When making a crocheted item, I frequently have an internal debate about something I think of as crochet purism.

Of course, stricter crochet purists would not even allow me to engage in the debate as I crochet with yarn rather than thread, and my color choices tend the opposite direction of ecru, but despite my lack of credentials as a crochet purist, my brain still seeks an answer to the question, is it really crochet if there is any other material/medium/skill required?

Such is the beauty of Valerie Whitten’s Get Your Granny On Bag project.

It can be made with only crocheted elements (as I elected to do in this version), or a lining and clasp or button can be added.

Armed with a cup of coffee and the knowledge that most of my daylight hours would be spent running errands, the first thing I did this morning was to make a strap for the bag-to-be. Here is the strap:

Here is the body of the bag:

While the entire project needed just minutes to be completed, I left it as it was and ironed the fabric for the lining of my Dunkin’ Donuts bag-to-be so that I could measure and cut it. In short order, the fabric was ready, but life interrupted, and I went on and completed any number of errands, one of which was the quest for the perfect handles, which I did find….sort of.

I found these handles for the current Dunkin’ Donut project:

and I found these handles for a project that is waiting to come to fruition. I may have one bag they might work for, or I may have to make another bag entirely to go with them. Either way, these are the perfect handles, so I bought them:

Once I was home and had gotten my purchases safely into the house, I set about attaching the strap to the body of the Get Your Granny On bag, and in short order, it was completed:

I plan to use this as my bag for small purchases, as it is just the right size for a few small items and opens easily. In this new day and age of bringing a bag to a store to hold one’s recently acquired purchases, I often end up stuffing it into my purse in a way that is not satisfactory.

I did not get to revel in the glory of a complete project for too long as the lining for the other bag needed to be pinned in place, a task much easier to do with daylight:

Tomorrow I do not have to go out and run errands as the errands are coming to my house.

So, while it will be very busy, I have my fingers crossed that I will get the Dunkin Donuts bag finished before the sun sets on another day. And while the Dunkin Donuts bag might not be purely crochet, I am hoping it will reflect pure joy.