Recipe: Make Ahead Christmas Day Brunch

This wonderful, filling but light pie can be made the day ahead and warmed up when ready to serve the next day.  I like to make it on Christmas Eve and refrigerate it until mid morning on Christmas when everyone is a little hungry and can't wait until Christmas dinner is ready to be served later that day.  It's filling yet light enough that it won't stay with you so long that you and your family won't be hungry by the time your Christmas dinner is served.  I love the color combination of the green broccoli in the pie with the red salsa served along side - it really makes for a Christmas-y, festive celebration brunch or luncheon.  This pie is also very, very good when served with Hollandaise sauce drizzled over it but, as you know, this adds a LOT of fat and calories to the otherwise light, healthy luncheon.

Broccoli Rice Pie

1 1/2 C hot cooked rice (if you're making this with left over steamed rice that is cold, simply heat it through in the microwave for about one minute)

10 - 14 oz cooked chopped broccoli, cooled slightly (I prefer the larger amount of broccoli)

3 eggs

1 small can sliced mushrooms, drained

6 oz. grated cheddar cheese (for persons requiring a low sodium diet, substitute with Swiss cheese which has far less than half the amount of sodium that most other cheese has)

1/2 C plus 2 Tbsp. whole (or 2 %) milk

salt, pepper (omit salt for low sodium diets)

Your favorite salsa, hot sauce, or Hollandaise sauce (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Combine rice, one egg (slightly beaten), 1/2 of the cheese, and salt and pepper (if used).  Mix well.

Layer rice mixture in bottom of a 8" deep dish pie pan (or a 9" will do, if you don't have a deep dish 8" pan)

Beat remaining 2 eggs slightly; stir in (cooled) broccoli, the mushrooms, and milk.  Add salt and pepper (if desired).  Mix well and spoon over rice layer in pie dish.

Bake at 375 degrees for 20 - 25 minutes, until pie is firm in the middle and edges are slightly browned.  Don't over cook because you're going to bake it longer, see next step...

Remove pie from oven and sprinkle remaining cheese evenly over top of pie.  

Bake 10 minutes longer.

Remove pie and allow to stand for 5 minutes, it will continue cooking while standing.

Serve with Hollandaise sauce or salsa, or hot sauce (optional)

Merry Christmas everyone!

Free Pattern: Faux Broomstick Lace Scarf

Faux Broomstick Lace Scarf Pattern

 copyright Oct. 1, 2014 Cynthia J Luciene

(you may share this pattern with a link back to this page.  You may not sell the pattern but, of course, you may sell anything you make using this pattern or stitch pattern.  Most of all, have fun!)

Size "S" Hook (I think it's the biggest one that is made, usually blue plastic as shown below:)

3.5 oz worsted weight 4 yarn (I love Debra Norville)

Stitches you will need to know:

single crochet (sc)

chain stitch  (ch)

3dc cluster stitch (see directions below*)

*y.o., insert hook into indicated stitch, y.o., draw through, y.o., draw thru 2 loops on hook; repeat from * 2 more times; y.o., draw thru all four loops on hook; 3dc cluster made

Begin by ch 15

Row 1: sc in 2nd ch from hook, and in each ch across; ch 2, turn  (14 sc)

Row 2:  *skip 1 sc, work 3dc cluster in next; repeat from * across; ch 1, turn  (7 - 3dc clusters)

Row 3:  work 3 sc in top of each 3dc cluster across; ch 2, turn;  (21 sc)

Row 4:  *skip 2 sc, work 3dc cluster in next; ending with 3dc cluster in last sc; ch 1, turn  (7 clusters)

Row 5 - ? :  Repeat rows 3 & 4 until scarf is desired length; use left over yarn (if there is any) to make fringe, if desired.

Even with the high level of pain in my hands while crocheting, I managed to make this in a half a day.  It would probably take anyone else only a few hours to make but I'm not sure.  Please let me know what you think, and how long it took you to make this scarf, if you make one.  Thanks so much, God's blessings to you and yours.

Embroidery - Beautiful Vintage Lettering Patterns No. 4; Free To Use

Finally, here's the last set of letters matching the others (posted two, four, and six days previous).  I am working on drawing up the letters "I" and "W" because the original patterns did not include those letters for some reason.  I will post those two letters as soon as my drawings match the original versions to my satisfaction and hopefully yours as well.

The remaining letters in the original set are...

