After sunset yesterday I was left with only indoor lighting to guide my color choices, so I set aside the scrap extravaganza that is my über poncho-to-be and turned my attention to the monochrome textured squares project.

One thing about working in just one color is that once you settle on the one color you will use, there are no other color decisions to be made.

No internal debates about what to leave in or leave out, no thought as to how two colors look juxtaposed one against the other. One simply crochets, one stitch and then another and then another.

This clarity and single-mindedness of purpose gives one-color crochet a purity of purpose that can be refreshing and restorative.

Since there are no colors with which to experiment in the textured squares project, I have been explroing the textural possibilities along the way.

Today, I took these sixteen small textured squares:

arranged them around one medium textured square:

and then I began to join them:

Sometime after lunch and before dinner, I completed the joinings:

The result, while interesting, was not exactly what I had expected. I had thought that certain design elements would be easier to see than they are, but sometimes the only way to learn is by doing, so even though the joining did not create the effect I was after, I was glad to have taken a step forward.

After I took this last photograph, I began the business of undoing some of the seams and joining the small textured squares into groups of four.

I am now just 12 small textured square away from having all of the small textured squares I will need for this project, and I can hardly wait to see how it all comes together.

Related video tutorial: How to make a textured crochet square