See that owl? It was part of a necklace I bought on the sidewalk last weekend. It's a three-piece articulated owl that I just couldn't pass up, even though it's way too big to wear as a necklace. When Whipup announced that last week's Whiplash theme was yarn, I searched through the projects in The Happy Hooker. The clutch on page 136 caught my eye. It is cute, easy, and a perfect home for my newly acquired owl. I wasn't fast enough to make Whiplash, though.

It took me no time at all to crochet the bag using sage colored cotton yarn. It's just one rectangle with slit handles. The side seams are a little tricky. You can't match the rows one-for-one because the back side rows are upside down when you fold the rectangle in half. My bag ended up an inch or so wider than the one in the book, so I adjusted the dimensions fabric lining a little and added in a little extra to create a cell phone pocket.

I used the decorative diamond stitch for the top seam of the fabric liner. I love the way it looks on the striped fabric. The fabric is from an old dress shirt of Andrew's. I machine sewed a seam through the middle of the fabric pouch then hand sewed the edges to create the divider for the cell phone pocket. I hand sewed the liner into the purse after attatching the owl.

There is just enough room for my cell phone, my wallet, and my keys.   It's the perfect little  purse.