourself — $0.01.

Arcopedico makes granny-looking flats that are so comfortable that I don’t really care about their looks. The Alice loafer would probably appeal to the broadest age range. But it’s the L15D (now only available in odd textures) that supported me through 17 miles of walking during one day in Barcelona. And did I mention that they’re machine washable? Completely brilliant.

But for work, the best-looking professional shoes come from AGL. Now, as much as I love them, I can’t justify spending $298 on a pair of flats. Fortunately, there’s a vibrant market for AGL shoes on eBay. I picked up two display pairs with minor scuffs that couldn’t be sold as “new” for about $50 each. That’s an excellent price for Italian leather flats.

This coincides with my clothing purge and my efforts to build a sustainable wardrobe thanks to reuse and thrift shopping. With a little bit of effort, I should be able to put together an environmentally sustainable wardrobe that will be comfortable enough to sightsee on business trips in Europe.

The post Comfortable Shoes appeared first on What Would Betty Do?.

Not my feet. Not my weight. There are no pictures of the little baby weights I’m using. Photo by Victor Freitas via Unsplash.

I haven’t really talked much about my broken-down body, but today I’ll share more information than you really want. I’ll start by saying that I started rehab training this week.

Why did I need rehab training? Well… last year, while lugging a suitcase up the stairs in the London Tube, someone bumped into me. The suitcase started to slip and I lunged for it, pulling something in my back. This seemed innocuous at the time. It wasn’t.

Pain in the Back

After about seven months of chronic pain under my scapula, I finally went to the doctor. She shrugged and said give it a couple of weeks and see a different doctor. He shrugged and referred me to a third doctor. The third doctor came through the door with a diagnosis already in hand, insisted that I had pain and numbness where I had no pain or numbness, and demanded expensive tests to prove that she was right. After much back and forth, I asked what exactly she hoped to learn and how that would affect my recovery. Essentially she said that the outcome didn’t matter and I’d end up in physical therapy either way. I opted to bypass the $2,000 in medical tests and just go straight to the PT.

Fortunately, I found a great guy who specializes in spines. Why would that matter with scapula pain? Turns out that my problem had nothing to do with my scapula and everything to do with the fact that I somehow tweaked the intersection between my spine and rib cage, which was pinching a nerve and referring pain to my scapula. Literally in the first session, he pressed on the offending spot, and miracle! With a tiny little pop, pain went from a 9 to a 2. Magic! Of course, after 10-11 months of my body compensating for the pain, I had to work through loosening the muscles to relieve back spasms, but I was well on my way to recovery by Christmas break.

Here We Go Again

After the holidays, I went back to Muay Thai as usual, and started slowly rebuilding my strength. And then in mid-February, during training, I lost my balance when my partner grabbed my ankle during a kick. Not only did I fall, but I dragged her down with me. I was mortified, but seemed unhurt. Until the next morning, that is.

When I woke up the next day, I couldn’t move my right arm. Couldn’t comb my hair, brush my teeth, or hook my bra. So in spite of the fact that there was no obvious bruising or swelling, I went in for an x-ray. The x-ray was inconclusive due to internal swelling, and they couldn’t rule out a hairline fracture in my radius. I was told to go home, follow the PRICE protocol and take time off from work (ha, sure, the clients won’t mind that…). So I did the best that I could. Mobility slowly improved, but the pain was still there.

I have a high threshold for pain and a low threshold for medical appointments, which is how I spent half a year just living with the scapula thing. So when I still couldn’t fully extend my arm at the three-week mark I went in for another x-ray. Still swollen, still inconclusive. Now I had to go to orthopedics.

Ortho looked at my x-rays and seems to think that it’s most likely a bone bruise, which will take months to recover from. Until the pain is gone, I can’t even begin to fathom punching things and holding Muay Thai pads. That’s when I decided to start doing injury rehab with a trainer.

The Rehab Training Begins

There’s a trainer I really like at the gym, and lucky for me, his specialty is injury rehab (he used to work with a local pro sports team). He is well aware that I wasn’t even at 100% when I re-injured myself, and knows that we have a long way to go. He seems to have high hopes that he can get me healthy again.

