Back to the Future

I’m calling my first crocheted project of 2013 “Back to the Future” and when you see the pictures you will understand why.

This is a bit of a long story, so grab a cup of coffee and read on. The year was 1970 and my younger sister Kathy wanted to learn how to crochet.  Kathy made a mistake that new crocheters often make; she started with a project that was way too big, a granny square afghan consisting of 24 large motifs, then she became discouraged, or got tired of the project or both.  At any rate, she put the unfinished project aside.

At some point she turned the project over to our Mother for completion but Mother never completed the project. Mother passed away on September 5^th 2012, and while going through her things we found the unfinished project.  I took the motifs home and told my sis that I would finish the afghan for her, 42 years after it was started.

When I got to looking at the motifs I discovered what Mother had mostly likely discovered.  Kathy had made a very common mistake, when attaching a new color of yarn; she attached it to the wrong side. Quite a few of the motifs are done this way.  Mother was a perfectionist when it came to crochet. She could not tolerate a mistake. My best guess is that Mother planned on taking the motifs apart and make them right.  I noticed several short strands of yarn in the sack that housed the project, but for some reason, she never finished.

I on the other hand can tolerate a few mistakes. I told Kathy what I discovered, but that I do not intend to fix her mistakes. They are part of the personality of the motifs. I have four more motifs to complete and then I’ll stitch the motifs together, add a border, and present the granny square afghan to my sister some 40 years after it was started.

Here are some pictures of the motifs. When I have the afghan stitched together, I’ll show you a picture of the finished object. It is indeed a blast from the past.