Written by Dr. Seuss and first published in 1937 And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street was one of my favorite books as a child.
Told through the eyes of a school boy by the name of Marco, the story details his walk to and from school each day, and how what he imagines on Mulberry Street differs from what is there.
What Marco sees is a horse and a wagon.
What Marco imagines is something else again, and the more he thinks, the more complicated and elaborate it gets until the horse and a wagon are transformed into a large parade with a brass band and an elephant and giraffes and a police escort and the list goes on and on and on.
Kind of like my sangria granny square bag.
It was going to be a simple, straight forward project.
Two squares with a lining, a closure, and a strap, and it does have all of those elements, but along the way, it gathered a lot of steam, including this twisted cord that I tried weaving through the gusset:
and these sixteen flowers:
which I decided to appliqué onto the top of a textured crochet strap I had made:
only to find that sixteen five-petal crochet flowers don’t always go as far as you think they will.
So I found myself having to crochet even more flowers, and while I’m not done yet, I did get five new crochet flowers ready to go:
With the sun preparing to set, I took all of the pieces I have crocheted so far and got this photo of how the finished bag might look:
and while it is not the simple two squares and a strap that I originally envisioned, by the time I am done with it, it will be as elaborate as Marco’s imagined parade.
And to think that I saw it on Mulberry Street!
A beautiful theme for your bag. Love the colour palette and one can never have too many crocheted flowers when they are as cheerful as these!
As I reflect on past blog posts, it appears that And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street has inspired many other projects as well. You and Dr. Seuss seem to share the joy and color that a rich imagination affords. I’m looking forward to the next offering from that imagination. This one is absolutely gorgeous.