After an initial assessment two weeks ago, I had my first two sessions this past week. My rehab training will work on not only improving strength and flexibility in my back and shoulders (relieving pressure on my elbow), but also core and lower body strength. Combined with the Pilates that I already do, that will improve my overall wellbeing and hopefully get me back to Muay Thai with Coach Joe sooner rather than later.

It’s been a humbling experience. His goal is to improve my form before over-stressing my muscles. He brings out these pathetic little wimpy weights for me, and by the end of the session I feel like I’ve been lifting small cars. It’s crushing my ego, but definitely working on the right muscles.

My elbow is finally at 95% extension when I wake in the morning, and gets to more-or-less normal extension by the end of the day. I’m definitely seeing improvement there. The pain hasn’t gone, but my understanding is that it could take until May for that to subside.

Until then, I just have to be patient and stick with my rehab training.

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This week, I’m sharing dinner recipes AND some of my existing go-to bread/muffin recipes that I appear to have been keeping to myself. Sorry about that.

The Winners

Banana Bread

The availability of overripe bananas — and the ability to make banana bread — depends entirely on how much I’ve been going to the gym. Since I’ve had my maybe-hairline-fracture, maybe-bone-bruise, definitely-inflamed elbow problem, I’ve been missing Muay Thai, which means that there have been lots of bananas. Good for bread, bad for my overall attitude. This is a solid recipe; I usually substitute 1/3-1/2 whole wheat flour.

Ease: 5/5

Flavor: 5/5

Make it again? Yes, regularly

Lite Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

I am a woman of balance. If I’m using applesauce instead of oil and whole wheat instead of white flour, then I wholeheartedly believe in balancing that with chocolate chips. This recipe for lite pumpkin chocolate chip muffins is a winner. They freeze well, are reasonably filling, and feel like a treat.

Ease: 5/5

Flavor: 5/5

Make it again? Yes, regularly

Sloppy Joes in the Slow Cooker

The Husband has been making bread. Part of his breadmaking efforts includes spectacular brioche buns. They work really well with burgers, but we were looking for an alternative use. Enter sloppy Joes in the slow cooker from The Kitchn. You know what my favorite kind of slow cooker meal is? The kind where you just dump everything in the crock and ignore it. This is that recipe.

Ease: 5/5

Flavor: 5/5

Make it again? If the good bread keeps coming, absolutely

One Pot Baked Greek Chicken Orzo

You know those recipes where you think, yeah, that sounds good, but the family probably won’t like it? One pot baked Greek chicken orzo was that recipe. It has lots of veggies, including zucchini: a no-go for The Assistant. It’s based on a bed of orzo pasta: The Husband complains when I make pasta. But hey, I liked the look of it, so I went for it. And it was good! Two caveats, though: it took MUCH longer to absorb the liquid than advertised (like twice as long), and it’s definitely a hands-on, can’t make ahead sort of meal.

Ease: 3/5

Flavor: 5/5

Make it again? Yes

Braised White Bean Stew

Another surprise! I really expected complaints with this one. But no! Both The Assistant and The Husband want me to make braised white bean stew again. Modifications: I threw in a smoked pork chop for a little bit of added protein and flavor; I used chicken broth instead of veggie because that’s what I had; and as with most stews and soups, I tossed in a parmesan rind. I got it started in the Dutch oven on the stove, and then moved it to the oven to simmer while we were out.

Ease: 4/5

Flavor: 5/5

Make it again: Yes

This is Fine

Creamy Roasted Red Pepper Chicken Skillet

This was an odd one: I’ve never before had a recipe where 2/3 of the family said “yeah, this is great!” while I said “meh.” I’d been eyeing the creamy roasted red pepper chicken skillet for a few weeks, but it requires hands-on cooking at dinnertime. This isn’t a make-ahead meal. And so, with limited hands-on time, it kept getting punted from week to week. There’s nothing wrong with it. I just expected more… oomph? I don’t really know what it was missing. Maybe I just wasn’t in the right mood.

