Sometimes I feel like Forrest Gump.  “One day, for no particular reason at all, I decided to go for a little run.” So says the character Forrest Gump, who begins a run that day that lasts for two years, and becomes an inspiration and a symbol for a movement in the movie.  “For no particular reason, I just kept on going.”  That’s how I feel about a number of decisions in my life. Maybe that’s why I’m less surprised at myself than other people seem to be at the notions I get, or the habits I take on, like crocheting, or the decision to go to Seminary. Yes; I attended Seminary and completed a Master’s degree in Theology. Many times, after I meet people and tell them this story, they seem so disappointed that there was no grand denouement at my decision to stop pursuing ordination, or no elaborate grand story leading up to my decision to enter the Seminary. I’ve tried so many things, traveled around the country, and entered relationships in my life, all with the best information I’ve gathered about myself at the time, and then I jump over the cliff, hoping that the next step isn’t too far down or treacherous for a landing.  This is what I’m thinking as I work the final rounds of the octagons in this afghan.  I am coming up to the last steps and decided since I’ve got this far, I might as well try a technique called “join-as-you-go” which is evidently an intermediate crocheting skill.  Instead of making all of your pieces and then attaching them together, I am going to attempt to stitch each piece to another as I go. Evidently, this results in a more seamless finish, but is more difficult to do. I hope I’m up to the challenge! 

****September 18th update:

Well, I took on the JAYG “Join as you go” technique.  While I didn’t do it perfectly with every round, I would say that it was generally a lot easier than I thought. It created a nice smooth and relatively seamless connection.  As of today, I have connected all 12 octagons and I’m ready to move on to creating the squares that will go in between all of the octagons!