To Market, To Market…

For several months our grocery store has been selling inexpensive canvas totes emblazoned with the shop’s logo that shoppers can buy and use instead of plastic bags. I love the idea, but I don’t really want to be advertising the grocery store everywhere I go, especially if I choose to shop somewhere else. And so, while examining my ridiculous stash of kitchen cotton, it struck me that I should just knit my own. Why hadn’t I thought of that before? I searched online and found a few patterns. I love MagKnits’ Saturday Market Bag, but I just don’t have the patience to screw around with the lace pattern. Then I found this pattern (“Market Bag, V. 2”). Seemed perfect!

And so, yesterday morning I started knitting and worked on it in between chores and playing with the boys. If I didn’t go to bed early, I would certainly have finished it. So trust me: it’s a super quick project if even I finish it in one day. The only thing that confused me was the instructions on how to make the handles. I could not figure out what she meant by “cable knit on 13” so I just modified it slightly and worked them out on my own. Otherwise, I loved this knit and plan to make several of them to use when I shop instead of the plastic grocery bags. (Much prettier than the ones offered by the store!). I like that the bag isn’t too huge and that there are two handles. I also chose to make shorter handles because I think it’s easier to carry. I might make one with longer handles to carry over my shoulder for the farmer’s market, but for the bag’s main purpose, the shorter handles work well. I was suprised how much stuff fit into it, and there was room for more. I’m very pleased!