Second-Chance Afghan

The Second-Chance Afghan will be my first-ever blanket, and has a cute back story.

The yarn, which I eventually determined to be named "Country Print," was given to me by my mother, who originally purchased it with the intention to crochet an afghan as a wedding present for a good friend of mine. Unfortunately, a few rows in, she determined that it was intolerably ugly, and had to gift plan B.

Well, I went crying to her near the beginning of March, because I've been zipping through crochet projects so quickly that I had nothing to sink my hook into. This is how I inherited a very heavy bag of yarn and a Q-hook.

I vowed to try out different patterns until I found one that brought out the beauty of the yarn, and assumed that if I could not, there were charities that would appreciate it regardless.

Fortunately, it is actually working up rather nicely! I chose a pattern from a booklet, Leisure Arts #75029, Quick and Easy Q-Hook Afghans. The pattern is called Comforting, by Mary Ann Sipes, although I have modified it a bit, adding symmetrical rows of single crochet into the pattern.

This was for two reasons; 1) the pattern ideally calls for two colours of yarn and not one variegated, which meant that I was doing a lot of work for a heavily diminished effect, and 2) it lessons the time-spent and allows the pattern to pop.

The pattern is worked double-stranded, which I've never done before, and with a hook much larger than I've ever used, so it has been a wonderful learning experience and confidence booster.

Because of the colouring, which isn't looking too shabby, I may gift it to my Grandmother when I'm done, as it reminds me of her.