Late night post to the rescue... Are you up past your bed time? Longing for a little nap, for some rest and revitalisation? I am. Tired old me. Lots has been happening, too much indeed. So much that all I can do is sit and pat the cat. There is something about pets... They are calming, great companions, and for my the cat helps me to be quiet and still. Spending five minutes stroking his smooth fur with slow me right down and give me great pleasure. And then when he starts to purr, his bliss is my bliss. Yes, I have power with the cat! I can make his day simply by spending a short period of quality time with him, by rubbing his chin, by itching his hind quarters. Ahhh.

Anyway, this post started as a lament for my bed. And I've not gotten there, nor have I stayed on the topic of such. Rather gone on to rave about the benefits of pets. Strange! I must be tired.

How about a pick me up? Cup of Melbourne Breakfast tea perhaps? From the warm depths of a post covered by an outlandish cosie, sure to be piping hot hours (!) after brewing?

This cosie was the end of the Christmas gifties that I needed to make. Well almost, the second last. It gave me so much pleasure to make this cosie, as it was specifically requested. Someone actually wanted one of my creations! And it wasn't just my husband being very thankful for socks. This was made with intention, anticipate of the joy it would bring, and also love. Pattern came from the quirky book Really Wild Tea Cosies, wool is the opal sock yarn. My particular ball was pull apart by a cat - not mine - who took much delight in the novelty of playing will an object so unfamiliar to it.

Cozies completed yet again...

Start of a week off work - well half way through now. Loving the break between one job and the next. Loving having time to sleep in. To meet up with people for coffee. To get some odd jobs done. To have a late lunch down the street with the fella. To watch MasterChef re-runs until my eyes water and my mouth is locked open in disbelief and greed around what has just been created. To take time for the small things, like watering my plants and enjoying the cat's company. To finish off projects before starting something new - I bought some great items from the S&C Fair.

So for some show and tell, a little bragging if you don't mind. I have finished my first cozie from Loani Prior's Really Wild Tea Cozies. It's the floral one, that is a little out of control on the top. This was conceptually a challenge, as knitting it involved using two sets of circular needles which revolved around the work as it grew. Once I had mastered this, things turned out okay and I was able to be quite quick with my building of the cozie's body. The cozie is self-lined also, and consequently really snug.

The second cozie is a simply completed giftie for my sister-in-law. A few years ago I bought her a lilac teapot. For her birthday this year, why not dress the cozie and add a few quality packets of tea for good measure? I hope she is a tea drinker... Otherwise, oh well. Although I've chosen terribly similarly toned wool for this project, I love the effect of the snowflake on the background. The pattern is soft and makes me pretend I'm at a ski lodge. I've knitted up a contrasting cozie of the same pattern, with green background and brown snowflakes. It is striking and very Scandinavian.

And lastly, some chocolate chip biscuits for afternoon tea. Hastily consumed by the fella while he whipped me at a game of Seafarers of Catan. Drats!

A sweet little cozie knitted up by my nana.

Cozies completed...

Knitting is winding up. Getting a little sick of the tea cozie. More just needing new projects. So I've been cooking and enacting my domestic goddess skills - sour dough bread, olives soaking in brine, hot cross buns. And planting in pots on the balcony - sweet peas, lovely tasty peas and some spring onions. It has been really thrilling to see the shoots pop up a week after the seeds were sown. I find it so encouraging and a little touch of a miracle to see the plants growing. Give it a few weeks and we will be eating freshly grown spring onion tops - a.k.a garlic chives. Then a few months more and we will have peas! What amazing things can be grown in a pot with regular watering and a little sun shine.

Here is the final lot of current cozies... But perhaps I still have two more to make. One for the sister-in-law's birthday, the other for maybe a birthday for a particular bloke. And there is a sweet pattern of a mushroom covered cozie. I'd love one of those for me!

Maybe these finished projects will encourage me, and you too.

Cozies all cozied up...

A holiday Kukaburra at Taggarty

A sweet little stich counter from the op shop and some precious tortoise shell needles from my nana.

I've been well and truly bitten by the tea cozie bug. And what a warm, itchy yet delicious bite it is!

