Today, trumpet lessons and back-to-school shopping took a substantial bite out of the day, but in the hour before it was time to get dinner ready, I managed to complete Square 63 and start Square 55 for the crochet-along I am involved in that is working from Jean Leinhauser’s 101 Crochet Squares.

Inspired by the colors of a favorite coffee cup, I pulled out skeins of Red Heart Super Saver cornmeal, carrot, and tea leaf for Square 63. With my 4.5 mm hook, I quickly worked up the first 3 rounds and took this photo:

I also got a photo with the favorite coffee cup that inspired the color choices I made:

Then, after some consideration (I thought that either burgundy or royal would have also worked well), I decided to use tea leaf for the final round:

After I finished that square, I turned my attention to dinner. Once I had the preparations well under way there was still a small bit of daylight left for photographs, so I got started on Square 55.

I had been intrigued by this square for quite awhile, and was delighted to see that it was now one of the dozen or so squares I had to choose from. With the 4.5 mm hook still out, I grabbed the skein of Red Heart Super Saver cornmeal and crocheted the central grid and got a start on the first round:

I did not get as far as I had hoped with this second square. In my rush to get as much done as possible before dinner, I made repeated errors in the first round that encircles the grid. This effort depicted in the photograph above is my third try.

Hopefully, three really is a charm, but it also helps to read the directions in a calm, unhurried manner, even if that isn’t how the reader.

It’s possible (unlikely, but possible) that there is no such thing as a crochet emergency, but if I had been more focused and less frazzled, it is entirely possible that I would have finished the square before dinner.