Tea Cozies by The Guild Of Master Craftsman
Since my teapot plays an important role in keeping me snug and warm during these rainy winter months, I think it deserves to be cozy too. And since cozies are pretty small, look easy to make, and have irresistible pattern names like Wooly Mammoth and Green Goddess, maybe I’ll even make two or three- one for everyday chai tea-pouring, one for English Breakfast themed tea parties, and maybe one in case the Queen ever stops by for spot of Lady Grey.

It comes out this Friday. I can’t wait. I snuck a peek downstairs in the KP department, and it looks amazing. It’s only $10.17. Check it out here. I can’t decide which one to make first.
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I am never happy with a plain jane anything. I always have to tweak things to make them my own. Complete Crochet border Designs is the perfect book to help me with this… Great designs to add to the edges of your project. I can’t wait to add it to the cuff edge of the cardigan I’m planning to knit. <

I am never happy with a plain jane anything. I always have to tweak things to make them my own. Complete Crochet border Designs is the perfect book to help me with this… Great designs to add to the edges of your project. I can’t wait to add it to the cuff edge of the cardigan I’m planning to knit. <

I love to create… it doesn’t matter what the medium is, I’ll give it a try… Well with that wall of yarn behind me, I have no choice but to create something out of yarn. Hence the process began in designing a sweater. Last fall we had received an email from a group of ladies asking that Knit Picks would have more patterns in larger sizes using DK weight, well I couldn’t resist the challenge! Fraulein Zippered Vest is the result. It was a little harder than I thought it would be. Well maybe not harder but more steps than I realized and a little hand holding was needed. The design was done with the larger woman in mind: vertical stripes, longer length in DK cotton yarn. The Fraulein got her name from the German Ribbing that was used to create the “stripes”. I …

As you know if you’ve read my staff picks in the past, I love cotton yarn. I wear it year round (wool is just too warm for me). Cotlin yarn is at the top of my list! (except for the new yarn, Comfy, that will debut this spring) Cotlin is DK weight and washable. I used it the the Fraulein Zippered Vest. It’s great to knit with and has wonderful colors to choose from. <

(lovely photos courtesy of Alison – thank you!)
Yarn: Bare Essential (75% superwash merino, 25% nylon)
Dye: Jacquard Acid Dyes Burnt Orange, Burgundy, Chestnut
Needles: 40″ nickel plated fixed circular, size 0
Pattern: my own – toe-up, standard heel flap, slip stitch heel and back ankle, knit until the yarn is gone. I’m working on writing the pattern up for our sock catalog in June/July. Anyone want to test knit for me?
Whew, they’re done! It was so nice to be able to show the finished product to my class. I started the class teaching both the two-socks-on-two-circs method and the magic loop method so the students could choose which way they wanted to knit. They are all very new knitters; most have only done a scarf or two. After a couple weeks of frustration, all the two-circ ladies switched to magic loop, …