Major Knitter

How to Make a Felted Tea Cozy

I've recently switched my morning habit from coffee to tea.  Along the way I acquired this lovely teapot.  I decided if I was going to make the switch, I need to go all in and learn how to make a proper cup of tea.

I'm very good about filling it up with hot water to heat the teapot while I have the kettle on the stove.  This helps keep the tea hot longer.

But without a tea cozy (think of this as a sweater for your teapot), my second cup of tea wouldn't be hot enough.  Lo and behold I decided to make a tea cozy.  Of course, I was inspired by my knitting blogging buddy Rhonda the Stitching Nut's Felt-Tea Farm Tea Cozy which is more of a painting than a felted project.  It's so gorgeous it's been pinned on Pinterest about a gazillion times.  So I decided to felt a portrait on my tea cozy, too.

First up, I needed an actual tea cozy.  Rather than knit one and felt it, I took the short cut and bought a wool sweater at the Goodwill.  I threw it in the wash and it obediently shrank and felted to a nice thick felted wool.  For a basic pattern click on this tutorial by Simply Rurban.

I sewed my front and back together and gave it a go on my favorite teapot.  Yes - it's too big.  I knew that.  I actually planned that because I wanted to hem the bottom of the felt to give it a more stable base.

* Sorry about making a red cozy.  I know red stinks for photographing - but there you have it.

I rolled the hem twice and tested it to see if it would still fit my teapot.  Perfect!  Now I'm off to hem.

Trust me.  I know you can't see it, but I hemmed this and it created a nice thick base to support my tea cozy.  

I found my favorite picture of Wilma the Wonder Dog and printed it.  Then I cut out the actual part I wanted to needle felt in order to make my template.

I centered the template on the tea cozy base, inserted the foam pad (part of the needle felting kit) and pinned my template in place.  Now I was ready to begin needle felting!

I have two sets of roving samplers plus the multi needle felting tool which I use.  I found these on Amazon.  If you're new to needle felting, check out a few videos on YouTube.  I like THIS ONE.

Following the picture, I started with a base of natural white roving.  Then I added the fawn colored markings, and dark brown and black for the nose, mouth and eyes.  I added gray for shading and pink for her tongue.

To complete my tea cozy, I thought Wilma's portrait needed a dog bed.  Instead of the tan bed in the photo, I made this one green to provide some contrast color.  I used green and white yarns to cover a plastic loop; attached it to the top and had a wonderfully personalized tea cozy to ensure I will always have a perfect cup of tea.

Thank you Girly Girl.  You will always have a special place in my heart and soul.

The Duke and Otis Show

It's been three weeks since Wilma died and life moves on.  I miss my girly girl every day, but am so grateful I have two puppies to help ease the pain.  The funny thing is how the dogs are acting differently without Wilma to offer her discipline.  Duke is a little more outrageous.  When he gets spunky, he runs around and jumps on the furniture (which is NOT allowed) and makes way too much noise.  That only lasts a few minutes before both pups are wiped out and they return to their normal bulldog positions:

 

What?  I was here all the time.  It must have been Otis.  He started it.

What?  I didn't do anything.  I've been here all day.  I'm the calm one, remember?

After a short spurt of rambunctiousness, both pups generally end up sharing one pouffe and sleep for about 95% of the day.  It's not a bad life if you can get it.

Finishing Friday - Otis and Orange

Here's a very rapid project.  In just one month, I finished an entire Sampler Afghan.  I'm quite pleased.  The last part was joining the strips and then finishing the border.

• Sampler Afghan - available at Knitting Central or Westport Yarns.
• 4 skeins of Cascade Yarns Eco+ (this color appears to be discontinued)
• US Size 10.5 straight needles
• Crochet hook and darning needle

Otis wanted to be a part of the photo op.  Hey! Hey! Look at me.  

Now I need to clear the pool table - which is my blocking station with its large surface area and heavy duty plastic cover - wet soak this Sampler Afghan - and block and dry it.  Woohoo.  I love a Finished Object.

My plan is to try to finish as many UFOs (Unfinished Objects) in my Ravelry Queue as possible this summer.  I think that is an attainable goal.  Wish me luck!  Wanna join me?

Thank You

Thank you everyone for all your kind words, notes, messages and prayers. We all really appreciate it. Our house and hearts are a little emptier without Wilma... but our lives are richer because we shared 9 years with that adorable little bulldog and her famous tongue. 

The emoticon of the week is officially :P in honor of our Girly Girl.

 

And here's a poor quality video I took several years ago so you can almost hear what sleeping in the same room with this doggy diva was like.  I'm so glad I recorded so much of her life as she will live on.  Now if I could just look at all the pictures and videos without getting all choked up again.

:P

 

Farewell My Friend

Wilma
July 2006 - June 2015

Wilma the Wonder Dog had a very wonderful life. In fact, we joke that she lived better than 90% of the world's population.  She was pampered, loved, adored.  She went for regular car rides; slept in a king size bed that she incidentally allowed us to sleep in, too; had two little brothers (OK - bigger younger brothers); and tons of fans thanks to her debut on the blog.

You might remember that we got Wilma from a dog breeder... whom we're pretty certain was a puppy mill masquerading as a family breeder.  She came with so many serious health problems that you wouldn't normally see in a reputable breeder.  But the fabulous Dr. Chuck Noonan told us "Don't worry about where she came from. Let's just get her better." And together we did.  She had kennel cough and pneumonia and worms right off the bat.  I slept with her wrapped on my chest on the bathroom floor with the steam shower going that first week to get her lungs in good shape. We loved her. She loved us. She was a licker. Anyone who came to the house was in danger of having their tonsils licked. Her tongue was legendary. She loved to cuddle. She thought she was a human. She hated not being the center of attention. She loved the knitting group - as long as she had a doggy bed in the middle of everyone. She loved when Boy Scouts came to visit.  She didn't really acknowledge other dogs - she was a human, afterall. But most of all, she loved her family and we loved her.

Here's Wilma's very first picture on Major Knitter.  She immediately stole the show.  

You've all watched her adventures through her Wilma on Wednesday posts.  In fact, you can go back and check them out HERE.  Grab a box of Kleenex.  Don't say I didn't warn you.

Last night Wilma was featured in her final post.  I was in San Francisco and was very worried I wouldn't get home in time. Thankfully, I was able to catch the very last seat on the redeye and got home this morning. I drove straight from the airport to the emergency veterinary hospital. I had called in advance and made some recommendations regarding getting in touch with Wilma's cardiologist.  I got to see Wilma and be with her this morning.  She was in bad shape and not responding to the medicines they were using - not even the super duper one that usually helps the heart go into overdrive when the regular arrhythmia medicines don't work.  Wilma was simply not doing well and she was alone and scared.  She was so happy to see me and I got to be with her and love her and hug her this morning.

She went peacefully while I was holding her and petting her. I am so grateful that I was able to be there for her.  

 

I've had dogs my whole life. There have been dogs before and there will be dogs after - but there will never be another Wilma. She was one in a million. I miss you Girly Girl. You were a wonderful companion. I'm so glad you were a part of our lives.

 

 

 

 

 

Thoughts and Prayers Needed for My Girly Girl

I'm traveling this weekend in San Francisco and I got the call.  Wilma's not doing well.  I'm doing everything I can to catch an earlier flight home to be with her.  She's in really bad shape.  Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers.

I love you The Wilm!

 

 

 

Wilma's Tongue Intrigues Us All

Wilma's tongue is very fascinating.  We all love it - the way it's always hanging out of her mouth, falling on the ground, out while she's sleeping.  Now the puppies have discovered her tongue, too.

Too cute.

I Can't Stand the Cuteness

I just love having three dogs.  OK - except for the last few weeks of sleepless nights.  But after getting the puppies back on a normal sleep schedule, and getting a few good nights of sleep myself, I love getting all the cuddles and puppy love from these three possible.

Don't they look so cute sharing their favorite bed.  I just love it when they're all cuddly.  

 

I really can't stand the cuteness.   

 

Another Ice Day

I would call it a snow day, but right here on the Long Island Sound we're getting a wintry mix rather than snow - so school has been canceled today.  For anyone counting at home, this is the third week in a row we've had a snow day.  I don't hear any of the kids complaining.

My dogs are enjoying a nice cuddly nap together  on one of the oversized dog beds.  They're just too cute when they sleep together.  They love a snow day, too.

Wednesday's Wonderful World of Wilma and the Bulldog Pups

Doesn't that sound like a rock band?  They should be.  These dogs are hours of entertainment.  This week we had a lot of snow in the northeast.  We got hit with 8-10 inches of snow and snow was canceled once each week for the storm.  So we've been playing in the snow and sleeping A LOT. I have several dog beds around the house, but sometimes, they just decide to sleep on the same bed.  

It's a tight squeeze, but they don't seem to mind.  Well, at least Otis didn't mind until he rolled over and fell off!

A little later in the day, they tried this new configuration which I call "The Circle of Life -- with Bulldogs"

I hope you're staying warm.