My First-Ever Afghan!

I've been a crocheter for about 12 years now, but in all that time, I've never made an adult-sized blanket - I've made LOTS of baby blankets and other projects like hats, mittens, toys, etc.  But the idea of a full-sized blanket was quite intimidating.  And, quite frankly, I worried I wouldn't have the patience to focus on one project for the amount of time it would require.

I'm not sure what exactly made me change my mind, but when an old friend of mine got engaged, I decided I wanted to make an afghan for her wedding present.  I've always enjoyed making baby blankets for any friends & family who have kids [seriously, it takes, like, 3 seconds after my exclamation of delight before I'm picking stitches and browsing for yarns...] but this was my first-ever wedding project.  Luckily, the gal I made this for is a sweet, loving, genuine-hearted person who I know will appreciate a handmade item, so it was a good time for my first attempt ;)

Happy Wedding, Addie & Peter!

I was already nervous about my time management when it comes to crocheting, so I selected a variegated yarn, to give the blanket visual interest without adding the hassle of changing colors and weaving in extra ends.  This is "watercolor" by Red Heart, and I totally love it!  I had some left over, so I think I might make pillows for my couch at work ;)  I kept it simple, yet gave the blanket some texture, by working in a 3dc crossover pattern: 

• chain a multiple of 4 + 2, plus 1 extra for the starting chain (I did 163)
• Row 1: sc in the 2nd chain from the hook and across, chain 2 & turn (this gave me 162 sc)
• Row 2: dc in the first stitch - doing this on either end of the pattern rows will give a nice, even edge to the project.  Skip the next st, then dc in each of the following 3 stitches.  Then, dc into the stitch you skipped - this will stretch the working yarn across the 3 you just made, creating the dc crossover pattern.  Continue across the whole row, following the *skip the next st, dc in each of the following 3 stitches, then dc into the stitch you skipped.*  Dc in the last stitch, ch 1 & turn. (160 pattern stitches + 1 dc on each side = 162 stitches)
• Row 3: sc in each st across, ch 2 & turn
• Row 4: dc, *skip 1 st, dc in next 3, dc in skipped stitch* across, dc in last stitch
• Repeat rows 3 & 4 for the remainder of the project, being sure to end on an sc row, for a clean border

When I was done crocheting, weaving in the ends, and blocking the project, I added my last little touch: a personalized label I put on all of my pieces.  All in all, I'm SUPER excited to have finished a whole afghan, and I'm already dreaming about all the couches & beds I can make cozy blankets for... ;)