Great American Aran Afghan Along

Beautiful Afghan!

2011-02-05T00:24:00.002-05:00

What a beautiful afghan. I am in the beginning stages of planning my Great American Afghan. I just love the color you've used. I too wanted a variation from the basic natural color, which is very beautiful too, but I am a color person. I too will combine the aran and the the great american afghan design.

Could I ask you what color you used, you mentioned a green heather. I am curious because your photo looks like a camel color.

New to the Great American Aran Afghan blog and love planning my new afghan project and soon will be starting mine.

I'm all done!!

2010-01-17T15:06:00.006-05:00

Wow! It's been 2 years - but the afghan is completed, sewn together, and has it's edging. All ready for use. What a wonderful adventure in knitting these years have been; I've learned a lot, and grown in self-confidence as well.

I made my afghan HUGE. It is 6 squares by 5 squares, for a total of 30 different squares. Most come from the Great American Aran Afghan Book, but some come from the Great American Afghan Book. The edging went on perfectly; didn't have to finesse a thing.

The color is green heather, and some squares have some touches of white. A few of the 2-color squares made me a bit unhappy, but I wasn't about to do them over! I especially love the 2-color squares with the trees, and the one with the flower buds.

Now...what to do next??

2009-11-21T22:52:00.005-05:00

Looking for local knitters

2009-11-19T13:27:00.001-05:00

Hi!

I started the quilt when I was living in East Aurora, NY - now I'm living in Tempe, AZ, and looking for folks to commiserate with/learn with. Anybody out there?

I finished my last square!

2009-10-19T15:42:00.002-04:00

Wow! I combined the Great American Afghan and Great American Aran Afghan, and finally, after two years, completed 30 squares - it's really big. Blocking took a really long time - some of them were much smaller than they should have been, and some were at quite a rakish angle.

I spent last night basting the squares together, and will begin the actual sewing today. They actually seemed to fit together pretty well when basted, so I'm hopeful the afghan will look as it should. Of course, the border will probably take another month or so, but it would be really cool if I could give myself the afghan for Christmas.

A new member

2009-10-08T16:09:00.002-04:00

Hello,
I´m Reni from Austria, 40 years old, three sons. I´ve been knitting a lot when I was younger, but mostly cardigans, pullovers etc. Now I began again - and I am totally addicted to do lace and - the GAAA. I fell in love with it when I saw it the first time.
A few days ago I finally got my yarn - cascade 220 - and today I had some free minutes to start the first square. I choosed Hanna Burns because it was told to be one of the easiest. Ujujujuj - I wonder how the more difficult squares will be???
I succeeded to do 11 rows today, and my fingers are nearly broken. I´m afraid how the other squares will be? and wonder if I will ever succeed to finish the afghan :((
However, it is a great fun to knit the pattern!! and the wool is perfect.
So I hope to hear from you and not to desperate with my aran!!
Greetings from Austria
Reni

Introducing myself :)

2009-09-15T11:29:00.000-04:00

Hello :)
My name is Gabi, and I'm living in Australia with my husband, 2 daughters and couple of critters. Recently I picked up my knitting needles again after long long years of not knitting to start this afghan. Fell totally in love with this Aran afghan when seeing some fellow stitchers starting it.
And I deeply enjoy knitting these squares. My plan is to knit all 24 squares of the book.
The wool I chose is called Luxury from the Bendigo Woollen Mills - a soft pure wool.

3 squares are already done: Ginette Belanger, Barbara Selesnick and Hanna Burns.

Great American Aran Afghan

2009-09-05T08:45:00.005-04:00

I have been dying to knit this afghan for a long time and am so happy to have finally started it. Here are the first two squares. Vicky Sever and Suzanne Atkinson and I'm planning to knit it twice. Once as a surprise for DD and once for me. Might as well knit two squares as I go along (you know... before I forget everything). ;) Needless to say, I'll be hanging around in here a lot.

Last Two Squares

2009-07-13T13:37:00.005-04:00

I started this last summer and got about 18 squares done. I finished the last two this week. From the Great American Afghan book, I did Melissa Leapman's cat square

and Sally Melville's sampler square.

Now to stitch them all together and add the i-cord edge.

Square 8

2009-06-09T14:04:00.001-04:00

Dagmara Berztiss

Joining the blog

2009-06-08T16:33:00.002-04:00

Hi,

My name is Marti Kaplan, and I've just joined a group working on the Great American Aran Afghan. I've finished Ginette Belanger’s square, and am just beginning Barbara Selesnick's. In about a month, I'll be moving to Arizona, and so am looking forward to being a part of the blog, since I won't have my ftf group to work with.

Squares 5, 6 & 7

2009-05-25T13:27:00.005-04:00

I keep on knitting !

Squares 3 & 4

2009-03-14T17:00:00.004-04:00

As promised

Hanna Burns' block

Julie H. Levy's block

Introduction - squares 1 & 2

2009-03-13T02:07:00.008-04:00

Hi, my name is Céline and I live in South of France.
I fell in love with the GAAA while surfing around blogs a few months ago, bought the pattern book online, took some time to choose the right yarn for me (Lammy Yarn’s Irlandais) and jumped in knitting my first blocks a few days ago.
So far I’ve knit 4 blocks noted the easiest ones in the booklet :

Ginette Belanger’s,

Barbara Selesnick’s,

Hanna Burns’ (not an easy one in my humble opinion, following the different charts with different row counts is a little tricky) and Julie H. Levy’s (without the bobbles). I'll post a picture of the last two later.
I’ll probably switch the blocks I don’t like with some of the GAA and some of other inspirations (celtic knots, cables untangled, Taste of Aran Afghan, Burridge Lake Aran, etc).
Happy knitting !

Update

2009-03-09T05:00:00.004-04:00

Just a quick update, I have completed 5 squares so far. More details can be found here.
Janelle.

Squares so far

2009-01-27T08:55:00.001-05:00

These are two of my squares so far - put together from a stitch manual I got secondhand. The sizes are slightly random, but blocking seems to fix everything!

Finished - But still going!

2009-01-22T07:45:00.002-05:00

I finished what might have been my last square - 20 squares done - but then decided that I really wanted this afghan to be larger. So...I'm still going. Since I am combining squares from both the Great American Aran and the Great American Afghan Books, there are still more to choose from. I'm shooting for 5x6, or 30 squares.