Letters  T and U:

 Letters V and X:

Letters Y and Z

 Note: Please see post with "No. 2" in the title and scroll to the Note that explains how to get a clean copy (without the blog gobbly-goop) of the images to your hard drive to make a neat print, if you choose to print the patterns.  I've gone so far as to put a piece of tracing paper on my (not a touch screen!) laptop monitor and trace an embroidery pattern or picture I thought would be nice to embroider.  I don't suggest doing that unless you have a very light-handed touch with a pencil, a strong press on your screen with a pencil could damage it. 

Enjoy!

Don't forget to look for the letters "I" and "W" coming within a few days, or maybe you're great with drawing (I'm sure far better than I!) and can draw your own letters I and W to match the rest of the set.  (Or, if you're lucky, you don't need those letters in the first place.  )  ;-D

Embroidery - Vintage Lettering No. 3; Free To Use

Here are the next set of beautiful vintage letters for embroidery that are free to use, under the Creative Commons copyright.  These patterns are not to be sold but you may distribute them (share them) freely. 
Enjoy!

(Note:  to find the other letters look for the posts by the similar name or type "embroidery" or "lettering" in this blog's search box (upper right hand corner of any post page.)  For instructions on getting a clean copy of the images please see "Embroidery Vintage Lettering No. 2" and scroll past the images to the Note about the subject.

Letters N and O:

Letters P and Q:

Letters R and S:

Three more sets of matching letters (T, U, V, X, Y, Z) will be posted in two days so check back if you're interested in having the patterns for them.

Enjoy!

Embroidery - Vintage Lettering No. 2; Free To Use

Here is the second post containing the embroidery patterns / templates that I promised you.  Included are the letters G, H, J, K, L, and M.  As I stated in a previous post, the letters "I" and "W" are not included in the 'complete' set, I am working on drawing them up and will post them as soon as I have them matching the others to my satisfaction.

Letters G and H

Letters J and K:

Letters L and M

The rest of the letters will be posted within a week or two.  If you have trouble finding the others just type "lettering" or "embroidery" in the search box at the top right corner of any post on THIS blog.  Typing into the Google (or other) search box will not give you results you are looking for here.

Please let me know if you have any questions or ideas, or just something you'd like to say in the comments below.

Note:  In order to print a clean copy of the patterns I suggest you do not try to print this page.  Instead, right click on the pattern image you wish to print, click "save image as..." and save it to a new folder named embroidery or lettering, or ???  It ought to save automatically as a .jpg file, you can use the file names I've used (it'll show in the "save" box automatically) or you may come up with your own file name.  Saving the image to your hard drive is the best way to get a clean print out, some of you may want to sharpen or increase the saturation, etc., depending upon your eyesight requirements using your computer's image editing program.  

Alternatively you can save the photos to a site like Photobucket or any one of the many photo hosting sites, most of which have their own built-in photo editors (in case you see a need for editing)

*****These patterns are protected by the Creative Commons copyright and may be shared freely but never sold.! ******

Embroidery - Beautiful Vintage Lettering: Free To Use

My box of embroidery thread has been beckoning me for a long time and I've ignored it up until now.  There are so many beautiful embroidery templates / patterns / designs / inspirations on the internet I can't help but heed the call of my threads, hoops, and needles.

Here is a set of vintage embroidery patterns (or templates, if you prefer), too beautiful not to share.  There is no letter "I" or letter "W" with this set but it would be easy to make one, I'll get to it asap to match the others.  For now, here are the first few sets of letters...  All of these vintage letters are covered under the Creative Commons and can be shared freely but never sold.  Whatever you make using these patterns can be sold, just not the pattern itself.  I think they're the most beautiful letters I've seen, what do you think about them? 

Note: due to large file sizes I am considering the capacity of your browser's ability to load this page and am only posting three sets of two letters each, at a time.  To find the rest of the upcoming letters, check back  within a week and type "embroidery" or / and "letters" in the search box on the top left of this post (or any post on this blog)

Letters A and B

Letters C and D

Letters E and F

The rest will be posted two, three, or four images at a time in soon to come posts, probably within two weeks.

Great Sites For Crochet Bikini and Cover-ups That'll Make You Want To Start Hooking

Pinterest is a great place to find patterns for crochet as well as photos that may give you lots of inspiration or motivation to crochet.

Here are some of my favorite bikini pattern and inspiring photo links for bikinis and cover-ups for the beach.

