Scrappy Afghan

Here is a scrappy afghan that my mom had just finished last week. It is made up of blocks from her guild's *block of the month* that they publish in their newsletter. I'm not sure how well you can see it in the picture (click on it to enlarge), but she used an alternating crochet slip stitch to join the blocks. That way you can butt the squares against each other (no seam allowances) and it makes a nice decorative effect. She demonstrated it for me and it looks really simple and pretty. I also found it in my Crochet Encyclopedia book.

So, I went to JoAnn's yesterday, to get some tomato red fabric for this project:

See why I need to learn how to join squares? I'm planning a bag (another teacher's gift) and I want to use the Amy Butler print for the lining. I think the granny squares need some bright color behind them to make them pop. I've never constructed a bag like this, so I've got to figure out how to put it together. I might make this one a shoulder bag with a long single crochet strap.

Of course I only went shopping for one piece of fabric and came out with some lime green striped linen for a pair of capris and possibly a skirt, and some spring green interlock and rib for a t shirt and tank top.

Next I went to the yarn department and got all this:

It's a bunch of Caron Simply Soft for a ripple afghan for ds. I am usually a bit of a fiber snob, but I think for a kid's blanket, ACK!crylic will be fine. It's cheap and it's really soft, y'all. His favorite color is green, but his room is blue and red, so I tried to combine them all, with heavy emphasis on green. And I sent an email to join the Ripple Along. Can we say *too many projects?*

I am stalled on the Dollar and a Half cardigan. I keep messing up the lace pattern on the armhole decreases and I put it in time out for a bit. I need to sit down with it when I am fresh and alone and just buzz through that part. The pattern designer has a tutorial at her blog, so I'm going to go over there and try to absorb it all. Doing it my way isn't working. . .