Thin Blue Line Scarf Pattern

Today begins National Police Week and is also Police Memorial Day. In honor of all of those who have served or are currently serving I whipped up a super simple thin blue line crochet scarf pattern.

In addition to writing, I also spend quite a bit of time crafting. I especially love to crochet, which I learned a little over 10 years ago. Scarves are my favorite item to crochet, basically because they don't require much thought. I like simple stitched scarves where I can sit down and watch a TV show (or 10 if I'm binge-watching on Hulu) and not have to pay too much attention to the pattern.

This pattern, in particular, is perfect for a beginner crocheter. The only tricky part might be the color change, but it shouldn't be too difficult for you. Rescued Paws Design has a great tutorial on how to color change.

Thin Blue Line Beginner Scarf

Materials

• 5.5 mm (I) hook for scarf body (black)
• 6.0 mm (J) hook for stripe (blue) 
• 1 skein of black yarn
• several yards of blue yarn
• yarn needle

Abbreviations/Crochet Stitches

• st: stitch
• ch: chain
• sc: single crochet
• color change

Instructions 
Using  I hook and black yarn, ch 240 (or your preferred length).
Foundation Row: Sc in 2nd ch from hook and each ch to end. (239 sts)
Row 1: Ch 1 and turn. Sc in each ch st to the end.
Rows 2-4: Ch 1 and turn. Sc in each st until the end.
Row 5: Change to blue yarn and J hook. Ch 1 and turn. Sc in each st to end.
Row 6: Change to black yarn and I hook. Ch 1 and turn. Sc in each st to end.
Row 7-14: Ch 1 and turn. Sc in each st to end. Fasten off.
Finishing: Weave in all ends and you are finished.

© 2017 Elissa Kane
Items made using my patterns & tutorials are for personal use only and can not be sold for profit. Thanks!

Getting my writing mojo back

For the past several months I just haven't had the energy (or drive) to really do anything, let alone write. I've had quite a rough start to 2017, including having to put to sleep my cat of 13 years. It has been a chore to really accomplish anything lately.

After doing a ton of research over Christmas break I really haven't touched my book at all this year.  That goes double for blogging. So, how do I get my writing mojo back?

Well, late last year I decided I was going to focus 100% of my time on my time-travel book and publish it at the end of the year. But after giving it a lot of thought I decided that it would be better for me to really make the push to get my mystery novel, A Deadly Melody, done. My time-travel book spans 300+ years and really requires a lot of research. My mystery is pretty cut and dry.

I also was inspired to jump back into my mystery novel after signing up for the local Citizens Police Academy. It has been an amazing 9 weeks of learning all about law enforcement, participating in hands on training classes, and even shooting a machine gun. It was a ton of fun and very informative.

I will also be participating in JuNoWriMo this year, which I have not been successful in completing in the past. So next month will be the month for me to focus on getting the first draft of A Deadly Melody completely done! 

I've got a checklist on my sidebar of everything I need to get done before I start JuNoWriMo. One of the items that I've completed is my novel playlist. I NEED a novel playlist. It is the one thing that keeps me focused on the novel, characters, and story.

I use Spotify and my iTouch for my playlists. I LOVE Spotify and the folks at Spotify make it so easy to set up playlists for everything. I do currently pay for the premium version. It is about $10 a month, which isn't too bad, but my purse strings will be tighening soon so this might be something that I have to give up. I really hope not, though!

If you want to take a listen to my playlist you can check it out, here. It features a lot of rockin' female singers. My main character is a rock star, after all! :)