My new crochet purse is done and ready for adventure.

What started out as the result of seeing a hexagon motif purse that a friend had made transformed from idle curiosity to a feeling of “I must make myself that purse,” but different.

Tuesday, after finishing my blog post, I got out my needle and thread and proceeded to sew the fabric lining to the body of the bag.

As I did so — spearing what was in many places a quadruple thickness of fabric dues the generous interior seams — I wondered at the wisdom of the double lining in this particular instance, but I was neither deterred nor about to change my mind, so I persisted, one stitch after another after another.

And eventually, it was done.

All that was left was to secure the strap and figure out the closure.

Or so I thought.

When it came time to secure the strap, I noticed that the edges of the crochet hexagons did not look sufficiently finished:

This did not sit well with me. Even though it is a bag for summer, and even though we have already crossed the halfway mark for the season, I wanted a tidier edge, and after a little experimentation, I decided to go with a slip stitch along the edge worked in the same color as the outer round of the hexagon.

After completing ninety-two slip stitches and weaving in and trimming the twelves ends this effort generated, the purse was ready to have the straps attached.

Using a single crochet through both loops at either end, it was, in short order done:

I had to resist the temptation to decorate the strap with embroidery and several other impulses to make to make it even “more over the top,” but the truth is, sometimes less is more, and it will be an experience for me to once again use a purse that is modest of size, that only fits my phone, my wallet, and which, in its own way, embodies the freedom and joy that I have come to associate with summer.