Jessica Flores Design

Turtle Necks are Cozy

This morning I woke and looked out the window to the first frost of the season.  One of my Facebook friends reminded me of a favorite poem by our beloved Hoosier poet, James Whitcomb Riley soon after.  I think it's a fitting description: 

 

 

 

They's something kindo' harty-like about the atmusfere
When the heat of summer's over and the coolin' fall is here	10
Of course we miss the flowers, and the blossoms on the trees,
And the mumble of the hummin'-birds and buzzin' of the bees;
But the air's so appetizin'; and the landscape through the haze
Of a crisp and sunny morning of the airly autumn days
Is a pictur' that no painter has the colorin' to mock—	15
When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock.

Inside the flannel sheets have been stretched across the bed, the snuggly slippers lie in wait at the foot of my bedside table, and the coffee press is in use every morning.

I thought it would be a good day to share with you my tutorial for making a cozy for your French Press pot from a turtle neck sweater.  

I've been on the hunt for wool sweaters to use for my blackboard erasers, and I found this great J.Crew turtle in a beautiful heathered aqua at a garage sale for $2.

The first thing to do is wash it in hot water in the machine and dry on high in the dryer--this should shrink it down good to fit your toddler--essentially, you're "felting" it.  If the fibers haven't gotten super tight and fuzzy, run it through the cycle again.

Now you're ready to cut.  Carefully, slice down the neck vertically and then around the neck horizontally below the seam that attaches the neck to the rest of the sweater.

For the straps, cut a length of the ribbing two rows wide off of the end of the cozy.  Fold in half and cut again horizontally, so you have two pieces equal in length.

Now fold the cozy in half and cut a notch out of the bottom on the fold to accommodate the handle where it meets the bottom of the pot.  Be sure to measure your pot first!

Select some buttons that you'd like to use to secure the straps, and sew button holes in the straps to fit the buttons.

 Position the straps on the cozy according to measurements of your pot and pin.

 Use a blanket stitch to attach the straps with embroidery floss.  I like the pearl cotton kind.

Run a blanket stitch along the edges of the rest of the cozy to finish.

Sew the buttons on the opposite side of the cozy.

 Wrap your cozy around your pot and button into place . . . 

then enjoy a hot cup (or two) of joe! 

Giveaway winner

Congratulations to the winner of the giveaway from my last post--Char!  Thanks for sharing your Monday pick-me-up.  You'll be receiving a package of my newest Farmgirl cards!

I've repackaged all of the farmgirls into packs of two identical designs and will be listing them on Etsy soon, and don't forget--custom orders are always welcome, so I'll be happy to mix up a package of all of your favorites too!

 

All Good Things (and a little giveaway)

 . . . must come to an end, and this gal is glad they do tonight.  Whew did I work hard today at the "All Things Handmade and Vintage Market!"  Thanks to everyone who came out to explore the new creations in my booth.  The crowd was great, I met a bunch of nice people, and I was pleased with the way my display came together--although this shot does it no justice.  

I feel so vain taking shots of my own work in public, so I snap them quickly when I hope no one's watching, and this is what I end up with.  Sigh . . . 

Any ol' how, if you're wondering what's next, I will be posting all of the remaining goods on Etsy this week, because it is really lookin' sparse over there.  You'll soon find crocheted rosette headbands, more erasers, collagey keychains, and much more, including this brand spanking new windmill pillow

Then, once my house is spic and span from top to bottom, I shall start working on even more pretties for a holiday open house in November at The Loft!  We'll have specials, refreshments and giveaways.  Keep an eye on my Facebook page for updates.

Yawn. . . time for bed. Tomorrow is Monday and another eight hours at the day job.  Tell me what you do (or others have done) to brighten your Mondays in a comment on this post, and I'll enter you in a surprise giveaway from my "stationery department. ;)"