Peaceful Interval Afghan

This is an afghan that I crocheted recently for a client of mine. The original was done in a dark beige colour, but I'm glad we decided on white because it really shows the edging beautifully.

The finished project was about 48" x 60", so it is a substantial blanket even though it is termed a 'throw'. I used Bernat Super Value 100% acrylic 4 ply worsted weight yarn and it came out really soft. There is just a touch of sheen to this yarn, if you know what I mean, and it really adds to the quality of the piece I think.

The border of the afghan consists of ten rows around and was not the most fun time I've ever had crocheting I can tell you that. I did quite a bit of ripping out and re-doing before I finally figured out what the instructions were telling me to do. Once I caught on it was really simple, but I would definitely call this an intermediate to advanced pattern. Not because it's difficult or uses strange stitches but because you need a doctorate in crochet translation to follow it!

All in all I was really pleased with how this turned out. I wish I could have kept it. Maybe one day I'll make one for myself.

Wave afghan

One pattern my aunt really enjoyed doing was the wave afghan. I'm pretty sure everyone in the family got at least one afghan or throw made in this pattern. My parents have a couple. Here is one that I made years ago for a friend who was having a baby:

It's a very simple pattern to do. And can be adapted to any size of yarn, needle or afghan. The original pattern calls for making pattern strips (29 stitches wide) and then sewing them together, but my aunt always used a circular needle and put spacers every 29 stitches, thus eliminating the need to sew it up at the end. Very practical was my aunt. I have made a few other afghans using this pattern and have decided to use up my 'ice cream' coloured baby yarn making an baby throw for one of my clients. So far it's working out nicely:

This pattern is limitless in what you can do. Mixing up the colours in any way...no two afghans ever need be the same. And the other nice thing about the stitch is that it always ends up soft and airy no matter what type of yarn you use.

A little time out from knitting

Spring is here so I decided to see if I could find some nice flowers in bloom. It wasn't the best day, as it's threatening to rain and quite chilly, but I managed to find a few early blossoms at the library.

Azalea

Lone tulip

Cherry blossoms

Happy daffodils

Early rhododendron