On Finishing Things

It's been a crocheting weekend. I found this cup-cozy pattern on Pinterest, and decided to give it a try:
It's adorable! And I love the idea of a cup-cozy. I followed her pattern as much as I was able to understand it. For me, the pattern kind of falls apart at the end, when she says to do 18 (18!) chain stitches for the button loop, and then continue doing single crochets around the rim again. How in the world is the button closure supposed to work? She only gave this one photo, so it was impossible to tell. I decided to improvise my own finish, which is what I usually revert to. Here's my result.

I didn't like her lime green, so I picked two other random colors of yarn I had on hand. It's a soft, fuzzy acrylic, not cotton. From the angle above, it looks like a nice, snug fit around the mug. Here's another angle:

However, her pattern doesn't really fit that well. Look at the droopy gap on the bottom, under the handle:

Next time, I'll adjust the pattern so that the bottom few rows go all the way around, and tighten up that bottom. I'll get back to you if I figure out what I want, and actually complete another one.
Meanwhile, I've finished the afghan!! This is the one for the local shelter for abused women. Phew! That was a bit of work!

The mish-mash of colors somehow came together. Here's a close-up of the little scalloped border:

And of the crochet stitches that bind it all together:

I enjoyed doing it. I think I'll wait a bit before I start my own. I love the double seed stitch on some of the squares; you can see it in the photo above in the blue square.