Crazy about Lizard Ridge

Laura Aylor's Lizard Ridge© Afghan

In the fally Knitty, Laura Aylor designed this gorgeous afghan that she calls the Lizard Ridge. She uses Noro Kureyon yarn for the pattern because of the long color runs. It's a truly beautiful piece, either in colorful blocks or knitted in one huge piece. You must look at Laura's pattern to really see the beauty. Laura is from Lizard Ridge at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina. Her pattern is knitted using short rows. While short rows aren't really difficult, if you're a good knitter, you can memorize this pattern after a few blocks. HOWEVER, I'm really more of a crocheter than a knitter.

I posted a question about a crochet version of this gorgeous pattern on the SnB mail list. Kenna of Long Beach answered me. She said that she had consulted Laura Aylor herself and had come up with a crochet pattern stitch to look similar to the knitted version.

Kenna's Pattern

Then, I contacted our fearless SnB moderator and designer extraordinaire, Shannita (also co-owner of A Mano LYS in Mar Vista). I had seen a similar pattern on Shannita's blog. I asked her about the stitch pattern and she told me that she found it in one of those Harmony Crochet Stitch books.

Shanitta's Pattern

I looked through my library of stitch books and found the pattern that Shannita was talking about. I changed the look of the original crochet pattern to simulate the knitted version by substituting treble crochet stitches for the double crochet stitches. The first swatch is crocheted with some leftover acrylic, just to practice. The second swatch is crocheted with Noro Kureyon. This is what I came up with:

Crochet alternative for Lizard Ridge© Afghan
Designed by Laura Aylor for the fall Knitty.com

Check the directions for the knitted version of this afghan online for color combinations and instruction as to placement, etc.

Instructions:
Yarn: Noro Kureyon and a size “H” crochet hook. Foundation ch, multiple of 12 + 3.
Stitches used: ch = chain; sc = single crochet; hdc = half-double crochet; trbl c = treble crochet.

Row 1: (right side)
SC in 2nd ch from hook and in next 2 chs; *hdc in next 2 chs, trbl c in next 5 chs, hdc in next 2 chs, sc in next 3 chs; rep from * across. Ch l, turn.

Row 2:
Sc in first 3 sc; *hdc in next 2 hdc, trbl c in next 5 trbl c, hdc in next 2 hdc, sc in next 3 sc; rep from * across; ch 1, turn.

Row 3:
Sc in each st across. Ch 3 (counts as first trbl c on following row) turn.

Row 4:
Trbl in next 3 sc (with the ch 3 from the previous row, this counts as 4 stitches, total), hdc in next 2 sc, sc in next 3 sc, hdc in next 2 sc; *trbl c in next 5 sc, hdc in next 2 sc, sc in next 3 sc, hdc in next 2 sc; rep from * to last 4 sc; trbl c in last 4 sc. Ch 3, turn.

Row 5:
Trbl in next 3 dc, hdc in next 2 hdc, sc in next 3 sc, hdc in next 2 sc; *trbl c in next 5 trbl c, hdc in next 2 hdc, sc in next 3 sc, hdc in next 2 hdc; rep from * to last 4 sts; trbl c in next 3 trbl c and in 2nd ch of turn ch-3; ch 1, turn.

Row 6:
Sc in each st. Ch 1, turn.

Row 7:
Sc in first 3 sc; *hdc in next 2 sc; trbl c in next 5 sc, hdc in next 2 sc, sc in next 3 sc; rep from * across. Ch 1, turn.

Row 8:
Sc in first 3 sc; *hdc in enxt 2 hdc, dc in next 5 trbl c, hdc in next 2 hdc, sc in next 3 sc; rep from * across; Ch 1, turn.

Repeat rows 3 through 8 for desired length. At end of last row, do not ch 1; do not turn. Finish off.

If you decide to make this gorgeous afghan, e-mail me photos with your progress!