The Afghan

Nancy wanted to make an afghan, so we went to the store to buy the yarn. She picked up a little booklet with afghan designs and was disappointed that there were no afghans using the granny stitch. "The granny stitch? What's that?" I asked. She explained that it was the stitch used to make granny squares. I told her that it wasn't called the "granny stitch", it was called a double crochet. She looked in the booklet and decided not to make an afghan, because she didn't know how to do the stitches called for in the patterns. I told her not to worry, I would teach her.

She bought the yarn and the booklet and we went back to her home. I showed her the different stitches and how to make them. Some time later, a few weeks maybe, she showed me what she had finished. It was, in her own words, terrible. It was about 52 inches wide by 24 inches long and the thing was turning into a lopsided triangle. I explained that she needed to keep counting the stitches because she was adding stitches at each end. I told her the only way to fix it was to start over. She ripped the whole thing out. Dang it!

Several weeks went by. She told me she had lost the booklet. Couldn't find it anywhere. Tore the house up looking for it. So, back to the store to find another book. This afghan was beginning to take over her life. I suggested that she make something else, but she was determined to make it and make it correctly.

I have the afghan now. She never got to finish it. I'm finishing it for her. I'm making another pattern, though. It's called the "Granny Ripple". It's the standard ripple pattern, but made with the classic "granny stitch", the three double crochets that make up the granny square pattern.

I think she would have liked it.

When I'm finished, I'm going to give it to Teresa. I think she would have liked that, too.