There was a time when I met with two people from Annie's Attic and someone from Coats & Clark.  We sat at a large round table and I showed them some of the work I had been doing.  I had, hmmm probably about 50 different swatches and sketches to show.  Again, swatching is so easy and fun!  (Keep in mind that I had NEVER met these people before and was scared half out of my mind!)

The thing that really stood out the most was some Tunisian pieces I had.  I believe there were six of them.  I had taught myself to do Tunisian crochet, after learning cro-hooking first.  I tried many times to do the "purl" stitch.  I just didn't think I was doing it correctly.  It was so awkward.  For those of you who know the purl stitch...you will understand.  So, I did it a little differently.  It looked great.  Just like a purl should look.  So, I used this stitch when designing these afghans.  I figured they were right and there you go.

Now, when the folks at Annie's Attic and Coats & Clark saw them,  they were very excited and asked me how I had done it!   Wait a minute.  These folks had been doing this for years and years.  Surely they knew how to do the purl stitch, right?  OMG!  During the meeting, there I am.  What had I done?  How could I have done it WRONG??!!  Fortunately, I just sort of skimmed over HOW I had done it since I figured I had done it WAAAAYYYYYY wrong!

The moral of this story is that there is no WRONG!  I thought I had been doing a purl, but I had really been doing something else.  It took me weeks to find a book that held the stitch I had been using.  In that particular book, it is called a Reverse Afghan Stitch.  But, it was printed in 1904!  I couldn't find the stitch anywhere else.  Angela Grabowski of Chez Crochet had also discovered the stitch (I later found out), but in the books she located, the stitch is considered to be a purl.  Whew!  I wasn't that far off after all!

This stitch produced a really great dimensional project.  I've used it many, many times since I was able to sell those 13 afghans to Annie's Attic based on those few swatches!  You can see it in use in my Reversible Scarf, Shades of Sage Afghan, Diagonal Ribbed Sweater, Tunisian Throw Pillows, Pinstripe Tube Top and Shrug, Ladies Funnelneck Sweater and the Pinstripe Vest.

You can also visit my Professional Portfolio pages to see the following designs which use this stitch:  A Dozen And One Tunisian Dishcloths, Baby Doll Tank Top, So Soft Vest, Pinstripe Afghan on the Double, Afghan Stitch Afghans, Tunisian Baby Afghans, Tunisian Sampler Afghan and Pinstripe Kitchen Set.

So, always remember.  You aren't doing it WRONG!  It's a unique design element that you haven't decided what to name yet!