There are just ten full work days left between now and the deadline for my  North Carolina State Fair project 2016, and while it I am reasonably confident  I will get it done, the technique I am using for the center panel is not something I have done before, so it is with some trepidation that I am entering this last stretch.

To that end, in an effort to generate some finishing mojo for my larger project, I started work on a baby sweater that works up fairly quickly.

Using one of my favorite variegated yarns, Red Heart Super Saver cherry cola, yesterday I finished work on the yoke/bodice of the sweater:

Which left me with more than a few ends to weave in and trim:

Once the ends were dealt with, it was time to move onto the sleeves, and I made one mistake after another, but after crocheting each sleeve twice, the sweater was just about done:

Using some of what remained of the partial skein of the cherry cola that is the foundation of the sweater, I read briefly about color pooling, and then applying just a small bit of what I learned, I crocheted this square for the center panel:

Pleased with the way it had come out, I crocheted two more pieces using two of the variegated colorways that I had incorporated into they crochet representations of my grandmother’s glass tumblers:

Then, to get a better sense of just what it is I need to work on this weekend, I laid out all of the pieces I have made so far and got this overview of my work:

and this detail:

October will be here before I know it. The days will no doubt run together, disappearing one into the other at a rapid pace.

October 10 will arrive, and I will need to make my way to the State Fair Fairgrounds projects in hand and ready to be turned in, and then I will be able to start thinking about what next year will bring.