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Why Celebrate Pi Day
Okay, this is it—the ultimate afghan for math lovers—the Fruit Pi C2C Crochet Afghan! Yes, we identify as nerds in this household, and we’re proud of it.
So if you’re not a math lover, you may be wondering just what Pi Day is. First you need to understand what pi is.
A Quick Lesson on Pi
Pi is:
- a mathematical constant
- the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter
- an irrational number—the digits of pi are infinite and do not repeat
The first 100 digits of pi are:
3.1415926535897932384626433832795028841971693993751058209749445923078164062862089986280348253421170679
Pi has lots of applications mathematically, but does anyone actually need to know the first 100 digits of pi? No! But my son GKatt knows them anyway! For those of us who aren’t crazy, we can leave the first 100 digits of pi—and all the rest of them for that matter—to the computers.
Celebrating Pi Day
So why celebrate Pi Day?
- I guess for the same reason that I wear Mobius band earrings—because math is cool!
- It’s a perfect opportunity for hands on lessons in circles, diameters, and angles.
- It’s a GREAT excuse to eat lots and lots of pie!
Pi Day is celebrated on March 14th. March 14th can also be written as 3/14 or 3.14—the first 3 digits of pi.
We like to celebrate Pi Day with either a meat pie or a pizza pie for dinner, followed by one or more dessert pies. My favorites include: razzleberry, cherry, and key lime.
Inspiration for the Fruit Pi C2C Crochet Afghan
Besides being a math nerd myself, there were two sources of inspiration for this afghan.
The first is a math t-shirt that my daughter BRizzle would wear on Pi Day. It had the pi symbol in red with a stem and a leaf—Apple Pi! I think it also had a bite out of it and a couple of apple seeds beside it. It was super cute.
The second is a family that we know and love. They invited us over for dinner one night just a week or so before Pi Day a few years back. GKatt and their boys competed in reciting digits of pi. We introduced them to meat pie that year.
So I’ve worked both elements into the Fruit Pi C2C Crochet Afghan—the fruit pie puns and the digits of pi. I did not use 100 digits of pi however! I did modify the fruit pie puns to be more obvious, using the whole fruits with the pi symbol.
If you prefer a more subtle approach, check out the alternate blocks available in the full Fruit Pi C2C Crochet Afghan in my Etsy shop. I’ve also included additional fruit options: peach, pear, plum, and cherry.
The Fruit Pi C2C Crochet Afghan Crochet Along
As in past crochet-alongs, I will introduce one new block each week. I think I’ve left it a little late, though, and we may have to double up one week to get this awesome blanket put together before Pi Day.
As you may have guessed from the diagram, the blocks will be:
And we’ll wrap it all up in
Fruit Pi C2C Crochet Afghan—Joining and Edging
The C2C Crochet Method
I am using the standard Corner to Corner (C2C) crochet technique for this afghan. I crochet with worsted weight yarn and I use an H hook for a tighter weave.
To brush up on C2C crochet, click over to my Crochet Videos page.
IMPORTANT: I am weighing all my yarn before and after crocheting to give you the best approximation for the amount used. Please remember, differences in stitching tension and the brand of yarn selected will yield different results. I will include the yarn amounts rounded up to the nearest whole ounce when I finish the blanket.
Materials
~ Lion Brand Vanna’s Choice Yarn 3.5 oz skeins in the following colors:
- Beige (46 oz)
- Chocolate (19 oz)
- Scarlet (3 oz)
- Mustard (2 oz)
- Rose Shocking (3 oz)
- Terracotta (3 oz)
- Fern (1 oz)
- Kelly Green (1 oz)
~ Size H Crochet Hook or size needed to achieve gauge (see Gauge for C2C Afghans)
~ Yarn Needle
~ Thread Scissors
Get your hooks ready. We begin next Monday! First up—Apple Pi!
Enjoy!