Finished first square

2009-01-18T22:42:00.003-05:00

My wool arrived last friday and I was finally able to get started on my GAAA. Today I finished my first square - the Julie H Levy. I chose an easy one to start with just to get me into the swing of things. It's been quite some time since I've knitted.

Anyone reading this still?

2009-01-14T14:46:00.002-05:00

I'm new to the GAAA blog--just planning to start this project, as a potential wedding gift for a daughter not even engaged yet. I'm glad to have resources online written by those of you who have gone before me, as I'm sure I will wonder what I was thinking even starting this at times--your experience has already helped in my planning. I really appreciate the tips and trouble-shooting pointers so far. I am planning to use Jo Sharp's Classic Wool DK yarn in color Porcelain, and buying it from an Australian source, which turns out to be much less cost--believe it or not, some places our dollar trades advantageously! I am just finishing another sampler afghan (24 squares) using this yarn in a beautiful red shade, and I've loved the yarn. The "hand wash" part will be the kicker--any tips? The afghan is beautiful, I'm looking forward to starting. I noticed the last post was September '08, and I'm just wondering if you all still follow this, if you're all all done with the project, or what--would love to see more current info. but will spend some time catching up on all the old posts.

House Keeping

2008-09-25T09:18:00.002-04:00

Lately, I've had to remove posts and remove people from the blog membership. Let's try to keep this blog about the GAAA and knitting in general. Anything that I see as spam or inappropriate (offensive, political, etc) I will continue to remove and delete that person's membership.

If you think you've been deleted by mistake please contact me ASAP via email and we'll try to fix the situation. Hopefully we won't see anymore of this in the future and we can return to our knitting bliss!
*******************************************************

How's everyone progressing? My GAAA is on hold until I finish my Christmas knitting . . .

Square 6 - Vicki Sever

2008-09-14T19:14:00.001-04:00

I've completed the Vicki Sever square, it came out lovely

Square 5…finally

2008-09-13T19:22:00.002-04:00

I didn't enjoy this square, took me ages to work the instructions out - I'd never done corners before and I'm dreading coming across the other squares that are worked in a similar way. This seemed to take ages to knit, thankfully tis done now!

Square 3

2008-09-11T03:57:00.002-04:00

Finished Square 3 last night - wonder if I can keep going a square a day...hmmmm, I obviously have no life lol

Square 2

2008-09-09T19:20:00.001-04:00

Here is Square 2, I finished it several hours ago and have started the third square

I've finished my first square!

2008-09-08T00:52:00.002-04:00

I FINALLY got around to starting this last night. Along with the aid of an insomnia attack, I managed to get my first square completed. I've decided to go through the book and do the squares in order.

TRACI BUNKERS AMERICAN AFGHAN SQUARE

2008-08-29T18:22:00.001-04:00

This particular square had many different stitches to do in it: YO, CABLES, and BOBBLES etc... I enjoyed doing this square it was a lot of fun. One square done and about 20 more to go!!! I have chosen Wendy Sacks square to do next.

Alice Starmore Square

2008-08-11T17:01:00.001-04:00

I finished the square inspired by Alice Starmore's Inishmaan sweater. It is from her book, "Fishermen's Sweaters".

I only have 3 more squares to go. The next square will be based on a pattern from my new book, "A Fine Fleece".

15 and16 Are Finished

2008-08-06T09:46:00.007-04:00

I have finished the 15th square which was designed by Ada Fenick.

It was an easy knit on 5mm needles. I added two reverse stocking stitches between the garter stitches and the celtic braid on each side to give it a bit more width. Only 5 squares to go!

I'm quite pleased with the next square which I designed. The trailing leaves up the middle were surprisingly easy to execute. On the bottom left I went the wrong way with the second leaf so I just copied the 'design feature' on the top right.

These designs are from the Leisure Arts book "50 Fabulous Knit Stitches". The patterns of the square I'm currently knitting are also from this book - 2 types of trailing vines and leaves. I hope to finish them today.

Ten squares in!

2008-08-05T08:10:00.002-04:00

I've been designing my own squares for this from an awesome book of cable patterns I found. I haven't been making enough allowance for different patterns having different tensions, so some squares are bigger than others but I'm hoping it'll all come out in the wash... A couple of them below:

Two Completed Squares

2008-08-04T15:14:00.002-04:00

Here are my first two completed squares. I'm knitting my afghan with Plymouth Yarn Galway Highland Heather (made in Peru :-)) in a lovely pale green. It's 100% wool and I love working with it with bamboo needles. I invested in a more expensive yarn since this project is so much work (for me anyways!). I'm making it for my boyfriend and myself to commemorate our trip to Ireland last year that inspired me to try some Aran patterns that I was terrified of! These are Dana Hurt and Ann Strong's squares, and I finished Ginger Smith's square today as well, but it's being blocked. I was initially panicked that the squares were so narrow, but they've blocked beautifully to 12x12 so far. I'm even feeling brave enough to design a few squares of my own. I welcome comments, and any advice from you brave folks who have gone before me in this project!

#13 and #14 - Done!

2008-07-31T13:09:00.006-04:00

I finished the Meredith Morioka square on the GAAAA the other day.

Yesterday I finished knitting the Suzanne Atkinson square and finished sewing the i-cord sun rays onto it this morning. This square is VERY cute and was done on 4.5mm needles.

I really liked doing the tree and the bobbles were done using a different technique than I had ever used before. After k,yo, k, yo, k for the bobble, you don't turn but slip the stitches from the right needle back to the left needle. Then you k5, and slip them back to the left needle. Then ssk, k1, k2tog, and slip them back to the left needle. Then k3 and skip stitch 2 and then 3 over the first. From what I've read some people really do not like doing bobbles but I think they're fun. At the suggestion of another Ravelry member who is non-religious as am I, I omitted the steeple and cross. I moved the sun over to the left a bit and added a bird above the tree. Another modification I made was to do reverse stocking stitch on the triangular area of the top of the house front so it would look more like a house and not a church.

Now I'm ready to tackle the Ada Fenick square that has a tree, moss stitch clouds and a type of celtic cable up each side.

