As the end of September nears and the state fair deadline approaches, it is necessary that I stay focused on the increasingly short road ahead, and with this particular project, there are so many elements that the possibilities seem endless. The problem with endless possibilities is that they they tend toward the infinite, and while many things do work out (eventually) getting to that point can take some doing (and redoing). At times like these I don’t like to stop and cook so when I need something quick and somewhat nutritious, I find it easy to reach for some popcorn and carry on. It’s literally crunch time.

Yesterday, I found myself up before the sunrise, and as the light began to fill the room, here is how my state fair piece looked:

I had been busy working on a dark purple piece to pull the upper half of the panel and the lower half of the panel together. After several missteps in the joining, I finally got it right and the pieces that had ruffled here and there during the first attempts now laid smooth:

Part of me wanted to move on to tricking out the seams, but another part of me knew that getting this gap filled with a well-fitting crochet piece was very important:

The piece did not look as though it would be hard to crochet, but this far into a project with as many colors as this one has, it’s hard to pick a color that works well with all of the colors around it.

After working with one pink that made the whole area too red, and a green that just didn’t work, I finally hit on Red Heart Super Saver real teal, and was pleased:

My dog, however, was less impressed. He wanted to go for a walk, so I stood up, took this last photo:

and put my crochet away, if not for the day, for at least a couple of hours.

And now that every day between now and noon on October 7 could accurately be described as “crunch time,” I will continue (between dog walks) to ply my craft, one stitch at a time.