The last day of summer was filled with errands that had to be run, almost a kind of changing of the guard but there were moments when I was able to pull out a crochet crazy quilt piece and work one more the French knot design with the embroidery stitch that has captivated me, and eventually, I finished (at least for now) work on one of the pieces.
Here is an overview:

and here is a detail:

I love the texture that the knot and the split strand of four-ply yarn combine to create. The resulting element is a bit less certain, a bit more unruly, and vibrant in a way that I had not expected.
With that piece finally (or at least mostly) done, I then set to finishing the medium purple lines of another one of the pieces that had been part way done, and then (in one sitting!), I decorated a small pink square with bullion stitches and French knots.
Then, with the sun ready to set on the first day of fall and rain clouds gathering, I got this group photo of the three new pieces:

and then this photo of all of the crochet crazy quilt pieces I have finished so far:

There are just 18 full workdays left between now and my 2016 North Carolina State Fair deadline, and from now until then, I will continue to work as I must: one stitch at a time.