Well, I have taken a break from knitting for a while to crochet a bit, even thought the new knitting method is going well. I’m going to stick with continental knitting (see previous post for more details). I decided to start a ripple afghan for myself after making one for a friend of mine (pictures are still stuck in my camera; I’ll have them up soon), which took me exactly one week and one day to make. I used a size K crochet hook and used the Soft Waves pattern from Jan Eaton’s 200 Ripple Stitches, so it went really fast. I decided to use the Pink Ripple pattern from the same book, which still uses the double crochet, but varies the stitch a bit. I love the colors I picked: pink, blue, yellow, white, and a variegated yarn that has all of the other four colors. My mom got a new camera, so she took a picture of me working on my afghan. She’s kind of mad that I am using the same color scheme for my blanket that she used to make an adorable granny square blanket, but that’s what happens when you shop together. (Love you, mom! See, I said your blanket was adorable.)

So I guess you could say I’m addicted to ripples right now. I understand why it was my grandma’s favorite type of blanket to make. There is something mesmerizing about making a ripple; the soft rise and fall of the pattern is like watching the waves of the ocean on a calm day, slowly increasing and decreasing, washing across the sand in a different pattern each time. Crocheting is like watching the ocean.

I’m also crocheting some squares to donate to a yarn shop in Virginia that is putting together blankets for the families affected by the Virginia Tech tragedy. Since ASU’s colors are maroon and gold, I already had some maroon yarn lying around. I need to make squares in black, white, and maroon (the other school color for VT is orange, but I don’t stock orange. I’m not sure why cause I love orange). I have been making simple 8×8 granny squares. The granny square is timeless, classic, and heart-warming. It comes from a timeless tradition of grannies making squares, which gives it grandmotherly warmth. Since the squares will be interspersed amongst fancier squares knitted/crocheted by other people, my squares will be the subdued, yet comforting squares on the blankets. I have 9 squares and I plan on making at least 12-15 to send off by the end of May.

Oh yeah, I have my last final tomorrow. Of course I have been doing all of this crocheting to take my mind off of it: procrastiknitting. It’s an essay final, so there really is no way to prepare for it. I hate essay finals; they are so unpredictable and I hate that. Oh well, almost done.