Tuesday, January 08, 2008

Giant Granny Afghans

When Bob and I got married, my grandmother made us an afghan with the little granny squares - in shades of greens, orange and gold. OK - so those colors were popular in the early 70's. As out of style as the colors are, I still have that afghan in a basket in my family room. The yarn is kind of scratchy and it doesn't get used much, but it's there. Since September, I've completed six of this same basic style - only now the rage is GIANT Granny squares. Basically, you just start with a ring and build on it, round after round until the blanket is as big as you want. I've found that 45 rounds is just about a perfect size. You can change colors as often as you want - establishing whatever pattern suits your style. I've also come to love the Vanna's Choice Yarns by Lion Brands. The colors are so subtle and the yarn is very soft - perfect for some major snuggling on a cold winter evening. I find myself going through the Sunday paper, looking to see if Michael's or Hobby Lobby have it on sale and when they do - LOOK OUT! This photo shows a finished afghan. It's folded, so you can't judge the size - but you can get an idea of how the rounds work. In the second photo, you can see how I did random things with my pattern.





A lot of people make these smaller and call them lapghans. I read on one crochet blog where she made the lapghan, tied it with a ribbon and included a loaf of banana bread for her friends for Christmas gifts. Hmmmmm - I may have to think along that line for next year. (Or is that a little toooooo Martha Stewart?)

I currently have two afghans in the works - one for a wedding shower gift (lots of funky colors) and another for our High School Athletic Booster Silent Auction - (purple and gold) both due in March.

Here's the pattern if anyone is interested. It's become a favorite of mine for it's simplicity.

Afghan Squared Lion Brand® Vanna's Choice

HOOK SIZE: J

COLOR SEQUENCE: Work (1 rnd each of A, B, C, D, A, C, B, A, D, B, C).To keep Afghan square, join new color in a different corner on each round. (Remember: you can use as many colors and whatever sequence you choose - see above photos).

AFGHAN With A, ch 4, sl st in beg ch to form a ring.Rnd 1: Ch 3 (counts as dc), 2 dc in ring, ch 2, (3 dc in ring, ch 2) 3 times, sl st in top of ch-3. Fasten off.Rnd 2: Join B with sl st in any ch-2 sp, ch 3, 2 dc in same sp, ch 2, 3 dc in same sp, ch 1, (3 dc, ch 2, 3 dc, ch 1 in next ch-2 sp) 3 times, sl st in top of ch-3. Fasten off.Rnd 3: Join C with sl st in any corner ch-2 sp, ch 3, 2 dc in same sp, ch 2, 3 dc in same sp, ch 1, 3 dc in next ch-1 sp, ch 1, [(3 dc, ch 2, 3 dc, ch 1) in next ch-2 sp, 3 dc, ch 1 in next ch-1 sp] 3 times, sl st in top of ch-3. Fasten off.Rnd 4: Join next color of color sequence with sl st in any corner ch-2 sp, ch 3, 2 dc in same sp, ch 2, 3 dc in same sp, ch 1, 3 dc in next ch-1 sp, ch 1, 3 dc in next ch-1 sp, ch 1, [(3 dc, ch 2, 3 dc, ch 1) in next corner ch-2 sp, 3 dc, ch 1 in next ch-1 sp, 3 dc, ch 1 in next ch-1 sp] 3 times, sl st in top of ch-3. Fasten off.Rnds 5-36: Continue as established, adding one more (3 dc, ch 1) each side every rnd and changing color every rnd according to color sequence above.Rnd 37: With D, work as established.Rnds 38 and 39: With D, ch 1, work sc evenly spaced around outside edge of Afghan, working 3 sc in each corner, join with sl st in beg ch. Fasten off.

FINISHING: Weave in ends.

3 comments:

Arlette said...

This may as well be in Chinese. I can crochet but I sure can't read the instructions!!!!

They are beautiful!!

Patty Knight said...

If we get a rainy day at sea, I'll teach you!

Arlette said...

I know how to make them, I just can't read the instruction. You could teach me to read..... :-)