Anyone want an afghan?

[lydy]

So, I started crocheting, again. It's been some years, but I seem to have gotten over my weird issue, and I'm currently working on a hose cozy because it's easy.

I like making afghans. They're easy, forgiving, and fun. There are a lot of interesting patterns. The problem is that those fuckers are bulky. Which means that every household has a maximum number of afghans that can reasonably fit in it. Our household is pretty well saturated, as are the households of a number of my friends. I had switched to doilies because while a doily is even less useful than yet-another-afghan, you can fit an awful lot of them in a drawer. However, I'm sufficiently rusty that I don't want to tackle a doily at the moment. They are a lot more technically challenging. So, afghan it is.

I'd like to give it to someone who has some use for it. If all you want to do is stick it in a drawer, that's actually kind of boring. But you know, as bedding for a dog kennel is a perfectly reasonable use.

Let's be clear on what I'm offering. It will be a hand-made afghan from a pattern in acrylic yarn. It will not be a work of art. It will be a lot more like a giant paint-by-number project. There is almost no creativity involved. Also, don't get all romantic about hand-made. What hand-made means is that it will take a long time, and will have visible mistakes. It is extremely unlikely to be symmetrical. Usually, my afghans are a bit wider at the bottom than the top, assuming they're worked in one piece. Acrylic yarn is wonderfully forgiving, and doesn't stain easily. If your cat throws up on it or your dog pees on it, toss it in the washing machine on hot, dry it on high, and it's probably as good as it was before. On the other hand, it's fucking plastic, and doesn't breathe all that well, so not a tactile wonderland, either. I use reasonable quality yarn, so it won't be unacceptably rough or tacky feeling, but it won't feel like silk or wool, either. It will have cat hair crocheted into it. No help for that. However, once laundered, the dander should be removed, so in all most likelihood, even if you are allergic, that will take care of that problem. It may well have strands of my hair crocheted into it, too. It's not just my cats that shed. I haven't chosen the pattern yet, and I'm terrible at colors, so if that matters to you, you need to volunteer and give me input before I buy my supplies. If you live in the Twin Cities, I'm happy to deliver it. If it needs to be mailed to you, I can do that, but you need to pay for the postage.

Please don't offer to pay me. This is for fun. I do this because I like it. My time is way more valuable to me than what you can offer. (Seriously, if you paid me $10 an hour, which is totally not enough, and paid for materials, the fucker would cost more than $200, and it is really, really not worth it.) Moreover, the quality you are going to get is not the quality one would expect from something that cost more than, you know, free.

Mean time, back to my hose cozy. Which is coming along nicely.

Comments

[quility.livejournal.com]

I could totally use an afghan. I have misplaced one of the lap blankets that lives on the couch. And we have more ppl hanging out on our couches than we used to... so making sure there are at least 2 lap blankets would be a Good Thing.

Tho I don't want to jump in line. I do not Need another lap blanket. I will not go cold. If someone else is higher in line - I'm totally good with that. But count me as interested. :) Thank you for the detailed description of what to expect. I really hope I get cat and Lydy hairs. :)

I'm happy to give input on color if I'm top of the line.

Yay useful hobbies and generous friends! :)

[ann-totusek.livejournal.com]

The hose cozy is awesomely funny! Could negotiations be made over fiber if I were to provide the yarn or do you only work in acrylic because of reactions to wool?

[lydy.livejournal.com]

Mostly, I work in acrylic because it is a) cheap and b) easy to care for. I have worked in wool, and like it quite well, but it tends to be a bit expensive and requires additional care and feeding. If you wanted to provide fiber, I could see myself doing a natural fiber afghan. I did make a woolen one, once. Actually, that one was knitted. I think it's still around someplace. I was going to give it to someone for their wedding, but it took too long and the divorce came through before the afghan. You know how these things go. I should repurpose it, provided moths haven't gotten at it. It's quite nice.

[lydy.livejournal.com]

First come, first serve? So, yep, you get an afghan. Eventually. I have yet to pick a pattern, may stop by Michael's tomorrow after work. What kind of colors are you interested in? I have a fancy to do a monochromatic, interestingly textured afghan, but that depends on what I find for patterns. If you are extra picky about color, maybe we should arrange to go yarn shopping together.

[quility.livejournal.com]

Woo hoo! I like cool colors and black. So anything in darker to bold blues, purples, greens, and/or black.

I'm sure I'll be happy with whatever you choose. Or if you want company I'd be happy to go to Michaels with you.

YAY!!! I hope you enjoy making it :) I'm sure I'll love it :)

[lydy.livejournal.com]

I went to Michaels this morning. There was this lovely acrylic yarn, all very soft and very shiny. I fell in love with the silvery grey. I've paired it up with black and a rich maroon, in the same soft and shiny yarn. I found a pattern I really like (and hopefully isn't beyond my current skill-set). If the colors sound ok, and then this one is yours, when it eventually gets all usefully tangled into cloth.

[redbird]

What is a hose cozy? Just a narrow tube?

[lydy.livejournal.com]

A tube to insulate a CPAP hose so that the heated humidity doesn't condense inside the hose, then drain into your nostrils in the middle of the night. Very disconcerting when that happens. You can buy hose cozys, though I don't know what they're actually, technically, called. Nor do I know how much they cost. Possibly not much, possibly quite expensive. More fun to crochet one, though.

So, yes, a narrow tube.

[naomikritzer]

I would love an afghan to wrap up in on chilly days while writing or watching TV. I've actually considered buying a crocheted afghan from a thrift shop. (I have lots of fleece throws but they have less character.)

It looks like this one is spoken for but if you make another one you don't wish to keep...

[skylarker.livejournal.com]

I have a spare afghan I was planning to donate to a shelter this past winter, but never found a ride to deliver it. If you could pick it up, it's yours.

[lydy.livejournal.com]

Well, it's a long summer. Shall I put you in queue? Do you have any preferences I should know about? I flatly refuse to work in the color orange, I hate orange with a passion.

[naomikritzer]

Please do put me in the queue. I would prefer to avoid pastel pink but other than that, I'm not fussy.

[lydy.livejournal.com]

No pink, no orange. I can do that. It'll be a while.

[naomikritzer]

Well, given that you're offering up a free hand-crocheted afghan, if you wind up taking several years, getting tired of crochet, or deciding that you'd rather give first dibs to Carol....any of that is your prerogative and I will not complain!

[thursdaysisters.livejournal.com]

I'll trade you crochet for music based on an SPN prompt.

[lydy.livejournal.com]

I have no idea what this means. Sorry. What is an SPN prompt, and what type of music would it be likely to generate?

[cakmpls.livejournal.com]

You can add us to the line, should you care to go on working on these. We are trying not to use the heat more than we have to. (And that will not have changed by next fall, I'm sure, so time is not critical.)

[lydy.livejournal.com]

And I think this is a wrap. Gods know when you'll get yours, if you get it by Christmas I'll be bloody pleased with myself. Any preferences I should take into account? I don't do orange, and I don't do granny squares.

[cakmpls.livejournal.com]

Greens, blues, purples are always nice. Or brown and green desert-y shades.

[bibliofile.livejournal.com]

For future reference, there's various charities that take handmade blankets for kids. And for the name if not terribly practical, there's also Afghans for Afghans (natural fibers only).

[(Anonymous)]

Happy Birthday Lydia! I love you and your squishy brain. I love your ability to use words. I think you are a very clever woman with many gifts. I hope you had a lovely birthday. ~anna li