One of the challenges of working on two large projects as I am right now (the Granny Square Sampler from Better Homes and Gardens and the cookieghan that is a design of my own making), is that you can end up with a lot of yarn scraps, and today, I found the scrap accumulation overwhelming and had to revise the day’s crochet plan.

In addition to E-4 which I completed (but have not yet joined) five days ago, I also put the finishing touches on two neighboring Squares: Square D-3:

and Square C-3:

And while I was very satisfied with the way the squares turned out, I was not nearly as satisfied with the quickly accumulating yarn scraps that threatened to take over one counter in my kitchen and my entire coffee table.

Something had to be done about the mess, so I got out my great granny square:

I took the above photo before attempting to bring order to any of the myriad yarn scraps that decorated my living room and kitchen.

One thing about granny squares that are worked in a traditional fashion (that is to say without any turns or other tricks) is that the larger they get, the less exactly square they are. While I personally like this wild aspect of what I think of as the granny aesthetic, it does not suit every occasion.

For those occasions that a squarer granny square is required, it can help to turn the square at the start of a new round instead of working in the same direction.

As for my great granny square, after an hour I had managed to bring a very (very) small measure of order to my household at large by crocheting just over one more round:

However, if I am going to finish this beach-blanket-to-be in time for the wedding, I am going to have to set aside my angst about the myriad yarn scraps long enough to get the blanket finished: