In the summer of 2002, Steve and I went to Norway. It was to be a long trip, driving from the south to the most northerly point then cruising back through the fjords. I needed a knitting project to keep my hands busy and decided on an idea that had been brewing for some time and which also had links with other projects we had recently been working on.
It was to be an afghan that could be folded back on itself and pushed inside its own pocket to form a cushion. I had seen something like this before and there was nothing particularly mathematical about it. It was to be made from twelve squares plus one more for the pocket. Each of the squares would be made up of four diagonally knit squares. It was to be a fairly mindless piece of knitting because I didn’t want anything I would need to concentrate on for fear of missing the scenery. In addition to this it was to use up hundreds of oddments of yarn. Each of the twelve squares was to be a different colour with lots of shades and textures.
I sorted out all the little bits and balls of yarn that I knew I would never use alone, and tied them together in short lengths to make a large ball for each square. I left rough knots and ends at the joins because there could be no right and wrong side to afghan so the joins should become a feature. We went away for three weeks and I took most of the balls with me. Very little got done. On the drive up Norway we stopped to marvel at the scenery so many times it was never worth getting started and on the cruise I did even less. There is something about boats that sends me to sleep almost as soon as I set foot on them, which is very strange for someone who doesn’t normally need much sleep.
