Coffee Sleeve with an Enormous Heart Pocket

Continuing my obsession with coffee sleeves, I found this pattern on Ravelry (link: Open Heart Pocket Hot or Cold Drink Sleeve) and tested it out.

Materials:

1. Yarn, two colors - I used acrylic yarns, with the red yarn thicker than the cream one
2. Hook - I used a 5 and a 5.5mm hook
3. Tapestry needle

Tips:

• Use a smaller hook and yarn for the heart pocket, unless you want the pocket to be big.
• The pocket I made has a tendency to spill its contents, so be careful when sewing on the heart applique.
• Be creative, try other appliques as a pocket.

I won't go into the specifics of the pattern since I didn't deviate from it while I was working on my sleeve. Follow the link at the top of the post for the pattern.

Wired Little Owl Bookmark

I made these beauties (and more!) for my sister. These bookmarks are the same as this one here, but with a thin wire on the branch and using a smaller hook. (Pattern: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/little-owl-bookmark)


So here's how I worked with the wire:

1. Curl the end of the wire, but don't close it yet. Leave a gap so you can insert it in one of the stitches.
2. Work on your base chain (45 ch). Insert the wire on the second chain from the hook - the chain where you'll do the first single crochet (in the pattern it says dc - UK terms - but I'll be referring to the stitches in US terms). Don't close the loop yet.
3. Line the wire along the length of the base chain. The wire should be on top of the yarn. Do a couple of single crochets, working over the wire and the chain. When it's long enough (about 4 or 5 sc), close the loop on the wire, making sure that it's still hooked on the chain.

Aside from adding a wire, I also worked the leaf on the branch, instead of stitching the leaves on the branch.

Make the first half of the leaf as instructed: ch 6, ss on 2nd ch from hook, sc, htr, dc. On the last stitch, you're supposed to make 4 dc's. Do the first dc. On the second and third dc, before doing the last yarn over, insert the hook (which has 2 loops) on the stitch where you want to place the leaf. Yarn over and pull through all the loops. Continue working on the second half of the leaf.

Don't get frustrated if the wire cuts through the yarn or if it's taking more time to work on a piece. I had several do-overs because of this. Just be patient and you'll soon get the hang of it.

Tip #1: Is Frogging Always Necessary?

First off, what is frogging? Frogging is when you rip out and undo your stitches. Rip it! Rip it! Rip it! Get it?

I have undone a lot of rows on my previous works. It's tiring. It's annoying. It makes me want to leave the project unfinished. Then I got to thinking, what if I don't have to undo everything?

See this picture below? This is a blanket that I'm working on right now. On the first row, I made a mistake. There's a stitch missing on the first wave (right side). Can you see it? No? Me neither. I got cross-eyed just searching for that mistake so I can post it here.

To frog or not to frog? These are the questions I ask myself to help me decide before I undo my work:

1. How many rows will I undo to correct the mistake?
2. Is the mistake obvious?
3. Can I fix it without undoing my work?

How many rows will I undo to correct the mistake?

Don't be lazy! If it's just a couple of stitches, go ahead and frog it! But if it's too much work, go ahead and ask yourself question number 2.

Is the mistake obvious?

There will be times that you won't really notice your mistake. You know that missed stitch on the first row of my blanket? I didn't even notice that I missed a stitch until after two rows.

Can I fix it without undoing my work?

If you can correct the succeeding rows and the mistake isn't that obvious, don't bother frogging it. However, if you can't correct the succeeding rows, you have two choices: frog it or leave it. If you can live with the fact that that mistake will carry on for the rest of your rows, then forget about frogging and just leave it. I always undo my work when I can't find a work around. The perfectionist in me just couldn't take it.

So there you have it. Unless your a perfectionist, it's not always necessary to frog your work.