This summer I have done a lot of crochet at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park, and the projects I have worked on while enjoying the games will have the sound of the crack of a bat, that particular thud that a pitched ball makes when it hits the catcher’s mitt, and the memories of all the people I have met while plying my craft worked into then. The peace sign hexagon purse and the crochet soccer ball that inspired it will no doubt figure prominently into those memories.

Last night I worked my way through a game with not one, but two, rain delays working to finish the ten remaining short seams of the peace sign hexagon crochet purse:

While my beloved Bulls did not win, I did make progress on the purse.

But today, my state fair project, which is almost past the point of any part of it being portable, beckoned, so today when I was home I felt the need to spend time on it.

Of particular concern to me is the suit pips that grace the corner squares.

My goal is to replicate as closely as I can the embroidery my grandmother worked on the table cloth that covered the card table where she and my grandfather would play pinochle, a game at which, if the news accounts are accurate, she excelled.

Using a very long bullion embroidery needle I ordered last year, I tried making a very long bullion stitch with two of four strands of of worsted weight Red Heart Super Saver.

To my delight, after a couple of tries, I had something that will work:

Having finally figured out the stitch I will use to rehab the suit pips of the four corners of my state fair project, if not the specific number of wraps that will be needed over what distance to accomplish that, I was ready to go back to my efforts at completing the purse.

With all of the seams joined and the ends woven in and trimmed:

Having finished sewing the double lining:

It was time to insert it into the bag which I did:

There are still a few more things I need to do before the crochet purse can be put into use, but I have no doubt that many interesting adventures await me.