I have to admit that I did not get very much knitting done this past weekend.  Well, I did get some knitting done, but it wasn’t on projects I wanted to work on.   Saturday and Sunday I focused on knitting up the required swatches for my Craft Yarn Council Certified Instructor Program.   The first several swatches were easy breezy, pretty much movie watching knitting, and I got them done quickly.

My stockingette swatch was a little difficult, because I was rushing my knitting and ended up splitting my yarn several times.  After I finished that swatch, it looked horrible, and there was no way in my right mind I was going to submit that. So I cut off the yarn, and cast on for a 2nd stockingette swatch.

There I was plugging away at my swatch, while my Cable Scarf and Diamond Lace Scarf kept peeking at me out of the knitting totes.  They almost had a dejected look to them, if yarn projects could really look dejected. Maybe it was my overactive imagination, or the fact that I would have rather been working on them instead of a stockinette swatch.

We also took a lot of time this weekend to just be home as a family and get a start on spring cleaning. The weather was drizzly, and it was so nice to be able to spend most of the day home together in a cozy house.

So I really don’t have anything new, extravagant or spectacular that was made with my own hands to share with you.

But I did find something that was spectacular made with some one else’s hands.

Our church here in Tulsa has a thrift store, and it is one of my favorites!  We (Mainly I, the family just gets drug along) frequent that thrift store a lot. I bring home items, and I bring back more items I am constantly cleaning out.  I absolutely love that thrift store, going there is the little “me time” I take for myself, and I absolutely get a lift when I find “new” treasures there.

I’m pretty sure I found a treasure in this Crocheted Afghan.

This afghan just happened to grab my attention as I was walking by the blanket table.  It was tucked under a pile of a few other blankets, but the purple caught my eye. And I LOVE PURPLE!

When I picked it up, it was so soft, but had some weight too it. So I knew it would be a great afghan to cozy up under.  And it was only a mere $1.00.  So I could not resist!

It didn’t appear to be all that big, but after I bought it and got it home I was pleasantly surprised to find that this afghan is HUGE.  It is wide enough to cover the width of my king size bed. And long enough to cover most of the length of my bed.

Whenever I see afghans, or anything hand knit or crocheted at a resale shop, I often wax a little sentimental and wonder about the story behind the hand-made item.

Some one put a lot of effort and love into making this afghan, either for themselves, or for some one they thought very special.  I only hope that whomever this afghan was made for, really appreciated every minute and every stitch that was put into it.  And I hope the maker of this afghan was shown appreciation as well.

Even though I do not know the person whose hands stitched this afghan, I do appreciate the hard work they put into it.

Whomever donated it to the thrift store probably saw it as an old afghan.  But to us it is something new to add more warmth to our home.

This afghan now resides draped over the chair in my bedroom.  It had a good washing, and still needs some TLC to untangle the fringe (the result of the good washing).  But even in its present condition, it is already well-loved by me and my girls, and is already a favorite blanket for us all to snuggle under as we read together.

If you are reading this blog, and see a blanket you made in this picture:  Thank you for making it!  It has found a good home with us!