After having given away 22 out of my 23 previously knitted Afghans, I decided to knit another one from my stash of yarns. I am using No 10 bamboo circular needles in the longest size I could find. I'm knitting my favourite pattern, which is called American Beauty Rose and can be found in a book called The Ultimate Book of Knit Afghans. This particular pattern is great for a beginner as the finished product looks awsome (and much more difficult then it is) The pattern is very simple once you have mastered the two line pattern. The wrong side row is just purl, apart from the 5 stitches each end which are always garter stitch to prevent the afghan from curling up.

The yarns I have chosen are all from my current stash and look exactly like Lion Brand Homespun http://cache.lionbrand.com//yarns/homespun.htm in various shades. However, I bought this yarn at a store called A.C. Moore http://www.acmoore.com/c-8-knit-crochet.aspx in what was called packs of "Mill Ends". Sometimes there would be three or four skeins in the same shade and sometimes there would be three or four different colours. I got a really great deal on several packages of what looks like Homespun Fuschia! These were a really good deal, especially when I had one of their coupons too! If they are not Lion Brand Homespun, they are dead ringers for it. They don't have any labels, and when I looked on the Lion Brand Web site, I couldn't find some of the shades I bought. I suspect some of the colours may have been discontinued and that's why they have been sold this way. As many of the colours are the same, I suspect they are odd amounts and weights at a "mill end", which can't be sold as a regular standard skein! Maybe someone from Lion Brand can answer this question?!

Anyway I started this particular Afghan on February 6th and the first picture is how far I have got in two days. I am trying to get it done in 6 evenings, so will post more progress as I go along. The colours I am using have been dictated by what colours I have and what colours I have the most of! I want to create a pleasing pattern and I think I will have enough of the main colour yarn to make this one a success. The shades I am using correspond to Homespun Harvest, Olive, Corinthian and Sierra (Sierra as the main colour throughout). However, as I don't have much of the Olive or Corinthian colours there may have to be a stripe or two of something else. I want it to look very Autumnal so will try to stay away from the bright pink and purple colours that I also have bought (also in the mill ends packages!) Watch this space!

It's now February 8th and second picture of progress is up! I think I will have enough Corinthian and Olive to finish the required stripes.

February 9th, it's Saturday and had a good knit this evening while watching Dr. Who and Law and Order! I think I am more than halfway.

February 10th, did well today, I think I am going to make it in the 6 days! It is very long now, - 5 feet 6 inches!

February 11th. It's finished and the cat and my husband are pleased. No more Cornithian left. My "masterpiece" is over 6 feet long, and can cover up a 6 foot husband!

I eventually used one skein of Corinthian, 3/4 skein of olive, three skeins of Harvest and nearly four skeins of Sierra, although all the skeins were odd sizes (being Mill Ends)
The question is - what am I going to knit next? I've got a lot of unknitted Homespun Baroque and Waterfall upstairs - hmmmmmm!