I spent most of my crochet day working on the Frank Stella inspired concentric granny square afghan.

But now that it measures sixty-six inches across, it is no longer what I think of as a portable project, which is why, when it was time to take my son to his trumpet lesson, I looked for another project to bring with me.

In an effort to broaden my experience with different aspects of all things crochet, I joined a crochet-a-long that is working from Jean Leinhauser’s 101 Crochet Squares.

Because this is the sixth week of the crochet-a-long, and because the schedule for the crochet-a-long is one square per week, it is (for at least another 95 weeks) a very portable project.

As we prepared to head out the door for my son’s lesson, I chose one square from the several that I had not yet completed.

Having selected the square, I then turned my attention to which color I would use. After much internal debate, and several trips up and down the stairs to get “the right yarn,” I grabbed a skein of the new Red Heart Super Saver Lemon, threw it in my bag, and started driving.

So while my son worked on his major scale arpeggios, I worked on Square 23. This is what it looked like before blocking:

And here is what it looked like after a long, relaxing soak in warm water and being rolled between towels to remove the excess water:

I think the difference is subtle, but well worth the effort.

And now, I have a behemoth of a granny square I need to finish.