Tea Mug Cozy - Two Patterns

I wanted to make a little Christmas present for a girlfriend who really loves tea, so I came up with the idea of a mug cozy. I didn't really find online the perfect pattern so I made mines. Here they are:



Tea Mug Cozy Pink and purple

Used a small amount of Lion Brand Cotton in Fuchsia and Purple
Hook H8 / 5.00 mm
Gauge: Check if the length of the chain fits the bottom of your mug. Add or reduce the numer of chains if needed.

With Fuchsia - Ch 30. Join with sl st at 1st chain making sure not to twist the chain.

Row 1: Ch 1, sc in every 30 ch. Turn

Row 2: With Purple - Ch 2, dc in 28 sc. Turn (If you prefer, you can make two rounds in sc instead of 1 round of dc)

Row 3: With Fuchsia - Ch 1, sc in 28 dc + ch 6. Turn

Row 4: Sc in 2nd ch from hook and in the other 4 chs and in all 28 sc. Total 33 sc. Turn

Rows 5: Ch 1, Sc in every 33 sc. Turn

Rows 6-7: With Purple - Ch 1, sc in every sc. Turn. 33 sc

Rows 8-9: With Fuchsia - Ch 1, sc in every sc. Turn. 33 sc.

Row 10: With purple - Ch 1, sc in every 33 sc. Continue with sc along the border of the slip and at the base of the hole until you reach the beginning of row 10. Join with sl st to first sc of row 10. Fasten off.

To make your Tea Cozy stick to the mug, sew some velcro on both sides of the slip.
That's it, now you can enjoy your hot tea or coffee much longer! :-)



Blue Mug Cozy

Cascade 220, 100% wool color 8339, worked double
and a very small amount of blue wool, chunky weight
Hook K10 1/2 - 6.50 mm

Ch 25. Join in round with sl st to 1st ch, making sure not to twist the chain.
Row 1: Ch 2. 23 dc in 23 chs. Turn
Row 2: Ch 2, 23 dc + ch 6
Row 3: Dc in 3rd ch from hook, in the other 2 ch and in all 23 dc. Turn. 26 dc.
Row 4: Sc in all 26 dc. Fasten off
Row 5: With Blue yarn. Sl st to 1st ch of row 4. Sl st in every 25 sc. Fasten off.

Sew some velcro on both sides of the slip. And Enjoy your winter Mug Cozy!

Those patterns are Intellectual property of Justine Bellavita
May be distributed freely for personal use only.
Cannot be reprinted on the web or otherwise without permission.
Thank you! :-)

Hemp Basket

I've made this really lovely Hemp Basked, thanks to Donna Hulka.

I must admit that Donna's baskets are much nicer than mine... The only thing I've added are the felted wool beads. In fact I went to a beads shop but I couldn't find anything I liked for the basked (actually I ended up making a necklace for me...) so I made the beads felting small amounts of wool leftovers, felting them in the shape of beads with hand soap and very hot and very cold water.

Cat lovers tip: The little felted beads are also very appreciated by my cats. I made a slightly bigger one for them and they seem to have a very good time playing soccer with it!

Tweed hat, help!

I'm desperately trying to make a tweed-like hat for my sister. I've done and undone three hats and still I don't have what I want. The hat she likes is like this one:


I've working with this pattern, but something is missing... can anyone help me?!

Tweed hat pattern:

Hook H8/5.00 mm
Worked together 2 strands of yarn Cascade 220
100% Peruvian highland wool
Weight 100 gr/3,5 oz – 220 yards

Gauge: 4 sc= 1’’ 3,5 rows= 1’’


TOP
Starting at center of crown, ch 4, form ring with sl st in 1st ch

Row 1: 8 sc in ring. Join to 1st sc with sl st.

Row 2: ch 1, 2 sc in same sc of sl st, 2 sc in every other sc. Join to 1st sc with sl st. (16 sc)

Row 3: ch 1, 2 sc in same sc of sl st, *1 sc in 1 sc, 2 sc in 1 sc*, rep **. 1 sc in last 2 sc. Join to 1st sc with sl st. (24 sc)

Row 4: ch 1, 2 sc in same sc of sl st, *1 sc in 2 sc, 2 sc in 1 sc*, rep **. 1 sc in last 2 sc. Join to 1st sc with sl st. (32 sc)
Row 5: ch 1, 2 sc in same sc of sl st, *1 sc in 3 sc, 2 sc in 1 sc*, rep **. 1 sc in last 3 sc. Join to 1st sc with sl st. (40 sc)

Row 6: ch 1, 2 sc in same sc of sl st, *1 sc in 4 sc, 2 sc in 1 sc*, rep **. 1 sc in last 4 sc. Join to 1st sc with sl st. (48 sc)

Row 7: ch 1, 2 sc in same sc of sl st, *1 sc in 5 sc, 2 sc in 1 sc*, rep **. 1 sc in last 5 sc. Join to 1st sc with sl st. (56 sc)


The top of the hat will now have the shape of an octagon.

