We spent part of summer vacation near the ocean, and several memorable hours were spent in tidal zones encountering various kinds of sea life in the shallows and tide pools. Crabs, snails, fish, oysters, urchins, clams and many kinds of salty vegetable life were among the wonders we observed.
Some of my favourite memories: Wading with my eldest daughter while a big crab scuttled by our feet; scrambling over rocks to discover thousands of oysters and purple urchins clinging to rocks in clear pools; walking barefoot over sandstone and peering into tide pools. Some of these tide pools had no visible bottom: they might have gone downward for a few centimetres or a few meters, for all I could tell.
We also took a boat trip and observed a pod of orcas. They came (by their own choice) close enough that we could hear them breathe. To be in the presence of such beautiful creatures is an experience unlike any other and impossible to reproduce.
Naturally, we spent an amount of time in various gift shops too. I was open to buying something(s) that would remind me of all the beautiful experiences we shared. But nothing really seemed to resonate. I was attracted by the idea of a crab, as this was a motif of the trip. But the plush crabs on offer left me unenthused, as did their prices.
Then I thought: I crochet. I could make my own crab.
Well that seemed like a good idea. But why not also make that crab a home? And then maybe some other creatures for company?
On the last day of our vacation, I started planning. As our boat zoomed back to the shore after the orca watching trip, I developed and refined a vision. While waiting in the airport for our flight home, I sketched in my journal and wrote out lists of supplies.
What I had decided to do was a tide pool purse. This would be a fully functional purse, but it would unzip into two “pools” that would be full of crocheted critters that could be played with in their watery habitat. Times two, of course, because I shared this vacation with two children. One for each.
Once I got home I started work. Unlike many of my crochet projects, this one was invented in large part by me. There was a fair amount of experiential learning involved. The final product is very close to my original vision, but I the way I got to the final product was frequently adjusted.
About five months after I began, I was finished (just in time for Christmas):
The finished purses, one pictured closed and one opened.
Some cool things about this project:
I did buy some new materials, including the round wooden frames, a few non-crocheted toys and items, zippers, magnets, metal plates and the rope handles, and the yarn for the amigurumi sea creatures. However, most of the materials for the bags were from my stash or re-purposed.
All the blue material and tulle for the inside of the pools was from an outgrown kid costume I took apart. For the exterior of the pools, I looked through my yarn stash for any tones and textures that reminded me of the pools, and had a lot of fun mixing them up to make an organic looking texture. This process was a lot more spontaneous and fluid than many of my projects and I enjoyed the chance to let go of perfect balance.
There were so many opportunities to problem solve. I always had a vision and an idea, but the methods I imagined using did not always work. Attaching the sides of the pool to the frames is one example: I imagined crocheting “outside in” but found this almost impossible, so I crocheted the bowl-like sides first then attached them after. The final layer of watery gauze material frays badly and is too slippery to hem, so I had to experiment how to stabilize it: what worked was sewing down a chain of yarn around the edges. I was very excited about working with some metallic embroidery floss, only to find it hopelessly frustrating and not particularly attractive, so not much silver embroidery in evidence.
All of this was more satisfying than frustrating though, and I found I had just enough challenge to keep the project from being “more of the same” while not creating challenges that were too far above my skill level. This was especially important as I did everything two times.
The left pool is lined with shiny blue material and pockets of layered tulle create an opaque texture allowing creatures to hide in different depths of “water”. At some point I also remembered some LED lights I had from another project and added those underneath the material:
The right side has an ivory lining with a few thinner layers of tulle, and a crocheted “seaweed” pocket:
I crocheted a crab, fish, nautilus, oyster and snail for each bag. I added some other items too: a fish pen, a clam shaped mirror, a fidget toy to be an urchin (I couldn’t imagime how to make an urchin). More could be added, but I ran out of time.
Things that surprised me about this project:
- Just how much hand sewing I had to do. In my imagination I suppose everything just stuck together kind of magically. In reality hours and hours (and a few more hours) went into each of the linings, handles, and pockets.
- How it made my memories more real and meaningful. As I worked on each element of this project, I was re-living all our summer experiences and refining them into something pure and glowing. It was completely worth it for no other reason than this.
How they were received:
I finished these in time for Christmas, and as a bonus, we were visiting the extended family we went on summer vacation with. The purses were not exactly a surprise, as it was impossible to hide that much work for so long. I do also feel that initially they were somewhat lost in the piles of gifts. However, they are being played with and I know from past experience that the handmade, durable items end up being favourites over time, even if they can be overlooked a bit in the moment. Also, they are pretty awesome, functional bohemian bags, so I hope they have a place in the future of young women, even if not being played with as toys. They are extremely well made and could last a lifetime (all that hand stitching!).
I hugely enjoyed the process of this project and the folk art pieces that I created. They are unique, like my memories and honour a special and shared time. I would definitely do a project to celebrate a special shared time again.
References: the title is from “At the Fishhouses” by Elizabeth Bishop, a sea related poem that went through my head often as I was creating.