Ease: 3/5

Flavor: 4/5

Make it again? If they ask for it

The Husband will be in and out this week, so I’m not sure how many new recipes I’ll get to try. I’ll keep you posted.

The post Even More Recipes appeared first on What Would Betty Do?.

My meals are not this photogenic. Photo by Sharon Chen via Unsplash.

We’ve both been home for more than a week! This has opened the door for the backlog of recipes. Ready for something different? Let’s do this.

The Winners

Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili (*psst, it’s actually curry)

I had some doubts about any chili that involves coconut milk. I should have known better than to accompany this white chicken chili with tortilla chips. However… as a curry? It’s a really good recipe! Serve it with rice and it would be a great meal.

Ease: 5/5

Flavor: 5/5

Make it again? Yes, but with rice and not Mexican flavors

One Pot Greek Chicken & Lemon Rice

This is definitely not a recipe for those nights when you only have a few minutes to throw something together. With 45 minutes in the oven and 10 more to rest, one pot Greek chicken & lemon rice is definitely a Wednesday meal for us — the one night when I have an hour or more to cook at dinner time.

Ease: 3/5

Flavor: 5/5

Make it again? Yes

Chicken Parmesan Casserole

Look, I love chicken parm. Yet no matter how hard I try to bread the cutlets and pan-fry, approximately 50% of the time I’m left with naked chicken and a pan full of breading. The chicken parmesan casserole eliminates this problem entirely. You get all of the same flavors — including the Panko breadcrumb goodness — but without the cutlet challenge.

Ease: 5/5

Flavor: 5/5

Make it again? Yes

Homemade Naan

You can’t have Indian without naan. It’s just wrong. I usually use the Trader Joe’s frozen naan. But on this particular night, The Assistant opted to help me mix, knead and roll homemade naan. The flavor and texture were excellent. I recommend rolling it thinner than you think is necessary, and cooking over lower heat than you’d expect. And also making a double batch, particularly when you need to compensate for your butter chicken cauliflower slurry (see below under “Nope.”)

Ease: 5/5 (as breads go, this one is straightforward and easy)

Flavor: 5/5

Make it again? Yes, absolutely

This Is Fine

Slow Cooker Chicken Tinga

One of my local restaurants has a chicken tinga tostada that I love, so I had high hopes for this slow cooker chicken tinga. Was it good enough to make again? Probably. Am I in a hurry to make it again? Not really.

Ease: 5/5

Flavor: 4/5

Make it again? Probably in a couple of months

One Pot Spicy Thai Noodles

The one pot spicy Thai noodles had mixed reviews here. I added chicken for some extra protein for the kiddo after Brazilian jiu-jitsu. The Assistant and I liked it more than The Husband, but it still doesn’t hold a candle to the drunken noodles from my local Thai restaurant.

Ease: 4/5

Flavor: 4/5

Make it again? Maybe

Crockpot Lasagna Soup

I love lasagna. I mean, really, it’s the best. And if I can half-ass the lasagna on a late night? So much the better. Turns out, crockpot lasagna soup doesn’t really taste like lasagna. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a fine soup. But if you’re craving lasagna, look elsewhere.

Ease: 3/5 (I forgot that I had to brown the meat and I was scrambling to get out of the house on time)

Flavor: 5/5 (assuming that you accept it as a soup and don’t expect it to taste like lasagna)

Make it again? Probably

Nope

Potsticker Noodle Bowls

I had really, really high hopes for the potsticker noodle bowls. We all love potstickers, and while I’ve made them before, the work isn’t worth the payout. It’s basically a deconstructed potsticker, which sounds awesome, but somehow doesn’t really work in reality.

Ease: 4/5

Flavor: 4/5

Make it again? Probably not

Instant Pot Pho

We’re in the rainy season here, so soupy things have been popular. I opted to give pho a try. Instant Pot pho is a nice diversion from my usual soupy efforts, but it felt like there should have been more to show for the work I put into it. It says that the yield is six servings. Somehow we managed to barely get four from the recipe. I don’t know where the rest of the broth went, but we couldn’t have fed two more people.

