afghans, ('rugs', or lap blankets, that are often hand knit or crocheted) are very popular here in US. most homes have one or more... some times they are jacquard woven designs, but many, many folk, who don't otherwise knit or crochet, make afghans--(i have 2 i have knit, and i have given dozens away-- but not like gifthorse, all in one year!)--even my ex made a point of snaring one of the household afgans when we got divorced, and his nieces, (the dear little gold diggers) made a point of grabbing the one i made for my in-laws when their house hold was being 'dismantled'(my M-I-L, knit, but thought afghans to be too big a project, and ex S-I-L doesn't knit) the little gold digger grabbed the afgan before she had completed grabbing all the silver!--to put the desirerabilty into a frame of reference--and to be honest, the afghan was nice, but not an award winner by any means!
i know from my knitting sites, afghans/lap blankets/rugs (as my nana always called them) are not nearly as popular in UK--which is amazing, since with central heating, they are almost unneeded here, and would actually serve a function in UK!--
but there are some UK knitters who design and knit them..
one of my favorite sites is:
http://www.woollythoughts.comthey have wonderful designs (and besides, their afghans are rather mathmatically designed!)
