Last week, I stumbled on a pattern for a crocheted stash bag just at the moment that I was trying to figure out how to organize my extensive yarn stash. Designed by Whitney Van Nes, the pattern is nothing short of brilliant. I finished my first stash bag on Sunday, and I have been consumed with a fever for this pattern every since. Today, I finished my second one, but eventually I was unable to avoid my current crochet project bete noir, and I found myself having to face the return of the Many bag.

My second effort was made using Bernat Super Value worsted weight acrylic yarn, in what I consider a very attractive shade of red. It had been languishing in my yarn annex for far too long, and I decided that it would work better as a stash bag than a dust collector. While I am reasonably pleased with the result, the yarn has more drape than is useful when you want to make a bag or a basket that holds its shape:

Delighted by the progress I had made on the stash bags, and consequently my nascent steps toward organizing my yarn, I decided to take some of the finishing/getting organized mojo that the crocheted stash bag seems to impart, and I tackled my most recalcitrant project: the Mamy bag.

The first order of business was to make a proper hexagon using the same colors in the same order I had used in an errant pentagon that had found its way into my bag-to-be. Made one evening when I was crocheting while distracted, this pentagon had worked its way into the Mamy bag before. And, as before, I needed to remove the pentagon, and replace it with a properly executed hexagon.

Once I had safely made the replacement piece, I removed the offending pentagon and quickly replaced it with its hexagon compatriot:

There are a few details to work out with this bag, not the least of which is what to do for the handles/straps, but this evening, I began toying with a ball of yarn I had nearby, and it looks like I just might finish this bag before February ends.

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