Today I found myself, what is for me, footloose and fancy free.

I had four hours where I was responsible only for myself.

Everyone — even the dog — had somewhere they needed to be and something they needed to do.

It was just me and my portable yarn stash.

Oh, and my phone.

As I hadn’t yet eaten, I decided to start with some breakfast. After a leisurely meal where I fortified myself with avocado toast and tomatoes, I went for a short walk. Uncertain what to do next, I decided to make my way to the Cameron Village branch of the Wake County Public Library.

As a child, I spent a lot of time at the library in the town where I grew up. I read hundreds of mysteries, perused numerous plays, and made my way through the shelves looking for any adventure that might be lurking in the pages of a book. So, today, when I went into the library, it was with the expectation that something mysterious and wonderful might be there for the taking, and I was not disappointed.

Greeting me as I entered the library was this sculpture on a landing of the main staircase to the second floor:

This seem to me to be an auspicious sign.

After I had looked up few things, I made my way over the bookshelf that housed the call number 746.43.

The particular book I was in search of was Leonie Morgan’s treatise on hexagons, and after reading through at least a dozen titles with the same call number I found three copies of this spectacular tome on the shelf.

I pulled one out, and settled in on an unoccupied bench:

After paging through the book and looking at all of the colorful hexagon bounty it offered, I decided that I really wanted to make the Folk Flower hexagon on pages 62 and 63. Using a 4.0 mm hook and the yarn that I had on me, I set to work.

After finishing the second round, I decided I should be documenting this adventure, so I did, round by round, and I put the pictures up on my Instagram account.

Most of the crocheting was pure joy, but I did make a rookie error on one round and had to frog it, but I stayed the course, and just as my magical time was about to end, I finished the hexagon.

Here it is laid out next to the hexagons in the book that so captivated me:

I am happy to report that all the mistakes I made today were my own. The written directions for this hexagon were without error, and there were excellent charts and equally excellent photos to see a crocheter through learning to make these hexagons.

As the window on my footloose and fancy free life closed, I resumed my more usual activities, and then in the late, late afternoon, I got back to the vinx, finishing the body and head of the orchid one:

One of the lessons of crochet that was reaffirmed for me today is how empowering it is. That with just a hook and yarn, I can create the world I want to inhabit.