Well, I couldn’t leave well enough alone despite the wise and well-appreciated feedback from some…!). This is the final version (with border added – two rows of half-double crochet in teal).

Front

Back



Specs

– final size: 60″ x 60″ across
– yarn used: Paton’s Decor (85% acrylic, 15% wool) – 20 x 100g balls with a little bit to spare
– needles: 5″ addi turbo and 5 mm crochet hook
– started on: 21 January 2007
– finished on: 16 February 2007
– other projects completed during that time: two fuzzy winter hats, fuzzy winter scarf, felted recycled bulletin board
– other projects started/worked on during that time: Tilting at Windmills wall hanging, felted recycles sweaters, mosaic rocking chair, log cabin purse
– old episodes of Law and Order watched while completing: 115 approx 😉
– pattern by: Woolly Thoughts (Pat Ashforth) with an extra “square” and log cabin border added

I loved knitting this (although I must confess the “extra” square was starting to get a bit tedious. I would recommend it to anyway. I will be doing this pattern again (probably with only 3 colours next time around)

And… I am so happy to finally use the Paton’s yarn up… which was the albatross in my yarn collection. Funnily enough, I located the receipt for the yarn the other day – it was purchased in 1995 (at a cost of $2.99 per skein). I had thrown it aside in disgust after attempting a (lovely but frustating) sweater pattern by Kaffe Fassett. This is the third (and only successful) attempt at a pattern using it.

In the interval, it has languished, unloved and reviled, in the spare spaces/sparerooms/musty storage lockers of at least 8 apartments! (I had around that time developed a real snobbery about synthetics and the corresponding financial ability to spend more money on “luxury” yarns). So – I feel a real sense of accomplishment in finally giving the yarn a beautiful “home”.

Now off to whip up a sweater or three… . Actually, next project will be a messenger bag made out of denim cotton (which I located on sale on Friday – wrong gauge for the project – but hey, it’s a bag!).