Babyblog    This is  a Russian site and if you translate the page you won't, unfortunately, find a pattern for this suit but it's one the best I've seen and could be great inspiration to make a bikini similar or just like it.
 

Crochet Vs Ethnic: The call of the jungle   Not a pattern either but I really like the use of a lacy poncho over a crocheted suit for the beach or desert.  Only thing is, I wonder what my tan would look like if I wore a poncho like this all day.  

Kool Bikini Dot Com This item, the "Hand Crochet Bikini Cover-up" sells on KOOL Bikini site for $28.  Looking at it I am pretty sure anyone who knows how to crochet could probably make this look the same (or darn close to) the one you see below.  If anyone requests, I can try to come up with a very similar pattern (I don't want to infringe on anyone's copyright).  I chose this as a great site because it has tons of inspirational photos for an experienced crocheter to get ideas from.  

I chose this photo in particular because this skirt has lacing up the sides that are not just a fashion statement but they are functional and can be adjusted for nearly any body type.
  ( I also chose it selfishly for myself because it's the perfect cover-up to hide my old age sagging skin when I wear a swim suit, heh heh)

Revolve Clothing   lists the unikini (uni-kini) they call "The Throwback Crochet Swimsuit" for $175 and they are currently out of stock for this item.  Does that motivate you to pick up a hook??  Does me!  In fact I'm modifying a previously posted bikini top to something like the one pictured below but I'm "winging it" and didn't write a pattern for it.  It would be fairly easy for someone with crochet experience to use one of my bikini top patterns (find them by using the search box for this blog at the top right of any post) and then to add the bodice (between panties and top) and attach it to a bottom.  

You could even attach the top-bodice ensemble to a pair of swim suit or bikini bottoms you already own (fabric!) by embroidering a blanket stitch (click here to view tutorial on wikiHow) around the top edge of the bikini bottoms (this makes a loop for you to insert crochet stitches into). Then you are able to attach your crocheting to your fabric bikini bottoms (or a skirted bottom if you prefer) by using any of the smaller common crochet stitches such as a slip stitch or single crochet depending on the look you want to achieve.  A half double crochet might be a bit chunky depending on the size of your yarn or thread but would prove to be more sturdy than the other two stitches I mentioned.

Ok, that's it for now I realize there aren't that many on this list but I'll continue to post similar photos with links and I'll find some great sites or blogs that actually have patterns for you as well.  

I hope you've been charmed or inspired or motivated to begin a bikini or swim suit of your own.

Bye for now, God bless you and yours.

~ Cynthia 

Vintage and Antique Crochet Button Bracelets by Grandma Rupp

My grandma was a very crafty lady.  She and my grandpa lived in a mobile home community where there was a recreation room that held craft-type classes for the residents of the mobile home park.  I remember some of the things she made like Lady bug refrigerator magnets made from felt, bean bag frogs, the pattern I still have and still make one of these for a gift once a while; and she crocheted jewelry like rope necklaces made from tiny beads and very fine crochet thread, and...
My very most favorite of all her craft projects, these beautiful bracelets crocheted with antique and vintage glass buttons.  

Grandma Rupp's button bracelet #1

Most of the buttons are glass, some are plastic but still very beautiful

The inside view of Grandma Rupp's Button Bracelet - pattern coming soon !

I'm posted a lot of photos of the bracelets hoping you would be able to get the feel for the way they are made.  I haven't written a pattern for these yet, I'm still trying to find a way to get the buttons to be placed where I want them to be rather than where the button thinks its position on the bracelet ought to be.  It's a lot more challenging than it first appears because of the variances in size and weight of the buttons being used. 
Here's another button bracelet my grandmother made:

As you may be able to see that the only stitches used to make this bracelet are 5 ch st and a sc in the next ch 5 loop.  Looks easy right?

I tried to position the bracelet so you could see it at another angle and how it is constructed with simple crochet stitches

I like that you can see the stitches between buttons in this view, and that you can see my favorite buttons - the small multi-colored glass ones to the left and one toward the center of the bracelet

It ought to be noted that Grandma Rupp used an elastic crochet thread - where she found this foil-wrapped elastic thread I'll never know, I've been searching for something similar to it for a long time.  I find the elastic crochet thread fairly easily but I'd prefer to use something more fancy than the ones I've come across.   I think Granda Rupp's choice of the gold foil wrapped thread was perfect for the bracelets it really pretties them up even more than just the buttons which are beautiful in themselves.

Obviously the pattern is simple:  ch 5, sc in next loop, the question lies in the button placement so I am working on figuring that out.  It would be easier to see if I wasn't distracted so much so often, lol.  (2 dogs, 3 cats, a really cute physical therapist, a very handsome occupational therapist, a fairly tall, and dark and handsome registered nurse, and a social worker who all come different days, different times of the the week.  Oh yea, throw in phone calls and me catching up on stupid cell phone games. )  I want it to be easy so I'm probably making it too hard and when I get frustrated I have to put it down and walk away to clear my head.  A lot can happen to make me forget to go back to it and there it may lay on the dining room table for days, quietly waiting for me to finish what I started with it.  I'm not very good at sticking with one thing till it's done, I don't know about you but I have quite a few crochet projects waiting for me to "get back to them".

Hopefully a pattern will be coming soon, or one of you will figure it out so that the buttons lay nicely as they do on these bracelets and post it.  If that happens, please come to this post and share your pattern link in the comments below.

Thanks for coming with me for a blast to the past.  Have a blessed day!

Crochet Motif Patterns (Japanese)

I've been slacking on blog posting and the promise of Japanese crochet motif patterns.  Hopefully these will make up for my neglect, enjoy and let me know what you plan to make with one or more of these..

Note: If you want to print these out it's best to right click on the image and download it to your hard drive and print it from there.

Note (last one lol) if you pray and believe God answers prayers, please scroll to bottom for an important prayer request, thank you, God bless you.

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On a personal note; I  met a woman on the bus tonight, her name is Denise.  We got to talking and she ended up telling me a horrible story about her 6 year old grand daughter, whom she was heading up to see at the hospital near my house here in Las Vegas.  Long story short, apparently the little girl was pushed out of a two-story window by her aunt who had her for the weekend - and the little girl sustained major brain trauma and a massive skull fracture.  She's recovering quickly from two surgeries but the perpetrator in this case needs to be brought to justice for the little girl's sake.  God sees it fit to heal her, (Thank you God!) let's give God a little nudge (or a big one!) to make sure the person, whomever it turns out to be, who did this to her won't be able to hurt her or any other child again.  Thank you for your prayers, God bless you and .  *The little girl's name is Jalynn.*  Thanks again, I know God will hear our prayers.

Another Way To Learn Symbols

Here's another way you might find easier to learn the symbols used in charted patterns for crochet projects.  It's only the basics but the images clearly show the symbols and what they mean to you as you crochet.  This is especially for those brand new to symbols and charted patterns.

I found these images in my files and thought they may be useful to someone just starting out.  If you have any questions feel free to post in the comments below.
Have a blessed day

Japanese Motifs With Charted Patterns #31-44

Here are more Japanese crochet motifs I promised you, with the charted patterns for each.

  I posted most of the chart symbols in an earlier post called "Teach Yourself How To Read Charted Crochet Patterns"  so don't let the charts intimidate you if you've never tried using them before.  I found the charts to be much easier and faster to get through than a written pattern.


A Note On Printing The Images:
 The side bars on this blog put a lot of restrictions on images and they may overlap into them and I don't know how your printer would handle this overlapping, if it does occur.  To get a clean print of each image, right click on the image you want to print and choose "view image".  This ought to open a window (or tab) where you can see only the image you clicked on.  From there you can enlarge the image to it's original size so you can actually see the chart symbols without squinting!  YAY!  
Now that you see only the image you want, once again right click on the image and choose "save image as.." so you can save it to your hard drive.   The image will be  is saved you can use your computer's image manager to print it out.  Or you can do what I usually do (to save paper and ink).  I don't bother printing the patterns, I just leave them on my computer and use my computer as a pattern reader, organizer, - a virtual storage for all the patterns I hoard and I can also keep track of all the WIP I have going on at any given time (which is something I try not to pay too much attention to, ha ha)

 If you make anything using the motifs I've posted - or even dream up what you'd like to do with the motifs, leave your ideas in the comment boxes with the number(s) of the motif(s) that you chose for  your project.  I'm thinking about adding a link with my email (yikes! Scary!) so you can send me photos of your creations and I can post them periodically as they come in.  It's just a thought right now so don't look for an email button yet.  heh heh...

Enjoy these beautiful motif patterns, I love to browse through them and just look at them for motivation and inspiration - they're so beautiful.  Japanese crocheters have a marvellous talent with hook and yarn or thread.  I've been discovering the advanced crochet techniques used in other countries besides Japan and am very impressed and amazed by their creations and designs.  I'll be sharing more and more of our crocheters across the seas in upcoming posts.

