Spring Roses Tea Cosy

We have had the hottest weather of late; a heatwave of note, prolonged and uncomfortable .... more so because it makes working with wool a big no-no!! And so when we woke to a cloudy and cool Saturday here in my neck of the woods, I literally fell on my yarn and hook with such delight, and finished a WIP .. 

Spring Roses Tea Cosy Ta-dahhh!

I did not have the tea pot to hand to work around, just measurements, quite a challenge.  After scrapping two designs, I was finally happy with this sweet cosy, in white with leaves in beautiful Spring Green, and roses in Soft Yellow, Wisteria and Fondant, these all being gorgeous colours in the Stylecraft Special DK range.  

There is no complete pattern as such, I have notes on the body in white, and details of how I finished it off. The pattern consists of two rows :: 1 row in hdc, 1 row in hdc but including the bobble stitch every 6th stitch.  The bobbles are offset (see photo).  The widest measurement around the 'belly' of the pot is 40cm. I worked the body in two pieces and sewed the pieces together

First side:

I started with around 42 chains.

Row 1 ~ First hdc in 2nd chain from hook, hdc to end, turn

Row 2 ~ 2ch, hdc to last 3 sts, ch 1, miss one st, hdc to end. This forms the buttonhole, turn

Row 3 ~ 2ch, 9hdc, bobble st in next stitch (note here :: the bobble st is worked on the wrong side of your work), *5hdc, bobble st, continue to end, turn

Row 4 ~ 2ch, hdc to last 5 sts, and turn.  This forms the button hole strip.

Row 5 ~ 2ch, 1hdc, bobble st in next stitch, *5hdc, bobble st, continue to end, turn

Row 6 ~ 2ch, hdc to end of row

Row 7 ~ 2ch, 4hdc, bobble st in next stitch, *5hdc, bobble st, continue to end, turn

Now continue until you have the height you need minus about 2cm, which we will take up with decreasing rows. For this cosy, that worked out to a total of 19 rows from the start row ( 9 bobble rows and 10 plain hdc rows).

Row 20 ~ (or your next row depending on how many rows you have for the height you need) and (Right side) 2ch and 4hdc, 2hdc tog., *4hdc, 2hdc tog., continue from * to end of row, turn

Row 21 ~ Wrong side :: 2ch and 3hdc, bobble st in next st, *4hdc. bobble st, continue to end and hdc last however many sts you have left, I had 2 so I worked 2hdc, turn

Row 22 ~Right side ::  2 ch and 1hdc, 2hdc tog, *3hdc, 2hdc tog; continue to end, turn

Row 23 ~ Wrong side :: 2ch, hdc to end, turn

Row 24 ~ Right side :: 2ch,and 1hdc, *2hdc tog, 2hdc, continue from * to end, turn

Row 25 ~ Wrong side :: 2ch, hdc to end. That completes one side.

Second side ~

Repeat the instructions for the first side, except cast on stitches minus the buttonhole strip .. so I started with 36 chains instead of 42 chains.

Note:  once you have started the decrease rows, just work with the stitches you have.  You may have fewer or more sts that I had, remember that you are going to cover the decrease rows with masses of flowers and leaves, which will cover up with decrease rows anyway!

Once you have completed the two sides, fit to your tea pot and sew up the sides where necessary.  One seam will be short to come up to the bottom of the spout. The handle side closes with a pretty button and buttonhole.  I left the gaps open to the top of the cosy almost all the way, just stitching the last 1.5cm of each side together so that I had a complete round 'cap' onto which I attached the leaves and flowers 

I embellished the cosy with May roses and leaves from Lucy's pattern on Attic 24.  I added a row of slip stitches in green for a small neat edging along the handle and spout edges. For the finish on the bottom edge, I used a braid stitch in green :: see my post on Braid edging here

Hope you are having a good Sunday wherever you are, take care until next time,

Pat xxxxxxxxxx

Stripey Blanket ~ Part 4

I have added a few more rows to my gorgeous Stripey Blanket, despite the searing heat we are experiencing down here in South Africa.  Most of the country is in the grip of a heatwave making working with wool so very uncomfortable!

At the end of Part 3, I was just starting the first row of the Catherine Wheel section.

So:

Rows 35 - 38 :: Catherine Wheel pattern in Magenta, Pomegranate x 2 rows and Wisteria for the fourth row.

Rows 39 - 41 :: Hdc rows in Saffron, Plum and Saffron

Rows 42 - 44 :: Granny pattern rows x 3 rows in Aspen, Bluebell and Aspen.  If you are not familiar with how to crochet the usual granny pattern, you work like so:
3dcs in st, miss 2 sts, 3 dcs in next st, miss 2 sts and so on. I start with 3ch (stands as first dc) then, miss 2 sts, and 3dcs in next st.  Depending on how many sts you have cast on in the beginning, at the end of row you need to end with at least 1dc into the last st.  

 I continue to be delighted by the brightness and clarity of the colours in the Stylecraft Special DK range.  One can practically not go wrong, whatever colours you place side by side.

So nice to see you,

 take care until next time,

Pat xxxxxx