Stubborn

Yarn and hook make something. In this case, an afghan should emerge. The pattern calls for two colors. I select three. It alternates light blue and pink in narrow stripes. I double, triple, and quadruple rows for boldness in purple, green, and orange. A deadline looms. I notice the width is less than it should be and that my hand, tight early and later loose, creates a slight V instead of a rectangle. Blocking, my advisors suggest, will make the shape I seek. A baby in a far away country awaits this beginner's handmade blanket. It will not mind matters being a bit out of order, as warmth is warmth after all, but the project has size requirements. I wet the yarn with a machine wash, which pulls the stitches twenty inches in the wrong direction. The result rests on the dining room table. No longer a baby afghan, the sequence of single crochet knots spreads long and narrow into a shawl for the shoulders. The wool fibers are what they want to be and not my intention. I talk to an expert at my yarn shop. She suggests folding it, stitching the edges together, and submitting it for another comfort blanket project at home. I see this possibility as she moves my crochet beauty around the counter. Then I scan the shelves of twisted colors, wondering what goes with brown and blue.