Here are a few of my reflections on what I love about knitting cozies, but I have gotten a little carried away... They can be whipped up quickly, just in a few sessions really. They are appreciated as they are not every day things (but they should be). They give me an abundance of opportunities to try out new knitting techniques - such as intarsia knitting, which I am becoming a bit of a gun at now. Small, seemingly useless bits of will can be used up and maximised to their full potential. The finished product makes sensational gifts. And they are just so cozie!

I'm loving the book I bought, as mentioned previously. And recently I've had time on my hands, such as a weekend in the country to knit, knit, knit. Please enjoy this one finished project and the two works in progress. Flicking through my how-to cozie book, I've got around five more that I want to try out. And then there's that article in the most recent Mixed Tape zine about the amazing lady who makes her own cozie designs and then wins prizes at the Red Hill show. Oh, I could dream and knit for a very long time...

Well, I gave Con her super cozie, the one with the mega lining and sweet reverse knitted sheep. And despite her having a relatively big tea pot, the cozie was huge! And her pot's handles come from the top of the pot not the side. Drats! I think I need to come up with a plan for the good old top handle tea pot model. After all, I have one too that I use at work on cold days. I'm thinking two pieces, with no covering over the lid. Tight fitting too.

Tea if you please...

I'm on a bit of a tea cozie roll at the moment. First there was the delicious sea horse cozie. Then I started that bubbly purple and turquoise one and became frustrated with it - it remains on the needles in a vain hope of one day being completed. Then my girlfriend Con requested a sheep or tea cup embossed cozie. Now it is one for sis Sue, as mentioned. That one is done, but I used a thin acrylic for the main fabric. It was simply a matter of itching to start and using what was on hand. So my solution is to make a lining. Thicken up the fabric, increase the heat-retention properties, double up on coziness. Hurrah!

But Connie's is done, and I thought I could brag. It is the most intense cozie I have ever seen. The pattern was even more over the top. Knitted with two strands of wool, with a lining also made from double strands. Despite recommendations to do so, I chose to forgo adding stuffing between the layers. I also left off the white rose from the top of the cozie. Now all I need to do is package it up and give it with lots of love to Con. Then sit back and sip some tea if you please.

The extra layer - secret cozie lining (makes a stellar beanie).

New things contemplated

A ball of creative potential - uncovered from the boxes in my house, exciting to rediscover what I own!

We have moved from one side of Aus to the other! We have stuffed out little flat to the gills (and it isn't that little really), have unpacked most of the boxes and started to explore the area. What a great place to live it is too! Not quite city, not quite beach, not quite fun-filled inner suburb. How I love it! The best of everything, My mum went so far as to say it is the place to live if you are moving to Melbs. So sweet of her.

In the midst of the busyness of moving, I've made some new crafting discoveries. Thanks to Laura, I've now visited Morris and Sons the wool shop. They were having a sale and I made some new purchases - a pink embroidery hoop and a tapestry for a special someone. Also purchased the Crafty Minx, a new craft/recycling book by an Aussie author. While the projects are not particularly challenging, I'm enjoying the book's layout and the author's choices of fabrics. Also bought some of the beautiful cloth-bound Penguin classics (Sense and Sensibility by Austen, Cranford by Gaskell), after being inspired by reading Persuasion. Poor Anne, overlooked and bullies by those around her, appreciated by a family she chose not to be part of, eventually securing the affection of her heart after rejecting him previously!

As for creating. Oh boy, it has been fun! No sewing, as the sewing/study is an absolute mess. But rather knitting tea cozies. A great project to learn a new knitting stitch. Not too big that you struggle for hours, but large enough to ensure practice ensues. Also achievable in a few days. And who doesn't want a cup of hot tea poured from a vessel protected by a band of golden sea horses? Tea cozie number two is currently underway. I've finished the garter stitch band, then I will learn how to gather/runch up my knitting to get a pleated effect. Chosen purple and blue for the project, simply as I've got two balls of each, the colours are not offensive together, and the resulting combination should be very easy to gift in the future.

Plus, looking forward to a meeting of fellow creating beings! A crafternoon is planned for a few weeks time. We are hoping to have a monthly get together of creating, with lots of tea and cakes too. I need to toute it amongst my circles and coordinate further with my sis-in-law. What will I create...