Billions and Billions of Them

A couple weeks ago I found nine 7oz skeins of Phentex Elite acrylic worsted yarn for $0.59 each. That's almost enough yarn to make 2 afghans for around $6.00. How could I resist? The color isn't my cup of tea. It's a sort of heathered moss/sage green. But the yarn is a much higher quality acrylic than, say, Red Heart, which is the only yarn out of which I could have afforded to make an afghan.

So, I get to make my first afghan, and I'm really excited because I've been wanting to try my patience at a large project. I couldn't decide how I wanted to do it, though, partly because I know the afghan will be a gift, and I didn't know to whom I'd give it. But today, while flipping through my Mon Tricot stitch dictionary, I happened on a pretty little flower pattern, and I loved it instantly.



Worked up on a size K hook, with the worsted weight yarn, the flower measures 6" at the widest point. That means I'll have to make 80-100 of them to make an afghan, plus little 2" square motifs to fit in the blank spaces once they're put together. Fortunately, it only takes less than 10 minutes to whip out one flower. However, my husband is now envisioning, instead of a huge sackful of yarn on the floor, towering stacks of crocheted green flowers, collapsing and overwhelming him in the middle of the night.