Writing my first knitting pattern - Entrelac Knitting

To all of you who do check in from time to time on my blog and who like to stay in touch with my creations,  'THANK YOU' ! It was nice to learn what people liked and showed the most interest in. My hot water bottle cozy has received several compliments and I am thrilled that it has received some attention. 

I have received one request for a pattern for this cozy, and I did promise that I would write it. I am currently knitting a 'hot water bottle cozy', designed for a little girls' room and I am writing the pattern as I go. I am a bit of free lance knitter, adding and deducting stitches as I go, so writing a pattern is a bit of a learning curve. I will add that it is also no surprise that I got myself into this... being a teacher and a former administrator I am very much used to writing manuals and procedural tasks.

So this is just to let you know that the pattern for SunchiB 'Hot Water Bottle Cozy- Enrelac Knitting' will be available soon. It will be listed in my Etsy store, so keep checking here or SunchiB facebook page for more information.

It is time for tea !!!

Something for me! 

It is winter here in Perth. This means more time spent indoors on those dark rainy days. Most of us are comfort creatures and we do like to get cozy, warm and comfortable on days like this. I did not have one before, but now I do - my very own tea pot cozy. The inspiration for this one came from Loani Prior, the queen of tea pot cozies. So if you look for ideas on how to make one, look no further than.... (see the link below)...
Off to make myself a pot of tea to check out how warm my tea will stay.....  ENJOY!!!   :), ♥

Loani Prior is the queen of "Really Wild Tea Cozies". Her tea pot cozies do stand out and she makes them into a piece of art. If you would like to learn more about this amazing lady and her work, you can take a peek into her blog @ The Queen of the Tea Cosies.

Last year, I purchased one of her books and decided to give it a go and try create one tea pot cozy for my  very own tea pot. When you are a passionate knitter, it is an absolute must that you have one of those. This is a great book, one of those you can have resting on your coffee table and use as an inspiration or a conversation starter.

The cozies, that we talk about here are no ordinary cozies. We are talking about tea pot garments! It goes something like this... first Loani teaches us to knit a petticoat, just to make sure that our tea pot stays nice and warm and then we create an outer garment for it. Her tea pot cozies are posh, they are beautiful and definitely worth making! You will absolutely love the finished product and enjoy your many cups of tea!

It is a hard job deciding which one to choose from her book, but this time I decided to go for a "Pot Sock Frock and Petticoat" as per the book... how amazing is this name... and how amazing does the finished cozy looks, please check the link! 

STAGE 1 - WE KNIT A PETTICOAT FRIST

Although I am following the pattern in the book I decided to use the wool that I had leftover from my other projects, so I did enjoy playing with colours and deciding how to put them together. I have been working with plenty of earth tones lately, hence the chosen colours. It is such fun following Loani's patterns! I love the attention to detail that she puts into creating each and every cozy. She certainly goes that extra mile and that makes a huge difference in the finished product.

STAGE2 - KNITTING OUTER GARMENT

It is a cozy that is very smart, warm and cozy at the same time!

Revamping the old furniture

Love for the white furniture! There is something to be said for white furniture. It looks elegant, gives that fresh look, and breathes in fresh air to any room. I love to use different shades of white combined with earthy tones, such as different shades of gray, lime, taupe and cream, textured materials such hemp, linen, thick cotton, raw silk and occasional wicker chair, basket or a stool.

MY NEW CUPBOARD

Paint colour: Colorbond "Evening Haze W"

Over the past several years I have converted several old wood pieces of furniture from plain wood look into a stylish white pieces. I will share some of my projects here on my blog and show "before & after" look. This old cupboard that I purchased in an op shop is a perfect example that shows how a lick of paint can give it a new life.

1. I took the handles off
2. Gave it a quick sand with the sand paper
3. Applied the paint undercoat to make sure that paint seals well
4. Three coats of paint will do the trick and make sure that there are no paint inconsistencies 
5. The whole process takes 3-4 days but it is well worth it  

BEFORE