As my long time readers know, this is the time of year I typically resolve to get my crochet empire in order.

Sometimes I pledge to finish as many WIPs (Works In Progress) as the year allows, sometimes I promise that I will complete a destash and put the remaining yarns in some kind of order, sometimes I resolve to write all of the unwritten crochet patterns I have scattered about my office and my brain. One thing all of these pledges have in common is that while I generally make some progress in the early months of the new year, before the vernal equinox arrives, life intervenes, and I fall short of my goals.

This year, however, I am getting an assist from an outside force.

Yesterday, A fellow Raveler named Samuel R. Brown, Ph.D. sent me a message. He had read in my “about me” notes that I like making afghans, and he asked me if I would be interested in contributing five-inch and six-inch squares for Afghans for Project Amigo, one component of a larger community effort, Project Amigo.

And of course, I was interested.

Then today, while I was in the guest room/crochet empire getting a head start on my new year’s resolutions, I found a huge pile of squares from a crochet-along I did many years ago. Based on Jean Leinhauser’s book “101 Crochet Squares,” I had worked every single square in the book, and they were scattered about the guest room. As I collected them into one place I realized I was sitting on a veritable crochet gold mine of squares.

Armed with a ruler I began to go through them. Some were a little large, some were a little small, and some were just right. In short order I gathered them in one place and took this photo:

I then sent a message to my fellow Raveler and asked if squares like these could be used if they were rehabbed (as needed) to fit the guidelines of the project. The answer was “yes,” and with that I was off.

I started by making a template I could use to quickly and easily check the size of the squares I was working with. I made the template 12″ x 12″, but for the sake of expedience, I only took the time to mark the lines for a 5″ and 6″ square:

After looking through the assortment of squares I had selected as being in the ballpark, I decided to start with the crochet rehab of Square 5. It wasn’t wildly off, but it was a bit narrow and the corners were very round:

I frogged the final round, and then reworked it, making the corners a bit more corner-y and in no time Square 5 (which had been languishing in my guest room) was reworked to my satisfaction and ready to begin a new life as a part of something larger:

Next, I picked up Square 31:

After spending a few minutes tracking down the particular shade of Red Heart Super Saver needed, I got to work. Rather than simply squaring it off, I decided to increase the size as well. Soon it was ready to join the six-inch crochet square pile:

So if you are interested in knitting or crocheting five-inch or six-inch squares for this project (any color, pattern or yarn type), the squares will be sewn into afghans and distributed to families of students in Mexico who are being sponsored by Project Amigo (www.projectamigo.org). This charity supports students from Colima in rural western Mexico so that they can create their own educational opportunities and better their quality of life. You can go to www.srbrown.info/afghans for instructions, details about the project, and a flyer you can pass around.

And maybe, just maybe, 2018 will be the year order finally comes to my crochet empire.

Related posts: 101 Crochet Squares