make something monday :: french press cozy

It was just one of those weekends were I needed something in my hands to keep me feeling sane. 
Crocheting is fun and mindless and requires only a hook and yarn so it was sort of a perfect fit. But what to make? Since I don't really consider myself a crocheter per say the project needed to be small enough to complete but useful too. I have always loved the art of granny squares and admire those who actually have the skill and patience to complete a blanket but I don't really ever see myself making an entire quilt. I do however use my french press religiously and since I am the only coffee drinker in the house my second and third cups are always stone cold. So I thought - why not make old frenchie a cute little granny blanket...easy enough. 
It required very few squares and took up most of my free time which as you know isn't all that much but I made it work and this morning enjoyed three cups of nice toasty coffee.  It made my coffee a little bit sunnier I think!
Instead of step by step instructions I am going to turn you over the professionals on this and pretty much just explain what I did. 

First I made eight granny squares using THIS lovely tutorial. And then added a border in white around each one by adding a dc into each dc around the square and in each corner add (2 dc, ch 1, 2dc).
I then went ahead and attached the eight squares using THIS tutorial. Pretty easy - keep in mind this was my first real crochet project so if you are a beginner than do not be intimidated.
To finish it I followed the advice of Emily Sparks and added a hdc into each dc and then at the corners added (2hdc, ch2, 2hdc). I tied it all off and the used a simple yarn bow on the back to keep the cozy closed.
It was a rewarding project but WOW I admire those of you who make like, real legitimate things with the art of crocheting. It is kind of a lot of work! My french press is pretty excited about it though.

This past week my sister in law, Kristen completely separate from me also had the notion to make a little something for her french press. She made this adorable cover out of wool felt and fabric. I think it is positively genius and after talking with her about how piping hot it keeps her coffee for well over an hour I might have to try my hand at one of these too. Cute isn't it!
She said she had a ton of fun laying out a little whimsical scene and then zipped the whole thing together with her sewing machine - it's perfect!! It made me smile that we were both on the same wave length too (it sort of happens frequently :))

...on another french press note did you know that if you break your carafe (the glass portion of the press) you can actually buy replacements instead of forking over the big bucks for an entirely new one? You probably knew that but I didn't and after breaking THREE my sister, Abbey finally informed me...just thought I would pass that along in case you didn't know.

I hope you guys have a wonderful week - I am especially looking forward to Thursday and this months installment of Ten on Ten. If you haven't yet participated you must it's what all the cool kids do :).

Happy Monday everyone!

11 comments:

  1. Can't even tell you how happy I am that you and Kristen have each other. What a wonderful twist of fate.

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  2. i LOVE yours!!! pretty, pretty. looks like a very satisfying project, and it totally dresses up your daily coffee service! nice work with that hook and your stash of beautiful yarn...you're a crochet beginner?! (and speaking of crochet, doesn't jenny still need to do a post on her blanket??! i am so inspired by all my sisters) xoxoxo

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  3. a totally fun twist of fate indeed Britt!

    and YES she does Kristen I would have linked to the blanket post here but as far as I know Jenny has not shown off her incredible work of art!

    ahem...Jenny. ;)

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  4. wow, just wanted to comment on both yours and kristen's adorable coffee cozies and here i find you two are talking about me? ;)

    yes, yes, i haven't posted a final photo of my 30th birthday marathon..it felt like i must have..but I didn't.

    maybe you've inspired me to do that this week? you've certainly inspired me to make a coffee cozy, but i'm still not really drinking the stuff so it might not be that practical. what else can i cover up? my juicer? it could just prevent it from looking so unattractive on my counter!

    love you gals.

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  5. This is beautiful Rebekah! I just love both yours and Kristen's. It might be the final push I needed to give crochet a try :)

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  6. jenny, yes!! i'm looking forward to your post! also--i originally came upon my coffee cozy idea after remembering the cute covers my mom had for all of her large kitchen appliances...blender, standing mixer, etc. when i was growing up... i need to ask her what happened to those! definitely do a post about your juicer cover if you make one; i know we'd all love to see it!

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  7. LOVE both of these cozies. How can you go wrong with penants and granny squares? Also, thanks for the tip on the carafe. I broke my roommate's in college and it cost me my week's grocery budget to replace it!

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  8. So cute! I still have the "frenchie" (love that term; I am going to have to adopt it) you gave me when I moved out. Each time I use it I think of you. It makes me miss seeing you every day and also remember how generous you are! xxoox

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  9. greetings from chicago! it's quite a dreary day here... thanks for the bit of sunshine!

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  10. Both of your cozies are incredibly cute. And you have inspired me to think about adding crocheting to my list of things to try. Pete would love it (he himself wants to learn how to knit - so maybe we can do it together!).

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  11. Super duper cute, I've been yearning to try my hand at granny squares (i'm a knitter) and this is the push I need to give it a try. Thanks.

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