Meet more makers in the November/December 2026 feature.
The reason Barb Woodruff knows how to crochet is simple: “Our teacher in seventh grade … thought we needed to know how to do something,” she laughs. “I got so good so fast, I ended up finishing the teacher’s projects.”
Unwittingly, her teacher at Good Shepherd Catholic School had tapped into Woodruff’s deep well of creativity. “My mother was an artist. Everybody in our relation are artists. … I’ve always painted, but when I’m sitting at home watching TV, I need something to do because I’m an overachiever,” she jokes.
So, when Woodruff isn’t painting detailed decorative home finishes via her business of nearly three decades, Just Faux It, she’s sitting in her East Side living room, a crochet hook in her hand, a ball of yarn in her lap, and a British murder mystery playing in the background. “My brain never shuts down. It’s like my creativity won’t stop,” she says.
The result is Looped! Her line of soft, colorful crocheted items includes hats, scarves, handbags, sweaters, ornaments, fingerless gloves, and even teddy bears and rabbits. She sells her wares at area crafts events like September’s Vanderburgh County Extension Homemakers Fine Arts & Craft Show. “The big thing is the sweaters, but then you start seeing all this other little fun stuff, like the bandanas for the dogs,” she says, so canine crochet works have joined her inventory.
Woodruff likes bright, bold colors and patterns that catch the eye, including hers. “I saw this lady … wearing my sweater one day, and I was like, ‘Oh my God, that is so pretty. … Oh my God, I made that,’” she laughs.
She also enjoys knitting, cross-stitch, and embroidery, but crocheting keeps her mind busy. “I always have a bag in the car,” she says. That way, her creative process is less interrupted. “It’s an extension of an idea: ‘Oh, I made this. That’s cool. Let’s make something else,’” she says. “It’s just fun to see what I come up with.”
Bottoms Up!
Barb Woodruff is known for her infectious wit, so of course she’d land on a clever business name that reflects her creative process and a favorite pastime. “I had a drink and got looped!” she jokes.
