Knitted Striped Afghan on the Needles to be Donated to Homeless

Folks, I've dug back through the blog here on Bridge and Beyond to review of bit of history for us regarding afghans.  In 2011 we knitted, crocheted and donated 55 afghans, in 2012 we knitted and crocheted the same number 55, in 2013 we came close making and donating 53....just 2 afghans less, and in 2014 we made and donated 32, 23 less then the previous year of 2013.  In those 4 years we averaged 49 donated afghans a year.  This years number of 23 is obviously lower than all those years, lower than average by 17.  With that in mind, I'm sharing a picture of a start to a knitted striped afghan currently on my needles.  I started this ghan last week while out of town on a "girls getaway".  Love the colors.  This yarn was donated by our good friend and long time supporter, Gail B.  You might remember seeing some of this yarn....HERE

I had thought I'd knit a ripple, but in all honesty, we were talking so much I decided I needed something I didn't have to think about, not even counting, and soooooooo nothing fancy, the colors will be the main design feature vs the pattern or stitches.  The stripes will not be even, as I'm basing it on the amount of yarn I have in each color.

Thought it might be fun to know the history and background of the word afghan.  In a quick google search I found some limited information on several sources, including by not limited to Wikipedia.  An afghan is a coverlet, used on chairs, couches, and beds.  The word in English was first used by novelist Thomas Carlyle in his "Sartor Resartus in 1833.  It came from an area in Afghanistan, people known for their textiles.  There are many styles of afghans, some made in one piece, as above, some pieced together like granny style squares.  The history of granny squares seems to be up in the air, though presumed to be named for "granny" the person in each family most likely to piece together a blanket made of scraps of wool back in the day.  The motives style afghan is thought to come from rugs designed in Afghanistan used  in the Colonial period that came from The Middle East.

Crocheting an afghan tends to be far faster then knitting one, while knitted afghans tend to use a bit less yarn, and be less heavy weight wise.  Though I believe both knitted and crocheted afghans are equally warm.........particularly if they are both solid styles or styles where stitches are pretty close together.

What style afghans do you like to make?  How many afghans do you have in your home?  Have you made and donated an afghan?  Did you see the granny style crocheted afghan my Great Grandmother made in the previous post?  If not, please scroll back.

All donations regardless of size and number are valued. All donations are appreciated. The Power of One is awesome, and when we work together The Power of One becomes The Power of Many.