Rah rah, bag boom bah!

Someday my cabinet knob prince will come...

One, two, three, now four
It's knitted market bags galore!
Five, six, seven, eight
These are so much fun to make!

Pre-fill. Or, if you watch Dollhouse, pre-bag reaction. (Sidebar: If you haven't caught it yet, get thee to Hulu and catch up. It's a bit if-it-weren't-for-Joss-I-wouldn't-watch-it for the first five episodes, but hang in there 'til ep. six. That's when the Alliance Fox realized they should leave the genius that is Joss alone, and it gets freakin' frackin' awesome.)

I love these Market Bags. They're light, stretchy, durable, and hold a ton o' stuff. Plus they're quick and easy to knit! This is the third one I've made with this pattern, each with a slightly different take. So of course, I had to make some mods this time as well! ;)

- Knit the entire thing flat in one long piece, including the garter border at the top
- Added an extra knit/purl stitch at each end of each lace row to make it easier to seam (which it did)
- Picked up the stitches for the handles, of which there are two

Here's the low-down from this go-round:
- CO 43
- 5 rows garter
- 16 lace repeats
- 5 rows garter
- BO, then mattress seamed sides
- PU 5 stitches for each handle, 7 stitches in from each side
- 60 rows garter, then BO and seamed 7 stitches in from other side

I also knitted both handles at the same time to make sure they came out the same length, as I often forget to click the kacha (hehehe, that sounds dirty) when the rows have so few stitches. It was fussier that way, but symmetry is key!

Cheap and easy. Just how I like my...er, nevermind.

Yarn thoughts
Turtlegirl mentioned that Peaches & Creme was softer than Sugar'nCream, so I braved the Walmart and picked up a few skeins. (Note: I've discovered that going into Walmart in the middle of a weekday and of course, making sure you don't need to ask anyone for help lest they vanish into the ether never to be heard from again, makes you far less likely to want to kill someone by the time you leave.)

Naturally, she was right! The Peaches & Creme doesn't exfoliate my hands and is much more pleasant to knit with. Plus it's cheap cheap cheap and can be thrown in the w/d! I wouldn't go so far as to make a sweater with it, but this will now be my go-to yarn for Market Bags and kitchen towels (a four-pack of which you'll be seeing later this week).

Wrap it up
Have you made one of these yet? You really should. They're great for groceries, good for the earth, and get you lots of comments from cute Trader Joe's checkout boys. Now that's what I call a magic combination! ;)

Market Bag 4
Pattern: Saturday Market Bag from Strings & Yarn
Yarn: Peaches & Creme, 2 skeins in Lemon Lime (#186)
Needles: HiyaHiya Stainless Steel Size 9, 16" for garter/handles, freebie plastic 13 straights for lace
Mods: Knit all flat in one piece, mattress seamed sides, added selvedge stitches for easier seaming, PU stitches for handles, two handles