This post contains affiliate links. Read my Disclosure Policy for more information. Thanks for your support!

But Gift Ideas for Men Still Elude Me

Yes, I think I’m about done with my gift making this year, although I’m feeling for some reason that I haven’t made enough.  Part of the problem is that it’s really easy to crochet and knit gifts for women.  But gift ideas for men have always eluded me.  I made a lot of scarves year before last, and a tie or two, but that’s about it.  So for now, the men on my list will be getting gift cards.

Avoiding “Black Friday” at All Costs

No, I did not go out on so-called “Black Friday” (wonder why they call it that?  because retailers hope all the shopping will put them “in the black”?).  I just can’t imagine being out there, looking for Christmas presents and bumping into the entire world, not to mention the long lines.

The only person I would actually go out and buy a gift for is my daughter, Adrienne; she usually has a list ready for me months in advance.  But this year, her gift will be her attendance, at my expense, at a study program for the NCLEX exam, which nurses have to take in order to be licensed to practice.  But I will probably buy her a gift or two to put under the tree.

The Crocheted “Magic Ball” Afghan

I was tooling around on Ravelry in November, just looking at patterns, when I came across this Magic Ball Afghan that Candace (aka “lobster12” on Ravelry) made.  I had a nice time chatting with her about how she made hers and decided to give it a try.

Creating magic yarn balls is a great way to use up scrap yarn. Here’s a video that shows you how to make one. As you can see from the video and from my finished afghan, your individual yarn pieces can be short or long. The colors can be coordinated or random. And you can either leave the ends long, weave them in, or cut them down before you crochet, depending on the effect you want to create.

The photo above is of the finished piece before I wove the ends in and washed it.  I thought I might leave them out as a design feature, but decided not to.  Here it is on the right with the ends woven in.

This will be a gift for a neighbor who is a movie promoter and is always giving me free tickets to see movies.  How cool is that?

I crocheted with two strands of yarn, one is the magic ball, the other is Red Heart Super Saver.  I used yarn left over from my Babette Blanket project, but I still had to buy one small skein of one color and four Red Heart Super Saver skeins of black.  it worked up quickly with a P/15 mm hook.  I like the way it turned out.

My “Gift Stash”

And then there are the gifts I have made that I’ve never given to anyone.  I was a little surprised to see how many I have (all for women of course).  If I give any of them as gifts, I will have to wash them because they’ve been in the closet for a couple of years.  Interesting that all the scarves are knitted.  I think I must have been practicing or something.  Not sure what yarn I used for the rust colored Moebius wrap.  The rest are all some kind of acrylic.

A Gosh-Ugly Freeform Crochet Purse

And I can’t forget the freeform bag I started several years ago, but never finished because it looks kinda weird.  Not sure what I’m going to do with it.  It needs some kind of strap or handle and lining, but there’s no telling when I’ll get to that.

I also have a freeform baby afghan that I started several years ago, when I first got into freeform crochet.  Yet another languishing WIP.

From the Hands of My Talented Daughter

Adrienne made some lovely hearts for her two great aunts and grandmother in the jewelry-making class she took this semester.  She seems to really love the jewelry making process, so I’m glad she’s found a craft that she can enjoy.

Sloth and Indulgence Summer Shawl

Finally, I’ve been playing around with Carol’s (Elegantcrone on Ravelry) “Sloth and Indulgence Summer Shawl, modeled here by a friend of hers.  I’ve been looking around for cover-ups that are light and airy since the weather here is always warm, but nights do get cool during the “winter.”  A lot of my sweaters are a bit too heavy for this weather, unless I’m somewhere inside, like a movie theater where the air conditioning is blasting.  I really like the look of this shawl.

It’s made with a triple crochet filet stitch, and while I can’t use Carol’s yarn (she bought it at a garage sale), I’m experimenting with Red Heart (yeah, you guessed it) Baby Soft, a “light sport weight” yarn and using an F/3.75 mm hook, the size Carol used with her yarn.

Note: This pattern is no longer available on Ravelry, but the triple crochet filet stitch is easy enough to duplicate.