I've been learning crochet through books and videos, but I find that my aging brain can't hold onto too many steps for very long. I decided to just practice two basic stitches over and over until they became habit. However, I quickly bored of practicing without actually producing something, so I chose to make a lap blanket for the dogs and me to warm up with in the winter. I started out with an old lavender skein from my stash, and I discovered that the yarn ran out quickly, leaving me with just a strip. I couldn't find the exact same color of yarn anywhere, so I just picked up a dozen or so skeins of this multicolored purple, teal and white yarn at Hobby Lobby. I decided to make the lavender strip a border, but then realized I needed a border on the opposite end too. I ended up picking out a teal skein since a mismatched lavender would look like a mistake while an obvious conflict of colors would look intentional. It really doesn't matter, because my dogs will shred the blanket in no time. They already ripped holes in several of my quilts. My Aussie pup's favorite thing to do is to untie and unravel rope toys with his teeth. I'm hoping he won't discover any loose yarn on the blanket.
The "lap" blanket ended up being more like a double-sized bed cover that doesn't hang down the sides. It would probably fit a twin mattress just right. It took a couple of months to complete, and my fingers have now experienced the joy of arthritis. They are ready for a rest before the next crochet project, which will definitely be much smaller. Something like a beanie, perhaps.
