New Project - Around the World Afghan

I know... I know... I should not start a new project, I already have more than one in progress and I have several others in mind but when I saw this pattern, I just fell in love with it.

For several years and I mean SEVERAL, I've wanted to make a crochet blanket that had the look of a quilt, I just loved all the colors and the patchwork design of the Around the World Quilt.
So...I now I had to pick out the yarn, but didn't want to buy it unless I could find EVERY color I wanted to use. My first choice was Dark Horse Fantasy. I love this yarn, it is super soft and washes well. But the skeins are about 3 oz each (and I need 8 oz of each color) so I would have to buy 3 skeins of each color. While the price per skein is reasonable, I'd spend about $10-12 on each color I needed.

So... I then decided to check out my 2nd yarn choice.I decided to use Vanna's Choice (Note: Usually I can get this on sale for $2.50 a skein, normal price $2.99 at stores where I shop) I often found 2 shades of each color, but I needed 3 shades of each color. I went to several stores, the last being Hobby Lobby and I was surprised at how little Vanna's Choice they had.

Well...my friend Susan (who is not a crafter at all!) happened to be with me and said does it have to be that brand? I said No, but I the other one I wanted would make my blanket too expensive, and I really loved Vanna's Choice and now I didn't know what brand to seek out (I didn't want to use Red Heart because, although I love Red Heart, it just wasn't the texture and colors I was going for).

Susan went to Hobby Lobby's own brand called "I Love This Yarn" and helped me pick out the colors I was seeking. It was the same price as Vanna's Choice and was just as soft, if not softer. Much to my surprise, we found every single color combo I wanted. I hadn't planned on buying all the yarn I needed but since all the colors were there and I only needed one skein of each color (besides black), I got them all - the total $41 - not bad for an ENTIRE Queen size blanket.

So I got home and couldn't wait to start the first and center square. So the picture above is the starting point - Square 1...only 1,072 more to go (ay, ya, ya!)