“Harvest Gold”, “Avocado Green”, and “Coppertone Brown” are familiar phrases when recalling the 70’s. Houses everywhere were filled with refrigerators, ovens, dishwashers, and numerous other large items in the popular warm shades of the day, and homemakers who were unable to splurge on large appliances accessorized their homes wherever possible with the fashionable hues. During the earth-tone trend my grandma was busy creating a legacy for her six children in the form of crocheted afghans, and my mom (which by default included me) was given the task of selecting her preferred shade of yarn for the cozy creation and “Harvest Gold” was the winner.
Crocheted with double threads the blanket is heavy and warm, but over the years the wool has yielded to some not so welcome “yarnivores” and holes now abound throughout the piece. Not wanting to simply store the blanket for safekeeping–only to admire when I open the closet door–I came up with two options, one of which is considerably more reasonable. I first thought to dismantle and rework the yarn (my grandma taught me to crochet) but the reality of the time required to complete such an undertaking quickly overtook my unbridled enthusiasm. The only other feasible option was to begin the tedious task of trying to pick up loose threads and securely reattach them, and I didn’t like that idea at all since there are seemingly countless openings that were not part of the original design…
My husband loves a challenge when it comes to “fixing things” others would discard, therefore he was quick to cheerfully volunteer to assist in this not so pleasant task which would be completely overwhelming if left to myself. The skill-set required in knowing “how to crochet” is significantly different than making a mental map of the path the yarn takes, which is necessary in order to catch and secure the loose ends. If not done correctly (which would likely happen for me) the hole only grows larger.
I expect the most time consuming part of this adventure will be finding yarn for repairing the blanket in a shade that has long since gone out of fashion; which means I am now on the hunt for “Harvest Gold” and “Dirty Cream” wool yarn. My mission of tracking down the elusive shades of wool has begun, and hopefully next winter when the damp, cold weather necessitates being cocooned in a heavy blanket as my husband and I relax on the couch watching a favorite movie, we will stay toasty warm while we repair the damage to a cherished keepsake.
