theraineysisters knitting and so much more

This project certainly has a life of its own!  Over ten years old and going strong, with almost 1,000 projects in Ravelry.  I am speaking of The Great American Aran Afghan.  Knitters Magazine teamed up with Plymouth Encore in 1999 and sponsored a design contest for afghan squares with aran elements.  I continue to receive questions about the project and where to obtain the pattern, so I thought I would provide one more update here.

The original squares rolled out four per issue over six issues of Knitters — this took well over a year.  My winning sweater square came out in the last [7th] issue.  SO, if you had a subscription back then, you have the patterns.  They also pulled all the squares into a book which is readily available on-line and at many yarn shops.   There have been numerous knitalongs at various knitting stores — in fact, The Yarnery has one going on now if I’m not mistaken.   This project is a great learning experience and you end up with an heirloom.

Great American Aran Afghan in Cascade 220

If you are interested in tackling this challenging and rewarding project, I suggest joining the GAAA Ravelry Group.   They share their frustrations and learnings, so it’s like a do-it-yourself knitalong.

I received a lovely note from Laurie of Maplewood, Minnesota.  She made a baby blanket based on the sweater mini-square I designed for the Great American Aran Afghan and sent along a photo:

Isn’t it cute??  The three sweaters coordinate with the variegated yarn of the blanket.  Thanks for sharing, Laurie!!

The ongoing popularity of the GAAA continues to amaze me, but it is truly a classic and a really fun and challenging project:  

I think the internet and Ravelry have helped keep the interest alive.  Also, Knitters partnered with Cascade Yarns recently to package GAAA afghan kits in both Cascade 220 and Cascade Dolce.  Because I made my afghan with Cascade 220 (the contest was sponsored originally by Plymouth Encore), Cascade asked to borrow my afghan to display at January’s TNNA convention in California.  In return, they sent me two bags of Cascade Dolce in a color of my choice!  Woo Hoo — FREE yarn!!   A tough decision, but I decided on the teal (color 927).  So it is marinating in my stash, waiting for the perfect match.  I love Cascade yarns!

I have slowed down the pace considerably on my Mitered Cardigan — the bloom is off the rose, as so often happens after the first blush of enthusiasm starts to wane.  I am mentally moving on, but want to finish the jacket soon as a supplement to my “spring wardrobe” (now that is a laugh!! ).

FYI
We get regular google hits from people searching out information about the Great American Aran Afghan (GAAA).  I put together the finished photo of my GAAA with individual photos and comments about each square.  The link resides in Susan’s Gallery.