Stella’s first grade teacher, Ms. Rice, taught the class how to knit, both with fingers and needles. Every morning when the kids arrived in the classroom, they would take up where they left off the day before, often changing yarns. Unlike a few of her classmates, Stella never did complete the hat she started. Instead, she created yards and yards of finger-knitting as well as short multi-colored knit pieces. The purpose was not as important as the process for her.

When she presented me with her very first multi-colored knit piece, we talked about how we could make something out of it; because although the knitting was beautiful as it was, adding purpose meant it would be used and appreciated even more. We came up with the idea of creating a mug cozy. Using two buttons selected by Stella, I wrapped a mug and handstitched the buttons and holes. The uneven width made for an unique fold-over flap.

This mug cozy was a simple and fun way to celebrate Stella’s knitting success.