When I first got the idea to rehab my seemingly infinite supply of crochet remnants into a thousand crochet squares for Project Amigo, one thousand seemed a long way off, but now, after having spent more than a year working toward this goal, the light at the end of the crochet tunnel is in sight.

Today, I put the finishing touches on nine rehabbed squares that began their lives as 12 dc circles that I had come across in one of my many bins of crochet bits:

I had decided to keep this particular rehab effort a touch simpler than I sometimes do. Rehabbing remnants is different than simply making 1000 fresh squares. Figuring out what to do with the remnants and how to do it can be very time consuming.

Some of the finished five-inch squares I have rehabbed were composed of nine one-round granny squares that had been joined into one larger square that was still too small and needed a border. The result: one square with twenty ends to be woven in.

It would have been quicker to have just crocheted the squares, but I have found the process of adding onto and using what I already have, is the crafting equivalent of incorporating who I am now with who I was, and although it is at time, an intense crafting experience, I have found it to be well worth the effort.

Having said that, now that the end of this particular crochet tunnel is so near, I am finding that my hook is wanting to wander a bit more, and my latest foray has involved a crochet square design from a pattern called The Flamboyant Afghan. Today, I drew my inspiration from the color scheme on an empty bag of Wicked Wolf Coffee. Designed to pair well with chocolate desserts, it seemed like the perfect accompaniment for Valentine’s Day crochet. My first effort was made with a 4.5 mm hook, and had plenty of drape:

My second effort was made with a 4.0 mm hook, and I was surprised at how much smaller and less fluid the square was when it was done:

And while I was surprised, I had no clear sense of which square I wanted to pursue at the moment, so I went back to my bin, and selected nine more crochet remnants:

Sometimes when I embark on a crochet journey, I know exactly where I am going, and sometimes, I just have to follow my hook to see where it leads me, one stitch at a time.