Every year, my mom gets me to make stuff for her coworkers. Some years it's little goody bags, other years its flower pens. This year, it's afghans.

This first afghan is a lovely ripple made out of Hobby Lobby's "I Love this yarn". I really do like this yarn, it's thick and soft and just all around snuggly. I used a huge hook - J - for this and a very loose stitch, making an already soft yarn that much softer.



This second afghan I made twice, for a pair of friends. It is even brighter in real life. The red and green yarn have gold metallic thread wrapped around it for that extra sparkle. It's really a huge granny square with alternating rows. I cheated a bit. I didn't want to constantly be starting and stopping the yarn, so I changed yarn at every other corner, leaving a long ball to deal with, but better - to my mind - than constantly stopping and starting and leaving hard knots at every row. I rolled the skeins into balls and kept the balls in bowls so they wouldn't get loose and run around the floor. My cats would have enjoyed that, but I didn't want to deal with the chaos.



This is this pattern: Square Motif shawl except yellow obviously. :) I'm a sucker for shawls and this motif is similar to a quilt block, which is just up my alley.



Speaking of quilt blocks, one of my all-time favorite patterns is the Log Cabin, partly because of the variety of designs but mostly, I think, because of the simplicity of the square that can create such a complexity of design. This is my first attempt at a log cabin pattern using granny squares. It's not quite 'right' but it's close and with a couple more tries, I'm sure I can get it figured out.



And finally, a shawl based on this design: spring has sprung. It's a beautiful pattern and easy to make. I used double strand Aunt Lydia's and I had a lot of fun with the fringe. :) I like fringe. Unlike the yellow shawl, this one is more for looks than warmth, but come spring it will be nice for evenings when it's a nit chilly but not chilly enough for a jacket.