After I had gotten my son off to school, walked the dog, and completed various and sundry other household tasks, I decided that I would make a concerted effort to get caught up with the 101 Crochet Squares crochet-along I am involved with.

I had my 5.00 mm hook and a pile of yarn at the ready. After surveying the array square I had yet to complete (both an advantage and disadvantage), I settled on square 53 for my first effort:

The first two rounds of square 53 were quite ruffly, but the granny motif that served as the background squared it up and flattened it out very nicely. One thing to note about the granny motif in this square is that it was worked with a chain-1 space between th3 3dc clusters except for the corners which were formed by a chain-3.

Satisfied that I was at least not falling behind for the week, I scrolled through the board at the crochet-along in search of another square. Eventually, I settled on this:

I love square 46, and while I am delighted with the look of the Red Heart Super Saver claret and magenta, I don’t feel that I fully exploited design possibilities. There is nothing about this square that I don’t like. It will definitely have place in future crochet projects.

With the second square of the day completed, I decided to press forward. After reviewing several choices, I settled on square 71. The square has a very open design and works up quickly:

So quickly, in fact, I had time to make substantial progress on square 62:

This granny square motif was made without a chain-1 between each 3dc cluster which creates a firmer fabric with greater structural integrity (and less drape) than a granny square motif worked with a chain-1 between each 3dc cluster.

While it is bereft of the final border and appliqued pieces that will adorn the square when it is competed, I thought it would be useful to point out that this granny motif was made without the addition of a chain-1 space between the 3dc clusters and this change yields a slightly different look and feel.

It felt good to make substantial progress on this project. I don’t know what I will do with the 101 squares once I finish them, but I’m sure I’ll think of something.