I have several goals this year around my 2012 North Carolina State Fair project.

First and foremost is to design and complete a new (to me) afghan.

Second is to use the materials I already have (except for the three skeins of Red Heart Super Saver blue suede which I bought because I found it irresistible).

Third is to have a home that becomes more orderly and calm as my work on this year’s state fair project progresses rather than a home that devolves into irretrievable entropy as the due date approaches.

Today, I might had made some progress toward the third of these goals.

It started with a partial skein of Red Heart Super Saver Windsor blue that was in danger of unraveling and becoming a knotted mess.

I took my 5.5 mm hook to the partial skein and worked on using the Windsor blue to make a large, single color textured square:

Having measurably reduced the tangle potential, I then made one of the 22 large triangles that the project will require:

From there, I focused my efforts on making four rectangles:

and four of the small textured squares:

By then, it was early evening, and I packed up my yarn and hooks and headed out.

Many communities have a “First Friday” tradition in which there are activities, the goal of which is to offer the public the opportunity to see, be seen, and socialize.

In Raleigh, North Carolina, in addition to the usual First Friday fare, of art, food, and music, the festivities include a crochet meet-up at Yarn Tree Studio, my personal favorite local yarn store, and tonight I finally managed to get myself there.

One my way out the door, I had grabbed another partial skein that was in danger of knotting, and using the same 5.5 mm hook I had used earlier in the day, I brought order to some Red Heart Super Saver medium thyme, making this large, textured square:

and these three textured rectangles:

Not all crochet days are created equal, and on this particular First Friday, I managed to make a lot of progress; so much, in fact that I had brief fantasies of finishing the project a day or two before the final deadline.

But this was only the third day of what for me is the state fair season. There will be other more challenging days ahead, but at least I will have this Friday to reflect back on when the going gets tough, and that will help me get going.