Christmas time is like this

A little bit of cozyness and holiday cheer which have been going on around here lately. =)

Paper houses

When I saw these houses/tea light holders a couple of weeks ago, I was instantly inspired to make my own, despite the fire danger. =) (Although they are not as flammable as these, as they do not have actual roofs)
Here's how my houses turned out. Imperfect, but lovely.

I enjoyed this photoshoot so much, it brought me a lot of positive emotions and set the right Christmas mood. =))
Hope you liked it too.

Crochet mug cozy

I am the laziest crocheter ever - haven't made a single mug cozy in my life till now.
I had great plans for this winter... I really wanted to start crocheting a blanket. But made a mug cozy instead. That's about all I'm capable of right now, crochet-wise. Definitely laziest ever.
Nevertheless, here it is - red-colored, perfect accessory for Christmas pictures. =)

 

The pattern.

What a quick and satisfying project. Blanket, you'll just have to wait. 

Third attempt...

...To make a decent scarf/cowl out of retro yarn.
This was the first one. It was quite attractive, but because of dense pattern didn't drape well. So I never wore it in real life, just for the photoshoot. :)

Second attempt was, apparently, so pitiful that it was never finished and I didn't get to photograph it.

Third version is more successful, as I actually WEAR it. Although I wouldn't mind the cowl to be wider, for the sake of draping, again. But you can't buy more of the yarn which is decades old. :)

The pattern is very easy and consists of simple 'V-stitch'. Cowl is worked in the round.
Start with chain in multiples of 3.
Row 1: work ch4, dc in 4th chain from hook. *Skip  2 st, in next st dc, ch 1, dc (it's your V-stitch)* Repeat around. Join last V-stitch to 3rd chain of starting ch 4.
Row 2: ch 4, dc in the same st. *Skip 2 st, V-stitch in next st (between the V-stitches of Row 1)* Repeat around and join like in Row 1.
Then repeat Row 2 until cowl reaches desired width... or you run out of yarn, like me =))

For some reason these pics  look like they were shot with a mobile phone, which is actually not the case. =))

You can see how yarn varies in thickness. In my opinion, it is not necessarily a bad thing, as it adds to overall vintage feel. =)