It’s big! It’s green! It’s mean! Ok, it’s pretty much the opposite of mean. It’s soft and fluffy and warm. And it is the secret project I alluded to last week! My friend, Mrs. G, needed an afghan in her life. She was having a lousy day awhile back. Her cat had puked and made a mess and it was a cold, dreary day to boot. Mrs. G lives on the other side of the country from me, so I couldn’t do anything all that tangible or practical on that particular day, but I was struck with the idea that a comfy afghan could alleviate one of the problems.
I had a pattern in mind that pictured an afghan made using two strands of yarn together in two slightly different shades of burgundy. The result was a sort of trompe l’oeil shimmery effect as the colors played off each other. I purchased two skeins of Caron One Pound, one in forest green and one in Kelly green because Mrs. G’s favorite color is green (as is mine!). For reasons that I now cannot remember, that original pattern wasn’t working out so well. So I switched over to my Vanna White crochet book and found an afghan she had done in bulky yarn. Two strands of worsted weight makes a pretty good equivalent to bulky weight! The two strands of yarn together make this afghan super squishy.
One of the most fun (funnest?) things about crocheting this afghan was the chance to use my ridiculously huge Q hook. I originally bought it as a toy for Rana when she was about 2. She always wanted to play with my crochet hooks but I was afraid that 1) she’d lose them or 2) she’d skewer herself with one of them. No worry of that with the Q hook. Well, she did lose it and I ended up buying another one, but then we found the first hook, so now we each have one.
From left to right: Steel hook #7, size G hook (good for almost everything), pencil, Q hook
It was fun, but really different to use. For one thing, I had just come off crocheting the lace for my peasant top, so the change in hook size was drastic. Also, since it’s plastic, it doesn’t glide through the yarn as smoothly, which fatigued my hands a little bit. Still, that can’t compare with the way I was able to race through this afghan. If you’ve read much of anything on my blog, you’ll know that, while I do enjoy the creation process, I enjoy the finished product as much or more.
I also really enjoy making things for people and it’s especially fun if it’s a surprise! I stuffed it into one of those medium sized flat-rate postal boxes and Mr. Gren mailed it off for me last weekend. I had to send it to Mrs. G’s parents’ since her apartment mail delivery is a bit dodgy. Ack, the suspense was killing me! But on Sunday, she let me know that she had received it. And she loves it! Mission accomplished! (And, Mrs. G: If the cat pukes on the afghan, machine wash cold, dry low heat. 🙂 )
Two Frogs and a Grasshopper 