Ease: 3/5

Flavor: 4/5

Make it again? Probably not

Instant Pot Indian Butter Chicken

Have I mentioned that The Assistant loves Indian food? If we go out for a meal, it’s always his first suggestion. He leans towards chicken tikka masala and butter chicken, whereas I’m more of an aloo gobi kind of girl. So to me, Instant Pot Indian butter chicken sounded like the ideal meal. He’d get his chicken, and I’d get my cauliflower. Everybody’s happy! Well… not so much. I have a Cuisinart pressure cooker, not an Instant Pot, which apparently cooks at a very different temperature and pressure than the recipe requires. The cauliflower basically dissolved into a weird slurry. This was… not ideal. I’d be willing to retry, possibly with a different recipe.

Ease: 4/5

Flavor: 3/5

Make it again? Not without modifications

Have you been cooking anything interesting? Let me know in the comments.

The post More Easy Recipes appeared first on What Would Betty Do?.

But now we’re back on track for a few days. Here are some recipes that I’ve tested out. Stick around for the last one for a fun story.

One pan sausage and veggie bake

Italian sausages and roasted veggies on a sheet pan. Easy. I love roasted veggies. Just chop up some of your favorites, slice the sausages and bake. Did I mention it was easy? It sounds like the veggies are highly seasoned in this recipe, but in actuality they could have used a bit more kick.

Ease: 5/5

Flavor: 4/5

Make it again? Yes

Crock pot white bean French onion soup.

I’m a sucker for anything French onion, so this bean and onion soup seemed like a great idea. The flavor was great, and it was pretty easy to make. I really like the idea of sweating the onions in the crock pot for hours before adding the rest of the ingredients. But I followed the instructions to the letter (plus adding a parmesan rind, because I do that for all soups) and it was thin. The photos look great and hearty! The reality was a very onion-y broth with very few beans to fill it out. I’d do it again, but with a lot less liquid or a lot more beans.

Ease: 4/5

Flavor: 5/5

Make it again? Yes

Chicken cordon bleu casserole

So much for dinner.

I made this chicken cordon bleu on Friday night, with a slight variation in the sauce (lowfat milk instead of whole, because that’s what I had, and heavy on the paprika because mmm, paprika).

It smelled amazing! It looked great! And then just as The Husband arrived home, I heard a “pop!” from the oven. My 20-year-old bridal shower Pyrex had shattered, leaving us with no dinner and a hell of a mess to clean up. The Husband wants to know if exploding Pyrex is the new gift for the 20th anniversary.

I’d love to try this again, but I need to buy a new baking dish first.

Ease: 3/5

Flavor: Unknown, but the smell was amazing

Make it again? Yes

The post Cooking With a Bang appeared first on What Would Betty Do?.

But over break, we went to Portland, Oregon, and I was inspired by good food. One night, while not sleeping after migraine-related overcaffeination, I spent some quality time with Pinterest and Google to find new recipes that could either be prepped ahead and quickly assembled, or made in the slow cooker/pressure cooker/rice cooker. I made a detailed meal plan and shopping list, and got ready for the week.

This week was our first week back to the normal routine. The new recipe exploration has begun.

Monday

On Monday, I made the one-pan balsamic chicken veggie bake from The Real Food Dietitians. This was decent. I prepped everything at lunchtime, and put it into the oven on delayed start when we left for the gym. When The Husband returned home, he kept an eye on everything.

When I do it again, I’ll make sure that the chicken is in smaller pieces for faster cooking, and I’ll add the tomatoes only for the last 5 minutes or so, because they were too mushy after 10-12 minutes.

4 of 5 stars.

Tuesday

Tuesday would have been slow cooker Mexican chicken soup from The Magical Slow Cooker. I say “would have been” because after 8 hours on low, my pinto beans were still rock hard. Yes, I soaked them overnight. Yes, they were fresh (purchased last weekend). I’ve never had such a problem with beans before.

Since it clearly wouldn’t be ready after jiu-jitsu, and I didn’t have time to come up with anything else, we opted to go out for dinner. I kept the slow cooker cooking, in the hopes of punting that meal to Wednesday night. But even after 12 hours, the beans weren’t right. By that point, the chicken was overcooked and tough because I hadn’t thought to extract it during the longer cooking time.

