Teacher Gift: Crochet Coffee Cozies

I made two coffee cozies for Jane's teachers at school. Originally I was going to give bigger Target gift cards, but then the room mom asked for donations for a big group gift card, so I put that money toward that and whipped up these to give with smaller CC's Coffee gift cards. I slipped them into cardboard CC's coffee sleeves and added "Thanks a Latte" (I love a good pun, and that's a good one, right?)

The snowflake cozy is the same style as the sister squad hats I just made -- front post double crochet. So it's super thick and plushy. It took me FOREVER to get the snowflake pattern right because I kept screwing up. This was done with a graph I found online for a simple snowflake, so basically a new pattern. Once I got the hang of it and switching colors it went OK. I love the look of it.

The star cozy is a quick pattern from I'm Frayed Not that makes a very stretchy cozy. I added the crab stitch/reverse single crochet in white at the top and bottom to lend a Christmassy look. The star was a One Dog Woof ornament pattern that I did very fast this morning to sew on -- next to the snowflake one a plain red cozy didn't look special enough.



With an empty coffee cup that I used to be sure the sleeves could go on and off easily (imagining the cups full and hot!).

Sister Squad Hats

Crocheted hats using the same pattern as these. Free pattern from My Hobby is Crochet.
Playing "puppies" while wearing their new hats
New mug from Target -- don't need it. Wanted it. Bought it. (Should save it for my stocking...)

Out of Place

We've lost a library book. I am about 75% sure that I returned it to the library, but they can't find it. And I can't find it anywhere in the house. It's a big book, so not one that could slip inside another one (we check out tiny paperbacks sometimes that I fear will get lost that way). This is the third time this has happened, and every other time it's been on the shelf at the library. Not this time (so far). The search continues. It's Jane's card so no late fees, but I could just renew it I guess and do that indefinitely? I don't know. Aggravating. I can always throw money at the problem and just pay for the book. It may come to that. Need to do the sweep a few more times though.

Something even more aggravating is the fact that Jane was left out of a Kindergarten-wide girl party. All the girls in her grade were invited to a cookie swap or cookie decorating party. Two girls were left off, supposedly accidentally, and Jane is one of them. It's apparently a tradition and each grade does a separate girl-boy party around Christmas.

The organizing mom, a woman I've felt the side eye from (and given to), said they sent home invites in their backpacks (nope) -- and suggested Jane threw it away (double nope) and that they emailed everyone, but they may not have had my address since teachers won't give out full class list emails. NOPE, as I've emailed this mom directly, inviting her kid to Jane's birthday party (to which she didn't respond -- and I sent TWO invitations in hard copy, since I had to change things at the last minute) AND I've met this mom a couple times -- once saw her in the orthopedic center and we spoke to each other. She knows Jane and we're in her actual class, so this feels like more than an "accidental" oversight.

BUT I'm sure it was. We're not thought of any more than a speck of dust to these people. At least it feels that way. Certainly feel out of place, although Jane holds her own with her classmates, is loved by her teachers.

I am fuming STILL, 24 hours later. Only found out about it because of Facebook, and I've lost too much sleep about it.

That Old Habit?

The world is burning, and the tax bill is going to break us all. (Handwritten edits?! In a 500 page PDF?! To be voted on in mere hours?!)

But here are some things:


Jane's Kindergarten class has a Christmas tree. I'm surprised they used that verbiage, but that's what it's called. They asked every family to make an ornament to hang on it -- something that represents the family and their traditions. I thought and came up with this -- our hands creating a tree that Jane could draw on and add stickers to show things that are our Christmas traditions. Originally I thought of hobbies too -- like a skein of yarn picture from one of my yarn catalogs, some woodworking contraption from one of Shawn's catalogues, etc. But Jane didn't want to wait to take it in and wasn't really interested in that either. She didn't want photos of us (I was thinking small, as if they were ornaments on the tree), so this is it. There are books because we do the Advent book-a-day tradition, plus a candle, Baby Jesus, an angel, etc. I'm not sure what all Jane drew. The ornament is big, since our hands are real-size, and I figured TOO big -- I had to send it in her backpack in three folders put together with binder clips so it wouldn't get banged up too badly. Jane said the teacher said it was perfect, so I guess the tree is big enough to hold it.

My question -- what if a family doesn't celebrate Christmas? 


I never got my free Starbucks birthday drink that I normally get via the app. Perhaps it's because I do this with the stars that come off the bags of coffee I buy instead of inputting them in the Starbucks system? CURSES!


A completed crochet doll dress, front and back. It's not exactly like the pattern, which I got from a book. I had to make up my own top using the suggested stitch. I followed the top's pattern but got this weird almost E-shaped piece and the next direction was "sew shoulder seams" without an explanation as to what the seams were. Maybe I am a visual learner, because a picture could have really helped. Instead I just started my own top right into the skirt part. It worked out fine, although could have been better fitted. I didn't do great on the starting chains, so put a Christmas ribbon around her waist for the pictures. If we can find a solid purple ribbon to sew onto it that would be good. The buttons were $2 from Walmart, but otherwise the cost was nil. I used Gran's thread, which is why the colors are kind of weird. The original pattern had three sets of four ruffles in the skirt in shades of blue, but the designer crochets tighter than me, because it would have made my skirt too long. I could have stopped at the dark purple, but didn't realize it until after I'd done the pink. Oh well. It's fine as it is. I should take better pictures for my Ravelry page. These were fast on my phone because Liv was on the move. She's been a terror -- broken three or four Christmas things, and we haven't even had the Xmas stuff out for a week yet!

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