In which I finish square 62 and square 45

Today was given over to household chores and errands.

There were dishes to be washed, laundry to be folded, and, in advance of finishing the textured squares afghan and the arrival of house guests in March, a guest bed to be cleared off.

So after the dishes were done and the laundry was put away, I finished packing the boxes that had accumulated on the guest bed, addressed them, and (with my dog in tow) ferried them down the stairs and out to my car.

From there, I ran additional errands with my mom (who also served as dog sitter to Clooney while I went into stores and the post office). I got home just in time for Clooney to play with another neighborhood dog before it was time to get my youngest son from school, as he had decided to stay for an after school review one of his teachers had offered.

The day was not yet entirely eaten, but I was cutting it close. Earlier in the day, before the onslaught of errands that could not be put off to another day, I had finished the final round of square 62 from Jean Leinhauser’s 101 Crochet Squares with Red Heart Super Saver burgundy:

crochet granny square — Square 62 with the final round of the crochet square completed

and made three holly leaves with Red Heart Super Saver hunter green and the same 5.0 mm hook I had used for the rest of the square:

crochet square with crochet leaves — Square 62 with three crochet holly leaves

along with three holly berries made from Red Heart Super Saver cherry red:

crochet square with crochet leaves and crochet berries — Square 62 with crochet holly leaves and crochet holly berries

All that was left was to appliqué the pieces to the completed granny square, which I did:

While I was happy to have finished square 62, it didn’t feel like enough, so after surveying the motifs I had yet to complete, I settled on square 45 and using the colors in this cake as a guide:

chocolate cake with orange, purple, and red balloons — Inspiration Cake

along with my 5.0 mm hook and Red Heart Super Saver pumpkin, I worked the first round of the square:

crochet square crochet circle center — The first round of crochet square 45

After fastening off the pumpkin and weaving in the ends, I then used the same cherry red that I had used for the holly berries of square 62 for the second round of square 45:

With the second round completed, I then got out the Red Heart Super Saver dark orchid and completed the square:

It feels good to have made measurable progress on the crochet-along, and I am looking forward to taking the energy that progress has generated and applying to another project.