I decided to trash the meal altogether, along with the remaining dried beans in the bag, and try it again another week.

0 of 5 stars.

Wednesday

I redeemed myself on Wednesday with chicken with spinach pesto from The Food Network (seen in the image above), accompanied by Maple-Roasted Delicata Squash with Red Onion from Epicurious and The Husband’s homemade sourdough bread.

Wednesday is our one unscheduled night, so this was my Big Fancy Meal of the week. I took great care with it, particularly since Tuesday’s meal was such a colossal failure.

This was a hit. The pesto is light and lemony, and is great when mopped up by the bread. There’s more than enough for one meal. If I do it again, I’ll freeze half before adding the parmesan.

I expected the squash to have more of a caramelized sweetness from the maple syrup, but you couldn’t taste it at all. It was still good, though. I’d definitely make it again.

5 of 5 stars for chicken and spinach pesto.

4.5 of 5 stars for delicata squash.

More to come!

I have a lot of recipes in the queue, so I hope to have lots of meal plan ideas to report in the coming weeks, in between my business trips.

Happy new year to all! And especially to Lori and her beautiful new baby girl. I hope I can find some recipes that she can put to use as well.

The post Meal Plan: The New Normal appeared first on What Would Betty Do?.

I’ll bet you think that I haven’t been cooking much, what with not ever posting anything to this blog. You’d be wrong! I’m still cooking five or six days a week, albeit less interesting stuff than I used to. This has been my busiest year ever, work-wise, and I don’t have much time for recipe research. Also, The Assistant has aged up to the later jiu-jitsu class, and I have to be really creative with meals when we don’t get home until 7:00 or later each night.

Dinner

One of the easiest go-to recipes is Victoria Granof’s pasta con ceci. You can make it with ingredients that you already have in your pantry. I use a ton of garlic in mine, mince it instead of smash it, and often make things a little richer by using chicken stock instead of water.

Speaking of chickpeas, there’s a magical chickpea dish at Razza, my favorite pizza place in Jersey City. This recipe from Food Network gets started with the basics, but I’ve found that I like it best with celery, minced shallots, and garlic. Skip the vinegar and go straight to the olive oil, salt, pepper, and of course parmesan cheese.

When we go out for Chinese food, I only really want one thing. This recipe for spicy Sichuan green beans is exactly what I’m looking for. I often make them alongside Trader Joe’s potstickers.

I’ve been relying heavily on the slow cooker, rice cooker, and pressure cooker to have dinner ready and waiting when we get home late. I’ve toyed with several black bean recipes over the years, but this black bean recipe from Tyler Florence is a solid choice. I also add a jalapeño, halved and seeded, for a bit of flavor.

And I’ve recently rediscovered my own focaccia recipe. I don’t understand why I don’t make this more often. Daily, in fact. Easy and delicious.

Breakfast

How about some breakfast? These blackberry breakfast bars are delicious. And it’s possible that they might also serve as a nice dessert if you top them with vanilla ice cream. Not that I’ve done that or anything. Nope.

I’ve apparently been looking for some breakfast alternatives. Last month I made banana blueberry baked oatmeal cups. They were really good when warm, less so when reheated, which defeats the purpose of pre-making breakfast. But if you have a large group of people to feed, they’re tasty. I used regular milk and a splash of vanilla to compensate for the flavored almond milk.

You can’t go wrong cooking anything from Smitten Kitchen. Ever. She’s magical. You will never go wrong with the very blueberry scones recipe. If you make them, please deliver one to me. Thank you.

The weirdly popular breakfast hit in my household? Two-ingredient banana “pancakes” that I found on Pinterest. I’ve found that they’re surprisingly good when topped with White Chocolate Wonderful, Dark Chocolate Dreams, or Chocmeister from Peanut Butter & Co.

What have you been cooking? Do you have any slow cooker recipes to share?

The post What I’ve Been Cooking appeared first on What Would Betty Do?.

I’m coming up on nine months of Muay Thai, and I feel like there’s a tale to tell. So gather ’round, kids. It’s story time.

