"Hermione's Tea Cup" Mini Pin Cushion

I used verybigjen's flickr tutorial to make this mini pin cushion for my partner in a recent HP swap on Craftster. I named it "Hermione's Tea Cup", just for cute.


"Hermione's Tea Cup" mini pin cushion:



The "coffee" (or "tea") inside the cup is the mini pin cushion from the tutorial, and then I made a felt "tea cup" to go around it! The cup is a double thickness of felt. The fold at the top of the cup forms a slightly rounded lip.


Embroidered all around, pins in Gryffindor colors up top:






It is very small:



Of course, because its base is a tiny bottle cap! The pins won't go through the bottom of it, and it's a way to reuse.


And here it is again, with some other Gryff goodies:




Craft Info:

Made for: rosesanplacebos
Swap: "I Miss Harry Potter Swap"
Date made: Early June, 2008
Pattern: Bottlecap pincushions HOW-TO by verybigjen for the bottle cap pin cushion (the "coffee" or "tea"); for the tea cup and embroidery, I just winged it.
Materials: Bottle cap, felt (brown and cream), fiberfill stuffing, embroidery thread (brown, cream, red, and gold), straight pins (red and gold) for presentation

Small Gryffindor Items

My dear daughter and I made some little Gryffindor items for a recent HP swap on Craftster.

Mug cozy, crochet flower brooches, tea cup mini pin cushion:




Two crochet flower brooches in Gryffindor colors:



My dear daughter used cotton yarn to make these lovely brooches for me to send to my "Gryffindor" partner. I also used them as an embellishment for the Gryffindor scarf presentation.


Backs of flower brooches:




Both the brooches have lovely vintage buttons:





The buttons are sewn on with the cotton yarn in the contrast color.

I ordered the cotton yarn from Patternworks at the same time that I ordered the acrylic for the scarf. (Summer is not the greatest time to be looking in local shops for autumn colors, so I ordered online and hoped the colors would be "right".) I didn't know when I ordered the cotton what we would make with it, but I'm really pleased with the summery brooches that the DD made with it.


Gryffindor Mug Cozy:



I knit up this mug cozy as an "extra". It took maybe 20 minutes, tops. I used the same red acrylic as I used for the Gryffindor scarf. It also has a vintage button.


The mug cozy, open:



It's knit in a k1-p1 rib, with a crochet border and crocheted tapered ends. The tapered ends help it fit through the mug handle.


The mug cozy, on a mug:




The tea cup mini pin cushion will have it's own post, coming soon!


Craft Info:

Made for: rosesanplacebos
Swap: "I Miss Harry Potter Swap"
Date made: Early July, 2008

Mug Cozy

Needles: size 8 bamboo
Hook: G
Yarn: Utopia worsted-weight acrylic
Color: Pomegranate
Other materials: Vintage button (yellow-gold color)

Brooches

Made by: beauootifulsooooup (DD)
Hook: F
Yarn: Reynolds Saucy cabled worsted-weight cotton
Colors: Cranberry and Butter
Other materials: Vintage buttons (maroon and yellow), brooch pins, thread to sew on brooch pins

Making the Gryffindor Scarf: The S.P.E.W. Tote

I have had a lot of fun participating in the two Craftster HP swaps I've done so far. I have also received some cool stuff! While crafting for the most recent swap, I loved having a HP project tote to use for my HP swap project: the wonderful S.P.E.W. tote that ShardaeDobby made for me in my first swap was my project bag for the Gryffindor scarf I made for rosesanplacebos in the next swap!

S.P.E.W. Tote with Gryffindor Scarf WIP:








Because I love this bag so much, I carry it everywhere. So I've made it my own by adding pin-back buttons!

Craftster Buttons on the front of the S.P.E.W. tote:

Crafty Like Ice Is Cold:


Well, yes. ;-)


Craftster Pirate Pin:


Knit fast, die warm! Arrrgh!


Political buttons on the back of the S.P.E.W. tote:




"Obama '08" and "Women for Obama":


I agree with Norman Solomon on this issue: "The best way to avoid becoming disillusioned is to not have illusions in the first place."


"Freedom Is Participation In Power" and "Ignore Your Rights & They'll Go Away":


I added these to the bag very recently. I've had them for years, but they've been just collecting dust for a while. I decided that if I'm going to keep using the Obama buttons -- and I am -- these need to come back out and play as well. (FISA, anyone?)


American Flag Peace Symbol:


This is the button that is most visible when the bag is on my shoulder: it is positioned so it sits to the front when the bag is worn. This is also one of my earliest political buttons. I bought it way back in 2001 when -- suddenly, tragically -- the peace symbol was obscure and old-fashioned no longer. I chose the one with the flag because peace is patriotic, of course.