Unraveling the Past

This story begins with a visit to Mr. Mouse's paternal grandmother, whom we all call Nana.  Nana has a nice collection of handmade blankets, tablecloths, and pillows, but none compare to the black and rainbow afghan on the back of the living room couch.  From my very first trip, I was utterly fascinated by it.  I guess my obsession was pretty obvious, because Nana recently gifted the blanket to me.

Not only is it breathtakingly gorgeous, but its construction is also simple, yet mysterious.  According to Nana, this blanket was made by a houseguest years ago, and while it is a much-admired piece, no one since has been able to figure out how it was made.  I immediately recognized it as crochet, but the key feature - the descending stripes of color - was still puzzling to me.  Despite many visits, and many examinations of the afghan, I was no closer to figuring it out.  One of the factors working against me was my swiss-cheese brain which always led to me forgetting to bring crochet hooks and waste yarn when going to see Nana.

So when the afghan came to live with me, I knew I had to figure it out.  After three days and a more time spent with a Tunisian hook in my hand than ever before, I'm pretty sure I've got it!

This little swatch is going in the mail to Nana, and I'm planning on writing up the pattern and doing a full photo tutorial so that anybody who wants to can make one of these amazing blankets!