I have, of late, achieved some small victories in my war on entropy. My valiant efforts to bring order to my crochet universe — while not without its trials and setbacks — seems to finally be moving forward.

First, I have made measurable progress in my efforts to downsize my yarn stash.

While it is wonderful to have choices, the science is in, and too many choices can be paralyzing, With too much stuff (in this case yarn) the paralysis can be both figurative and literal.

As an example, I might know that I bought a particular yarn, and I might even be able to prove it through a receipt or a photo of a project that shows where and how I used some of it, but none of that helps me put my hands on the skeins that remain, and if that is the yarn I truly need, then I am “forced” to buy more of it.

So while I am no where near where I need to be with this effort, I am moving forward and have managed to rehome enough of the “surface yarn,” that I have now reached what at this point I would describe as a “middle layer.”

I found the motif featured in the center of this now completed seven-inch crochet square when I was still working on the “surface yarn”:

But the crochet rose motifs that I used to make these two five-inch crochet squares:

along with the granny squares I used to make these three five-inch squares:

which I then added to the previous six five-inch squares I had made earlier arrange as a nine-patch:

had all been harbored in the more middle-ish layer where I now find myself.

But despite the work that remains ahead of me, I can now layout the squares that I have rehabbed and repurposed, and see that I am making progress:

and I will continue to move forward the only way I can: one stitch at a time.