TMNT Can Cozies

These cozies were actually made as a commission for someone who decided AFTER I had made them all that they didn't want to buy them. Maybe I overcharge on my Etsy Store, but then again, Maybe I'm just someone who values their time more than most people. I never call in sick, but I do request days off for no reason sometimes. I don't spend my days off getting things done, I spend them doing things that make me happy (if I didn't, would I have a blog dedicated to crocheting and crafts?)

All these things are so important to me, having more happiness than money, having more time to take walks and pictures of wildflowers than doing laundry and fretting about things. I occasionally do laundry and fret, but more often than not I'm cuddled up in a nest crocheting something big and fuzzy. Why, then, did it take me so long to deal with the fact that I was hating what I was doing 40 hours a week?

Until recently, I worked at a movie theater. I didn't work at your typical movie, theater, either. It was a more upscale theater with higher prices, and better commodities (also a theater that has jaded the word 'amenities' for me forever. More on that later). The customers were so mean to me that in the past I have gone home to cry, drink, and Gabe and I have even had some rough times when I came home to scream and scream and scream about how my day went.

I had been called stupid, a 'fucking idiot'. I've been told I will 'never go anywhere in life'. I have been called a liar after telling someone that our theater has won awards. I have been literally screamed at for telling someone they had to wait in line. I have been told our salt is 'too salty'. I have been personally blamed for mistakes made when a person ordered tickets online, then promptly yelled at. I have been scoffed at and had my eyes rolled at me countless times. I could go on, believe me. Is it because I'm a mean or rude person? No, it's because people are used to getting the things they want, no matter what, and I was actually holding our policies up. I got yelled at, berated and degraded for doing my job, properly.

I stayed there for two years, and some change. I stayed there because I was convinced I couldn't find another job, because this was the best I could do. It wasn't until the incident in Aurora, CO that got me to quit.

It was a strange feeling, to feel so close to something that had nothing to do with you. Maybe it was the fact that it was a movie theater, and so is Sundance, or the fact that it was so random and isolated of an incident that it very well could have been me, at my theater. It may have even been the fact that that weekend, customer after customer scrunched their faces up and scoffed at me when I told them we would have no additional security in our theaters, and I was just about done. But honestly, it was very little of that, it was the fact that the tiniest part of me thought for one millisecond that I kind of maybe understood where he was coming from.

No, not the deranged Joker persona and the killing of many innocent people. No, not that part. The anger part. The part where people treat you terribly for no reason to a point where you do something drastic and irrational.

People are mean. People make you cry, and run you over, even when you're being nice, and even when they know you're having a rough time. In that moment, I realized how much faith I had truly lost in humanity, and I couldn't deal with it!

I left early that Saturday, having a crisis with myself.  Do I stay, stay unhappy and comfortable, or leave and go out into the big scary world of job hunting, potential unhappiness on an even deeper level, and maybe even a pay decrease? Yes, yes I would. Without having a job lined up, I quit. I quit the hell out of that place.

Exactly two weeks after putting my notice in, I was hired on the spot at a place where I will be able to serve my favorite thing (espresso) to people doing my favorite thing (being creative). I will be working at Traveler's Hearth Cafe & Games, a cafe and board game shop, where people can get away from their TVs, phones, twitter, and whatever other time-wasting machines to be social, and have fun with their time. My kind of place? I hope so.

So, I may have wasted some time making these cozies, but I suppose the least I can do is make the best of it, and share the pattern with you guys. And yes, I'm going to do my best to take some things with Sundance with me, and leave the negativity behind.

These cozies were rather easy enough to make. I  adapted them from my TMNT Mug cozies, and I actually like them better. I think they look nicer, even though I have no use for can cozies...I hope someone else does.

So here's how to do it.

Base worked in continuous rounds.

R1: With green, ch 2, 6 sc in second ch from hook (6sc)

R2: 2 sc in each sc around (12sc)

R3: *2sc in next st, sc* 6 times around (18sc)

R4: *2sc in next st, 2sc* 6 times around (24sc)

R5: *2sc in next st, 3sc* 6 times around (30sc)

R6: *2sc in next st, 4sc* 6 times around (36sc)

R7: ch 1 (does not count as stitch now and throughout), in back loop only hdc in each st around. ss to first hdc. ch 1, turn (36hdc)

R8 - 15: Working in both loops, hdc in each st around. ss to first hdc, ch 1.

R16 -20: With Color B (Bandana color), hdc in each st around. ss to first hdc, ch 1.

R21 - 22: With green, hdc in each st around. ss to first hdc, ch 1. Fasten off after row 22.

Eyes (Make 2):

R1: With white, ch 2, 6sc in second ch from hook. Do not join to first st. (6sc)
R2: 2sc in each st around, ss to first st, cut white. (12sc)
R3: With Color B (Bandana color),  *2sc in next st, sc* 6 times around (18sc). Fasten off, but leave a long tail.

Pupils (Make 2):

With black, ch 2, 6 sc in second ch from hook, ss to first sc. Fasten off, but leave a long tail.

Using the long tail, sew the pupils onto the eyes. Then, using the long tail, sew the eyes onto the mug cozy.

Weave in all ends.

Good luck, guys! I should be back soon with some STAR TREK goodies, and another semirelated story :)

Halloween Project #4: Jack O' Lantern Mug Cozy

This pattern should have been really easy to come up with, and I was flabbergasted when the traditional Jack O' Lantern mouth didn't turn out perfectly on the first try. I made about 4 - 5 attempts to crochet a mouth that looked somewhat decent for a Jack O' Lantern before I decided to just simplify it. I simply used a zig-zag pattern. So even though this guy doesn't look exactly like a Jack O' Lantern (and kind of looks like he's wearing a comically over sized mustache), I still think he's pretty cute...and will give me extra comfort when I drink Pumpkin spice tea.

What you'll need:

- Medium worsted weight yarn (I used Red Heart..."Carrot", to be exact.)
- Size H Hook

How to do it:

Base is worked in continuous rounds.

Using your orange yarn:

R1: Ch 2, 6 sc in 2nd ch from hook (6 sc)

R2: 2 sc in each sc around (12 sc)

R3: *2sc in next st, sc* 6 times around (18 sc)

R4: *2 sc in next st, 2 sc* 6 times around (24 sc)

R5: *2sc in next st, 3 sc* 6 times around (30 sc)

R6: *2sc in next st, 4 sc* 6 times around (36 sc)

R7: *2sc in next st, 5 sc* 6 times around (42 sc)

R8: 1 sc in each sc (42 sc)

Sides are worked in rows back and forth.

R9: ch 1. In back loop only, hdc in each st around ss to first hdc, ch 1, turn. (42 hdc)

R10 - 11: Working in both loops, hdc in each st around. ss to first hdc, ch 1, turn. (42 hdc)

R12: hdcdec over next 2 sts, 38 hdc, hdcdec over last 2 sts, ch 1, turn. Do not join to first stitch of this row. (40 hdc)

R13: hdcdec over next 2 sts, 36 hdc, hdcdec over last 2 sts, ch 1, turn. (38 hdc)

R14 - 23: hdc in each st around. Finish off at the end of R23. (38 hdc)

Making the ties:

Join orange with ss at the end of R22, ch 30, sc in second ch from hook and next 3 sts, hdc to end of ch, ss to end of R21, finish off and tie in ends (4 sc, 25 hdc)

Repeat tie on opposite end of mug

Making the eyes (Make 2):

Using black yarn:

- Ch 5, sc from 2nd ch to end of ch (4 sc)
- 1 sc, 1 scdec, 1 sc (3 sc)
- 1 scdec, 1 sc (2 sc)
- 1 sc (1 sc)
- Finish off, leaving a long tail to tie onto cozy.

Making the mouth:

- ch 29. 2 sc in 2nd ch from hook. (1 sc in each of next 3 ch. Miss next ch. 1 sc in next ch. Miss next ch. 1 sc in each of next 3 ch. 3 sc in next ch) twice. Miss next ch. 1 sc in next ch. Miss next ch. 1 sc in each of next 3 ch. 2 sc in last ch. Finish off.

When sewing on the eyes, if your triangles are a little wobbly, use the yarn you're using to tie it on to even out the edges a bit.

And the final step: drink some coffee (or more appropriately: Pumpkin spice tea).

The next project will be...well...a mystery. Not because I'm a master of suspense, but rather, because even I don't know. I guess we'll see when we get there!

TMNT Mug Cozies

You can get the original pattern from here, or use my modified pattern from here.

Crochet Compendium, and a modified pattern.

I honestly don't remember the last time I finished 3 projects in a day, so I'm feelin' pretty good about today. It was definitely a lazy day, though. After working 8 days in a row, then 4 days of temperatures in the 90s, I more than welcomed a day all to myself with temperatures in the mid 60s. I spent probably about 10 hours of my day crocheting today, and it just wouldn't be me if my posts weren't made around 3 AM ;)

1. Gypsy Head Scarf

This took all of an hour and a half, and looks really nice. The yarn I used was Lion Brand's Tweed Stripes in the "Caribbean" colors. The pattern called for a ch of 144, but I did 154 and I still felt as though it was a tad short (though, I like my head scarf ends to go like 5 or 6 inches past my shoulders). This just touched my shoulders. Like I said, though, definitely happy with the results, and how quickly it went.

