I had an excellent crochet day today.

Last night, before I went to bed, I had to finish one of the remaining 170 squares I need for the project known as “The Big Rug.” I got out a ball of the yarn I had salvaged from my first “Big Rug” attempt and earnestly worked on making a square the proper size.

Three times I completed several rows, and, to my consternation, three times my gauge was off.

It wasn’t off by much, but it was enough to be a problem for a large piece that needs to lay flat. I pulled the stitches out and tried increasing the tension, but when I had to unravel the square-to-be for the third time, I noticed a detail I had previously overlooked: the size of the hook.

I had, in my hand, a 4.00mm hook. What I needed was a 3.75 mm hook. So, I swapped out the hook I was using for the correct size and completed the first of 170 daily squares that I need to finish for “The Big Rug.”

This morning I decided not to wait until I was exhausted and worked on square 169 first thing in the morning while I was still fresh and paying attention to the requisite details. In short order, I completed the square and my project was two squares closer to completion:

My early morning success with the square for the rug left me ready to tackle the next thing. In this case, a not-quite-finished, nine-patch granny square purse. I had decided to use a large snap for the closure:

and attach a braided strap like the one featured in “The Basic Bag” pattern in Jane Davis’s, Crochet, The Complete Guide:

As with my earlier efforts, things went relatively smoothly, and I had it done before dinner.

I can’t tell when I get up in the morning if I will have a day of easy success, or if I will seemingly be challenged on all fronts for the entire day, but I am grateful for both.