Ode to My Afghan

Oh, how I love my afghan.

Down here in normally beautiful, sunny south Florida, there's not usually a use for such a household item. But once in a while, it gets mighty cold.

Now, you folks in the North and Midwest are probably laughing now, saying, "What does she know about cold?" And I'll admit, it was still a lot warmer here than it was elsewhere.

But here, the houses aren't built to withstand cold; they're built to let the heat out. The ceilings are high, and the houses are built on concrete slabs, which let the cold in from the floors. Plus, many of us don't have appropriate cold-weather pajamas or warm blankets.

And that is why we pulled out all the afghans. With them on top of our blankets, I was able to keep the heat off for some of the nighttime cold weather, and turned it down pretty low for when it got the worst.

I made my afghan starting at the age of 10. My mom had crocheted all of us afghans (I still have that one, too), and I decided to learn how to crochet. Once I had learned the basics, I decided to make granny squares out of the leftover yarn from my mom's afghans.

One square turned to two, then three, then over a hundred. It took several years of working in fits and starts, but eventually, I had made a queen-sized afghan, big enough for two people to snuggle over, when and if I ever had someone to snuggle with.

It's now one of my most special personal possessions, and it helps me save money. What a great combination!

Tomorrow: tips on frugal afghan-making.