Tag Archives: tea

Whoops!

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I just got back from a lovely vacation up to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.  It was fantastic! The weather was gorgeous, the scenery was breathtaking, and it was great to see my family again.

Unfortunately, I still had some work to do on a couple patterns I owed my publisher, so one afternoon, I sat down with my laptop, my notebook and a cup of tea.

Well…

You can imagine what happened.

I was chatting with my dad and I tried to pick up my tea, but failed spectacularly.  The next thing I knew, I had spilled an almost-full cup of tea all over my computer.  I lifted it up, and tea poured out the USB ports on the side.  It was not pretty.

I sopped up the tea as best I could, and let my computer sit near a sunny window for the rest of the vacation, while I crossed my fingers that I hadn’t caused too much trouble.

Now we’re home, and my husband has had a chance to open up my laptop and clean out any leftover tea residue.

And would you believe- it’s working perfectly!  (Except that the keys are a little sticky still.)

I’ve gotta say, I was completely shocked- I was all ready to go out and get a new computer.  I guess it’s my lucky day, or maybe they’re just making computers more idiot-proof than they used to.

Anyway, now that my computer is up and running again, I’ll be able to get all caught up with my work again, and hopefully I’ll be a little more careful in the future.

(In the meantime, here’s a picture from my vacation- The UP really is absolutely gorgeous!)Have you ever spilled on your computer?  (Not that I’m counting, but this is the third time I’ve done it… and it’s never good…)

Project Tea Cozy- Finishing Up

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It’s done!  Woo! My tea pot isn’t naked any more!

I finished up the top of the tea cozy last week, working it just like the top of a hat.  This week I’ll start by working the spout opening the same way I would work the thumb on a mitten.  I transferred the 12 reserved stitches (saved on my stitch holder/safety pin) to my dpns, then picked up and knit 4 stitches in the little cast on edge.  I then worked a little 2×2 ribbed cuff around the spout and bound off.  Easy!img_3389Then I sewed up the bottom of the handle hole (I still need a better name for that), so now it fits snugly on my tea pot without me having to safety-pin it in place.img_3402But, you know what… It looks a little… sad?  Like it’s missing something.

Something like a pompom.

So I made a nice, tight 2″ pompom with bits of all 7 colors and sewed it on top.  img_3667Perfect!  It’s all finished and ready to go out on its maiden tea voyage!  I can’t wait.

And, next week, I’ll write up the pattern in a nice finished form and you can make yourself a tea cozy!

(And, don’t forget!  I’m giving away a copy of Knit Picks’ new Garter Ridge collection on Friday!)

Project Tea Cozy: The Top

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All right, it’s time to close up the top!  After all, this is a tea cozy, not just a pretty rectangle with a couple weird holes.

I switched to dpns (because I didn’t have a short enough circular needle in the right size), and started working in the round.img_3373I did a few rows even, then decreased all the way around, once every 8th stitch.  I kept going, knitting one row even, then decreasing in pattern, making the decreases line up.

Once I got right to the top, I cut my yarn and passed the tail through the active stitches, the same way I would work the top of a hat.

img_3380Voila! closed up nicely!  If I wanted a smoother top (and less-obvious pleats around each set of decreases), I probably could re-knit it and decrease at a more relaxed rate, but I think I kind of like how the top turned out.

The spout is still pulling in what would be an uncomfortable way if this were a garment for a human, but I think that’ll be sorted out once I work the spout cuff, so I’m not worried.

img_3384The one thing I don’t love is that the handle hole ended up a bit too big- see that gap at the top of the handle?  I’m not a fan.

I mean, not enough to fix anything, but if I were to re-knit this pattern, I might change that.  Otherwise I’m pretty happy.

Speaking of pretty, let’s talk about my notes.  Because those are not even close to pretty anymore.  Observe:

img_3385

I don’t think there’s a line I haven’t scratched out or adjusted.  I think just about every number had to be re-calculated and each measurement ended up slightly adjusted.

But that’s how designing a new pattern goes- you’ve got to be flexible and ready to find and fix any mistakes, because there will be mistakes.

What do you think of this design so far- I’m getting close to being done!

Project Tea Cozy: In The Belly of The Beast?

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Last week I did my first try at writing up the Tea Cozy pattern.

This week I did a bunch of knitting (and proofreading)!

Remember that math I did last week?  I determined that I needed about 120 sts around the belly of the pot.  I could just cast on 120 sts, but I want the ribbing at the bottom  to be a little tighter.  I think it’ll look better that way.

I figured if I want to increase about 1 st per 8, that should give me the result I’m looking for- just a little tighter, without any weird puckering.  So, a little more math, a bit of estimation, and I’ll cast on 106 sts.

I worked a p2 (k2p2) rib for a generous half inch (5 rows), then worked an increase row to get me up to 120 sts.

Then it was colorwork time!  img_3348Hoo boy, did I underestimate the amount of ends I would be generating!  So many stripes, so many color changes.  Oops!  At least it looks pretty.

Also, I want to bring your attention to a detail I’m really proud of.  Look at the edge of the handle hole (I really need a better word for that):img_3370See the brown edge?  I made a little mini-skein of brown for each side, and used intarsia to work a few stitches of garter stitch to keep the ends from curling.  I think it makes the tea cozy look really professional.

Now I just have to figure out how I want to make the hole for the spout…  Hmm.

Project Tea Cozy: The Swatch

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Woo! It’s tea cozy time!  (Almost.)

I know no one likes swatching, me included.  (And, if I’m being honest, I rarely make a swatch if I’m following someone else’s pattern.)  But, when you’re designing a pattern making a swatch is an absolute necessity.

