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Abbi and the Bag

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I heard a story this weekend. It was about Abbi and the small crocheted bag she found hanging on the door handle of a bedroom at her great-grandma’s house.

Now, Abbi’s a bag lady. She may be only 21 months old, but this girl likes a bag. Any bag. Paper shopping bag. Plastic shopping bag. Cloth bag. Brown paper bag. Colorful fancy bag. Large or small, if it has a handle, she will put a toy in it (or a dozen) and carry it around. 

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The first time she snagged a bag at my house, threaded her wrist through the small twisted paper handles, turned for the door and said her version of goodbye was quite a few months ago. I had no idea she’d been doing this at home, and this grandma was stunned and tickled. Ever since, I’ve made sure a handled paper bag was available for her to find and play with, and have been entertaining the idea of making her a small fabric purse or tote bag. 

Crocheted-Bag-for-Abbi_0005Cue the crocheted bag story. My husband had gone with Sam and the two babies to see his parents for an overnight last weekend. It’s a little crazy to travel over the mountains for 3+ hours alone with a newborn and an under-2! I was glad he went with them; her hubby had a previous commitment and I stayed home with the WORST COLD EVER (but that’s a different, and sad, story. Poor me.) 

Crocheted-Bag-for-Abbi_0007Anyway! As Sam was packing up to come home, in order to keep Abbi in sight she closed the bedroom door. And there on the door handle, just awaiting discovery, was G-Grandma Pat’s little crocheted phone bag for when she goes walking. Apparently Abbi immediately took it down and tried to put her sippy cup inside. And then wore it around. 

Of course she did! 

My husband was amused by the whole thing, and then as a crocheter himself examined how the bag was done. He came home, told the story, and described the bag’s construction. And when I heard the story, I immediately pulled out some fluffy colorful crazy yarn and crocheted Abbi her very own little bag. 

Of course I did!

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Crochet is fast! That meant that with no fuss and very little time, I could crochet up a simple bag in time to take it with me to Sam’s house the next day. Which was yesterday. 

And I made sure it was just big enough to hold a sippy cup. 

Hubby was a little … hmm, would “miffed” be the right word? … that I didn’t follow the method of making the bag as he had described it to me. OH WELL. 

Did she like it? Yes! Did she love it as much as G-Grandma Pat’s? I’m not so sure. Too many factors play into what captures a toddler’s attention from one moment to the next, but she did play with it.

No sippy cups were tested, but giant 4-walled Duplo tunnels that she wears as gauntlets fit inside just fine. (Sam says “bracelets” but I like “gauntlets” better.)

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As the afternoon headed toward evening, I pulled out my camera to take pictures of this little bag before I came home. Abbi was in JUST the right mood to help me out with some modeling.

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Yes, the handle is supposed to be that long. Yes, we are aware this doesn’t meet current safety standards. I’m Safety-Mom (you have no idea) and discussed this with Sam before fastening the handles onto the bag permanently, as I had other ideas we could have gone with. But she’s a smart and observant mom and will make sure the bag takes a vacation if playtime practices ever begin to head the wrong direction. Safety first! 

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The bag is made out of a super-bulky boucle style yarn I got at JoAnn, for which I no longer have the label. It isn’t strong — I can break it by pulling hard on it — but it is very soft! I got it for something specific, but it didn’t work out and so it’s been hanging out waiting for a second chance. The bag is all single crochet, including the handle, and I used an N (10mm) hook which was barely big enough. 

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Hope you enjoyed this little story of how Abbi’s crocheted bag came to be. Pretty simple, but all creative! 

Happy yarning!

Gail

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