handmade::to market, to market

Last year I had planned to make my bestie a market bag.  I had found this orange hemp yarn (Elsebeth Lavold Hempathy) at a local shop on crazy sale and scooped it up.  I mean it’s orange!  And hemp! And awesome!  After some debate on what to do with it, I finally settled on a market bag.

It’s the free pattern Everlasting Bagstopper from Knitty, and is seriously easy.  So easy.  You can knit this bag in a day if you’re a superstar knitter.  If you’re not a superstar knitter you can knit most of this bag in a weekend, then get to the last 10 rows and put it in a basket.  Then move it to a bag.  Then back to the basket.  Then the bag.  Several months later pull it out and look at it.

Put it back in the bag and wait a few more months.

Then pull it out and finish it in half an hour.  Now put it back in the bag.  A month or so later, take it out of the bag and put it in the basket.

A year past the the Christmas you were originally going to wrap it up and give it to your friend, take it out of the basket and spend 15 minutes sewing the handles on.

to market, to market

Then keep it because you love it.

ANYWAY.  It knits up super fast (if you’re normal).  My handles are a thrift store find from a few years ago - embroidered fabric ribbon that was in this huge $3 bag of lace and ribbon and whatnots including the owl and bird ribbon on the kid’s nature bags (which are still in heavy use, I need to make one for Anna).  I love how that thrift store ribbon is perfect for the color and style of this bag without any planning or forethought on my part.  It’s like the hippie universe aligning.

to buy a locally raised, grass-fed, free range chicken