While my cat usually gets up before the sun and makes me aware of this fact by pawing at my bedroom door until I am out of bed, last night she appropriated one of my stash bags, curled up on it, and slept peacefully through the entire night (and well into the morning) while I worked on finishing my 2011 North Carolina State Fair project.

By the time I had eaten breakfast and gotten my son off to school, the sun had finally risen, and I was able to take the project outside to survey what was left to do.

Here is what I had accomplished by eight o-clock this morning:

There was still a substantial amount of seaming and joining to be done on the row nearest the railing, as well as a few 1×4 rectangles to be made. The next few hours were a delicate balance of just enough coffee and food to keep me up and working so as not to remind my body and my brain that a night’s sleep had been missed.

While I could feel myself slowing down somewhere around 10, I kept working and hoped that I would last long enough to get the project done and turned in to the state fair.

Then, shortly after what would have been lunchtime had I stopped to eat, I finished joining the last seam, wove in the last end, ran an adhesive lint roller over the project a few times, and took this photo before packing everything up and heading to the state fairgrounds:

This project has been a long, exhausting, and in many ways, unexpected adventure, and I doubt that I would have completed it without the encouragement and support of my family, friends, and fellow crocheters; so, thank you.