Cozy Knitting

There hasn't been a lot of knitting content in here lately, but trust me, I've been knitting. It's all that's keeping your Goddess Yarn Hussy in the semi-sane state to which she pretends. Well, that and some pretty obsessive Mahjong playing. Not the real game, unfortunately. Those of you who think the tile matching game going by that name online is the real thing are truly missing out. I know of no one locally who plays, and it's a tragedy. I learned in the OWC (Officer's Wives Club...the only reason I joined!) and I miss playing the challenging game that it is.

Anyway, knitting. I'm plugging away slowly on my Orkney Pi. This is a fabulous design written with the attention to detail for which Liz Lovick is famous. It's a KAL on the EZasPi list you see at the bottom of the page. But being me, I have to have something simple to switch off knitting - or as my friend Olivia puts it, I am "two-timing my Pi." LOL Olivia is a good friend, in spite of the fact that she looks like the lovely Ann Miller and she lusts after the DH. Since I can't blame her for either her looks or her excellent taste, we remain friends.

My something simple to knit ended up being a tea cozy. I have a wee pot at the studio, but in spite of the fact that it only holds two mugs worth of tea, it was getting cold way before I could finish drinking the first mug. Most tea cozies are too big for this pot, so I figured I'd take some leftover yarn and make one. I couldn't find a design I liked though. After living in England, I knew the best tea cozies cover the whole pot. Those letting the spout peek out just let all the heat out too. So I designed my own, inexpertly, on the fly. I cast on 80 stitches in the round, using some leftover wool in the Waterfall colorway from Furryarns. I knew I didn't have enough for the whole cozy, so I alternated with some of Elann's basic wool in cream that I had left over from the pinwheel sweater I did for my niece. The cast on edge curled as I knew it would, and so I finished with a crocheted eyelet edging that curls just enough to lie on the table, almost like a doily is under the pot.

I'm delighted with the silly little thing. The Waterfall colorway is so pretty, and it's a wonderful match for the pot. Best of all, being wool, even without a lining or any batting, it keeps the tea warm as can be until I can drink it all down. I love this little pot too; it has a diffuser so I use any kind of tea with it.


Now that that's done, I'm two-timing my Pi with what are only my second pair of socks. I use the Queen Kahuna book; it's wonderful for a visual learner like me, and since it's toe-up (although cuff down is shown too), I can try on the socks as I go. Good fitting socks are important to me, since I'm diabetic, and this is a wonderful way to be sure I have a good fit. I may do something interesting with the cuff, or I may not. The Austermann Step Fair Isle yarn I got from Yarns and Threads does lovely patterning on it's own, so I may not want to mess with that. Input is welcome. This yarn has aloe and jojoba built in and feels marvelously springy. And kudos to Nancy who shipped me this...she refunded excess shipping charges. VERY nice customer service in this day and age, so your Goddess is happy to recommend her. Plus this yarn is currently 20% off. I got it in Plum, which may have sold out, but there are lots of other shades.


My enabling done for the day, I'm going to go read. See my book list below to see what I'm delving into!