2. Sushi Roll Scarf

I have actually been working on this for about 2 weeks now, but finally managed to finish it today. This is actually a wedding gift for someone I've only met a handful of times, but whose wedding I'll be attending later this month. The only reason I did a handmade gift was because, well, first of all, those are the only gifts they're accepting, and they're refusing to accept store-bought gifts, but have set up a donation to a charity if anyone feels like they have to spend money on them. I loved that so much, that I vowed to make something for them (read: her) if for nothing else than to show my gratitude about how she's handling her wedding.

All in all, it was a fun project at first, but when I got to the 36" of white for the 'rice' I got really bored, and subsequently frustrated with how bored I was getting. By the end, I was happy to be done. The project is a cute idea, but I think it was a little too simple for how ambitious I've been feeling lately when it comes to my crocheting.

3. Turtle Power Mug Cozy

First of all, this concept is awesome. What wasn't awesome, was thinking "Hey! Here's an easy 2 hour project!" and then spending roughly 7 hours on it. I think part of the problem was that the mugs the original pattern-writer used were smaller than the mugs I use. While her pattern totals 16 rounds, mine is 23...so I definitely think something was off. I edited the pattern for those whose mugs are 3.75" high.

(I'm copying and pasting most of her original pattern, but will put my changes in bold.)

Materials:
-Worsted weight yarn in green, white, black, and orange (substitue red for Raphael, purple for Donatello, or blue for Leonardo).
-G Hook for cozy and whites of eyes
-E Hook for pupils (I used an H hook the whole way through)
-Tapestry needle

Gauge:
Base rounds 1-7 = 3 inches = Base of a standard coffee mug

Special Stitches:
hdcdec: Half double crochet decrease (yo, insert hook in next st, yo pull up loop, yo, insert hook in next st, yo pull up loop, yo, pull through all 5 loops on hook)

Base worked in continuous rounds
R1: With green and using G hook, ch 2, 6 sc in second ch from hook (6sc)
R2: 2 sc in each sc around (12sc)
R3: *2sc in next st, sc* 6 times around (18sc)
R4: *2sc in next st, 2sc* 6 times around (24sc)
R5: *2sc in next st, 3sc* 6 times around (30sc)
R6: *2sc in next st, 4sc* 6 times around (36sc)
R7: *2sc in next st, 5sc* 6 times around (42sc)
R8: 1 sc in each sc (42 sc)

Sides worked in rows back and forth (I worked the 1st part of these in rounds (before the opening for the handle), mostly due to mis-reading the pattern, and it still worked out.)
R9: ch 1 (does not count as stitch now and throughout), in back loop only hdc in each st around. ss to first hdc. ch 1, turn (42hdc)
R10: Working in both loops, hdc in each st around. ss to first hdc, ch 1, turn. (42 hdc) 
R11:  Working in both loops, hdc in each st around. ss to first hdc, ch 1, turn. (42 hdc) 
R12: hdcdec over next 2 sts, 38hdc, hdcdec over last 2 sts, ch 1, turn. Do not join to first stitch of this row. (40 hdc)
R13: hdcdec over next 2 sts, 36hdc, hdcdec over last 2 sts, ch 1, turn. (38hdc) 
R14 - 15: hdc in each st around. (38hdc)
R16:  hdc in each st around, finish off, cut green. (38hdc)
 R17: join orange with ss, ch 1, hdc in each st around, ch 1, turn. (38hdc)
R18 - 20: hdc in each st around, ch 1, turn. (38hdc)
R21:  hdc in each st around, finish off, cut orange. (38hdc)
R22: join green with ss, ch 1, hdc in each st around. (38hdc)
R23: join green with ss, ch 1, hdc in each st around, finish off, cut green. (38hdc)

Ties
Using H hook join orange with ss at end of R20, ch 30, sc in second ch from hook and in next 3 sts, hdc to end of ch, ss to end of R21, cut orange. (4sc, 25hdc)
Repeat tie on opposite end of mug.


Eyes
R1: With white and using H hook, ch 2, 6sc in second ch from hook. Do not join to first st. (6sc)
R2: 2sc in each st around, ss to first st, cut white. (12sc)
R3: *2sc in next st, sc* 6 times around (18sc)
R4: Join orange with sc in any st, sc in each st around, ss to first st, leave long tail for sewing and cut orange. This last row will want to curve a bit. That's ok. It will flatten when you sew it to the sides of the cozy.

Pupils
R1: With black and using H hook, ch 2, 10sc in second ch from hook, ss to first sc, leave long tail for sewing and cut black. (10sc)

Sew pupils to eyes using black tail from pupil.
Fold cozy in half, place one eye on orange headband to left of fold and the other eye to the right leaving a small space between. Sew eyes to headband using orange tail from eyes.
Weave in ends.

Just to clarify, I did not create this pattern, I have only modified it. For the original pattern scroll up and click the link that says "Turtle Power Mug Cozy".

(Giant words are there thanks to a mean concerned woman who accused me of stealing her pattern on Ravelry...but that's a long story for a different day. I just want to make sure I cover my ass so no one else gets mad.)