Squaresville!

I am having such a great time with this afghan. These are some pictures which I took a few days ago. The afghan is made of 13 rows of 11 granny squares. I am sure you have seen afghans like these on the backs of chairs and couches. I am thrilled to be finally making one, and as always, I thank my beautiful daughter for helping me get it started and for helping me post these pictures. 

In the top picture, you can see the pattern book I am using. It is a Leisure Arts pattern from 1974!

I found it in our favorite Friends of the Library bookstore in Franklin, NC. It was hidden away in the Clearance boxes in the back (believe me, everything there is truly clearance-priced). I grabbed it, hoping to one day sit down and make this lovely afghan. 

In 1980, a college roommate showed me how to make a granny square. I made an afghan for someone else and then went on to make my parents afghans; their's were each just one continuous granny square. 

This one is a bit of a different pattern, and it is truly a "classic" design. I have really tried to make it using the pattern in the book rather than the old way I learned so many years ago. The major accomplishment in this endeavor is that I have learned how to read some of the crochet instructions and to understand their abbreviation system. Last time I visited the craft store where I buy the yarn, I looked at some granny square pattern books, all from Leisure Arts. Maybe when I finish this one, I can try one of the other patterns.