tea cosies

Last week we celebrated two birthdays, Papa's and my mum's.  They are one day apart, and usually there is a flurry of last minute crafting activity for gifts.  I'm not quite ready to share Papa's gift, but I sewed a new tea cosy for my tea-loving mama.  For Christmas she received a new teapot and tea, so it seemed like a fitting gift for her.  A simple sewn cosy made from one of my favorite Joel Dewberry prints, cotton batting and a plain linen interior.  According to A it also doubles as a hat. 

I am lacking in the tea cosy department, the only one I have is for a small pot that has gotten chipped and now belongs to the children.  And I thought a knitted one would keep tea nice and warm.  But now I've run into a slight problem.  The pattern I chose, which I liked in the picture minus the flowered top, now seems too fussy. This is my first time doing cables (not scary at all like I had anticipated.  In fact they are very, very easy) so I didn't properly gauge how they would look once completed.  What do you think?  Too fussy? I love the look of this or this. Should I just finish this off as a french press cosy instead and start over in a slightly heavier weight yarn?  hmmmm....

the "ignoring housework to make something warm for your child" knit

Also known as gaiters. Though I suppose, technically, these would be considered leg warmers as they are meant to go under the pant leg rather than over. 

As you know, I am a strong believer in keeping children warm. Consequently, I always worry about their little legs being chilled when outside, and W especially has trouble staying warm.  I try to bundle them up nicely, but when we have errands to run it is trickier to dress the proper temperature. W is still young enough to be held quite often, and his pant legs tend to get pulled up and his leg exposed to the cold.  I had originally thought of knitting socks, but then thought better of it.  Without the possibility of them worn on the ground they would be dirty less often.  After a little chat with Papa about it, this seemed to be the ideal solution.

My stripey boy obviously needed some stripey gaiters, and nothing less than blue and brown would suffice.  Some merino sock yarn I had in my stash was pulled out. These were knit up within a couple mornings, while I ignored the laundry and dishes piling up, but I imagine without distractions you could easily knit them in less time. More details over on ravelry

monday monday

Today was a good day.  A day of letting go.  And mamas made happy.