Mug jacket

I grew sick of the ugly old mug I drink tea from at work, so I decided it really needed to be cheered up a bit. After scanning Ravelry for a while, I found this lovely pattern:

Pattern: Mug and french press jacket

Needles: 3 mm

Yarn: Novita 7 Veljestä

Ravelry: Mug jacket (for more photos)

But here again I made some modifications to the original pattern. Firstly, I knitted only the sides. I also started knitting them flat right from the beginning in stead of working it in a round. Last but not least I also made it a bit smaller than the original one.

I really feel the cover makes my mug more cosy. Plus, it now feels much more confortable to warm my cold hands on the hot mug when the woolen cover is on. And when the mug needs to be washed, the cover is also very easy to take off thanks to the white ribbons on the side.

I've already for quite a while been wondering how to make that beautiful stitch pattern used here, and I have to say I was surprised at how easy it was! So go and try it! I already have another small project going on with this stitch pattern. Photos of that coming soon. Till then, have a look at these mushrooms! There's hundreds of them.

New school

The past two or three weeks have just been crazy. I've barely had time to sleep in between of running from one place to another. I've started working 3-5 days a week and then the courses at the handicraft teaching program has also started. On top of all this, I finally managed to finish a first version of my master's thesis in history that I last monday sent to the professor for comments and suggestions for how to make it better before I officially hand it in. So, in other word, I haven't had that much time to do anything else than "compulsory" stuff.

So far I've enjoyed the handicraft courses very, very much. It's so different to history that very much circles around books. During the handicraft lessons we actually make something with our hands, that really makes the time fly by. I mean, a four-hour lesson usually feels much shorter than a normal 90 min history lesson. Everything feels so inspiring and I just wish I'll soon have more time to carry out all my ideas in action.

So, what have we done so far? Well, not that much. We've been practising on sewing machines, using different kinds of techniques. Then, in another course, we've studied colours, and that actually feels like being back in high school - but in a positive way! It's very refreshing and relaxing to sit and just mix different colours. I haven't painted with watercolours in years so it was very nice to realize how much more fun it was than I remembered. And not at all as hard to control than I remembered. Here's my humble achievements from the first lesson:

Then, during the time I spent in a bus from one place to another, I did have time to finish this:

A very basic hat for the winter. Not for myself, but for a friend.

Pattern: my own/mix of several

Yarn: Novita 7 Veljestä and some unidentified black yarn I found in my stash

Needles: 3 mm

That's all for this time. Hope to be able to update more often from now on!

Autumn hat

I've been looking at this pattern for ages already, but didn't have the right yarn nor the right needles at home, so until now, it has only been on my to do -list. But the other day, I finally went to buy everything I needed and started knitting. And man this was a fast knit! I finished it all in only one day!

Pattern: DROPS: Knitted hat with cables

Yarn: Novita Kelo

Needles: 8 mm

You can imagine how nice it felt to knit something really fast after my 2 mm lavender sweater! More big needles for me, please!

Now I also have something to wear with my old yellow mittens. Everything in lovely autumn colours! <3 Also, eagerly awayting next week when my first handicraft lessons start! Yay!