The Laptop is Encased

Since I got my new laptop a while back, I've been wanting to make it a little cozy to keep the dust off. I have been toiling over what sort of fancy stitches to use for a few weeks, and then the other night, it hit me. The answer was obvious really, the humble single crochet would suffice. Just rounds and rounds of single crochet, creating a neat little jacket for the laptop to live in. I would let the colour do the talking, instead of the fancy stitchwork. One colour wouldn't be enough. Nor two, or three, but my whole collection of Lily Sugar 'n Cream yarn would be involved.
It looks so wonderful siting in it's box - so many bright cheery colours side by side - but what good is it in it's box? I'm a bit protective over this yarn, not because it's expensive or anything, but it comes all the way from America, so I don't buy it very often and use it only for the right kind of projects, It's 100% cotton, which I love, but is not super-soft like some others. It has a certain strength to it and is great for things that need to keep their shape (like the mandalas I made). I realised though, that if I use it up, I will just have to make another order won't I?!
There was no master plan, I just started with an oval shape and made it the right size to snuggle the laptop, and then just went round and round. I used joined rounds as I think these look neater with colour changes, The seam has a tendency to wander to the side, so I kept starting a few stitches back again in order to keep the seam on one side of the sleeve.
I love, love, love all the colours and how they look together. I finished it off with a little button fastening, and did a final round of reverse crochet to give a nice edge effect. It's a funny stitch - not natural at all, but it does work out in the end if you keep going! Here she is, avec laptop...

And a closer look at the colours and edging...

 I posted a picture up on Facebook when I finished it, and have already racked up two orders for iPad sleeves in this style! Wahoo! I'm rather chuffed other people like it as much as I do, and I'm sure my laptop is a much happier machine now it has it too. Looks like I will be making another order for this yarn!

In other news, I've just realised it is one month until Yarndale! And I know this month will absolutely fly by... I'm so excited! I shall be there on the Saturday with my good friend Curly Girl Coop, and we plan to fill her (small) car with as much yarn and things as possible. I do have a thing about buttons, so plenty of those!

Now, I'm going to get back to my to-do list and put the laptop back in it's little home. And then I'm off out for a meal with my family - good times! Until next time...