I'm calling this one the Birthday Afghan because I made it for myself for my birthday, purchasing the wool with money that I received from my family for said birthday.
I saw these four colours in a ball of varigated wool from Patons and unfortunately it's been my experience that when I try to make something with varigated wool it always looks better wrapped up as a skein, than as a project. So, I was really happy when I realized the colours in the varigated mix were also available from Patons in separate skeins. I just love how they look together!
The colours are Patons Decor in
Pale Sage Green, Pale Aubergine, Aran, and
Taupe. The pattern is based on the
Float Away Scarf which can be found here:
http://www.knittingdaily.com/freepatterns/crochet/Float_away222-1.html. I put in a couple extra repeats of the pattern to make it wider and changed colours after every three rows. It took two skeins of each colour, so a total of eight balls of wool were bought.
Just for a time reference, I started working on this during the last two weeks of February. My birthday is March 1, and I just finished it last night (April 23). Not bad, although I ambitiously started it thinking I would actually have it done by my birthday. Hey, at least I got it done before my
next birthday!
While I've done lots of crocheting in the round, including several round ripple afghans, this is the first time I've actually crocheted a large project where I had to work in rows and turning chains. As you can see, I actually managed to keep things even and didn't lose or gain any unwanted stitches, which is usually what happens when I'm working in rows.
Sorry, I can't seem to stop taking pictures of this thing. The boyfriend and I ended up taking over 40 shots, trying to get the camera to give us an accurate representation of the colours. (Thank goodness for digital cameras, at least we weren't wasting film) I think these pics show the blankets true colours best.
What you can't tell from the picture is that the blanket is very soft and it's also going to be quite warm, which will be nice for snuggling up in front of the TV in winter. The Patons Decor is a wonderful wool to crochet with. I was really impressed with how easy it was to work with, no fraying or splitting.
Thanks for looking!
