November 2007

My church has a portable labyrinth on canvas, for walking, that is the same style as the one in Chartre Cathedral in France (we got a kit by these folks: http://www.labyrinth-enterprises.com/chartreslab.html and painted the lines between the outlines they drew for us). In early September, I was thrilled to find a pattern (http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=7658039) from a place in the UK, giving instructions on how to crochet an afghan in that style. Why so thrilled? Because the woman primarily responsible for introducing our church to labyrinth-walking was about to move away and I had been thinking of crocheting one for her, even before I stumbled across this pattern.

Here's how it turned out in worsted weight acrylic yarn, measuring about 50 inches in diameter.

Labyrinth Afghan 4 Nov 2007

The colors match those in the canvas labyrinth we have at church. It's a tad poofy in the middle because I was well into it before I remembered reading somewhere that a UK "treble crochet" is a US "double crochet" (yarn over, pull up a loop, pull through two loops at a time). And US treble crochet is actually a bit airy for an afghan, so the end result is a bit lacier than is really practical...ah, well. It certainly went together faster in US treble!

I also had a bit of trouble getting the increases to line up properly even though I thought I was following the instructions. So I fell back to a method I'm already familiar with. Counting stitches as I go, in the Nth row, the stitches that are multiples of N are worked in the same stitch as the previous stitch. So for example, in the 6th row, the 11th and 12th stitches are worked in the same stitch of the row below.

I wanted the edging to look like the lunettes around the Chartre labyrinth. I ended up using repeats of (treble crochet, double crochet, single crochet, slip stitch, single crochet, double crochet, treble crochet, chain one) around and the stitch count worked out perfectly. The first row of royal blue is worked in the opposite direction around the circle, adding a stitch in every seventh stitch of the row below.

If I'd had more time to perfect things, I'd have tried to figure out how to make the Chartre-style lunettes in the center circle as well. But I took this photo on the morning of the last Sunday before my friend moved and presented the afghan to her that morning in church.

More chemo caps, some with scarves, found there way to the Wellness Community to expand their selection. Plans to add a mirror and a sign inviting participants to take the caps might help put them to use! I was delighted to meet a few of the people who are now wearing some I'd made.

Chemo caps, 11 Nov 2007