Monday 25 July 2016



Tea cosy competition results for 2016
Thanks to everyone involved; our Cancer Council fundraiser has added a further $7000 to the previous total, from the 9 days of the tea cosy display at the Warratina Lavender Farm. Since we began the Tea Cosy Competition in 2014; we've raised $20,000 for the Cancer Council. Over $9000 has been raised since October 2015. Go to https://my-own-way.everydayhero.com.au/craftacure.

The winner of the 'Best Tea Cosy' was this very well made, and exceptionally imaginative cosy by Kay Whitney, featuring the frog couple, Lily and Leroy.
In second place, is this cosy by Angela Leung. Angela collected 2600 tea bag strings; she tied them together, and knitted them into this cute little cosy. The red flowers were made by dyeing the strings with beetroot.
In third place is the peacock by Marianne Alcock. He is beautiful; and not only did he win the judges vote for third place; he came second in the people's choice vote.

The Dalek by Janet Gilbert won the prize for the best toy or tea cosy in a sci-fi theme.
The soft toy prize was won by sisters, Brooke and Laura Driessen, with this selection of little dinosaurs and unipigs. Each one has its  own tag with an amusing name and bio for each of the little characters. Very cute, and all sold in a flash.


The childrens' prize of a bank account with Bendigo Bank wasn't won...we didn't get any kid's entries this year.

People's choice winner is this little pixie house by Joanne Moore.

Well done to all our winners, and to all the people who sent in tea cosies and toys.







Friday 10 June 2016

Alfie the fluffy puppy tea cosy

 This is the revised version of the little white dog tea cosy.


‘Alfie the Spoodle Puppy’ tea cosy

You’ll need 4x50g balls of Passioknit Cassowary, in White. Knit throughout with two strands together.
Alternatively, you could use 1 strand of 8 ply woollen yarn together with 1 strand of fluffy yarn.
One pair of 6 mm knitting needles.

2x double pointed 6mm needles, used for knitting the I-cord for the tail.
2 crystal eyes.
A black flock nose.

A small amount of polyester fibre-fill.
The tea cosy measures 20 cm wide and 16 cm high when laid flat.


Cosy body

Use two strands of Cassowary worked together throughout the project. This will produce a firm thick fabric; perfect for keeping the tea in your pot nice and warm.

Back

With 6mm needles and two strands of yarn, cast on 26 stitches,
Work for 10 cm in garter stitch (knit every row).
Start decreasing: Row 1. K2, K2tog, K to the last 4 stitches, K2tog, K2.
                            Row 2.  Knit.
Repeat these 2 rows till 22 sts remain.

Tie a length of coloured yarn around the thread that lies between the 11th and 12th stitches. This marks the position where the tail will be attached later.

Continue decreasing as before, until 14 stitches remain.
Next row; (K2, K2tog) x3, K2.  (11 sts)
Next row; K2, K2 tog, K3, K2 tog, K2 (9 sts)
Cast off.

Front

With 6mm needles, and two strands of yarn, cast on 26 stitches.

Knit 2 rows. Mark the positions for paws by tying a length of coloured yarn on the thread between the 9th and 10th stitches, and between the 17th and 18th stitches.
Continue knitting until the work measures 10 cm.
Start decreasing: Row 1. K2, K2tog, K to the last 4 stitches, K2tog, K2.
                            Row 2.  knit.
Repeat these 2 rows till 22 sts remain.

Tie a length of coloured yarn on to the thread that lies between the 10th and 11th stitches. This marks the position where the centre back of the head will be attached later.

Continue decreasing until 14 stitches remain.
Next row; (K2, K2tog) x3, K2.  (11 sts)
Next row; K2, K2 tog, K3, K2 tog, K2 (9 sts)
Cast off.



Stitch the front and back together by joining 2½cm at the base. Leave a 10cm gap each side for the handle and spout, then join across the top.


Head

Using 2strands of yarn together, cast on 20 sts.

Knit 4 rows

Next row, K1, (increase in next st, K1) to the end of the row. (30 stitches).

Continue, knitting every row without shaping until the work measures 6 cm.

Decrease on each row as follows:

Row 1. K8, K2 tog, K10, K2 tog, K8

Row 2. K8, K2 tog, K8, K2 tog, K8

Row 3. K8, K2 tog, K6, K2 tog, K8

Row 4. K8, K2 together, tie a coloured yarn onto the thread between the 9th and 10th stitches. K4,  tie a coloured yarn onto the thread between the 13th and 14th stitches, K2 together, K8. These two pieces of yarn mark the position of the eyes.