As y’all know, I started Muay Thai classes because I won an auction at my son’s school. I had no intention of winning the auction. I just bid to bump it up in the “recent bids” rankings because I wanted to get the extra advertising for a place that had been so good to The Assistant. And I did bump it up! But the problem was that no one else decided to bid, and before I knew it, I was the proud owner of a month of Muay Thai.

%@&$.

It took me four months to work up the nerve to actually start the class. I was so convinced that it was a temporary thing that I didn’t even cancel my regular gym membership. Because this was so far outside my comfort zone that there was literally no way in hell that I was going to keep doing it.

Except I am.

What the hell happened?

Life Lessons

I’ve always been a thinker — possibly an overthinker, depending on your perspective. I prepare for things. I research. I study. I don’t do radical, crazy things.

But being a parent changes that. In some ways, you’re more conservative, but in other ways, you have no choice but to loosen up. The day you give birth, you’re 1,000% outside the scope of anything you’ve ever known in your life. It doesn’t matter how smart you are, or how much research you did. You’re thrown into the deep end and expected to swim.

And that’s been good for me. It’s forced me out of my cautious, introverted shell. Since The Assistant was born, I started (and apparently stopped) running. I ran nine half marathons and countless shorter races. I took spin classes. I gave yoga a valiant effort (though I never really enjoyed it). I did a few bootcamps. I hired and later fired a personal trainer who made me homicidal. And now I’m doing this.

Is it easy? Hell no.

Do I have my doubts? Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday I always find some excuse not to go to class because I’m not good enough or strong enough or agile enough… and then I go anyway.

Am I any good? Bwahahahaha! Let me catch my breath. Let me see… no. Not remotely. But I work at it. And I keep going. And I keep trying. And maybe I won’t ever be anything close to “good”, but I leave with more of a feeling of accomplishment than I’ve had anywhere else in recent memory.

The post Of Muay Thai and Life Lessons appeared first on What Would Betty Do?.

I’ve decided to compile my favorite crochet patterns and resources in one easy-to-find post. Now when I try to find these patterns and resources later, they’ll be waiting for me. Thanks to everyone who came to chat with me at Maker Faire 2017. I hope that these resources get you started on your crochet journey!

Crochet Resources

The Craft Yarn Council has a really good yarn weight system. I often find non-U.S. patterns that use different terminology, so I’m forever looking up where Aran fits on the yarn weight spectrum, or how heavy Roving weight is. And for the life of me, I can’t remember whether sock or sport weight is the heavier of the two. Go figure.

Mysteriously, hooks aren’t always referred to by the same size guidelines. Some will give a letter, others a number, but it turns out that there are two sets of numbers and… never mind, I just Google it as needed. So here are the Google search results for crochet hook sizes. These guides come in many text and image formats, and you can just pick the one that works best for you.

What about basic stitches? The Craft Yarn Council again has good resources for basic crochet stitches, including chain stitch, single crochet, half double crochet, and double crochet stitches. They’ll also show you how to do crochet increases, crochet decreases, crochet seaming, and crochet edging. However, it’s all text- and image-based, which doesn’t work for everyone.

If you’re a video person, The Knit Witch offers crochet tutorials on YouTube. I linked to the chain stitch, since that’s where most projects begin, but you can find links to other Knit Witch crochet stitch videos from there.

Crochet Patterns

The Romantic Lacy Shawl from Red Heart Yarn (seen on the right) has been a favorite for years. The pattern is very simple and straightforward. This is the one I made for my Nana’s 95th birthday, and the sample that you saw on my Maker Faire poster.

Totoro! I really love this pattern to make a crochet Totoro, which The Assistant has been cozying up with since I made it. The pattern is available on Ravelry, which is pretty much the primary repository for all yarn-related patterns.

The blue poncho that I was wearing on Saturday and Sunday at Maker Faire? That’s a variant on this customizable poncho pattern here, by Patti. It’s basically a long, thin rectangle that I stitch together to create the neck hole. You can make it as large or small as necessary, and you only need one basic stitch.

