My 2017 North Carolina State Fair project in medias res

In August of 2014, I began work on a piece of crochet that I thought of as “narrative” crochet.

The purpose of the project was to document my maternal grandmother’s life. In nine panels composed of hundred of granny squares, I told the story of my grandmother’s life as seen through my eyes:

granny square crochet blanket
My state fair project at home, lounging on the back deck

After finishing the project about my maternal grandmother, I wanted to make one about my paternal grandmother. This was complicated by the fact that she died 12 years before I was born, so I have no memories of her, just a few stories my father told me and what amounts to a handful of artifacts.

Here is how it looked last year when I realized that for the second year running, I was not going to finish it in time for the state fair deadline:

crazy quilt crochet panel, crochetbug, narrative crochet, crochet afghan, crochet blanket, crochet throw, nora buchta
My progress on the center panel as of this morning

But like so many women before me, I will persist, and if you want to read about this crochet adventure, here are the blog post entries I have written about it in the order they were originally published.

August 2015

State Fair season 2015

Because granny squares

In which I make progress on my grandmother’s clock

Dueling Circles

One way or another

Miss Nora Buchta of the Springfield Road

I get to work an exceedingly long to-do list

I make substantive progress on my 2015 North Carolina State Fair project

Another friend from 3rd grade comes to the Raleigh-Durham area

If at first you don’t succeed, figure it out

Riding the crochet struggle bus

I debark the struggle bus (for now)

I get in a crochet groove

September 2015

An essential tool in a crafter’s toolkit

The waning days of summer

No crocheteuse is an island

In which I square-off six tumblers and find more artifacts

In which I press the pause button

The space between

In which I get going on some granny squares

In which I get very serious about granny squares

The last weekend of summer 2015

The last day of summer

Desperately seeking yarn fairies to weave in ends

In which I start to panic just a little bit

Thirteen Days

October 2015

My mother and I embark on an unexpected adventure

Decisions, decisions

Here comes the sun

Four days to the 2015 North Carolina State Fair deadline

In which I get a head start on my 2016 North Carolina State Fair project

Getting back in the saddle

The clock panel begins to come together

My 2016 state fair project progresses

Spending time

July 2016

The eve of crochet season 2016

August 2016

Doing what you can

Beware the tape measure

The mystery of the missing weekend

Of hot sauce and templates

Modest progress on the center panel

What would Nora do?

When seasons collide

Squares, squares, and more squares

Clearing the table

The piecing resumes

The last Thursday of August 2016

The devil is in the detail

Dueling crochet fan motifs

September 2016

Waiting on Hermine

Putting the crazy in crazy quilt

In which I almost get my groove

The tricking out continues

Lucky thirteen

The ides of September

A practically perfect triangle

Cheap thrills

To be or knot to be

The waning days of autumn

Thirteen days to the state fair deadline

Countdown to state fair project 2016

October 2016

Eight days to the deadline

Six days to go

The piecing continues

After Hurricane Matthew

No regrets

The center panel and a bag-to-be

Beyond the morning after

November 2016

Thanksgiving 2016

My life in a crochet fairy tale

Waiting for insight