It’s early in the season, but there is so much to see at the local farmers markets.

While there might not be tomatoes yet, there are many fruits and vegetables and just darn good goods to purchase from local growers and vendors.

Here’s a peak….

At the Staples Area Farmers Market you’ll find Bonnie Bartos at her stand, GrubDudz. She sews all her creations from aprons to oven mitts and more!

Yep, she was a sewer…and she didn’t know it!

Her mother tried to teach her to sew when Bonnie was about 8 or 9 and again when she was in her early teens, but they both decided to mutually abalone the idea, she said.

But when Bonnie came upon some wonderful veggie print material, she had a desire to make something with it.

Bonnie enrolled in a quilting class and, when she was making that first quilt, she thought of ways she could make it more efficiently.

“I guess more of those lessons stuck with me than I first thought,” she said.

Bonnie got some patterns and started creating kitchen and household items. She no longer has that original veggie print, the inspiration for her return to sewing, she has found other fun veggie prints.

And she’s made modifications to the original patterns that helps when working in the kitchen. For instance, she found that, when using most oven mitts, she’d still get burns on her arms right above where the oven mitt ended. So she now makes oven mitts that are longer.

Is your pet in need of some special apparel? Get cat and dog bandanas!

She also makes items to prepare corn and potatoes in the microwave!

Bonnie hails from Alaska and a family that is creative and talented. Her father is a sail maker. Her brother is a potter and her mom weaves and spins yarns.

She came to the area working as a physicians assistant and diabetes education.

“I wanted to do something else,” she said. And she started sewing with a focus on food. AS she says, “BrubDudz provides an acceptable way to play with your food.”

Look for more on Bonnie’s GrubDudz items in future The Local Growers posts and visit her website at www.grubdudz.com.

Visit her booth at the Staples Area Farmers Market at the Lakewood Health Systems, 49725 Co. Rd. 8, Staples from 2-5:30 Thursdays..