a real question, tho not homestead related, about afghans

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I am merely curious: why do we call crocheted blankets "afghans"? Does it have anything to do with Afghanistan? And what about the Afghan hounds? Did that breed originate in the region?

-- Shannon at Grateful Acres Animal Sanctuary (gratacres@aol.com), October 20, 2001

Answers

I can't answer about the blankets, but the dogs I can. Yes, they originated in that area, there are actually 2 different types of Afghan hounds, 1 is the desert type, 1 is the mountain type. The mountain type has a heavier coat and a more defined "saddle". Tana

-- Tana Cothran (tana@getgoin.net), October 20, 2001.

This doesn't really answer your question, but I've knitted afghans as well as crocheted them. I hate sewing pieces together, so I make them in one piece. 6 feet long and 5 feet wide. We like to really wrap them around us! -G-

-- ~Rogo (rogo2020@yahoo.com), October 21, 2001.

Shannon-about crocheted blankets- I believe so. Being a folk art-one passed down from generation to generation, there isn't much written history about the origins of either knitting or crochet. Some people believe that both crafts started in central Asia with a single needle that looked like a crochet hook on one end, and a knitting needle on the other. The work done with this tool is called Afghan Crochet or Tunisian Crochet. You can by the way still get these needles-I have several, but the tools and instructions are getting harder to find. This work is heavier and quicker than knitting but not as stiff as crochet can be. It would make sense to me that these crafts originated in a cold enviroment that used sheep as thier main type of live stock.

-- Kelly in Ky (ksaderholm@yahoo.com), October 21, 2001.

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