I’m old enough to know better, but I did it anyway.

This past Tuesday (September 7, 2010) I threw down the gauntlet and publicly stated that I was only going to work on my 2010 North Carolina State Fair project, and that I would not allow myself to be distracted. By anything.

Enter fate with a panoply of distractions.

The first major distraction was this purse:

This darling bag (which can be used to keep and organize one’s crochet hooks), makes use of a crochet stitch that is often called “Catherine’s wheel”; the pattern for the purse can be found at favecrafts.com. There are also a number of other links to other tempting bags on the same page, so if this does not capture your imagination, there are others that will try.

The next major distraction that came within my line of vision was a crocheted mandala I saw at ravelry.com. I clicked on the picture of the project which eventually lead me to a link for a free pattern and this picture:

This temptation was particularly hard to resist because I know how to make granny squares, and it seems seductively harmless. It is very easy for the mind to attempt to lure you into trying just a round or two. After all, my brain rationalizes, you can’t spend the next 31 days blogging about the same thing. However, if you want to see and learn for yourself, just check out Crochet with Raymond’s Granny Mandala Tutorial.

For the past three days, I have successfully resisted fate’s temptations, but I have no doubt I will be tested many more times in 31 days that remain between tomorrow morning and October 11.