Have a very blessed day! 

 -------Speaking Out because if I don't say anything I might as well be helping the terrorists myself------------------------

Warning:  The following is getting political and speaks out about Mr. Obama.  If you find this to be offensive to you please stop here.  If you don't want to be blind to what our own president has done, continue reading.  I will not debate anything I write below this paragraph.  Everything stated here is true and factual and can be backed up with actual video and documentation that the Egyptians are happy to share with us.   The rest of it is my opinion and is not debatable because I said so.  I've never been so outspoken about anything political my whole life.  I never saw a need.  Today I see that silence and ignoring what is going on could have terrifying effects on our country as we have always known it. 

Keep the beautiful country Egypt and her people in your prayers please.  They are being tormented by Muslim Brotherhood extremists - terrorists.  My Egyptian friend who resides in Egypt tells me much about what goes on there.  She is a beautiful woman who tries to help America by telling us what our own president has done that aided the extremists of the MB.  Egyptians do not hold Americans accountable for Obama's actions and refusals to take action.  They only hold Obama himself responsible for much of what is happening in their country today.  My friend and most other Egyptians have been trying very hard to warn us, to show us, to tell us what Obama has done and what his intentions are, for months and months - maybe longer but I only know it as being the past six months or so. 
I will not sit by and do nothing and say nothing.  Since I can't pick up an assault riffle and go to Egypt myself to help ward off the terrorists and stop them in their tracks, I feel it is my duty as an American to speak out and try to get the word out, try to get people to react and do something so that what is happening in Egypt doesn't end up happening here in America.  They terrorized us once, on 9-11.  They continue to keep our sense of terror heightened by building a mosque at Ground Zero, organizing a million Muslim  march to Washington DC - on 9-11, and on and on the list goes. 

(below is mostly my opinions but they are based on facts)

I am not a hater of anyone's religion (except that of the Satanic cult, I suppose).  I do my best to practice tolerance, patience, and acceptance of the views of others especially their religion.  It is the terrorists I hate, the Muslim Brotherhood extremists who have vowed to kill all who don't convert to Muslim because "god" told them this is what they must do.  In the name of their "god". 
President Bush did great things after the attack on 9-11.  He brought our country together as one: United we stood.  There were no Republicans, Democrats, whites, blacks, browns... We were all Americans and we all stood by our flag and our Constitution and by our President.  President Bush stepped up to the plate and did everything necessary to make sure we would be safe, that we would feel safe once again, that the people responsible for the attacks that day would be held accountable and, well, that we were going to kick some ass!  I had great confidence and trust in President Bush.  I believed what he told us because I knew he loved our country the same as we all did. 

I do not have this same trust and confidence in our current president.  I do not believe he has our country's best interest at heart.  I do not feel safe.  I do not know that my life, liberty, and my Constitutional rights are safe and protected. 
The Egyptians are experiencing first hand what Obama has done to help the very
people he's supposed to be protecting us from.  I fear to think what he would do - if anything if we were faced with the same terrorism that Egypt is facing today.  

Again, please keep Egypt and her people in your prayers and pray hard that enough Americans take heed to what Egypt is telling us and something is done to stop the terrorists - and Obama - before they turn on America.

Crochet: Another Idea For Bag Handles

I have made and sold or given away a ton of crocheted bags.  I was using the Fat Bottom Bag pattern for most of them, it was easy since I had the pattern memorized. 

I really enjoyed being creative with the bags, with the lining, embellishments, yarn colors, etc.  What I didn't enjoy was seeing the prices of bag handles shoot through the roof at Joanne's.  (Michaels no longer carries bag handles, I'm sure you already know). 

I couldn't afford to spend ten dollars on just the handles alone so I started getting creative there too.  Joanne's had unfinished rattan wooden handles that were only $2.99.  (They're 4" rounds)   For each handle I used a single crochet all the way around the handle, keeping my stitches tight so it would look neat and not bunch up when the bag was being used.  Here's a close up of what the handles ended up looking like and I think they came out pretty good.  (This is the bag my doctor's wife chose and purchased from me.)

Note:  The yarn, so pretty, is Deborah Norville (now Premier Everyday Soft Yarn) in Toasted Marshmallow. 

And the bag:

I found that shell button at Michaels and made a flap with a button hole in it for closure.  The shell, yarn, and lining all together was striking. 

