Today I found myself busy with a number of non-crochet related activities, chief among them taking in the exhibit, Rembrandt in America, at the North Carolina Museum of Art.

While I have no doubt about Rembrandt’s genius, he and I do not, to say the least, share the same palette. As I read about the intriguing and sordid details of his life, I wondered to what degree the circumstances and times into which we are born influence our taste in color.

Rembrandt lived a life that was, at times, difficult. There was the disease and pestilence that prematurely ended the life of his first wife and three of their children; there were economic challenges due, in part, to his tendency to live beyond his means and to get himself embroiled in situations with women that were not economically advantageous (he was ordered to pay 200 guilders per year to Geertje Dircx for breach of contract).

When I finally did get to my crochet, the somber colors of the afternoon propelled me in the opposite direction.

I had decided I would work Square 32, the square chosen for week 54 of a 101 week crochet-along using Jean Leinhauser’s 101 Crochet Squares. After looking over the design, I decided to start with Red Heart Super Saver pretty ‘n pink. With my 4.5mm hook in hand, I got to work.

As I neared the fifth round I realized that I was following the directions for Square 31 which were on the same page in the book as directions for the beginning of Square 32. As I was just a few stitches shy of finishing, I decided I would do exactly that, and here is the result:

The center of the square is a particularly interesting use of front and back post stitches that is used to create texture and effect an increase in stitches from one round to the next.

Undeterred by my misstep, I continued onto Square 32 with the Red Heart Super Saver pretty ‘n pink as I had originally planned followed by cherry red:

I am looking forward to finishing this square tomorrow and then moving onto whatever is next, and while Rembrandt’s colors are not mine, I certainly admire what must have been his dogged determination to persist during a period in human history when there was so much opportunity for one’s vision to be derailed by circumstances outside of one’s control, and I hope that I can channel that determination and employ its power in my own pursuit of crochet.