And Another...

2008-07-02T10:33:00.004-04:00

I finished knitting this square I designed. I'm not as pleased with the look of it as I was with the 'Knitting with Cables and Bobbles, oh my!' square but #12 is finished none the less.

I cast on 59 stitches and increased to 69 stitches. The centre pattern is the Filled Arrow Cable from p.202 of "Cables & Arans". The next pattern is Folded Cable (p.89) ascending on the left and descending on the right. The outer pattern is Garden Path Cable from p. 76. It didn't work out as perfectly mathematically so I added a few rows of reverse stocking stitch above the 4th arrow. The other two patterns were 6 stitches wide and I think it would have looked better if one had been a different width. There were 3 stitches of reverse stocking stitch between each pattern.

One More Square

2008-06-30T21:34:00.003-04:00

I actually finished the Dana Hurt square before the one I designed. It's pretty narrow but is knit loose enough that it should stretch out nicely when I sew it into the afghan.

I'm about half done the next square I've designed. It's an easy pattern but I didn't really give enough thought about the patterns complementing each other so I don't think it looks that great. Oh well. It's the 12th square and I soldier on.

Knitting with Cables and Bobbles. Oh my!

2008-06-29T18:02:00.007-04:00

I just finished the 10th square - one of my own design.

I wanted to do a square with lots of bobbles. I used my new "Cables and Arans" book from Interweave Press and selected three patterns with repeats that are multiples of 8.

I cast on 59 stitches. After the three ridges, I increased 10 stitches on the next right side row for a total of 69 inches. On the next row, the wrong side row, I did row 1 of the 'Cable and Dot' pattern in the center.

The center pattern is called 'Cable and Dot' and is found on page 82. It has a 15 stitch pattern with a 24 row repeat with row one starting on the wrong side.

The one out from it is called 'Cable with Bobbles' and is 9 stitches wide and has a 12 row repeat from page 50.

The outer pattern is 'Alternating Bobbles' and is 6 stitches wide with a 16 row repeat from page 189. I started the one on the left side at row 9 to mirror the one on the right.

So to create the right length square, and for the repeats to end in a good place, I needed 72 rows after the 6 garter stitch 'three ridges' rows. Thus creating 3 repeats of the center pattern, 6 repeats of the Cable with Bobbles and 4.5 repeats of the alternating bobbles.

Two More Squares

2008-06-23T13:09:00.006-04:00

I finished the Ann McCauley square the other day using 4.5mm needles. It is 13.5" tall and only 9.75" wide in its relaxed state. It is pretty stretchy, however, so should widen easily to 12" and hopefully that will shorten it as well.

On a 10 hour (return) car trip last week, I knit the background to the Susan Rainey square using 4.5mm needles. It came out pretty close to a 12" square. I knit the 'sweater' yesterday. To finish it nicely, I did the increasing and decreasing one stitch in from the edge so I could use the mattress stitch to attach the sleeves. it came out quite nicely, if I do say so myself. I haven't attached the sweater to the square yet.

I started the Dana Hurt square last night. When I finish it, I'll be half done.

While on my trip, I bought the Interveave Knits "Harmony Guide: Cables and Arans" and will be designing a couple more squares incorporating some of those stitch patterns. I also want to design a square using the pattern from the Must Have Cardigan.

Latvian Moon Cross

2008-06-16T20:45:00.007-04:00

Today I finished Dagmara Berztiss' 'Latvian Moon Cross'. It was really quite easy and really fun to knit. I probably should have used the recommended 4.5mm needles because using my 5mm needles, it's about an inch too tall and potentially too wide. I could also frog it and knit it again with the 5.0 needles and omit the moss stitch frame inside the garter stitch. We'll see when I assemble all the squares.

I learned how to round a curve. I am continuing to become more and more proficient doing cables without a cable needle.

I'm going on a car trip for a few days leaving on Wednesday. I think I'll do the Susan Rainey square (the one with the sweater) and do the stockinette background on the road.

Another one I plan to complete soon is Ann McCauley's 'Bobbledy Aran' Square.

Two More Finished

2008-06-15T15:58:00.004-04:00

I finished the Carol Adams square last night.

I checked a book out of the library called "Beautiful Knitting Patterns" by Gisela Klopper and I'm going to use a couple of the stitch patterns and combinations for some squares of my own design. I finished the first one this afternoon which I am calling 'Hugs and Kisses'. It incorporates the 'Xs and Os' cable as well as the braided Celtic cable. It's just a little bit of love I'm knitting into the afghan.

I am entranced by cables so will be doing a couple of other squares with Aran or cable patterns from this book.

6 down 14 to go...

3 More Squares

2008-06-12T09:42:00.006-04:00

My next square was the Ginette Belanger square. I used 5mm needles.

I had previously knit a baby sweater using the trinity stitch (it was called bramble stitch in that pattern) and found it very tedious. It wasn't that bad on this square, possibly because the needles and yarn were so much bigger.

Then I knit the Julie H. Levy Square. It knit up very quickly. I'm very glad I learned Grumperina's technique for cabling without a cable needle. I used 5mm needles.

Yesterday I finished the Ann Strong square. I found the entwining of stocking stitch and moss stitch intriguing. I used 4.5mm needles.

I'm 20% done. Yay!

Now I'm working on the Carol Adams square using 5.0mm needles.

I have decided to knit all the squares and then decide to align them vertically according to width and add garter stitch to make them align horizontally. If there are still major sizing issues, I'll re-knit the offending squares to fit.

Cable Girl Clone

2008-06-03T21:56:00.012-04:00

After attending Fiona Ellis' workshop on knitting cables at the end of April, I truly was inspired. So much so that almost everything I want to knit now is cables.

My most recent cable-y projects include:

The Must Have Cardigan from Patons 'Street Smart' booklet and the Putting Down Roots sweater (I'm doing it as a cardigan).

Naturally, when I found The Great American Aran Afghan, I had to do it - even though I'm Canadian. ;-)

Here's my first square designed by Barbara McIntire.

I tried several wool blends and have decided on Lion Brand Wool Ease. I like the look and feel of it and the fact that it's washable. It was also in my price range.

