Ta-Da!!! Crochet Tartan Afghan

Wow... it's the last day of 2012... Good to see that the world didn't end ;)

I had all these grand plans of posting every day of Kwanzaa, which started on 12/26, but I forgot every day in the midst of being down in Florida with Lamar and his family ^.^  I think I'm going to do a grouped post for each day of Kwanzaa tomorrow (the last day). 

Anywho! The thing I'm most excited about today is.......... drumroll ............ I finished the tartan blanket for Lamar's parents!  It was a good bit of work to do, but I'm glad I did it because not only does it look nice, but it's also really meaningful for their family.  We're going to visit them this evening and I'll give it to them then. I know I shouldn't be nervous, but I am *shrug* 

I haven't measured it yet, but when I do I'll update it here (47 inches by 61 inches).  It took me about 4 weeks to complete (mind you there were many holiday gifts in the making at the same time).  So here are a bit more details about how I put together the whole shebang...

• Foundation chain: 196
• Mesh Stripe pattern repeated 4 times: peach, black, navy, royal, sky
• Chain Stripe pattern repeated 4 times: same
• Border: Row 1: w/ black, hdc around, ch3 in corners. Row 2: w/ peach, granny stripe.  Row 3: w/black, granny stripe. Row 4: w/peach, sc in ea st around.

Tips on making the afghan:  to get the foundation chain, multiply the number of stripe rows in one repeat by 2 (in mine it would be from the start of peach to the end of sky blue: 24 rows x 2= 48 chain sts).  Then take that number and multiply by the number of times you want your stripe pattern to repeat (mine repeated 4 times: 48 x 4= 192).  That is your base chain.  Add 4 chain sts to the base to serve as the turning chain.  The first row is worked like this: dc in the 6th chain from hook, *ch1, skip 1 ch, dc in next ch* repeat between ** across, turn. Row 2: ch 4 (counts as first dc and ch1 here and throughout), *dc in the top of the next dc stitch, ch1*, repeat between ** across, turn.  Repeat row 2 until mesh is the required size.

Well, I'm gonna go eat something then get ready to deliver this blankety goodness ^.^  If you have any questions or decide to make a tartan/plaid blanket, leave a comment.  These blankets are a lot easier than they look. Just a tad bit time consuming with all that chaining :)