yes, another afghan. (I know!)

ok, I'm trying to stop with the afghans.  but I'm really not into the idea of crocheted clothing, and my amigurumi phase has passed.  so afghans it is.  this one started with the yarn, a cheap, wacky variegated acrylic in shades of orange, grey, and brown.  I think it was the name that got me:  "Pop Art Ombre".  (that and how cheap it was.)  but I paired it with a solid grey to try to tone down the insanity.

I used the "Park Slope" afghan pattern from the Lion Brand site, and the squares (or rather, squares and octagons) went really fast.  the part that sucked was sewing them all together.  there just didn't seem to be an efficient way to do it.  luckily it's not a very big throw, just about 38" x 60".

it's fun but it's very retro, more than I'd like.  and retro in a "back of the couch in a That 70's Show episode" kinda way, which isn't really good.  But Stoli likes it (that's his little ears peeking over the chair arm).

and it actually photographs better than it feels, being cheap acrylic yarn from Michaels (never again!)

that cat makes everything look better.

back to your crafts already in progress...

posting again...finally!

anyway... now that I'm back to having the time for these things, I thought I should first try to tackle some unfinished projects that had been languishing in the craft cupboard.  First up was a project that I didn't even know I was working on!  I had at some point bought several skeins of super-bulky white yarn (must have been on sale) and I had started crocheting it but with no real sense of purpose and shoved it in a bag and forgot about it.  Then the other day I remembered seeing these knitted poufs by Christien Meindertsma all over every design blog:

So I grabbed the biggest crochet hook I could find (I believe it's a size Q)... and doubled the yarn to get the desired bulkiness:

crocheted through an episode of Bones, and I had the first half of the cushion.  Took a break, and Stoli promptly claimed it as his new napping spot.

another episode of Bones and the crochet part was done, and then a Law & Order to whip up a pillow (filled with shredded foam) to go inside it, and voila:

not as fancy-pants as the original, but still pretty cool.  If I'd had more yarn, I would have made it taller, but this used up every inch I had to work with.  I'd also like to try knitting one, and using some really thick cotton rope instead of yarn to make it more durable.  But there's one fan who completely approves of this version...