I don't know if I'll do all of the squares in the book. I plan to incorporate some of the cable designs from projects I've already completed. I've also ordered the Barbara Walker 'Learn-to-Knit Afghan' book and will include designs from it as well.

I'm teaching a class tomorrow night at Kniterary on doing cables without a cable needle. It should be fun.

New Member

2008-06-03T21:03:00.003-04:00

This is the Barbara McIntire square-in-progress. It is such a fun knit. I plan to do all the easier squares, and then decide about the others. Actually my plan is to knit two of these afghans -- one for each daughter. I am using Lion Brand Wool-ease, and I really like it. And besides both daughters have small children and pets, and it has to be machine washable. I love knitting cables.

Betty

And here are more squares

2008-05-29T21:55:00.002-04:00

I couldn't add all the squares I had finished at once, apparently. So here are some more.

Alice

My first grouping of squares

2008-05-29T21:43:00.002-04:00

I finally photographed my finished squares - there are about 9 of them so far. I'm using Cascade 220 in a sage green. Then I decided that I really liked some of the squares in the Great American Afghan book, so I am going to add some of them to the Aran Afghan. And I decided that I wanted to make a few of the American Squares that are multicolored, and add the natural Aran color to the afghan. Right now, I am in the midst of knitting the Ada Fenick square, and I am making the central tree natural color, while the rest of the square will be green. Besides the photographed squares, I have also finished the Nicky Epstein square in the American Afghan book, making 2 natural trees and one green tree. I'll photograph it once I have sewn the trees on (they are appliqued).
Here goes - let's see if I can figure out how to add the pics! I love knitting this afghan. It is so much fun to see the patterns emerge.

Alice

Traci bunkers

2008-05-27T17:51:00.002-04:00

For the passed fews week I have been trying to get this going... However, I have been ripping out more than getting any knitting done on it...I am not going to give up..I am going rip one more time and hopefully I will get on track after that... The bobbles are fun to do... I really enjoy making those...Anyways I better get back to knitting so I can post a picture soon ...So ya all can see it!!!

Invite

2008-05-27T16:17:00.001-04:00

Thank you for the invite! I am just waiting for the pattern so I can begin. I have held off making myself an afghan until I found the right pattern and this is it!!!

New to GAAA

2008-05-27T13:39:00.003-04:00

Hi, fellow knitters! I am just starting the GAAA, and have part of the Susan Rainey square done. So far, so good. I have been knitting for over 40 years, but this presents challenges. I live in Wisconsin, and a friend in my knitting group is also working on it at the same time. It makes t so much fun. I am planning on doing 18 squares twice (I figure if I get through a square once, the second time might actually be FUN and easy?!) and two other squares once. Its great to have found a blog for this wonderful project.

Getting started

2008-04-22T12:50:00.002-04:00

Stumbled across the GAAA book while on vacation last month. Couldn't wait to start on it! I'm a (self-taught, mainly cold-season!) knitter of about 15 years, but I've never used charts before and my most complicated projects to this point are socks with easy cable designs. Just started a little practice square (Belanger) last night to get my courage up before I invest in $100+ dollars in yarn. :-) I'm up for the challenge though--I hope! Any advice?

Ginette Belanger square

2008-03-25T10:45:00.001-04:00

I finished another one. Before you think I'm super-knitter for posting two squares so quickly, I have to say that this was a really easy square. My next one won't be so quick, I'm sure!

Progress

2008-03-17T22:13:00.003-04:00

I finished my first square--the Julie H. Levy square. I decided to start with one that was labeled one of the easiest. It's not blocked yet, but here it is:

I've already started on my next square--the Ginette Belanger square. I'm working them all in Lion Brand Yarn Wool Ease Fisherman.

Ravelry Group

2008-02-29T16:19:00.002-05:00

I thought I had already posted this but it looks like my memory isn't as good as it used to be!

There's an active Ravelry group set up just for the GAAA project and I'd like to extend an invitation to everyone to join. It's so nice to see what yarn people are using and all of those completed afghans. Here's the link to the group: Great American Aran Afghan Along

For those of you unfamiliar with Ravelry put your name on the waiting list now. It seems like the wait is around a week but it may be shorter now. While you're waiting you can read up on all of the cool stuff this site has to offer. It's completely free and so useful!

I think it's great to have many different venues for sharing this afghan with other people!

Hello, everyone

2008-02-07T13:37:00.000-05:00

I just joined the blog. My name is Jennifer, and I live in Central Florida. I haven't started the afghan yet--I plan to do that this coming Monday at my regular knitting group. I got the book in the mail last week, and I've picked out my yarn (I've decided to use Lion Brand Wood-Ease in Fisherman). I just need to decide which square I'm going to start with first--what a tough choice!! I'll keep you updated on how it's going...

Progress

2008-02-07T09:39:00.000-05:00

It's so nice to have new people actively working on the afghan! You all inspired me to really get working on it and finish this year. I've had all the yarn for several years now. I'm hoping to finish up on the Belanger square sometime this week. Here's my progress as of yesterday:

I got excited because I thought I was going to finish last night. Then I took another look at the instructions and it's 3 repeats of the cable pattern and not 2. Good thing I was paying attention other wise that one would have been a nightmare to block later!

BTW - I'm using Plymouth Encore in the Aran colorway

2008-02-04T17:25:00.000-05:00

Dear Cathy,
My name is Barbara and there's a small group of us in Toms River, NJ, who are making this afghan together. We meet 2x/month, work on our blocks, try to work out problems a member is having, choose the next block, etc. We've found that enlarging the graft helps a LOT as does assigning different colors to the graft, key and explanation of each of the different stitches. While it may seem elementary to use colors, it does make things easier to follow for us.

Your Twisted Knitster,
Barbara at the Jersey Shore :)
ShoreShihTzuNurs@aol.com

New to GAAAAaaa

2008-01-30T10:04:00.000-05:00

Hi! My name is Cathy. I'm new to this blog (and blogging), new to GAAAAaaaa (did I get that right?), and new to knitting all things Aran. I'm so excited to join this group of knitters as I have always had this lingering interest in the challenge of Aran knitting and can just picture a beautiful afghan in my home, then perhaps in my daughter's (if I ever finish the first one)! Listen to that -- talk about being excited to knit an Aran afghan; I'm already planning my second one! So does anyone have any words from experience to share about getting started with this project? I have ordered the "GAAA" book and will get started as soon as I receive it and have purchased my yarn. Can I search this blog for types of yarn used or can anyone share with me your favorite type of yarn and amount needed for an afghan? I don't know how blogs work, so I'll leave my email address in case that is the way for someone to respond -- help in this regard would be appreciated as well -- cathy.eikenhorst@gmail.com. Thanks for your patience and help with this new blogger and GAAA knitter! BTW, for all you Ravelers, I can be found there as cajanoon as well.

excited about this project!

2008-01-29T20:35:00.000-05:00

Hi, all. I'm just starting this afghan...already, I can't wait to give it to my daughter for Christmas! I finished a couple squares, and am kind of stuck on the Dagmara Berztiss square right now. But it's a challenge, and I'm going to get through it! I'm glad to have found others working this same project!

Happy New Year!

2008-01-07T16:01:00.000-05:00

I know it's a little late but I wanted to wish everyone a Happy New Year while it's still January!

One of my resolutions is to finish my GAAA by December 31st. I've got 3 squares done so far and many other projects on my list but I think I might be able to do it. I already have the yarn so that's a step in the right direction!

Anyone else trying to do the same?

Great (British) Aran Afghan

2007-12-19T08:21:00.000-05:00

Hi all
Just wanted to drop a post from the UK to say hello - loving the pics of everyone's completed blocks. I was going to buy the Great American Aran Afghan book but amazon took so long to send it I got a stitch manual out of the library instead and have been making up blocks from various stitches for my own afghan. I have wondered what weight you usually use, because I think you don't have aran weight wool in the US? I'll post pics of my own blocks when I've worked out flickr!
happy knitting
Carolyn

Carol Adams Square - is there an error?

2007-10-26T22:10:00.000-04:00

I have finished 3 squares already, and am about 2" into the Carol Adams square. It feels like there is an error in the pattern. In the picture, the cable section (Charts B and D) look like there should be 4 stockinette stitches in the middle, but the pattern says K2P2 twice.

What did you folks do for that square? I'm going to put it down, and start another one in the meantime, but my gut says that the right side rows for B and D should be P2K4P2.

Alice

Still have that question

2007-10-01T15:03:00.000-04:00

I know you folks can help me; all your squares look great. I just finished my first one, but still have my question. Some of the squares indicate different size needles - but they do not give gauges. I am working with size 8 needles, because that matches the gauge on the first page. I don't understand if I need to change that size for the "different" squares, and if so, how do I figure out what to change it to?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Alice

Cables and bobbles

2007-09-22T10:08:00.001-04:00

I've finished another 2 squares. Barabara McIntire's - this just typifies aran for me - and Ann McCauley's. It's a good job I enjoy bobbles!

Both knitted in Cascade 220 (Oatmeal and Ice Mint) with 5mm KnitPicks Options needles.

Now, which one next ...........

I've Only Just Begun!

2007-09-19T10:57:00.000-04:00

Hi Folks - I'm brand new here. Your squares all look magnificent!! I was so happy to find this blog; I'm kind of overwhelmed before I even get started. I've purchased my wool, and found my gauge on size 8 needles. Now, I have a question right off the top.

I see that different patterns use different size needles, and the general instructions say to change needles according to the gauge on the various blocks - but I do not see gauges on the individual blocks. Am I missing something?

Planning to start today with one of the squares that looks like it is easiest. Of course, at the same time I am in the middle of knitting a sweater, and working on 3 different scrapbooks, and cross stitching a baby name hanging (we won't mention the 2 almost full time jobs).

I'd be glad of any help. Thanks so much - Alice

Janet Martin Square

2007-08-31T13:00:00.001-04:00

Click To Enlarge

New to the KAL

2007-08-28T19:10:00.000-04:00

I've only just discovered the GAAA book but I'm already hooked. These are my first two squares, knit in Cascade 220 (Oatmeal) with 5mm KnitPicks Options needles. I'm halfway through an afghan for my aunty for Christmas, so I'm going to add these two squares (and a few more) to it.

Now to decide which one to knit next. ;0)

Ravelry?

2007-08-16T16:00:00.000-04:00

For those of you on Ravelry.com, are you listing GAAA as one project or each square as a separate project?

I'm already on my third square! I'm in no rush because there's no deadline (I'm making this to keep). I'll probably get mine done around 2010 if I keep up at this rate :)

New knitter attempting to complete the afghan before Christmas 2007....

2007-08-09T16:24:00.000-04:00

Hi All,

I am relatively new to knitting, and I am teaching myself as I go along. I find that the videos on www.knittinghelp.com to be invaluable. I just finished my fourth square today - The Carol Adam's square. I had great difficulty making the gauge on this one and had to add an additional diamond pattern. Actually ripped it out more times than I care to mention. Has anyone else had trouble with the gauges on the squares? I am going to attempt to do one of the squares that require a circular needle. I've never worked with circular needles before, so wish me luck. My goal is to complete the afghan for a Christmas present (yes, this year!) Is it doable? I'll post photos after I block them.

Best,

Bonnie

Susan Rainey Square

2007-08-09T14:56:00.001-04:00

I have finished!

2007-07-19T22:39:00.000-04:00

After 20 months of work, I finally finished this beauty:I am so in love with this afghan! You can read about the project here.

Any Updates?

2007-07-18T10:15:00.000-04:00

I was searching for inspiration/motivation yesterday afternoon and I checked out most of the member blogs and links to pictures. Very cool stuff!

I noticed that many of our members don't have site or the existing sites don't work anymore. If you have a new blog or a link for pictures definitely let me know and I'll get everything updated. My email address is suziehomemaker323 AT yahoo DOT com.

Thanks! (I should actually have a finished square sometime this week - yay!)

New member from France

2007-05-18T05:48:00.000-04:00

Hi,

I am new to that KAL. My name is Sylvie and I am French. I am knitting this beautiful afghan with friends on a french yahoo group.

Here are the four squares I have already completed:

Happy knitting! :)

Alternative border

2007-04-28T15:38:00.000-04:00

Hi all, I stumbled upon Susan Rainey's (the 1st prize winner) blog by accident and discovered that she had an alternative way of making the border. I think you may like to have a look. You can find the pattern here.

