According to international standard ISO 8601, Monday is the first day of the work week.

Coincidentally (or perhaps not) Monday is also the day that the new square for the 101 Crochet Squares crochet-a-long is announced.

So after I had finished some household chores and before I took my son to his choir practice, I sat down to work on the newly announced square: Square 72.

Inspired by the Red Heart Super Saver candy print yarn I am using for stash bag 13, I decided to work the square with shocking pink and cherry red. To add some flare, I used a splash of spring green to make the whole thing “pop” a bit more.

Situated in my crochet chair with a 4.5 mm hook in hand and the selected colors at my side, I turned to page 71 and set to work. Three rounds later, here is what I had accomplished:

Turning to page 72, I continued to follow the directions until there were none left to follow. Here is the resulting square:

With each square I complete I learn something that I can use in a future project.

Last week, I learned a technique that made use of a series of chain loops to create a textured surface. This week, I got a clear demonstration of the fickle nature of color and also learned a new approach to square off a round motif.

While it is efficient to be able to know what you want to make and to then make it, working your way through a book of patterns gives you the opportunity to learn things that you might not realize you needed to know.