Join us for a Knitalong

Fresh Purls has decided to host a knitalong! Our first project is going to be the Strawberry Market Bag, a free pattern on Ravelry designed by "OrangeJuicy." This bag is quick to make and fun to knit. The designer suggests using cotton, linen or hemp. Karen knit a test version in Classic Cotton, two skeins of blue and one of yellow. The designer's sample, pictured below, is in red and green (hence the "Strawberry" name). This handy little bag can be used at the grocery store, library or even the yarn shop(!), or it can be a great gift. The round, flat bottom is the same color as the edging, and the strap has eyelets through which you thread some ribbon for extra strength (and decorative effect).

Here's how the knitalong will work. We'll have a kickoff meeting at the shop on Saturday, March 28. If you can't make it to the kickoff, that's fine, we expect most of the action to take place on the blog. There is no charge to participate; the pattern is free, and the designer has given permission for us to make copies to hand out to those who don't have accounts on Ravelry. You use the yarn of your choice, either purchased or from your stash. We can help you choose something that will suit the project, and if you buy it at the shop we'll take 10% off.

The best part of the knitalong is to see how everyone personalizes the project, through their choice of yarns, or changes and additions to the pattern. We hope you will let us know how you're doing with the project as you go along, by adding comments and photos of your in-process work and finished project to the blog. When questions come up, we'll put the answers in a blog entry, so everyone can see them. If people enjoy their experience with the market bag, we will probably hold additional knitalongs in the future.

Please consider joining our knitalong -- we'd love to have you! Watch this space for more information.