This bag cost a total of only $15.00 to make; I sold it for $65.00.

Do you have any ideas for bag handles that would save in the cost of materials for your crocheting?

Have a blessed day!

Japanese Crochet Tiny Flowers

Here's a sampling of some of the Japanese Crochet I posted on Pinterest tonight...
I'm not posting the graphic pattern for it here because it doesn't fit the window because of the sidebars.  If you want the graphic pattern for these flowers go to my Pinterest page and find the Japanese Crochet board.  (Clicking the link will open a new window)  There you'll find the photo (same as below) Plate 48 and near it ought to be the Graphics Plate 48 which has the patterns on it.

Enjoy!  I think these are SO beautiful!  What would you use them for?

Japanese Crochet Flowers Plate 48

Have a blessed day!

Japanese Crochet - Tiny Flowers and Bows With Diagrams

I promised to post a few every day, here you go...  There's more on my Pinterest Board "Japanese Crochet".  It's probably easier to print from the Pinterest site rather than from this blog site due to the size of the .jpg file, running over into my sidebars.

I love these little flowers, so pretty.  I've made them using a size 6 or 7 steel crochet hook and size 10 crochet thread.  They can also be made using a size A or B hook and a size 3 crochet thread.  I haven't tried making them with a worsted weight (4) yarn but I'm sure they would come out fine using an F or G hook to keep the stitches tight and neat looking.

Enjoy!

There are many tutorials or directions for how to read diagrams, you don't have to be able to read Japanese to create these cuties. 

Japanese Crochet Motifs

I don't know about you but I'm fascinated by Japanese crochet.  They create such beautiful, lacy and sometimes intricate crochet, I just can't resist sharing it with you. 

If you don't already have a Pinterest account, go get one.  Really.  It's a great place to search for and then browse through thousands upon thousands of crochet images for inspiration.  I've found that most images on Pinterest for crochet are linked to a pattern that is usually free.

I've been posting my Japanese treasures on Pinterest.  You'll see images of beautiful edgings and motifs that have a graphic pattern that you can follow.  Most of the Japanese crochet is made using crochet thread.  You can use a size 10 crochet thread with a size 7 steel crochet hook or I like to use a size 3 crochet thread with a size B hook.  You can adjust your hook or thread according to the effect and size of finished product that you desire.

Most Japanese books are full of so many beautiful patterns and thanks to the graphics you don't have to be able to read Japanese.  The books also have many photo tutorials that demonstrate stitch techniques.  I promise you that a Japanese crochet pattern book is a great investment. 

Here's an example of a Japanese pattern I posted for you on Pinterest:

Pretty, right?  This is just one example of the beautiful Japanese crochet I have in store for you.  Go to my Pinterest page and look for the board called Japanese crochet. I just created this board so check back often because it will be growing everyday.  It is a painstaking task, to ready these images to post on Pinterest so it may seem slow but that's why.  I'll try to do a little everyday, like I said.  If you follow the board you'll be notified of a new pin, just make sure you have that option checked in your settings on Pinterest.

Hope you like this pattern page.  There's a lot more coming.

Have a blessed day, smile and bless someone else's day!

A So. Cal. Winter Scarf Pattern

Here's a pattern - really easy - for a scarf that can be worn almost all year round.  It's especially good for a southern California winter when you don't need a ton of warmth because - even though you're standing in the snow, the sun is shining and warm.  The scarf is light and airy but provides just enough warmth and style for a nice winter day.

Pattern: So Cal Winter Scarf

Pattern Note:  V-Stitch is (DC, ch 1, DC) all in the specified stitch


I ball bulky yarn.  I used Sensations Angel Hair available at Joann's.
Size S crochet hook

Row 1: ch 13, sc in second chain from hook and in each ch across  (12 sc)
Row 2: Turn,  ch 4, dc in first sc (beg V-stitch) *skip 2 sc, V-stitch in next sc  three times. Dc in last sc. ch 1 turn.

Row 3: sc in each dc and ch 1 space across.

Repeat rows 2 and 3 until scarf is desired length.  I found 1 ball of angel hair was the perfect length scarf.

You can reserve the end of the ball and use the remaining yarn to make fringe for each end of your scarf.  Either way it looks great.

I used a partially used ball of angel hair to make a cowl, using the same pattern and just slip stitching the ends together to form a circular scarf.

This is more for looks than warmth, although it does keep the back of my neck warm.  ;-)