Thanks for all the birthday wishes for my mom. I think she had a great day. My dad flew all the adults in the family out to Telluride to surprise her. It was a quick trip….22 hours door to door which is a bit shorter than my last journey out West. It was great being able to celebrate with her. All that eating and drinking and not enough sleep has left me completely worn out.
Moving on….craft swap was on Monday night and, as always, was just great! One of our group is recovering from major surgery and decided to sit this swap out. Well, we really couldn’t let that happen! We all made an extra craft for her and, with her husband’s approval, held a surprise craft swap at her house. We swooped in with food and drink and handmade goodies. What isn’t there to like about that?
Inspired by Amy and Courtney, I made coffee cozies. My original intent was to make them patchwork using fun fabrics from my stash, but when I found the chocolate brown linen on sale, I decided that it was better. This way all little coffee drips will blend right in.
I embroidered everyone’s name with a running stitch and chose fabrics to compliment the floss. There is one layer of batting sandwiched in the middle. I wanted to quilt each one differently, but in the end decide that less is more and went with two simple lines. Each cozy closes with little fabric loops and two buttons.
My friend Laura pointed out that these would make great teacher gifts….sew up a cozy and pop a gift card in the cup. I think she’s right.
Every one made such wonderful items at this swap. I haven’t had time to photo them all, but I will in the next day or two. I am also working on the pillow zipper tutorial….I had hoped to have it up this week, but it may be a bit longer. After our quick trip, groceries, laundry and rest are at the top of the agenda. Back soon.
my cozy worked great! loved telling the coffee girl as she pulled out a green sleeve for me -oh, no thanks – i have my very own.
oh erin. you just added another thing to my list. i have been wanting to do this since amy first did hers. is it really getting to that time of the year? i always think of cozies like that with fall and brisk air!
Those are fantastic. I’ll be making a bunch for gifts this year–thanks for the beautiful idea!
They turned out great! I love the names stitched on them.
wow, those are *so* pretty! and your handwriting *is* really beautiful!
Lovely! I love the personalized embroidery on each sleeve. And brown linen – my current favorite.
Oooh, I love these! Love that chocolate brown linen too. The colors just pop out with the brown. Such a great idea for those coffee drips. How sweet of your swap group to surprise a fellow member…how fun!
All you bloggers out there never cease to amaze me with the creativity you have! Coffee sleeves? Whodathunkit? Not me, that’s for sure!
So so cute! Your crafts are so much fun to see. I love those.
What lovely cozies! Yes, the brown is a splendid and practical idea and looks great too.
oh my sweetness! I completely stinking LOVE these! I think some of these might find their way inder a few Christmas trees this year š
Those are a great idea… I love them š I do not have teachers, but I may do this for the holiday Christmas exchange, with 25 coworkers it is a challenge coming up with something reasonable to give everyone, thanks for the great idea.
Brilliant idea, making them brown! Such pretty cozies š
Could these be any cuter?
You never cease to amaze me Erin!
these are fantastic. lucky lucky lucky girls š
Oh Erin, these are just so darling! Ever since I saw them on Amy’s blog I’ve really been wanting to make one… I have a good friend who is both a big coffee drinker and an environmentally conscious kinda guy so I think he would really like one of these…
Must get cracking…
Love your coffee cozies…makes me wish I still drank it. Wow!!! How fun to actually be with your Mama on her Birthday. You have a wonderful Dad. xoxo
Gosh… those are just too cute for words! Such a great idea!
I think it great that you have a group to get together with in your area. I must try to find one – or make one here.
Those are so totally cute!
FAB idea! The embroidered names add a nice touch. You’re so clever! Happy Day :o)
Ok, I’ve seen these on other people’s sites, but these are the CUTEST ones I”ve seen anywhere. I love your fabric choices and especially the personalization. Any chance you might consider doing a tutorial? I could bumble through on my own, but I know they wouldn’t be half as cute…and I have a sister who is a serial coffee drinker who I’d love to surprise with one of these for Christmas!
These look fun! I think I’ll try my hand at making some!
so cool, erin. Sounds like a great swap.
what a great idea!
i love these! the chocolate linen is perfect, indeed!!
Erin, these are great! Now, if only us teachers could suggest our own gifts … here in Mexico I received a plastic rosary from one of the families in my school! Perhaps I should start dropping hints early on this year? š
Also, I wanted to let you know that I’m having a pattern giveaway over at my blog to celebrate my 100th post! Stop by before Saturday and leave a comment!!!
They are so awesome! I really love the the fact you put your own stamp on everything you make. Looking forward to the pillow zipper tutorial. I tried to put one in last week and it looked totally crap!!
The coffee cozies turned out great!
Fabulous! Your stuff is always great!
Oh Erin, I really love the cozies and following your links back I now know how to make a really great belt too! Again, you really amaze me. Could you just spend a week at my house being my tutor in all things domestic and wonderful? Everytime I look at your blog I add more things to my To Make list. As always, thank you for the inspiration.
ok, first of all, what a great group of friends…….Such a wonderful idea to surprise your friend……….second, jealous of a 22 hour getaway……sounds like a blast……….thirdly….lovin’ the brown and the way you personalized each one….
Those are great cozies, and yeah, a teacher gift is a great idea!
love your take on the coffee cozy. they are fabulous. you do such a nice job, erin.
love these, am filing the idea away for future teacher gifts! (I particularly love the floss matched to inside fabric.)
Love the way the linen contrasts with the “hidden” prints. And love the birthday surprise, how wonderful for your mom!
Brilliant Erin! I love them. Your friends are very lucky. Food for thought… If you made them a bit bigger they would be great as headbands too!
oh my gosh. those are the greatest additions to any cup of hot goodness. i love them. love them all. i wonder what you will do next time to top this one.
These are great! The names embroidered on them is a perfect touch.
Love these! Especially love the brown linnen, such a good idea for the coffee drops! -kb
They area great! You could get a contract with Starbucks;-)
Such cute coffee cozies!
you are quite brillinat, erin. you belong on the martha stewart show!!
š
Those are so awesome! I love brown! Great photo of you and your mom. You two look like sisters!
A smart little project, and a PERFECT idea for teacher gifts. You never cease to amaze me with these swaps.
as a teacher, i can say i would love one of these… : )
hee hee hee.
beautiful work.
I will definitely be making these for someone, just don’t know who yet…
i love your cosie creations. such a great project idea – and perfect for this time of year. so fun.
These are great, Erin! I love your choice of fabrics and embroidery floss colors. I’ll add these to my to do list!
These are great, Erin! I love your choice of fabrics and embroidery floss colors. I’ll add these to my to do list!
Wow! Those are beautiful!!!!
i love those!! i usually crochet mine but i think i will have to make a few with the machine!!!
I love the coffe cozies and would love to make some for christmas presents. Is there atutorial floating around in blog land on these cuties? Thanks, Tina
wow what an awesome idea … the coffee cosy…. I luv the fabric combos too…. great work
luv Abby
I love these- you did a fantastic job!! I would love to see a turorial or pattern- pretty please?? š These would be great Christmas gifts!
I totally copied this for my sil’s bday! (except the buttons….just sewed it together to fit the cup) the only other change I made was that I used Insul-Bright instead of batting…it is used for potholders and such and really keeps the hot or cold out!
These are so pretty and earth-friendly. Nice work.
May I ask: where did you buy those beautiful fabric for your tea cozy?
(online stores? suggestions? )
What gorgeous cozies!
Do you have a pattern for these? I would love to make them for Christmas gifts 2008 – Yes, I’m one of those people who likes to get a jump on things…Please let me know.
Erin