One for the money,

Leslie Stahlhut

Two for the show, three to get ready, and four — to — go.

This expression, first published in 1873 in Julia Eastman’s Striking for the Right (a book was described by it’s publisher as “the best book for Sunday school libraries that he had ever seen”), seemed to be the perfect summation of where I found myself today — in definite need of being ready to go.

In sixty-nine days and 434 pieces from now (excluding the border), it will be time for me to drive to the North Carolina State Fairgrounds with my completed projects in hand for entry in the 2012 North Carolina State Fair.

I spent the last day of July working on some potholders use in the next sixty-nine day, lest I burn my hands and find myself unable to comfortably crochet, piece together the 343 pieces that comprise the project, or weave in ends.

Here is where my crochet day started:

Two multicolor rainbow crochet potholders ready for felting
Where I left off with the crochet potholders last night

and here is how the potholders looked after the crocheting had been completed:

wo multicolor rainbow crochet potholders ready for felting
Two potholders for Frank Stella, crocheted and ready for felting

While I would have loved to have felted these potholders today, I decided it would behoove me to work on the State Fair project in some capacity, so I did.

Using the magic of multiplication and addition, I calculated the number of pieces I would need to bring my crochet vision to fruition (434), and to help me achieve that vision, I broke out a new skein of Red Heart Super Saver yarn I bought yesterday:

Red Heart blue suede yarn
Red Heart’s new blue suede

I had promised myself I would use only yarn that I had on hand for this project, but while I was running an errand yesterday on my mom’s behalf, I found myself in a yarn aisle with the new Super Saver color, blue suede, (no doubt named for Carl Perkins’ rockabilly standard, “Don’t Step on my Blue Suede Shoes”) and I was powerless to resist. The above photo is a reasonably accurate representation of the new color, and I think it is gorgeous.

I took out my 5.5 mm hook and wasted no time crocheting this rectangle (165 to go):

One blue suede crochet rectangle for the money
One blue suede crochet rectangle for the money

and these two squares (leaving me in need of another 161):

textured crochet squares worked in blue yarn
Two small blue suede crochet squares

Then I took this group photo:

textured crochet rectangle and textured crochet squares
Group photo of the blue suede crochet squares and rectangles

As I set out on this year’s state fair adventure, I don’t know what I will learn along the way, I just know that I will learn something, and ready or not, here I go.