My granny square afghan

I don't even like the word afghan, but I'm using it here because it just fits.  You know what I mean? This isn't a blanket and it's not a throw, per se.  It's crochet and in my mind most afghans are crocheted.  So I'm going with afghan, which I like and don't like all at the same time.  The word, that is.  The actual thing that I made - I like it quite a lot.

Started in July 2007 and finished just this past week, this has been one a handful of very large scale, tedious and expensive projects that have been sitting around the house waiting for me to feel inspired enough to tackle them.  I've worked on it in fits and starts, but seeing Blair's scarf really pushed me to its end and I am so glad that I dug it all out and just got it done.

It's made of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran.  I am not sure what the colors are - all the yarn tags are long gone.  I also can't tell you how much yarn it took.  I have some left over and don't remember exactly how much of each color I started with three years ago.  I can tell you that I learned how to make this type of granny square from the book Simple Crochet by Erika Knight and that I used this tutorial (via Blair) to join the squares together.  The joining was the part of the project I had been dreading the most, but it really went fairly fast and smooth thanks to the tutorial.  It's made of 63 squares, laid out in a 7 x 9 grid - the squares are about 8" square each.  I haven't measured the finished size exactly, but before I joined the squares, I did lay down on the floor next to it to ensure it was large enough for a couch nap.  It is - I took it on a test run Saturday and had a hard time motivating myself to get out from under it.  For the border, I pulled out Crochet Adorned by Linda Permann for inspiration. I did something similar to one of the borders in the book, tailoring it to my needs which means I totally winged it and it worked!  After it was all joined, I blocked it on the guest room bed because it was the only space big enough to lay it flat that the dog and cat wouldn't get to.  It's super cozy and soft.  And I love it.

Sometimes I wonder why I feel compelled to start these crazy big projects that I know will take forever and a day for me to complete.  I really don't have an answer, but I know that I am as excited about this afghan as I was when I started it over three years ago.  It's not perfectly made, but it is perfect for me.  I'm haven't tired of the colors or the design - that may have something to do with why I plodded on.  I'm not sure entirely the why of it all, but I am so happy with the what.  This finished afghan is so very me, if you know what I mean.  I'm glad I saw it through to the end.

And since I'm on a roll of finishing what I've started.....single girl quilts, you're next.