The Peek-a-Boo Button Wrap from Nerissa Muijs is a very straightforward pattern — basically a giant rectangle with arm holes. I was wearing this on Friday at Maker Faire.

Also on Ravelry, the Chevron Lace Cardigan crochet pattern. This was the first big project that I did. Yes, it takes some concentration, but there are no seams and you can try it on and measure as you go.

Where Do I Buy Yarn?

Now we’re talking about the fun stuff. A good yarn makes it all enjoyable.

Of course, you can go to your local Michael’s or JoAnn Fabrics for yarn, but you get what you pay for. In these cases, it’s mostly acrylic, which is soft but not terribly inspiring. Of the brands carried here, I think Caron Simply Soft is a good starting point. It’s easy to work with, and fairly forgiving. I used that in my Totoro; you can see him in the photo to the left.

But once you have a little bit of confidence, go to your local yarn store. I also make a habit of visiting yarn shops when I travel, because every merchant carries something different. There’s nothing that gives you a better education than touching the yarn. And trust me, it’s ok to touch it all. We all do it.

If you’re ordering online, I’ve been very happy with the service from Deramores in the UK. You’d think that it would be more expensive and take forever to ship yarn across an ocean. You’d be wrong. I’ve gotten better prices and faster service from Deramores than I have from a big U.S.-based yarn merchant. Go figure. They often have sales, so keep your eyes open for discounts. Also, they have a very nice loyalty program where you can earn discounts on future purchases.

My Favorite Yarns

I prefer to work with wools or wool blends, though I’m willing to make exceptions for any yarn that just feels good.

The muti-hued orange in the shawl photo above? That was a Madelinetosh yarn. It was thinner than I usually work with, but it was a joy to handle.

For chunky scarves and hats, Misti Alpaca makes the softest yarn. It’s like working with cotton candy. I really love it.

I’m a recent convert to Malabrigo Mecha yarn. There’s a lovely springiness to the yarn, and it just feels good in my hands. The variegated colors are exceptional. See the rich purple in the photo to the left? That’s the one. Even their natural color is a lovely vanilla white that complements everything.

If you like a little sparkle, Blue Heron Rayon Metallic is gorgeous. However, it’s getting harder and harder to find. A quick Google search will set you on the path towards the yarn you need for a shimmery accessory, occasionally at a discount. Each skein is generous. One skein took care of a small shawl, and I’m using another to make a very open-weave top.

I’m also a big fan of Scheepjes Stone Washed XL yarn, the one that was used in both the green vest and blue poncho that I wore at Maker Faire. I buy that through Deramores, which I mentioned in the section above. It’s a very forgiving cotton/acrylic blend that is a pleasure to work with.

How to Buy My Scarves

You can find my online store at ScarvesandStories.com. Each purchase comes with a short story.

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It seems that my favorite crochet creations follow two distinct themes: Möbius infinity scarves in bulky weight yarns…

Chenille, alpaca and acrylic Möbius scarves.

The same Möbius pattern in lighter weight yarns…

Varying types of wool with different texture and loft.

And much lighter weight shawls and scarves made with yarn that has cool effects.

The yarn on the left is a sparkly nylon with a lightly variegated color that brings a ton of depth to it. The right is a simple cotton, but the color change makes it dynamic and interesting.

And that doesn’t even include the ones that I’ve given away as gifts, or the three cardigans that I’ve made over the years.

I might have bought some lovely wool on sale in England, because who could pass up great wool at a great price?

And maybe even more at another sale here in California when I returned. The purple has already become an infinity scarf for my friend.

But I’m really enjoying it. I’m learning more with every project I complete. I’m sharing my knowledge with others because I’m a nerd and that’s what I do. But I also think it’s a great activity to share. Depending on the complexity of the project, you can stretch your brain as much or as little as you want. I have two projects going right now: one that requires counting and focus, and another that I can do effortlessly even at my son’s jiu-jitsu class when everyone is counting reps aloud. It keeps my brain happy.

So what’s next? Well, I’m considering selling some of my crochet creations in a pop-up boutique. I got my California seller’s permit, so I’m legal now. Anything’s possible.

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