holidays, etc. - DIY holiday ideas

I love this idea for a DIY melted snowman ornament I saw on Pinterest:

Just a glass ornament, salt, a few peppercorns, and an orange paper cone. You can find step by step instructions here.

Another holiday Pinterest find I love is this Mediterranean food wreath:

The idea comes from Julia M. Usher's blog, which has some other cute DIY holiday ideas here. 

You can see my entire Holiday Times Pinboard here. 

anna crochets - fleur de lis cup cosy

This weekend I made a fleur de lis cup cosy for an LSU fan:

You can find the free pattern for the cosy itself here. I free-styled the fleur de lis, and will try to write out the pattern for this blog soon!

I made the packaging out of a white piece of cardboard.

PS: Made a bit smaller, this pattern would work well as a wrist band for an LSU football fan!

knitting, etc. - weird knits

My coworkers shared some interesting knitwear with me today:

The second is called a privacy scarf. I think it would be nice if it included a hole from breathing. I don't see any patterns for for these on Ravelry, but I'm sure things will start to pop up soon. 

anna knits - hope hat update 2

I finished my hope hat today:

I did the 21in picot version using worsened weight Cascade 220 yarn via the knitcircus pattern available here. 

It turned out smaller than I anticipated - I have to admit I did not measure my head first. It will be perfect for a child, but is definitely not adult sized. If I make this again, I will knit the 24in version. 

You can see my progress in an earlier post here. 

knitting, etc. - knit poufs

Check out these giant knit poufs:

They are by Mary Marie Knits and available for purchase on Etsy. You can pick from a variety of colors, which is always fun. Makes me want to get some giant knitting needles!

anna knits - hope hat update 1

My hope hat is coming along:

I am trying a red version inspired by this one by mrspeterson, which I first saw on Ravelry:

You can find the pattern for the hat here. 

On an Obama related note, my Obama cup cosy is now for sale in my Etsy store! Check it out here. 

cards, etc. - embroidered cards

I love these embroidered snowflake cards by Koto Designs:

I first saw these cards on the blog Paper Crave, which always features wonderful stationary designs. I haven't done embroidery in a while, but I may try to make some myself!

anna crochets - obama cup cosy

I love making these crochet cup cosies (free pattern here) because the decoration choices are endless. I recently made an obama symbol one:

What would you make?

anna crochets - crochet bookmark

Want a quick, easy project for extra yarn? Try a crochet bookmark. You can use any color combinations you want!

~ Crochet Bookmark Pattern ~

I used Cascade 220 worsted weight yarn and an H/8 5.00mm crochet hook.

Round 1: Chain 21, or desired length of your bookmark. 

Round 2: Single crochet in second chain from hook. Single crochet across (20 stitches).

Round 3-4: Chain 1. Single crochet across. 

Round 5: Chain 1. Single crochet across. End off.

Create fringe if desired. A video showing you how to make fringe is available here.  

anna crochets - more cup cosies

This weekend I made a few more cup cosies:

You can find the free pattern for the cosy shell here. Also check it out on Ravelry here! 

The best thing about making these crochet cup cosies is the flexibility. You can make yours a few rows taller or shorter and it will still work fine. And then of course there is the decoration - endless possibilities! 

What would you put on your cosy?

politics, etc. - knit obama symbol

I saw this knit Obama symbol on the Obama for America Tumblr and had to share:

My roommate just left to spend a week volunteering for Obama in New Hampshire, so I am feeling like I too should be getting involved... I could at least make some Obama inspired knitwear this weekend.

In 2008 I knit an Obama hat:

On my way to the inauguration! Brrrr.

You can get the pattern and read more about it here.

Not an Obama supporter? Check out these bipartisan stitch markers, avaliable on Etsy.

Such a cute idea!