mmm lovely colours – might be having a go at this one – crochet afghan
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afghan
Baby Starghan (Star Afghan) by Beth Espina-Cole [this image by photojenic] My friend made this recently and I am tempted to give it a go myself.
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Welcome to Norah Gaughan the head designer behind the team at Berocco yarn, and author of Comfort Knitting and Crochet: Afghans
From the simplest mimicry of woven structures using basic stitches to more elaborate coverlets embellished with embroidery, looking to traditional textiles provided a great starting point for many of the pieces in Comfort Knitting and Crochet Afghans.
Herringbone and Houndstooth tweeds from the British Isles are interpreted with cables and stranded color work mimic houndstooth. The Spool shapes, pieced triangles and simple squares of American patchwork quilt patterns, easily translated to knitting and crochet, yield a great variety patterns.
These, in turn, can easily be modified by the individual needleworker to reflect their own taste in colors and fit into their own home. Looking to mud clothes from Mali, kilims from Turkey and flotaki from greece helped to broaden the design vocabulary, affecting colors choices and adding fun elements.
Thanks so much Norah – its a lovely book, with winter coming up here in the southern hemisphere, I will be making a cosy afghan for sure – will try that crochet circles one above – love it.
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I love this afghan by Lucy from the Attic – so beautiful. Here is how to make your own.
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Under Cover: 60 Afghans to Knit and Crochet
I was really disappointed in this book and very sad to say that I just couldn’t love it. I tried to look at from a different perspective but as you will see from my review it just had too many things wrong with it.
First up the practicalities – the rugs/afhans in this book are mostly crochet – out of the 60 patterns there are only about 15 for knitters – while this is fine for me (a crocheter) knitters beware. Each pattern includes a difficulty rating, finished measurements, gauge, instructions, tips for finishing, a materials list, diagrams and a full page photo. Some of the photos are of the whole afghan, but some of them only show some of the detail. I think that while this might add to the aesthetic of the book, it isn’t always helpful to the crafter that would like to see what the whole afghan looks like before they start or while they are knitting or crocheting to see if they are on the right track.
One thing that bugged me is that each pattern has only one page allocated to it, and if the pattern is longer than one page, then the reader is instructed “(continued on page xx)”. I find it tedious to have to flick to the back of the book and find the relevant page, especially if I have a crochet hook and project in one hand and am having to navigate a book with the other. On the other hand, this book has nice spiral wire binding, which sits flat and stays put while it is open and being used.
Most of the projects in this book are fairly traditional as far as stitch use, colour choices and afghan designs. There are afghans that are casual or more formal looking, and a section of blankets for babies and children. I personally found the colours and yarns used very uninspiring – and many of the patterns – well to be frank quite boring.
If you are a hard core afghan fan and must own every book on the subject – then this book may inspire you. If you are new to crochet and knitting, make sure that you have someone to help you along the way or a good crochet or knitting resource, as this book does not offer anything in the way of general instruction, although it does have an abbreviation guide.
About the author: Kate is a busy mother of three (soon to be four) and has far too many craft projects on the go at any one time. These could include, but are not limited to, crochet, sewing, dyeing, paper making, spinning, felting and bookbinding. Kate has challenges in the areas of finishing things, saying no and craft supplies storage. She also has a very very patient and tolerant husband.
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