To Market We Will Go!

It's a Market Bag for my Mom on Mother's Day! I'll also stuff it full of her favorite British goodies so she feels thoroughly spoiled. Bags, like scarfs, make wonderful gifts because you don't have to worry about sizing. Although, you still need to pick the right color....



I picked pink! She won't find a bright pink Market Bag just anywhere. I know, because I've looked. It really is something that needs to be custom knit for you. I do think she will like it, because she loves bright happy colors as much as I do. Well, almost as much. But think also of the practical side! This will make it much easier for my father to find her in a crowd.

While it is a vibrant pink, the yarn has a nice tweedy texture and the color is much softened in the sunlight. Certainly very wearable.



Although at first Mr Puffy wasn't sure about a pink purse....



He quickly came around when he understood that it was for gathering food at the Farmer's Market. Then he was thrilled with it and indeed ready to take off for the market himself! Mr Puffy does enjoy good food, and is willing to do his part.



Particulars: Rutabaga Shopping Bag (Knitscene, Spring 2007); 2 skeins Green Mountain Spinnery, Cotton Comfort (peony colorway); US 10.5 Needles (circular); Modification: This is a great pattern and I didn't change a thing. I particularly love the stitch pattern (shown best in the photo below) which creates a nice strong stretchy fabric. However, I did feel that the handle was a bit flimsy. To rectify this I crocheted along the selvedge stitches on both sides of the strap - twice on each side - for good measure. I do think a purse needs a sturdy strap to be comfortable. I used a simple crab stitch and it worked like a charm. Dimensions: 11" x 11" (excluding the strap)



A Wee bit about my Mum

My mother is a remarkable woman who (in her eighties) is still walking down to the Farmer's Market on Saturday mornings. She enjoys looking into the shops along the way and after she has shopped at the market my father picks her up. Since this bag can be tucked into her purse until needed, I think that she will find it handy to take along!

This is a picture of my Mother taken on my last visit to Santa Barbara, early in March. We are sitting on the upstairs patio of Cafe Biano in Victoria Court where we like to stop for coffee and cake. Their coffee is wonderful (we splurge and have the cappuccino) and it's a favorite spot of ours to sit and have a little chat before moseying along to visit the shops. If it happens to be a Saturday, we always end up at the Santa Barbara Farmer's Market from whence my father conveniently picks us up!

As you can imagine, my Mother is a marvelous cook, having honed her skills through decades of cooking for my father. Lucky man! Some of you may recall her Apple Pie Recipe (which is wonderful - do give it a try). This similarly is another classic American dish. Enjoy!


Mr Puffy's Favorite Meatloaf Recipe

Ingredients:

1.25 lbs Ground Turkey (not the extra lean - that's too dry)
2-3 tablespoons white bread crumbs
1 egg
1 medium onion - grated
1 cup fresh mushrooms - finely diced
dried or fresh basil to taste
dried or fresh oregano to taste
salt to taste
dried tomato or chili peppers - optional (I personally never add either)
1 can Campell's condensed tomato soup (do not add water)

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees;
2. Combine in a bowl all ingredients EXCEPT the canned soup;
3. Place mixture into loaf pan and bake for 35 minutes;
4. Take loaf pan out of the oven and pour can of condensed tomato soup over top. Do not dilute the soup with water; use the whole can. Return loaf pan to oven and continue cooking for 10 minutes or until cooked through. Generally the cooking time is approximately45 minutes total.

Until next time.... make healthy choices and try and visit your local Farmer's Market!