queue the owl cup cozies!

I think that out of all the (meager) patterns I've designed, the best and most popular one to date is my owl coffee cup cozie ... so far 393 made on ravelry and 921 in queue, to date.

For some reason, though, I've gotten mildly obsessed with checking out its queues more so than any other design I have. The highest number of queues in a day has peaked at 10, over the last 180 days (back in September) and peaked at 5 in the last month.

It's a given that this is a small project, and many have posted that it's a great, easy way to learn cables.

I would love to have another day of queues peak at 10, or even beat that record. I've no idea how to have that happen, but it would be stellar. Valentine's Day is a week away... I wonder if this would make a great gift for that occasion?

Owl Cozie KAL - & raising CT$ for DH

For those of you who frequent the Canadian forums in ravelry, this may be old news, since I posted this there about 2 weeks ago... regardless, here I go (again!)...

I've designed this owl cup cozie a while back, and on ravelry (queuable here) for a while now I've offered the 10 sew on google eyes for sale, since they're so hard to find, & they stay on so much better than the glue-on google eyes. (Glue on google eyes are awesome, but for fabrics that stretch all the time like the cup cozies tend to do, they're not the best and will have a tendancy to eventually flake off, therefore sew on eyes are much sturdier!)

Because my husband loves Canadian Tire, he gets a lot of CT gift cards on the holidays, which go almost entirely towards tools and car supplies. As a change, though, I decided on collecting CT$, and since he's turnign 35, it'd be great to be able to raise @ least $35.

Considering how much he covets his tools, and working on his car, plus how much of his spare time he devotes to helping his parents, sister, and my brother with all the handy things he does, this really is the least I can do. I can honestly say that my DH is awesome when it comes to a lot of things, but especially the time he devotes to working with tools & helping both his family and mine (not to mention neighbors too!) all after working 70+ hours a week.

Over the last 2 weeks I've so far managed to raise $21 all in CT$, by selling 10 eyes for $1 in CT$ to ravellers, which is awesome. But I've got $14 more I'd like to raise - plus of course anything over and above that will be gifted and definately put to good use.

So, if you're reading this & have a couple CT$ that are just sitting in a drawer (even if it's entirely in 5 cent bills) and would like to knit up that owl cozie, please contact me via ravelry - I'm knitphomaniac there. An SASE will need to also be provided, and I can easily fit @ least 10 sets of eyes in one envelope with 1 Cdn stamp, possibly more.

THIS MAKES A GOOD: destash project, SnB KAL, 'learn to cable' project, gift for Father's Day or birthday with a coffee shop gift card, etc. (Just some ideas!) Or you can even headstart on December holiday gifts - these are ideal stocking-stuffer type gifts!

If you've got a knitting group and would like to do this KAL, maybe you can propose that each person in the group can bring $1 or more in CT$ - that way all their eyes can be sent via and to you.

JUST A REMINDER that if you wish to participate in this particular project, I do need to receive the CT$ by Tues June 28th @ the very latest! PLEASE QUEUE IT ON RAVELRY & happy knitting!

loopy cables bottle cozy

Materials: worsted weight yarn, approx 25g; 4mm (US 6) dpn's - set of 5; cable needle; stitch marker

note: use a set of dpn's one size smaller than what's recommended on the label, to make a slightly tighter fabric

Tension (on label-recommended needles) : 20sts = 4"; with 1 size smaller needles needed for this pattern: 22sts = 4" in stockinette stitch

(I used Paton's Classic Wool Tweeds to make my cozy, and tension was based using this yarn)

terms used in this pattern:
k - knit
p - purl
k2tog - knit two together
k2togtbl - knit two together through back loop
dpn - double pointed needles

Cable Pattern: (worked over 8 sts)

Row 1: p2, place 2 sts on cable needle & hold back, k2, k2 from cable needle, p2

Row 2: p2, k4, p2

Row 3: p1, place 1 st on cable needle & hold back, k2, p1 from cable needle, place next 2 sts on cable needle & hold in front, p1, k2 from cable needle, p1

Row 4: p1, k2, p2, k2, p1

Row 5: place 1 st on cable needle &; hold back, k2, p1 from cable needle,p2, place next 2 sts on cable needle & hold in front, p1, k2 from cable needle

Row 6: k2, p4, k2

Row 7: k2, p4, k2

Row 8: k2, p4, k2

Row 9: place 2 sts on cable needle & hold in front, p1, k2 from cable needle, p2, place 1 st on cable needle & hold back, k2, p1 from cable needle

Row 10: p1, k2, p2, k2, p1

Row 11: p1, place 2 sts on cable needle & hold in front, p1, k2 from cable needle, place 1 st on cable needle & hold back, k2, p1 from cable needle, p1
Row 12: p2, k4, p2

On one dpn, CO 6. *M1, K1* across. (12sts)

Divide between 4 dpn's & knit in the round.

Row 1: *(K1, M1) K1* around.

Row 2: *K2, (K1, M1)* around.

Continue in this fashion, increasing by 1 stitch at the beginning or end of each dpn until you have 48 sts. This forms the bottom of the cozy.

For body of the cozy:
Row 1: *k2, p1, work row 7 of cable, p1* around
Row 2: *k2, p1, work row 8 of cable, p1* around

Continue in this fashion, working in pattern and incorprating rows 9-12 of cable pattern, then rows 1-12 twice, then rows 1-6 once more.

first decrease:

next row: *k2tog, p1, work row 7 of cable, p1* around

next row: *k1, p1, work row 8 of cable, p1* around

Continue this last row in pattern and incorporte rows 9-12 respectively.

to finish:

row 1: *k1, p1, k1, p1, place 2 sts on cable needle & hold back, k2, k2 from cable needle, p1, k1, p1* around

row 2: *k1, p1, k1, p1, k4, p1, k1, p1* around

row 3: *k1, p1, k1, place 1 st on cable needle & hold back, k2, p1 from cable needle, place next 2 sts on cable needle & hold in front, p1, k2 from cable needle, k1, p1* around

row 4: *k1, p1, k2tog, k1, p2, k1, k2togtbl, p1* around (36 sts)

rows 5 & 6: *k1, p1, k2, p2, k2, p1* around

Cast off (bind off) loosely in pattern, break yarn, tie and weave in ends.

