I didn’t make this afghan, my mom did. Yes I know it’s a little ratty, but that’s sort of the point. It’s like an old friend who has been with me for a lot of years. And it’s made with……steady yourself…..acrylic yarn. In her defense, that was really all we knew then. I say that tounge-in-cheek because I’m really not a yarn snob. It just reminds me of how much things have changed. This was made in 1982, before personal computers, before online shopping or LYSs to choose from. I know she put careful thought into all aspects of making the afghan because I was going off to college, and she wanted it to be special.
She designed it herself, though we didn’t think of it as designing. She has always been able to make exactly what’s in her imagination, especially with fabric. I hope I’m like that, too. I get images that just seem to pop into my head and bug me until I figure out exactly how to make them. Back to the afghan, I even found some of Mom’s notes tucked away in an old crafting book:
I love looking through old books!! Yes, I was pilfering through her stuff not too long ago, hehehe. I love that I have these notes to go with my afghan. The papers now have ragged edges where they stuck out of the book all these years, and that just makes it even better.
Enough sappiness. Check out some of the pictures from the book:
Oh, baby, those collars!! And check out the skin-tight blue jeans!! Bet he can’t get into those now!!
And, who didn’t make this afghan?:
I’d love to hear from those of you who remember the same things!!
July 8, 2008 at 8:39 am
I just activated your site on the PDX Knit Bloggers Ringsurf; welcome aboard!
And I still knit with acrylic once in a while, too; although it’s no longer the crunchy Red Heart of “olden times”. LOL!
I like the old craft books, too, and have a bunch from my grandmother and mother. But Goodwill is a great place to find them, too. I once found a book from the 60s full of Aran knit afghans; I’ve never made anything in it, but it’s a great stitch dictionary for aran stitches!
July 8, 2008 at 7:29 pm
Ah, my ex-MIL made zillions of those ripple afghans. The one I remember best was gold/brown/orange, classic 70s. Thanks for the memory jog, all but the ex-MIL part, LOL. Love those vintage books. My daughter brought me a stack of them a couple weeks ago and we had large fun laughing at the pictures. Like looking at my first wedding photos, hahaha.
July 9, 2008 at 3:46 am
I really like the afghan. Kudos to your Mom for designing it. I especially like the cable running down the side.
July 13, 2008 at 12:04 am
I still have the ripple afghan we made in the high school colors to take to the football games for sitting on or covering up in while sitting in the band section.
The hairdos above! LOL!
July 23, 2008 at 8:53 am
I crocheted a ripple afghan for my boyfriend/now husband, 26 years ago! We still have it. Funny!
August 5, 2008 at 8:47 pm
We still have 3 of those ripple afghans, great for warm winter cudles on the couch and, I think I think my mom made me the same sweater as the white one in high school! ( just a few years ago lol!)