Problems with Kathleen Carty Square

2007-04-26T13:15:00.000-04:00

I am working on this afghan to give to my future in-laws in thanks for all that they have done in preparation for my upcoming wedding in November. I have been crusing through the squares and have about 7 of them done. I decided to tackle the Kathleen Carty square and I am stumped. I can't seem to turn the corner from Chart A toChart B correctly. I am pretty sure I did Chart A correctly. I think I am doing the HKW's incorrectly. Any help?

THANKS!

8 squares completed!

2007-04-24T14:40:00.000-04:00

Hi, I have also set myself a deadline ... and this afghan will be given away as a wedding gift. This way, I have been a lot more motivated to work on it ... one square at a time. So far, I have completed 8 squares. Here is the link to photos of my finished squares.

Afghan needed For Septmeber

2007-04-24T10:35:00.000-04:00

I haven't posted in abit but I need to finish this afghan for September, so hopefully I will have progress soon. I have so much knitting to get doen, I need to sit and figure out a timeline, one block a week or three every two weeks....itt will be good to get it done...

A little switch and we're back in business

2007-04-24T08:52:00.000-04:00

Amy contacted me and I'm now able to moderate. I added a new member for the first time this morning and I think it actually worked! Feel free to email me at suziehomemaker323 AT yahoo DOT com if you would like to join this knit along or if you're an existing member and you'd like to update your WIP link.

Thanks!
Angela

Moderator?

2007-04-18T10:53:00.000-04:00

I know I'm a little late but I think I can try to moderate this blog. I tried to reach Amy at her yahoo email address but it bounced back to me undeliverable. Does anyone know how to reach her?

If we can't reach her is there any way to switch this over without her involved? I'm still a little new to Blogger so I'm not sure. Thanks!

Angela

suggestions please

2007-02-20T01:09:00.000-05:00

getting ready to start my first square ~ any suggestions as to which would be the easiest to start with? i am going to use woolease worsted weight in white.

Ann Strong

2007-02-13T05:30:00.000-05:00

thanks for all your help I got my square done and it is beautiful

Judy Sumner Square

2007-01-29T14:18:00.000-05:00

I haven't worked on this project for quite some time. But 2007 would be a year for me to clear up my WIPs. So, during the past weekend, I finished the Judy Sumner Square:

I didn't feel too much drawn to this square looking at the picture from the book, but I have to say I LOVE this square while working on it. The pattern is interesting and fun to knit. And the picturesque square is just lovely!

Ann Strong Square help on reading the instructions

2007-01-26T19:54:00.000-05:00

I am working on the ann strong square of the aran afghan and I do not understand what rows they want me to use after row 8 they say to do up to row 20 on A chart but B and C only go to 8 what do I do with the stitches inbetween.

new here from Australia

2007-01-22T23:51:00.000-05:00

Hello everybody. I'm from Australia, and just got the book from a Sydney company a few weeks ago. I don't know if the book has been available out here before now. It was great to find a website with some helpful tips.

I've knitted a few squares thus far. My advice to anyone newly beginning this project would probably be to start with the easiest squares first, listed in front of the book, just to get used to the abbreviations, knitting techniques and the charts. I'm just using a 12 ply wool for the project, and so far the guage seems to be okay.

So far, probably the hardest square for me has been the one by Georgie Vincent, pages 26-27. I have noticed that there are no yarn forwards in this book - only yarn overs. I am more used to yarn forwards. Most of the time, I don't think it makes that much of a difference. But in rows 8-13 of this square, you really need to use yarn over to get the right effect.

Some of the bobbles in the book are hard to work, especially on the smaller needles. Sometimes I put some of the stitches on a much smaller needle to make it easier to insert the other needle. Instead of knitting into the back of the stitch, you can slip off the stitch and put it back on so that it is slanting the other way, if that makes sense. Drawing the stitches through at the end to make the bobble can also be made easier by using a crochet hook.

I grew up in the town of Woomera, which of course had a lot of US personnel and their families. Even back then, I noticed how clever and creative some of the American ladies could be with their knitting. This afghan is no exception. Anyone interested in more creative knitting projects, I recommend this story - http://www.abc.net.au/tasmania/stories/s1212449.htm. Happy knitting!

Sandra

Would you like to moderate this blog?

2007-01-22T17:23:00.000-05:00

Hi all--

I was wondering if anyone would like to take over the administration of the GAAAA blog? It doesn't take a whole lot of time, just a familiarity with blogger to be able to set up new people on the blog.

I finished this project over a year ago, so my ability to answer questions about it is waning at this point, and my knitting time has dropped significantly, as I've joined a roller derby league (the Ohio Roller Girls) so I am not blogging near as much as I was when this started.

If you are interested in helping me out and keeping this blog running, please let me know by emailing me at pixiegrrl24 AT yahoo DOT com.

Thanks!
Amy

2007 Resolution

2007-01-03T15:44:00.000-05:00

I have one square done for this beautiful afghan and I have another that is only partially started. The problem is that I lost my piece of paper that I used to keep track of what row I was on for each section.

SO - my New Year's resolution is to rip that square and try to get at least a couple squares done this year. I think I'm just intimidated because it's one of the hardest patterns I have tried so far. I figure if I post this then it's got to be motivation for me to get going again! Only 362 days left!

Question about the Dagmara Berztiss square

2006-09-27T16:03:00.000-04:00

Hi all,

My name is Andrea and I live in Argentina. I've been lurking for a while, but now I would appreciate your help with a question about the Dagmara Berztiss square.

One of the instructions for the square is to "decrease 4" ("DEC 4): With yarn in front, sl 3, *pass 2nd st on RH needle over first (center) st, sl center st back to LH needle and pass 2nd st over it*, sl center st back to RH needle; rep from * to * once more, p center st. My first question is, do you think I should slip those first 3 stitches knitwise or purlwise? Also, to any of you who have knit this square, do you get a hole as a result of the decrease? I made a few tries and got a hole, but I don't see one in the pictures, so I assume I'm doing something wrong, and I may have more questions later!

