Yesterday I finished crocheting the pieces I need to fill one of the myriad gaps that remain in the center panel, and then I laid out the contiguous crochet crazy quilt pieces that are in various degrees of completion in terms of surface decoration and joining to get this overview:

I spent a fair amount of today’s crochet time working on the surface embroidery where the seams of the pieces meet, but my efforts were not consistent, and after I had removed almost as many stitches as I had made, I decided to set the center panel aside and work on something with which I might achieve more success.

Looking over my table of projects in various stages of completion, I settled on this square which is, as it happens, the first seven rounds of square C-2 from the Better Homes & Gardens granny square sampler:

I first became acquainted with the granny square sampler afghan in the late 1990s when I purchased used book that featured the project on the cover. It was visually captivating, but as I soon learned, the directions were hit and miss.

Eventually, however, I learned enough crochet to be able to figure out the various squares even when the directions were in error.

And it was to this granny square sampler I turned when I looking for a central element of a new bag-to-be.

So I picked up where I left off, weaving the ends, and then crocheting the four corners:

I haven’t figured out all of the particulars of “the other side of the bag,” but I am looking forward to having a new bag for new adventures as I crochet my way through life, one stitch at a time.

Related blog post: Stash down challenge 2012: Day 4