So I pulled out my favorite colors and made one great big swatch with three different patterns, to see which I liked best.

The first pattern was a wide stripe-and-polka dot combo.  I like it, but I think it’s a bit big for a tea cozy- after all my teapot is a little on the small side.img_3299Then, I thought, “Maybe something fancier-something more Fair Isle-y.”  I like this diamond pattern quite a bit.img_3312But, again, I think it might be too big.  So I worked up a scaled-down version of the first pattern.  Narrow stripes with teeny polka dots.  Sure, I’ll have to deal with a million little ends, but I think I like the result best.img_3304So, I’ve got my swatch and decided on my pattern.  I measured the gauge, and made sure to write it down in my book.

img_3344I’ve taken my measurements and have a plan in my head.  Next time, we’ll get down into the nitty-gritty of math.

Don’t forget!  I’ve got 2 (count ’em!) giveaways going on as we speak.  Comment here for a chance to win a copy of On the Go Knits, or here for a chance to win Knits for Everybody!

Sketchy

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It’s planning time!

I’m working on my tea cozy, and as much as I would like to, I can’t just pick up my needles and start knitting.  I’ve got to do some planning.  And before I really get down to the nitty-gritty planning (math!), I’ve got to get some ideas.

I pulled out some of the yarn I’m thinking of using, my tea pot, and a steaming mug of peppermint tea.IMG_3268Believe it or not, I do this for almost all my designs (sometimes ideas come to me fully formed, but those are sadly few and far between).

I sketch out a half-dozen or so general ideas, and make notes next to them (in case I come back to the designs later and go “what the heck was I thinking”).  Some of the ideas I know aren’t going to go anywhere, but there are usually one or two that I end up liking.

So, let’s look at them.  (As usual, there are some I like, and some… not so much.)

IMG_3284At the top of the page, I did a little practical sketch, laying out the parts of the tea cozy.  I think I’ll knit it from the bottom up, with ribbing at the cast-on edge.  I’ll work it flat, leaving an opening for the spout (maybe a gusset, like a mitten, or maybe just a big button hole).  Then, I’ll knit in the round for the “crown” of the cozy, like a hat.  I think that should work pretty well.  Now I just have to decide how to decorate the cozy.

The first design I came up with is a plain stockinette cozy, decorated with flowers knit separately.  You know, old-school tea cozy.  I like this design in theory, but it’s so not me.  Also, I don’t want to knit up that many flowers.  Can you imagine all those ends?

I kind of like the next design, an alpine-sweater-inspired tea cozy.  Complete with a fun, geometric colorwork pattern around the “belly” and a big ol’ pom pom at the top.

Or, I could just do simple stripes.  I love stripes, and it  would be a good way to use up all the little ends of yarn I’ve got laying around.  But is it too simple?IMG_3275After the maybe-too-simple stripes, I swung the other way, going over the top with a fully-charted Fair Isle design.  Maybe little tea cakes?  Or trees? Or a Great British Bake Off theme?  I This one is still pretty vague in the back of my head… but I bet I could come up with something good.

Or, I could make some sort of “fancy stripes.”  Maybe alternate solid stripes with stripes polka-dotted down the middle?  It would be a fun way to use a mix of colors, but be fancier than the simple stripes.

Another idea was to go full-on Aran Sweater.  Big, fat cables. Texture out the wazoo.  Thick, lovely yarn to keep your tea piping hot.  But Aran Sweaters are usually undyed, and tea is brown.  I’d hate to stain my tea cozy.  I suppose I could work it in a different color, though.

And, honestly, the last idea was just to fill up the page.  Big old intarsia polka dots on a white/light background.  Not a fan.

I’m probably leaning toward the Fancy Stripes, the Alpine, or the Aran designs, but I’ll need to think about it before I do any swatching.

What do you think?

Getting Cozy

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Yesterday was a cool, rainy day.  And, I spent it with my husband and my dog, sitting on the couch and watching Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell on Netflix.  It’s very interesting, and is just oozing creativity.  I read the book years ago, in college and only have a vague memory of what it was about, so it’s been fun to get to watch it as someone “new” to the story.

It’s based in the early 1800s, in England, and there’s all sorts of magic, fairies and prophecies flying around.  It’s all very Gothic.

And they drink a lot of tea.

So, yesterday, instead of making myself a dozen individual cups of tea to get me through the marathon, I brought out my tea pot.  And it occurred to me how embarrassing it is that I have never made a tea cozy for myself!  (I know!  A knitter with a naked tea pot- how uncivilized!)

IMG_3121Anyway, this was just a long way of saying, I’m going to design and make a tea cozy.  I’ve been thinking about walking you through my design process, from idea to finished pattern, but I haven’t found the right project.  I didn’t want something as big as a sweater (because that would be boring for you guys- all that math, and all that waiting for me to knit), but something little, like socks or mittens are too easy- to make those, you just plug a design into a formula- no math at all.

So, a tea cozy it is!  It’s big enough that we can do something fun with it, but small enough that it won’t take months and months to finish.  I’m excited.

I’ve got some yarn left over from a “colorwork phase”, that I think might work well.

These dark greens (and fuchsia) are really pretty DK-weight, in a nice squishy, soft wool.IMG_3133And these are a slightly finer Sport-weight wool (a little itchier but sturdy, with great stitch definition.  And anyway, teapots don’t care about itchiness, right?).  I like these colors, too.  They’re very cheerful.IMG_3126

I think I’m leaning to the bright colors of the sport-weight.  Maybe I can do something cool with slipped stitches, or fair isle…

Right now, I’m just trying to get a feel for what I might knit up.  My next step will be to get out my sketch book and make some doodles.

Do you have any thoughts, opinions or ideas?