Just for the Love of it

Love, Faith, Laughter, Friendship, Understanding, Inspiration, Kindness, Gratitude, Smiles and so much more, that's what it's all about!

Thursday, March 31, 2011

Cosy Felting-Teatime

Hi everyone, lots to show and tell the last day of March. I can't believe this. April Fool's day tomorrow and New England is forecasted for a Northeaster snow storm....I hope this is an April Fool's joke. I will let you know!

So where do I start. I was knitting my tea cosy and thought I should experiment with felting in my front loader washing machine before I felted the cosy with my expensive Noro yarn. So I stopped the cosy and knitted up a striped bag with Lion Brand yarn from Michaels store. It turned out nicely, but I had to run it through the wash two times. I was told that felting works best with a top loading washer. I have the front because we are trying to be more energy efficient, but I honestly wonder if it really is more EF. It takes forever to wash. Oops, I'm getting off tract. So here are the pictures of the felted bag, start to finish.


The knitted bag really shrinks a lot during the felting process, almost in half! I was happy with the results, so I went back to the cosy. Boy, it was large. I was really hoping it would felt well and shrink a lot. I felted it two times and dried it too. It was still pretty large, so I thought I would have to find a top loading washer. I ended up at a laundromat in a nearby town. I still had to wash it twice and dry it, it shrunk a little more. But guess what, I decided I needed a larger tea pot so it would fit. I think all along I was trying to make it fit a too small a pot!!! Silly, right!
So here are some pictures. Now I need your opinion, should I leave it as is or should I add the buttons and bows? I would love to hear what you all think.



So if I were to put the decorations on, it would look like the book cover.


So what do you think. I'm torn because I don't want to cover up the yarn, but then again it may look really nice?!?!?

So my tea cosy was a fun learning experience and a challenge. I learned how to do short row wrapping, felting and grafting seams. I got to go to the laundromat and buy a new tea pot, that I didn't even know I needed. I'm sure my tea will really taste special now! What kind of tea do you like best? Love to know. Thanks for visiting my nest. I hope to hear all your lovely thoughts and tea favorites.

xoRobin❤

21 comments:

  1. I bet your tea will stay nice and toasty hot now! That is beautiful! Good job!

    Hugs, Teresa

    ReplyDelete
  2. Beautifully knitted and felted, Robin! I would be tempted to add some buttons, just here and there, so you can still see the lovely yarn - (but you know how much I love buttons)!
    Have a lovely weekend.
    Helen x

    ReplyDelete
  3. Fantastic tea-cozy Robin! I love the bag too.
    I saw a pattern for a bag in a magazine and it was felted not sure if it was Noro and had little,tiny in fact, button flowers on (as in the button was the flower) and the stems were sewn on I will try to find a picture and PM it to you on Rav. It showed the beauty of the yarn without covering it up, maybe just the thing for your cozy.
    Love Tickety-boo
    xxxxxxxxx

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi Robin,

    I have a front-machine too, and I do all my felting with that and it works great! If you want a heavy shrinking, you can add couple of big old towels in the washer too or even better, pair of old jeans (something that doesn't mind the color runs of the felted item) and that really helps as they spin there together!

    Your cozy turned out very pretty, and I would maybe add, as Helen said, a few buttons here and there or little embroidery to make button flowers... It's lovely as it is, though!

    Have a wonderful weekend!

    Yours,
    Mia

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thanks Helen, I think I will add a few buttons! xo

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi Mia, Thanks for all the tips! I love helpful suggestions : ) I think buttons would add more details and uniqueness. I will get it ago. xo

    ReplyDelete
  7. Teresa as always I love your sweetness and kindness. And I think you are my first comment most of the time!!!!! xoRobin❤

    ReplyDelete
  8. TB, thanks for your take on my tea cosy. I appreciate you sharing this idea and I think it could be the perfect addition! xoRobin

    ReplyDelete
  9. Your felting turned out well!! I think it would look great with some buttons and bows!!
    Vivienne x

    ReplyDelete
  10. Wow, its just gorgeous Robin! I think it is perfect just as it is, but I think I'm outvoted!!! Great work, you are so talented and make me want to bust into my Noro stash and create something gorgeous!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Robin, First great job on the bag...I love the colors it is fantastic. I love the tea cozy and I think some needle felting might be fun. If it doesn't work you can pull it off. What do you think?
    Have a great weekend,
    Meredith

    ReplyDelete
  12. Personally, I prefer without the buttons ... well maybe just a few, but not so many as in that picture! The bag is lovely too. Our only trip to America was to Vermont and Cape Cod - everyone else we knew went to Disneyland, but not us! We loved Vermont.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I like it the way it is. Soooo pretty.
    I was glad to see the washers downstairs go back to top loading because I have more control with the Felting thing that way.
    Nice purse!!

    ReplyDelete
  14. why not go the whole hog and put all those buttons and bows on.......supose you could always take them off again if you don't lik ei

    ReplyDelete
  15. I have a soft spot for knitted tea cosies and yours is particularly lovely.
    lily.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Robin, thanks for your lovely comment, I'm off now to have a little skip through your archives while enjoying a nice cuppa.
    lily x

    ReplyDelete
  17. Felting was one of the classes in my yarn and fiber group but they were knitting the bag and I don't knit so I never followed through with anything. Love that felted birdie in your header. So cute! Have a super Sunday. Hope you didn't get as much snow as they predicted. :/ Best wishes, Tammy

    ReplyDelete
  18. Hey Robin, what a fantastic tea cosy, love the colours.
    I think I would find any excuse for a cuppa if I had a cosy like that.... .....
    I wouldn't want to cover it up, but maybe a grouping of buttons around the top or the base of the cosy might give you the best of both looks.

    Hope you are enjoying some nice Spring weather.

    ReplyDelete
  19. So pretty! And I love your new tea pot. Orange! I Think it needs a few buttons if your still taking votes. :)

    ReplyDelete
  20. They are really nice!
    You did a great job!! Thank you for your congrats for my mom!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Hi Robin, that is a great tea cozy. I also love the stripey bag you made. Personally I would add some knitted or crochet flowers or similar but as we know everyones taste is very individual.Did the snow storm arrive?It's been lovely here. Thanks for your birthday wishes I had such a great weekend!
    Jane x

    ReplyDelete