With all of the squares for the center panel complete, I now have to juggle two objectives.

One is to join all of the pieces of the center panel, and the other is to start making the pieces for one of the other eight panels that will comprise the completed afghan.

Over the past two days, I got a start on both immediate goals, joining several rows of the squares for the center panel:

as well as getting a start on making squares for the next panel.

At first I started by making squares in colors that I knew I would need to finish the project, but then (because I had not designed the panels), I quickly ran out of colors I knew I would use, and I risked crocheting pieces I could not use which would not be a problem if I had an infinite amount of time, but I don’t, so I had to get busy and finish the design work on at least one of the panels.

After an afternoon with graph paper, colored pencils, and rubber cement, I had the basic design of six of the eight panels done, and the other two were close, if not quite ready to be crocheted.

Now the question facing me was this: Of the six designs that I had finished, which should I crochet first.

After giving it some thought I decided to go with the one I call the chicken coop and pomegranate tree panel.

So far, I’ve finished six of the 19 rows:

My grandmother raised free-range chickens and collected eggs laid by cage-free hens well before it was au courant, and she did so out of necessity rather than fashion, but I would like to think that if she were alive today, she would laugh to see that the more things change, the more they stay the same.