More excuses

Here's another peek into what kept me so busy during December that I could only manage to eke out one blog entry.

The big flower pins are made out of scraps of felted thrift sweaters (more on what they were felted for later). The round-ie pins are using the online pattern from my beloved Knit Scene magazine. And the cell phone cozies are a mix of my not-so-secret formula and scraps from felted sweaters.

My surefire technocozy formula? Grab scraps of DK or light worsted weight yarn (like Noro Cash Iroha [the purple] and Cascade 220 [the light green and yellow]). Cast on 34 stitches on double points or one long circular for magic loop method. Knit until your iPod or cellphone can get cozy (these are about 5.5 inches long by 3.5 inches wide). Turn inside out and perform the blessed three needle bind-off.

Then pick up three stitches at one of the top corners with matching or contrasting yarn. Make an i-cord that's about 6 inches long (or however long you want). Bind that off and, using a crochet hook, chain 10 to 15 at the end of the i-cord and fasten into a big loop. Sew a button on the top side opposite the i-cord. Add any embroidery, buttons or beads you desire. And, voila! You've got a great little gift that you just made while watching one episode of Alias.

Stay tuned tomorrow for the Chicken Button version (and the story behind the Chicken Button).