Wool into Stone Afghan

The Petoskey stone, Hexagonaria percarinata, is the official state stone of Michigan. This stone is a type of fossilized coral with a distinctive design of roughly hexagonal elements, round centers, and radiating lines that go out to a light-colored edge. The natural colors of Shetland wool reminded Michigan resident Amy Tyler of the stones, so she designed this afghan in their iconic shape.

Each of the medallions that make up these afghans is knitted in a circle from two to three colors. The rough hexagonal shapes that result are due to the way the medallions are crocheted together and some strong blocking of the final piece. The center portion of each circle is worked in garter stitch to accentuate the shape, and on the outer portion, a two-stitch twist on a background of reverse stockinette mimics the radiating lines in Petoskey stones. The white yarn is reserved for the border of each medallion and for crocheting the medallions together.

MATERIALS
Yarn 1,550 (1,440) yards or about 28 (26) ounces 2-ply worsted-weight 100% wool yarn in 6 or 7 natural colors.
Needles Size 7 (4.5 mm): set of double-pointed (dpn). Adjust needle size if necessary to accommodate your chosen yarn.
Gauge 18 sts and 32 rnds = 4" in garter st. Gauge is not critical for this project, but it will affect the amount of yarn used.
Notions Size G/6 (4 mm) crochet hook; markers (m); tapestry needle; safety pins.
Finished size About 56 (55)" long and 41 (37)" wide. Small medallion: about 5½" in diameter after blocking. Large medallion: about 9" in diameter after assembly and blocking.

Notes
* The original design was written for handspun yarn. Substitute your choice of naturally colored wool yarn.
* Instructions are given for Meg’s/larger (Jo’s/smaller) afghan.
* You can use any weight of yarn for these medallions; the thicker the yarn, the bigger the medallions. Use a needle size appropriate to the yarn.
* Each medallion is limited to two or three colors, not counting the white border. When changing colors in the garter-stitch center, do so at the beginning of a knit round. For the cable-stitch outer edge, you may vary where you change color.

Visit farmfiberknits.com/abbreviations for terms you don’t know.

Photos by Joe Coca

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