Twelve pieces have accumulated in the large bag I use to transport my crochet to public places. Every Monday, my youngest son has a two-hour practice, and every Monday, I take my bag, my hooks, and my current project and work on whatever it is that needs my attention for the time that he is at practice.

Today, I worked on piecing together the 12 central squares of the Granny Square Sampler Afghan that were in the bag. While the directions in Better Homes and Garden Crocheting & Knitting state that the pieces are whipstitched together, they aren’t. Instead, the squares are joined in a specific order as part of the last round of each square. The result is a more open and fluid joining that better accommodates the variable sizes of the individual squares. After careful consideration, I decided that I would not use either the method that was actually employed or the method given in the directions.

Instead, I placed the right sides together facing each other and slipped my trusty 4.5mm Etimo hook through both loops of each of the stitches being joined, and then worked a single crochet .

I did this instead of a whipstitch because it is quicker and easier to remove the seam if it is necessary to make adjustments. I did this instead of the method that was actually used because part of what I like about crochet is that I seem to be able to impose some kind of order on the pieces I make. When I create patterns of my own, I place a premium on creating individual pieces that fit together smoothly and without any unseemly gaps or ruffling. The Granny Square Sampler is a particular challenge for me not only because the directions are hit-or-miss, but because it requires me to venture outside my aesthetic comfort zone.

I love the afghan pictured in the book, but it seems that I am constitutionally incapable of allowing for the vagaries that necessarily creep in, and I spend a lot of time and effort in an attempt to eradicate any irregularities.

But venture I have, and this is where I found myself tonight;

If, as Matthew Wilson’s research suggests, our dreams are a replay of the day’s experience, then tonight, I should be counting groups of 3 double-crochet stitches, weaving in ends, and attempting to smooth surfaces that won’t flatten.