It is beginning to look as though I really will finish the project I am making for the 2010 North Carolina State Fair. There were any number of times I would have had doubts (had there been time), but my decision to use two colors of yarn in each of the 961 squares that comprise the project meant that I had to let go of any doubts and plow forward with my bent-tipped yarn needle and weave in any ends that I could find.

On August 4, when I finally stopped doodling different color options on graph paper and began this project in earnest, the world was a different place than it is now. It was summer, the trees still had all of their leaves, and the afternoons were stultifyingly hot.

Fast forward to today.

Summer is clearly over; the leaves have begun to turn and drop from the trees, the squirrels are scampering about the yard looking for acorns, and the afternoons are brisk, with a mix of sunshine and clouds.

Today was beautiful if you like crisp fall weather, but it was a bit chilly for sitting for an extended period of time while working on crochet.

I spent the morning inside making the squares I would need for row 29.

When the afternoon got to be as warm as it was going to get, I put on warm socks, a sweater, grabbed my crochet, and a heating pad, and I set up my outdoor office near an available outlet, plugged in the heating pad and got to work. In no time, I had finished attaching row 28 to row 27.

I am missing the long, languid days of summer, but I am happy to have gotten as far as I have with this project, and I am looking forward to Thursday’s forecast high of 78° F: