Pretty Pineapples

I did not crochet this afghan, I simply recognized it as a great deal when I found it, in  pristine condition, at Savers. After my ‘senior’ discount, it was only $2.39! I’m donating this simple, yet somewhat lacy, baby afghan, 32″ x 48″, to the same foster care program as my ripples.

I think of my mom whenever I see a crocheted pineapple design.

She crocheted several pineapple doilies over the years, including a rather large one, at least three feet across, that flowed over the edge of a small table in our living room.

It was fascinating to watch how she would smooth a freshly washed doily out on towels laid over the living room carpet and then carefully stretch it by placing straight pins at even intervals on its outer edge. The next day, once it was dry, I got to remove each of those carefully placed pins and then we would finally see how that crumpled mass of thread became a showy intricate lace doily, especially beautiful on a dark wood table.

I can’t imagine myself ever crocheting a pineapple doily out of fine cotton thread, let alone one that’s three feet in diameter, but I’m sure I can crochet a pineapple afghan, especially one as simple-looking as this sweet little baby afghan. I did a search in Ravelry and discovered sixty different pineapple blanket patterns!

Somehow, I managed to stick to my goal, which was to find the pineapple pattern that matches my afghan. It goes by two different names and it’s in three pattern books. The ‘Pineapple Rows’ pattern, by Anne Halliday, is in Leisure Arts #3633, “Pastel Pineapples for Baby”, along with two other patterns. It’s made of sport yarn. The worsted yarn version is called ‘Cozy’. It can be found in Leisure Arts #3116, “So Pretty Pineapple Afghans”, with five other designs, and in #3440, “Pineapple Afghans for Baby”, with yet another five.

Finding out that all three are actually leaflets, rather than books, I realized I wouldn’t be able to find them in a public library. But I figured I could find at least one free pineapple pattern that I liked, among the remaining fifty-eight candidates in Ravelry!

But before I even started that search process, I happened to bring home a library book, “100 Afghans to Knit and Crochet” by Jean Leinhauser and Rita Weiss. I was so happy when I  discovered that pattern #37 of the 100 is ‘Pineapple Throw’! Designed by Janie Herrin, it’s another pretty, yet simple-looking, pineapple afghan. When crocheted with a worsted weight yarn and a size I hook, it makes a 41″ x 58″ blanket, which will be perfect for the foster kids! It takes 36 ounces of yarn, which is much more than my ripples, but that includes yarn for eight-inch double-strand fringe, which I’ll be skipping.

Surprisingly, there is only one finished example in Ravelry! Maybe the pretty ‘Pineapple Throw’ I crochet will be number two!