Friday 19 November 2010

Look what I received on my email today!

I think I will contribute and start giving away cozies!!!


Thanks to Kathleen from Interweave


Get "cozy" with your knitting and some coffee!


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Spacer 15x15 pixelsCoffee Clutch by Ann Budd

Sometimes as I fall asleep at night I think about my first cup of coffee the next morning. I love coffee somuch that I try to fall asleep really fast so the morning comes quicker!

I don't just drink it at home—I get a lot of coffee at coffee shops, too, and when I forget my cup and have to get a paper cup, I feel guilty about the waste created. My favorite coffee house always makes my coffee a little too hot, and I usually forget to ask them not to, so I have to get one of those cardboard sleeves. More waste, more guilt.

As I was planning my posts for the week, I flipped through Ann Budd's book Knitted Gifts ('tis the season!) and I saw a great stash-buster gift that's perfect for coffee lovers and for the environment: The Coffee Clutch.

This pattern is so fun, and I'd be really surprised if you don't have enough yarn leftovers to knit up a bunch of these for everyone on your gift list (it's a perfect knitting pattern for beginners, too!).

I'm knitting these for all of the coffee-drinkers in my family, and I'm going to knit several for myself, too, to place in my glove compartment so I can cut down on my self-inflicted guilt-fest when I forget my reusable to-go cup.

I think you should knit a bunch of cozies, too, so here's the pattern!

Coffee Clutch
by Ann Budd

Instead of adding cardboard cup sleeves to the landfill, make a reusable one with leftover bits of yarn. This wool sleeve is worked in a ribbed pattern that tapers to accommodate most sizes of take-out coffee cups. Change colors, add stripes, or incorporate novelty yarns to personalize one for each of your coffee-drinking friends!

Yarn / gauge / needles: Any worsted-weight yarn / 13 sts and 18 rounds = 2" in k3, p1 rib / Size 5 US DPNs (double-pointed needles) or a long circular needle for the Magic Loop method.

Using the long-tail cast-on, cast on 48 sts. Arrange stitches as evenly as possible on 3 dpns (or use the Magic Loop method), place marker (pm), and join for working in rnds.

Work in k3, p1 rib for 8 rounds.
Inc Rnd 1: *K3, p1, M1, k3, p1; rep from *—54 stitches.
Work in k3, p2, k3, p1 rib for 8 rounds.
Inc Rnd 2: *K3, p2, k3, p1, M1; rep from *—60 stitches.
Work in k3, p2 rib for 8 rounds. Cut yarn, leaving a 28" (71 cm) tail. Bind off all stitchesloosely (so you can slide the cozy easily onto the coffee cup). Weave in loose ends.

What's an M1?

"M1" means "make 1." To do this increase, follow the directions below.

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Figure 1 Figure 2
With left needle tip, lift the strand between the last knitted stitch and the first stitch on the left needle from front to back (Figure 1), then knit the lifted loop through the back (Figure 2).
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If you like the Coffee Clutch pattern, I highly recommend Knitted Gifts to you. You'll find gift ideas for the holiday season and for every occasion throughout the year.

Cheers!

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