Busy Hands

I have been keeping my hands busy at night with crochet-ing (sp?) a tote bag.
I saw the pattern at Attic24 and immediately saw it as a fun tote bag for the beach. I have chosen different colors than Lucy, and they are truly very bright, but at the beach- they'll be just fine.
I hadn't crocheted in a while, so I kept making mistakes- I realized I had too many stitches by the time I'd gotten to this point. This is about a foot in size from side to side. It is the bottom, and the turquoise edge is the beginning row of the side as I build up. Does that make sense??
Anyway, because I had made the mistake with the stitches, I'd torn out what I had done to this point and started over. This is the second attempt. Following Lucy's pattern again but without mistakes this next time, I was left with extra yarn of each color, so I started a new little piece with that, just starting and ending the color whenever the piece of yarn ran out.
This is what is happening here. Not as exact as the above creation, but that's ok. I am thinking eyeglass case for my sunglasses- or will the yarn scratch the glasses? It could just become a little pouchy bag for something. I think it kind of looks like a coaster for drinking glasses, but unless something were placed on the bottom, it wouldn't quite protect the furniture!
Isn't there a way of stiffening yarn with glue and water? How about a stiffened bowl for keys?
Oh boy-
Anyway...I am off to PA today to visit my daughter, shop a little- because between graduation and a formal wedding invite, I need to do something about my wardrobe...(I hate shopping- clothing and groceries get me crazy.)
Then we will load my truck with some of her belongings and I will bring them back home again.
Question- what to do with apartment things (extra desk, bed, dresser, etc.) that we may need in the future, once it is here again???? I am afraid that my little room (my "studio") will be taken over!
Oh such problems- I know.
Enjoy this (rainy over here again) day!