Progress on the I’ll Be Watching You cushion. I’ve got six basic color combos done, as specified by Younger Offspring (the co-designer and recipient). We are in consultation right now about whether there need to be additional color arrangements of the lime, celadon, russet, and white – black being in stable placement across all the squares.

As often happens, when I started I had a general idea of what I was going to do, but now that things are underway, ideas are coming together. Here are some thoughts.

• I experimented with three crochet hooks in various sizes and styles ranging from 2.75 mm to 3.25 mm. The best results were with the Clover 3.25 mm. That’s what I used to do the set above.
• Crocheting in to end off as I progress is absolutely the right way to go. Every square has eleven concentric rings. That’s 22 ends per motif, or with 118 squares – 2,596 yarn ends to deal with. I don’t want to think about the pain if I left them until the very end. Right now each one only has the green tail from the final ring. Those of you who have received granny square throws and rejoice in their riot of color, know that someone loved you enough to deal with all of those bits.
• The black is slightly heavier than the other colors. But because every square has the identical use and placement of black, there is no differential effect on overall square dimensions.
• Both yarns are acrylic. There’s some rippling, as is common in crochet. I may have to “kill” the yarn – pinning them out and using steam and possibly pressure to set the fiber permanently in order to get rid of those undulations. It’s a bit more savage than blocking 100% wool which does relax each time it’s washed. “Killed” acrylic never bounces back. Before I commit to doing it however, I will try the method out on one of the experimental squares I made. Although it’s not the same dimensions as these keepers, it does have the rippled edges that these do, and will make a good test subject.
• For final assembly into the full bolster I will probably do mattress stitch in the neon green to unite the green outer rims. BUT my plan is to make a square edge cushion, so I am thinking of using knit I-Cord to seam the front and back of the cushion to its edges, to make the equivalent of a piped edge. This would also be in the neon green, and will disguise a zipper at one end so the cover can be removed and washed.
• Because there are gaps in the crochet where it would show through, I will be making a second cover for the cushion, probably out of pre-shrunk black cotton duck or light canvas. That will also have a zipper for easy removal and washing.
• The bolster at the center of this also needs to be constructed. I am thinking of using a single piece of dense upholstery foam, cut to size and wrapped with quilt batting. Not sure if yet a third cover will be required to keep it all in place inside the black cotton cover. But if there is, it will be something like inexpensive muslin, and permanently sewn (no zipper).

Because progress on this thing will mostly be just adding to a tottering pile of completed squares, I will probably hold off additional blather until something significant happens. Otherwise visits here would be like watching grass grow.