© 2010 by Sabrina Thompson - original design and pictures. Please do not sell pattern or materials made thereof, or copy my pictures. Pattern cannot be distributed for sale, or as a 'free pattern' promotional tool for selling yarn or knitting supplies. If posting Finished Items on personal blogs, please link back to this blog and pattern, thanks. This pattern is FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY. If you have any questions or concerns about this or any other of my patterns, please contact me by posting your questions in the comments, I'll address them a.s.a.p.!

two mug cozies, finished

I just finished knitting this pair of mug cozies for my parents in law, who are avid tea drinkers. The pattern can be downloaded from ravelry here - where it also details how to adjust the pattern for a French press... but since my inlaws don't have one, the mug cozies will do just fine! I absolutely heart how these turned out, and I managed to eat through more of my huge stash of Elann Peruvian Wool! woo hoo! 

Owl Coffee Cup Cozie pattern

materials:

- aran, dk or worsted yarn (18-20sts =4"),  13 grams

- dpn's (right size for yarn & tension) set of 4

- 10 sew-on eyes, 8mm-10mm

- cable needle, darning needle (to sew on eyes) and crochet hook (to weave in ends)

- optional: scrap yarn in a contrasting colour to sew on a beak

Finished size: mine ended up being 4" tall, and fits a large cup of take out coffee (approx 8-9" in diameter)

Terms used in this pattern:

C4F: put 2 sts on a cable needle, hold in front, k2, then k2 from cable needle
C4B: put 2 sts on a cable needle, hold in back, k2, then k2 from cable needle
C2F: put 1 st on a cable needle, hold in front, k1, then k1 from cable needle

C2B: put 1 st on a cable needle, hold in back, k1, then k1 from cable needle

K_tbl: Knit the stitch thru the back loop; in this case, knit two stitches each thru the back loop

how-to:

Cast on 48 sts. Divide between 3 dpn's, and join.
K2tbl, P2 rib for 4 rows.
Next row (5th row): continue doing k2tbl, p2 rib while increasing 2 stitches evenly around. 50 sts.

Work Owl Cable: (there are 5 owls around)

Rows 1 & 2: *k8, p2* around to end.
Row 3: *C4B, C4F, p2* around.
Rows 4-9: *k8, p2* around to end.

Row 10: *C4B, C4F, p2* around.

Rows 11-15: *k8, p2* around to end.

Row 16: *C4B, C4F, p2* around.
Row 17: *k8, p2* around to end. Or, to make pointy ears: *C2B, k4, C2F, p2* around to end. 

Next row: work k2tbl, p2 rib while decreasing 2 sts evenly around. (48 sts)
Work 4 rows of k2tbl, p2 rib.
Cast off loosely, weave in ends.

To finish: Sew on 2 eyes per owl, just under the third cable that was worked in row 16. Add a beak using duplicate stitch - a tuturial I like can be found here.

Sets of 10 SEW ON EYES available here in my zibbet shop - zibbet is free to sign on, and works just like etsy or ebay does!

© 2009 by Sabrina Thompson - original design and pictures. Please do not sell pattern or copy my pictures. Please use proper descretion with all finished objects, and respect local copyright & trademark laws. Pattern cannot be distributed for sale, or as a 'free pattern' promotional tool for selling yarn or knitting supplies. If posting Finished Items on personal blogs, please link back to this blog and pattern, thanks. :D If you have any questions or concerns about this or any other of my patterns, please contact me by posting your questions in the comments, I'll address them a.s.a.p.!

Carboy Cozy

I grew up with my dad always making wine, and now my husband brewing beer at home. In either case, the carboy needs to stay relatively and consistantly warm, which is sometimes
hard in the winter (despite having the heat on) and durning the summer (with the air conditioning). So, I rounded up my partial skeins of Red Heart Super Saver yarn and decided to whip up a cozy for my husband's beer carboy, to warm it up.

In case you want to make your own, here's the pattern:

Materials: Red Heart Super Saver, any colour - scraps and partial skeins encouraged
5mm (US 8) circular needles, in at least 24" long plus one 12" long
5mm (US 8) dpn's
yarn marker
a crochet hook to weave in ends

Tension: 17sts = 4" (10cm)

Pattern: *to fit a carboy with an approx circumfrence of 90cm (39"), which is a standard 5 gallon (23 litre) carboy

1.) CO 152 sts on longest circular needles. Join and place marker.
2.) K2, P2 around for 2 inches.
3.) Switch to St st (knit around) until entire peice measures approx 36 cm (14 inches).

Decrease rounds:
Odd number rows: knit
Even number rows: decrease as follows, switiching to smaller circular needles then dpn's when needed:
Row 2: *K12, k2tog* around
Row 4: *K11, k2tog* around
Row 6: *K10, k2tog* around
Row 8: *K9, k2tog* around
Row 10: *K8, k2tog* around
Row 12: *K7, k2tog* around
Row 14: *K6, k2tog* around
Row 16: *K5, k2tog* around
Row 18: *K4, k2tog* around
Row 20: *K3, k2tog* around
Row 22: *K2, k2tog* around, 30 sts
Rows 23: K around
BO next row, and weave in ends.