Thanks for any help,

Andrea

New addition to blog

2006-08-28T18:20:00.000-04:00

Hi everybody,

I'm new to this blog (actually new to any blog). I ordered the pattern to the "Great American Aran Afghan" last week, after discovering it in an old copy of "Knitter's Magazine". Reading all the entries here has been very entertaining and has made me wanting to start the project as soon as possible. Unfortunately, there is one small hitch: I need to finish my current project first (see picture), which is a Aran sweater for a friend who is 6 foot 5! I'm working on the front of the body right now and can't wait to start with the shoulder straps, as I have never used this technique before. The pattern is from knitpicks (link to pattern).
I have been knitting since I was 6 years old and I'm always on the lookout for new challenges. This aran afghan seems to be quite up my alley, since every square is different, which should keep my interest. Thank you all for your tips and tricks, joining this at a later stage definitely has it's advantages.

Happy knitting!

Finished!

2006-08-12T21:24:00.000-04:00

I finally finished my afghan last weekend, but have been too busy to post about it until now. I must say, it feels like the end of a marathon! That's thirty squares and twenty-two feet of border there. For those wondering about its size, it's a (very late) wedding present for my sister and brother-in-law, and I wanted them to be able to snuggle under it together.

It actually took less yarn than I thought; only 23 balls of the Encore (I had bought 25, and have been terrified for the last year that that wasn't enough). More details about the finished afghan here.

question about cast ons, bind offs and seaming and bugs on square one

2006-07-26T13:20:00.000-04:00

Hello everyone. I am new and have a couple of questions if anyone would care to comment.
First, on the backside (WS) of the afghan, would it look bad if all the seams are not done the same way? To whit: I plan to use a provisional cast on for the bottom edge of "normal" squares that aren't somehow stitched or otherwise constructed (ones that are knitted normally from bottom up rather than put together or with borders). The top edge, normally a bindoff will be left "live" to seam with bottom edge of another swatch via 3 needle bindoff method. Side to side seams will be done with normal mattress stitch. These 2 seams will appear quite different on the back. I would prefer the back to appear as pristine as possible.

Apropos of the first published square in Knitters, "Kisses and Hugs, Spiders and Bugs": I see a bug on the spiderweb. I don't know if it is the "big" bug or not as I cannot see any other bug on the swatch. I plan to by the pattern in book form instead of using the magazine but don't have it yet. Perhaps in the book it is more clearly pictured? Is the other bug up on the leaf at top left? Looks like it might be.

Thanks for any help and any other hints on pitfalls or suggestions for working this thing. I am having an utter blast knitting the spider square! I love this thing. I am very comfortable with Aran knitting so this is not a problem. I would just love to hear of any experiences and good advice anyone has to give so as to avoid problems ahead of time!

Thanks very much!
Frances

Seaming lessons

2006-07-11T23:05:00.000-04:00

I just started sewing all the squares together last weekend (no,they're not all done yet--got 27.5 out of 30 done) and have been learning some lessons in the process.

Lesson 1: Always slip the first stitch of each row when knitting an entire square, and never do when you're knitting a section of a square (like the border on Kathleen T. Carty or the center on Betty Salpekar). OK, I don't actually know if this is a hard-and-fast rule, but the squares where I conscientiously slipped the first stitch seam up beautifully, with the ridges appearing unbroken across the two squares. And when I attempted to do the same thing on the sections they came out like crap. Might just be me though. =)

Lesson 2: When the ridges on both squares run perpendicular to the seam, use a "ladder stitch" on the FRONT side of the work (see "Assembly" diagram on the last page of Knitter's School in the back of the book for a picture of what I'm calling "ladder stitch"). When the ridges on both squares run parallel to the seam, use an overcast stitch through the FULL THICKNESS of the squares. My first bunch of parallel seams look terrible because I was trying to only seam on the front side. And, finally, when one block runs parallel and the other is perpendicular--err, make it up. I tended to use overcast on those too, and it looks fine, but some experiments with half-and-half suggest that might be the way to go.

Hopefully this'll save some of you a little bit of stress with the seaming.

Sumner Square

2006-06-05T18:31:00.000-04:00

I've been working on the square designed by Judy Sumner, and it appears to be far smaller than the other squares I've made. I know my gauge hasn't changed, and it actually isn't that far off on width, but it seems as though it will be much too short. Has anyone else made this square and experienced something similar? I suppose I could add extra rows in between the spider on the bottom right and the web on the top right.

getting started

2006-06-05T09:40:00.000-04:00

poking thru the knitter's 2000 fall issue i stumbled upon the 1st 4 blocks of this afghan. i am in awe. gorgeous! have ordered the pattern and am waiting for it anxiously! question? yarn to use.... considering lion brand's fisherman's wool. any comments or suggestions??? open to anything. would like to keep the afghan in cream, off white, etc.

browsing thru pics of some of the completed afghans. such talent! i hope someday to post a pic of my completed afghan.

chappy

Two squares completed

2006-06-01T16:57:00.000-04:00

I've finished two GAAA squares in the past couple of weeks; they were great fun to knit. This one was designed by Ginger Smith and had a very interesting construction: knit up the first column, pick up stitches along the side, knit up the second column while decreasing away the picked up stitches, and so on. I like the way it turned out.

This square was designed by Marian Tabler; it's called "Tipsy Cables." I really like the shape of the cables; it's very unique.

Denim Afghan pictures

2006-04-03T12:04:00.000-04:00

Finished denim afghan

2006-04-03T11:29:00.000-04:00

At long last, I finished the afghan! Fedexed it to my granddaughter who loves it. Learned SO much while doing it. Although I considered myself an experienced knitter, I was humbled numerous times while doing the project‚ and loved every minute of it.
One thing I did wrong, perhaps no one will know but me. I substituted 3 of the pillow squares for those in the original afghan. After I was done I laid all the squares out using my judgment so the bobbles, "pictures", mitered and vertical squares, etc., were evenly distributed. Then I decided to try it using the original order. That's the way I ended up assembling it, only to realize when I was all done that I had the two tree squares right next to each other. Should have followed my original (better) judgment.
One final note about yarn snobbery. I said in my initial post that I had misgivings about using Red Heart yarn (yeah, Wal-Mart carries it, so it can't be any good.) Well, after I finished the afghan I ordered more of it to do myself a sweater. So there you are.
Thanks for the Blog‚ I enjoyed living through it with all of you!
Now on to the next project!

