I FINISHED SOMETHING. More importantly, I finished something that is, quite literally, the WIP that has been in progress for the longest time I’ve ever known.
See, this afghan has a story behind it.
My mother, as she is wont to do, likes to give me things as she’s finished with them. I have a Jello mold with various inserts (and I am really tempted to unleash some wiggly fun on my friends—that sounded better in my head). I have some epic crewel work pieces that I really want to work and probably will in the near future. I had fondue forks, but I might have ditched them, I can’t remember.
At least the first color repeat and maybe a few more rows of this were crocheted by my mom. I’m guessing she started working on this shortly after she bought the kit—oh yes, this came as a kit.
Produced by Yarn Kits, Inc., out of New York—a company which no longer exists in any form I could find—the copyright dates on the back of this flyer range from 1971–1974.
Yep, this afghan had been in progress for at least thirty-five years. I had started working on it a couple of years ago and put it down (my problem with crochet is that I have to pay attention to the crochet work, whereas with knitting I can read or watch TV or carry on a conversation or do just about anything else, depending on the pattern). I got the urge to pick it up and crank it out after realizing how awesome it would look against the gray of my new couch.
I have no idea what the yarn is. I’m pretty sure it’s 100% acrylic, and I do know that is machine washable AND can go through the dryer, but I don’t know if it’s a commercially produced brand that worked with Yarn Kits, Inc., or if it was their proprietary yarn.
I know that my mom clearly knew what she was doing when she picked it out, because it is five shades of green, which is one of my favorite colors and has become my “theme” in my new apartment. (I also know that my mom and I have different crochet gauges but I didn’t realize that until I’d finished and I don’t particularly care.)
It’s fate, I tell you.
Out with it—what’s your longest-in-progress WIP?
Not knitting/crochet, but I have my mom’s needlepoint WIPs, many of which are older than I am. The floss is there; I’m currently working on a half-finished sampler that says SWEET DREAMS in ombre satin stitch. It will go in Hazel’s room when I’m done. Not sure how old it is except that it’s >32 years. ^_^ I love having her old kits–there are enough to keep me busy for years.
I sorted through some of my mom’s needlework projects this weekend. I have come to the conclusion that she was an incredibly ambitious woman! I am going to have to photocopy some of these patterns so I can mark all over them and make them make sense for me. I think I saw you working on the Sweet Dreams piece, or maybe a photo or something, and it will be so lovely in Hazel’s room when you finish it!
[…] First up, I finished my mom’s Crocheted Afghan. […]
You can buy that exact kit on eBay!
http://www.ebay.com/itm/111196176073?redirect=mobile
That is so awesome!
[…] in the last few years, my mom unloaded a bunch of her craft projects to me (you may remember the crochet blanket that’s half older than me). Included in these were a bunch of cross stitch and crewel sampler […]