Row 5. K8, K2 tog, K2, K2 tog, K8

Row 6. K2, K2 tog, knit to last 4 stitches, K2 tog, K2.
Repeat this row till 10 sts remain.
K2 tog all along next row, (5 sts)
Cast off. Tie a coloured thread on the middle stitch of the cast off row. This marks the position where the nose is attached.

Fold the head in half, so that the two side edges are together.

With a length of yarn, sew along the outer edges of the work from the nose marker on the cast-off edge, all the way along the side edge. Leave the cast-on edge open. With a 60cm length of plain yarn in a matching colour, sew a running stitch around the cast on edge, leaving it open.

The marker on the cast off edge is the spot to place the nose. The side seam of the work is the lower edge of the head. On the upper side, the eyes and the nose are positioned to form a 4cm equilateral triangle. The markers will help find the approximate spots, but it’s a good idea to make some small adjustments to the positions to give a cute appearance. Attach the nose and eyes.

Using some polyester fibre, stuff the head quite firmly, and close by pulling the ends of the running stitch. Fasten, but don’t cut off the excess yarn. To give the face a bit more shape, with a darning needle, and one piece of yarn at a time, take a small stitch, entering from the back of the head through to the front, next to an eye, on the nose side, and return the needle to the back of the head. Repeat for the other eye. Pull the threads just enough to give the face a friendly expression. Fasten off. The remaining ends of the yarn can then be used to attach the head to the body.

Position the centre back of the head on to the marker on the front side of the body. Squash the head a little with your fingers, and sew onto the body, leaving the top half of the head free.



Tail

Using a pair of double pointed needles, cast on 3 sts, and work an I-cord for 8 cm.
In case you need reminding of how to do an I-cord, it goes like this......
knit 3, don't turn your work, just push it across to the other end of the needle, and K3 again. Just repeat this for the length required, and cast off.
Attach to the back of the cosy in the marked spot, or where it looks right to you. The tail will curl a little by itself.

Ears

Using two strands of yarn, cast on 6 sts. Knit one row. Second row, increase one stitch at each end; 8 sts.
Knit 4 rows.
Start decreasing.
In the middle of each row; decrease one stitch per row until 3 sts remain.
Knit 3 rows. Cast off.
To place the ears, first measure 3cm vertically up from the top of the eye. Pin each ear in position, 3-4 cm above the eye; adjust slightly to give a pleasing appearance. The ears are sewn on with the cast-off edge pointing to the outside of the face; when sewn; flip over.

Paws

Cast on 10sts with 2 strands of yarn together, on 6mm needles.
Knit 6 rows.
Cast off.
Join side seams, run a gathering stitch around the top, pull tight; stuff with the tails of the yarns...the paws are little and this is probably enough stuffing. You can add a bit of polyester fibre fill if you think it needs it. Run another gathering stitch around the open end, pull tight to form a ball.
Attach the paws to the front of the cosy at the marked spots.

Sunday 5 June 2016

Tea cosy competition

Oops, I've been busy making tea cosies, and haven't posted on the blog in ages. So here's an update..
Entries for the 2016 Tea Cosy Competition are due in by 1st July.
Entries can be posted to Post Office Box 109, East Ringwood, Victoria, 3135.
You may have noticed that Spotlight, in their current issue of 'Get Creative' magazine, are promoting the Tea Cosy Competition, and have asked people to send their entries to Spotlight head office in South Melbourne. From there, they'll courier them out to me asap after the 1st July.
If you live in Melbourne, tea cosies can be dropped off at Maroondah Handicrafts, Bedford Rd, East Ringwood. Also at Our Little Caravan, in Westerfield Drive, Notting Hill. Café Orchard, in Hopetoun Rd Park Orchards, will also collect tea cosies for us. And Warratina Lavender Farm tearooms is another drop-off point.
This year, prizes have been donated by Bendigo Bank, Bendigo Woollen Mills, Spotlight Stores; still working on more. Prizes for raffles have been donated by Angela Leung and Marg Hartley. Thanks to those ladies.
The display is on once again at the Warratina Lavender Farm, in Quayle Rd, Wandin Yallock, from 9th to 17th July. It will be open from 10-4 every day; the entrance fee is a gold coin donation to the Cancer Council. All the tea cosies at the exhibition are for sale; they can be picked up or posted at the end of the display. Some that were made in 2014 or 2015, and haven't yet been sold, can be purchased and taken on the day of your visit. 100% of the sale price of the tea cosies is donated to the Cancer Council.
A new idea for this year....we've bought some new teapots, and Kathy and I are making tea cosies for these, to be sold together as a unit, for those people who may prefer to buy the pot and cosy together. These will be available for immediate sale.
A tea cosy to inspire you.