First Finished Square!

2006-03-03T01:05:00.000-05:00

I finally finished by Julia H. Levy block the other day. I'm really happy with how it came out. It was my first time blocking anything and it wasn't nearly as daunting as I thought it might be. I'm still amazed at how much blocking does to really finish off your square though. Here is a picture of my square:

I have a closer detail picture and the saga of making this block (it took four tries) on my blog if you would like to check them out.

I'm loving making this afghan already though. :)

Introduction and a Question

2006-02-07T04:39:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone! I've been signed up for this blog for a while now though I (finally) just started my afghan. Had to finish up a few projects and save up for the yarn. Better late than never I guess. :) My name is April and I've been knitting for a little over two years now. I haven't tackled a knitting project of this size before but I wanted a challenge.

My question though has to do with blocking. I've never actually had to block anything before and I'm wondering how much of a differance it makes to the squares. I'm about halfway through the Julie H. Levy square and I'm noticing some of my stitches are a bit larger than others. Also, some areas where the cables join the background are a tad loose. Will I be able to tighten this up when I block? Also can you shape the cables to get the nice points like it has in the picture when you block? I'm not sure if I should just rip it out and start over or if these are just minor things that blocking will fix. Lastly...if I try blocking it and it doesn't fix these things can you frog and re-knit yarn that's been blocked or will it effect the wool to much? I'm using Knitpicks Wool of the Andeas in natural if that helps.

Nice to meet you all and can't wait to see more pictures of your afghans. Also thanks in advance to anyone who can help out with my questions.

Levy, Adams & Smith squares are completed

2006-01-27T10:19:00.000-05:00

Since my firtst posting in November '05 I have finished the Julie Levy, Carol Adams & Ginger Smith squares. To date I enjoyed knitting on the Ginger Smith square due to the way the square is created. My next square on my list is the Hanna Burns square. Pictures of completed squares are posted on my online photo album at www.picturetrail.com/gailrice Enjoy the pictures!

Finished

2006-01-20T20:25:00.000-05:00

After knitting my way through the Steelers vs Colts game, 5 episodes of Babylon 5, You've got Mail and Australian Open my Great American Aran Afghan was completed very late last night. It has been 13 months, 17 skeins of Cascade, numerous hours and been great fun most of the time. Here is a picture from late last night hence the bad quality, it will be replaced by a better one later.

Here is a better picture of the squares before the border.

I really enjoyed this project and been in a happy mood all day. A group of Danish knitters just started an Afghan along and several are knitting GAAA. FYI some have had problems getting the pattern, it seems to be out of print now.
It will be a while before I use white wool again, unless it is homespun, and I have signed up for a cabling without a cable needle class. Oh yes, I have to sew the squares for a baby afghan together next week ;-)

My Last Square

2006-01-16T13:28:00.000-05:00

Finally, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I very early on in the project decided to design my own square. There are several squares in the book that do not appeal to me. Moreover, I wanted something personal as well. Initially, it was just going to be a "normal" square with cables found in various knitting books. Later on I decided somehow to incorporate my name or initials as well as the year in that square, to date and sign my work. However, that would just be too obvious with latin letters. The intricate cables in aran knitting have many similarities to the decorations on jewellery, weapons and stones from the Viking Age. So I chose runes (Futhark alphabet), a tribute to my Danish heritage. I have employed the Faith, Love and Hope charts from the Sever square with my runes.

The upper line reads Ulla and the lower MMVI (2006), a more discret way of signing ones work. I used the pattern charts and translation in Elsebeth Lavolds "Vikingemonster i Stickar" (Viking Patterns for Knitting?). I think there may be an English translation, it is not the book featuring silky wool. Visit the designers viking knit home page for more information. I am going to start knitting the border tonight.

Blocking and finishing?

2006-01-14T23:05:00.000-05:00

It is time to give an update, but first a questions:

I am comtemplating crocheting the squares together instead of sewing, would that be possible?

The Salpekar square is one tough one. I really like the square except there is too much finishing and ends to weave in for my taste. It was a challenge.

Campbell, 3rd time is a charm, the first attempt ended with the cast on being 4 inch too short, the 2nd went well except I joined the cast on twisted. You will get a very cool Moebius square, unfortunately unsuitable for an afghan. For picture see my blog on Jan 5th.

Two more squares remain, well they are actually knitted and currently being blocked, but it is too dark to post pictures. Thus, it is time for blocking the other 18 squares and knitting the border... I am using a 2x4 foot cork board (floor tile?) from Target as a blocking board. It allows me to block 4-6 squares at a time.

To Ulla

2006-01-14T22:06:00.000-05:00

Great American Aran Afghan Along

Ulla, If you happen to read this, is it the Cascade 220 Superwash wool that you are using for the afghan?? It seems it is machine washable so would wear well.
I am still searching for the pattern book!

Cheers, Jean

Denim squares

2006-01-10T13:44:00.000-05:00

Here at last are some of the squares I've completed in the denim yarn. I'm now in the middle of the Salpekar square, my last if I have counted correctly. I have also finished the cable border (18' long…awesome!) Still haven't conquered my phobia of grafting. But I am saving the 3 pieces that need grafting and if I haven't figured it out by the time I finish everything else I'll trot over to my friendly knitting store and ask for coaching.

Bad KnitAlonger!

2006-01-05T18:19:00.000-05:00

I haven't posted in ages!! shame on me! I will admit that I put the afghan down for a bit. But I have been working on it for the last couple of weeks. I'm on my 3rd last block now, the Carty block. LOVED knitting that block :)

The last two that I've picked to do are the Smith block and the Rainey block.

I'm thinking I may widen the afghan by a column and do up the last 4 blocks and then design a block of my own. We'll see.

The only block that I've had trouble with so far is the Salpekar block! I've tried to start it once already and failed ... I think I will try that one again. Going to look through the archives and see if any of you posted about this block. If you have any hints for me .... please please please comment *lol*

No pics of my blocks ... I'm cameraless for a couple more weeks :(

Happy Knitting!