Monthly Archives: May 2008

New project: vintage tea cosy

I decided that my new pink teapot deserved a better tea cosy than the nasty acrylic one I had before. So this morning I started a new one. It’s thick and cosy, made using a double strand of dk yarn. I’m thinking of doing something really kitsch at the top, possibly three multi-coloured pom poms. Hopefully I’ll get it finished tomorrow!

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A knitted babe?

Knitted freak more like! I mean, appropriate for a 3-year old? Seriously?

Her eyes started off a little large, which made her look like an alien who’d been through, well, let’s just say a rough time:

She finally got a face, and one arm and, frankly, I find her even more scary than before:

Still, Steve took pity on her; he’s a soft touch. And boy, did she like the attention:

Ugh, how nauseating! Step AWAY from the freak sir, you don’t know what she might do..

Yeah, right, think you can fool me with that Joan Collins turban and that butter-wouldn’t-melt look on your face? You’re still a FREAK!!!

Disclaimer: No knitted babes were harmed in the making of this post. Contrary to reports, the legs and arms of this knitted babe were not cruelly ripped out for the purposes of dramatic reconstruction. Princess Pea would like to apologise to any legless, one-armed knitted babes who may have been offended by this post. Steve is receiving counselling and is likely to recover fully from the vicious mauling he received at the hand of the knitted babe.

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Teapots, and Euro-splendour

I bid on this tea service recently on ebay, and it arrived today. This is only a small part of it – there are more cups and saucers, a serving plate and cake plates, and a sugar bowl, and I love that there is a hot water jug for topping up the pot! It is made of beautifully thin Shelley porcelain from the 1920s. I’m actually looking for an art deco tea service with which to serve tea in my soon-to-be completed art deco front room, but couldn’t resist this one as well!

Here is my cottage teapot collection:

You can see why I needed the pink pot, can’t you?

I love this one. It doesn’t get used all that often, but I really like the hot water jug under the teapot:

And this creamware one, which looks like a sieve:

As my teapot collection grows, I realise that my tea cosy collection has become woefully inadequate…

There’s this yukky acrylic one (not made by me):

And this much scrummier alpaca one from John Arbon (ie, also not made by me):

Yay! More new knitting projects!

Must go now, the votes are in for the wonderousness that is the Eurovision song contest, and I need to see the results. I voted for the Latvian pirates, but the Bosnia-Herzagovinian knitting brides had to be seen to be believed! Someone on Ravelry just said that she had missing Eurovision on her list of cons when deciding whether to move to the US. She did move, but I bet it was a close call…

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Vintage sampler blanket: colour inspiration

After I wrote about trying to find colours for my vintage sampler blanket that were reminiscent of faded old flowers without slipping into baby pastel territory, Michelle posted this gorgeous picture on her blog. I was very excited to see it, as it is exactly the kind of thing I have been thinking of, without having found a source image.

So today, I printed it off and took me off to John Lewis at lunchtime. Then at home I rootled through my stash (love how rude that sounds!), and came up with these:

The colour palette is much darker than I those I had previously collected. The greens are more olively, and as well as the pinks I have added orange and brownish-reds. Here are the original set of colours I had collected:

I love the idea of translating the gorgeous colours from Michelle’s picture into the graphic shapes made by a variety of stitch patterns!

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So, let’s get back to me!

I was tagged by Amanda for the ‘Peeps I want to know more about’ meme.

The rules: Each player answers the questions about themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5-6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer.

1) What was I doing ten years ago?

Ten years ago I was in the first year of my fine art degree at the Surrey Institute of Art and Design. I left halfway through the course and transferred to Goldsmiths where I studied art history. I stayed there to do my masters degree. Ten years ago my boys were five and three – they’re bigger than me now!

2) What are five (non-work) things on my to-do list for today:

1. Get a blood test.

2. Book my boys onto a guitar and bass summer school in Bath.

3. Call the administrators who have taken over the furniture company from which we ordered our new front room furniture, to find out when (if) we will get it.

4. Call up I Knit London to see if I did actually book a ticket for September’s I Knit day with the Yarn Harlot, or just thought about it and somehow imagined that that would be enough. (Note to self: must get that whole reality=external, thought=internal thing sorted out at some point.)

5. Tie up the roses in the front garden to stop the car knocking them over all the time.

3) Snacks I enjoy:

Anything sugary, which is unfortunate as I am glucose intolerant and too much sugary stuff makes me feel ill.

4) Things I would do if I were a billionaire:

a. I would be an old-fashioned philanthropist like Rockerfeller or someone, and give most of it away through various foundations.

b. I would travel the world, but over land and sea, not through the sky.

c. I would have a fabulous art collection. Not locked up in a bank, but in my home. I would own the art I love that I can only see in galleries or museums.

d. I would have a house with a little house in the grounds. This is where my housekeeper and her husband, the gardener, would live. The housekeeper would make the beds every day with antique linen bedding.

e. I would also have a chef who would cook all of our meals for us.

c. I would worry about how my kids would have meaningful lives without ever needing to strive or work. If I gave enough away (see a.) then I guess I wouldn’t need to worry about this, but then they might hate me.

5) Places I have lived:

I grew up near Rickmansworth in Hertfordshire. Lived for a short while in London before moving in with Steve in Surbiton, Surrey. We lived for just under two years in Cleveland, Ohio, which is where Alex was born. Since then we have lived in Thames Ditton, Surrey. We also have a cottage near Bridport in Dorset, where we spend as much time as we can.

6) Jobs I have had:

My current and last jobs have been in museums. Before that I spent ages studying. Before that I was a qualitative market researcher.

7) Peeps I want to know more about:

Bells

Sonia

Mel

Barb and Andrea

Amy

Michelle

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