Row 8: ch 1, 2 sc in same sc of sl st, *1 sc in 6 sc, 2 sc in 1 sc*, rep **. 1 sc in last 6 sc. Join to 1st sc with sl st. (64 sc)

Row 9: ch 1, 2 sc in same sc of sl st, *1 sc in 7 sc, 2 sc in 1 sc*, rep **. 1 sc in last 7 sc. Join to 1st sc with sl st. (72 sc)

Row 10: ch 1, 2 sc in same sc of sl st, *1 sc in 8 sc, 2 sc in 1 sc*, rep **. 1 sc in last 8 sc. Join to 1st sc with sl st. (80 sc)

Row 11: ch 1, 2 sc in same sc of sl st, *1 sc in 9 sc, 2 sc in 1 sc*, rep **. 1 sc in last 9 sc. Join to 1st sc with sl st. (88 sc)

Row 12: ch 1, 2 sc in same sc of sl st, *1 sc in 10 sc, 2 sc in 1 sc*, rep **. 1 sc in last 10 sc. Join to 1st sc with sl st. (96 sc)

SIDES
Row 13: work back loop only. Ch 1, 1 sc in same sc of sl st and in all other sc. Join to 1st sc with sl st. (96 sc)
Rows 14 – 29: work both loops. Ch 1, 1 sc in same sc of sl st and in all other sc. Join to 1st sc with sl st. (96 sc)

BRIM
Row 30: ch 1, 2 sc in same sc of sl st, *1 sc in 11 sc, 2 sc in 1 sc*, rep **. 1 sc in last 11 sc. Join to 1st sc with sl st. (104 sc)
Row 31: ch1, sc in each sc, sl st.
Row 32: ch 1, 2 sc in same sc of sl st, *1 sc in 12 sc, 2 sc in 1 sc*, rep **. 1 sc in last 12 sc. Join to 1st sc with sl st. (112 sc)
Row 33-34: ch1, sc in each sc, sl st. At end of row 34, fasten off.

Scarves, scarves, scarves!

Winter is approaching and scarves are always welcome. I love making scarves, it's fast, easy and in the end you have an item that you'll use a lot!
Recently I've made 5, for me, my family and friends.

The first one was made with this Superfine baby alpaca beautiful orange yarn, named Mammoth, that I've found at Artfibers in San Francisco. I worked a Diagonal Rib pattern, found on About.com using knitting needles n.15/10.00 mm and casting on 8 stitches. The result is a very long, extra-soft and extra-warm scarf, which became immediately one of my favorites.

I wasn't totally satisfied of the pattern, though, so I've used the second skein of Mammoth, in dark red, to make my mother a slightly different Christmas scarf. I've casted on 8 stitches and modified the pattern this way:

Row 1: *k2 p2*
Row 2: p1, *k2 p2*, p1
Row 3: *p2 k2*
Row 4: k1, *p2 k2*, k1
Rep rows 1-4

Obtaining more horizontal diagonal stripes. I've finished the scarf crocheting the edges with a beautiful purple extrafine merino wool. The result is simply elegant and fashion. I should have taken a picture but I had to send the scarf very fast as my mom could get it for Christmas.

For one of my most beloved best friends I have crocheted a very simple yet showy Mohair scarf. I've found the pattern on the book "Cozy Crochet". Unfortunately the picture couldn't capture the beauty of the pattern and all the colors of this great Di.Ve Mohair with nuances that go from dark red to purple.

After that I've also finished my boyfriend scarf made in beautiful baby alpaca. I've worked a very simple vertical rib "k3, p3", and I'm very happy with the results.

To finish, I've made this holiday cachecol white and red. I've used the Fuzzy Galore's V-ery easy scarf pattern. Adding a single-crochet red edge and closing the short scarf with a red button. Isn't it fancy? :-)

A Mohair Flower for Mom - pattern

This is a very simple mohair flower pin I've made for my mom. I've used a Di.Vi Mohair blend and crochet hook US H8/ 5.00 mm. This the pattern I have followed:



FLOWER:
Chain 4. Sl st to 1st ch.
Row 1: *chain 3, sc in ring*, rep ** 4 more times, join w sl st to 1st sl st
Row 2: In every ch-3 space work *sc, ch2, dc, tr, dc. ch2, sc* 5 times. Fasten off

LEAVES
With green yarn, sl st on the back of the flower, then:
ch 7, sc in 2nd ch from hook, then hdc in ch, 2 dc in 2 ch, 1 hdc , 1 sc, sl st in back of flower. Make 2




and that's it! :-)
Of course I had been helped by my kitties otherwise I couldn't have done it... ;-)