Now that was a big ball of yarn.

This past summer I attended Spinrite's Big Balls sale.  (Go ahead and laugh like you're in 7th Grade again..I'm pretty sure you're supposed to when you hear something like that!)

I used one biggish red ball to make a baby blanket earlier this summer.  I also grabbed a big enormous ball of taupe yarn at that sale.  After leaving it in a garbage bag in the basement waiting for inspiration to strike, I actually ended up using the pattern on the label to make this big, beautiful blanket.

One ball.  One!

No dye lot concerns.  (If the yarn you purchase isn't coded with the same number, it might ended being a slightly different shade of the same colour.)

No joining.

No working in ends (aside from one little tail at the beginning and one at the end).

There will be more big balls in my future!  (You're doing the 7th Grade Giggle again, aren't you?)

So this basket followed me everywhere for a while.  I took it on car trips, visits to friends, to the doctor's office (where it provided a great conversation piece while I waited and worked on it for over two hours one day), and even family Christmas.

It was like a magical ball of yarn from a folk tale that just never seemed to get smaller.  Until one day... the last little bit of the ball unravelled and I was left looking at this:

I love the simplicity of the pattern.  It's easy to work on without thinking too much about what you're doing and, as my aunt pointed out, it has a bit of a broomstick lace look to it, although it's much, much easier than going the broomstick route.

Every time I make one of these monochrome afghans, I end up wishing I could keep it.  I think that's a sign that there may be a bit of selfish crochet in my future. ;)

This one, however, was a wedding gift for my best friend Theresa and her new husband, James.  Thousands of little knots for the couple who tied the knot on December 29, 2012.  Congratulations again, you two!