This month I have dedicated myself to working on three UFOs and learning a crochet technique that has eluded me for quite some time now, and that one that grabbed my attention today was a bag that refuses to be finished.

I had completed a training swatch for Todd Paschall’s Crochet by Numbers method, made measurable progress on my great granny square, modest, but forward progress on the Big Rug, and today, I finally finished another row on my version of the Mamy bag which, rather than using the hexagon in the original pattern, makes use of the African Flower hexagon motif.

The Mamy bag that I began on July 13, 2010, is a bag meant for adventure, but it has been defying my efforts to finish it for 6 months now. Today, however, I made a enough forward progress that I am beginning to think I might finish it before January ends. Over the last two days I have completed 11 additional hexagons, nearly a quarter of the total needed to complete the bag.

Here is what the bag-to-be looked like this morning:

Here is what the bag-to-be looked like shortly before sunset:

While before and after pictures are an imperfect way to demonstrate how a project is completed, they do provide a visible record of progress, however great or modest it may be.

After the sun had set and I had eaten dinner, I continued to work on the bag-that-has-eluded me, and as of this moment, the only things standing between me and finishing this project are 16 hexagons and suitable handles for the bag.

I can hardly wait for the new day.