Trilogy Bag Count: 30

I called my mother several times on the way home from my grandparents’ Christmas Eve festivities this year. First, it was because we’d forgotten one of the kids’ presents and to mention that there was a guy behind us who wouldn’t turn his brights off. Then, it was because the guy with the brights ended up being a county police officer who pulled us over for allegedly speeding and failing to stop at “several” stop signs. A little later I called my mom again when we got stopped for the second time to let her know why: apparently there had been a domestic dispute nearby and the police just happened to be on the lookout for a car like ours. At the end of the conversation, I added, “oh, I completely forgot my crochet hook! Will you look for it and just stick it in with the other stuff, and I’ll get it tomorrow?”

No crochet hook is exactly like another, even if they’re the same size. Different brands and different styles have different shapes, and if you change hooks halfway through a project, there is a noticeable difference, at least to my eye.

When I walked in to the kitchen at my parents’ house the next day, a green crochet hook was sitting on the table. “That’s not my crochet hook,” I said, pointing at it. “I was hoping she wouldn’t notice,” my mother murmured to my sister-in-law.

I took it home anyway; it’s not like I’m making a delicate shawl. It’s just good ol’ Bag the Bag. And honestly, I haven’t noticed much of a difference. Instead, I’m just glad to be working on it again.

It’s funny to think about how far I haven’t come in six months in this project. But when I consider how many other things I’ve made in that time period: Hufflescarff, an entire Ravenclaw Winter Set, the completion of Bag the Bag Part 2: the Electric Boogaloo, finally being done with that Crochet Cable Stocking, and Piano Scarf! (That looks like only five things, but considering that the Winter Set was four different pieces, I think I can safely state that I’m awesome.)

Ten bags went pretty quickly this time; I finished them off in one evening of crocheting while reading five different books at once. (See? Awesome.) Bag the Bag Part 3: the Sequel to the Sequel is getting taller. Soon I will be far enough along that I’ll be out of the “beginning” phase and well and truly into the “middle.” I’m not looking forward to the “end,” because that means handles. Even though I’m doing it differently this time, I’m still not excited about finishing up. Someday I will have made so many of these bags that I won’t even care about finishing the handles, or I’ll have come up with an awesome way of doing it so that I won’t need to whine or complain anymore.

And maybe someday, in the far distant future, I’ll remember to take them with me to use at the grocery store.

Trilogy Bag Count: 30