Project: Cutest Tea Cozy ever!!

I don’t know about you, but when the temperature stays below -35C for an entire week, I drink my weight in tea. I don’t know what it is but when I’m very cold tea warms me up in  a way that coffee never does. It has the same effect on me as soup. Since I’ve been drinking so much tea lately, I’ve started using my teapot. Before, I would just only want the odd cup so a teapot seemed excessive. Unforunately, by the time I got around to the second cup, the tea in the pot was often cold. Hmm….what to do.

I started to wonder if perhaps tea cozies were actually effective. I always assumed they were just for decoration. Since I have quite a lot of time on my hands (and a lot of yarn I need to use), I decided to search for a cute tea cozy pattern. This is what I found:

How cute is this?! Honestly, it brings me such joy everytime I use my teapot now. I’m absolutely thrilled with it. Naturally, I found this pattern on Ravelry.

Also, although I have no scientific data to back this up, it does seem that the tea stays hotter for a lot longer thanks to the tea cozy. I’m now determined to make cozies for my mugs. Functional & fashionable! Who knew?

Are you working on any current crochet projects? I’d love to hear about them!

Project: Baby Blanket for Zoey!

Today I sent off the baby blanket and washcloths I made for my cousin’s brand new baby girl Zoey. This is the baby blanket pattern I used. I think it’s my new favourite. It was so easy and yet so pretty. I used Bernat Handicrafter Yarn. I love how soft cotton is. I used these three patterns for the washcloths. I think I have enough baby cotton wool to make one for myself. I love the way it feels on my skin. So soft!!

What are you working on? Join me on Ravelry!

Work in Progress Wednesday: Missoni Inspired Blanket

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted a WIPW. That’s because I haven’t been doing anything crafty lately. I missed it!! I was hoping to get 25% of the pattern done by the end of February but that did not happen. It takes longer than you imagine because the needles are small. I feel like I’ve really picked up the pace now that I’m confident in the pattern. Because I’m still so new to crochet & knitting, I tend to second guess every stitch which takes up so much time! Now I can at least watch tv while I do this and not have to run to the pattern every other second. I will give this until next week and then I’ll have to hold off until I finish my cousin’s baby blanket present which has not been started.

The pattern can be found on Ravelry. I’m loosely following the colours in the pattern. The ones I like I’m keeping otherwise I’ll be adjusting slightly. I thik I’m going to keep it with cooler tones but we’ll see how we do. I’ve only been buying the yarn as I get to it to try to keep my stash at a manageable level. Honestly, Ravelry is the coolest place every for knitting ideas and patterns. I paid for this one and it was worth every penny ($4 AUD)! Ravelry has helped me learn a lot and has made me more confident in my knitting. If you’re into knitting and crochet and you’re not on Ravlery, you really have to get on there!

What are you currently working on? xx

Project 365: February 19 – February 25, 2012

Still going strong! Very exciting since I haven’t been able to keep it up in the past!

February 19 // I often meet the train while in the Tim Hortons drive through.

February 20 // Already posted but still so pretty.

February 21 // Blanket in progress

February 22 // My living room full of boxes. There are actually more now.

February 23 // My shoes

February 24 // Out the front door after a soft sprinkling of snow

February 25 // More yarn for the aforementioned blanket

Find me on Instagram @lesleylu

Please link me to your Project 365s! I’d love to see what you’re up to.

Project 365: January 22 – January 28, 2012

Oops totally forgot to do this for Saturday. Here we are just a couple of days behind.

January 22// Weekend reading with a cup of tea.

January 23 // Tim Hortons released a bigger size of coffee! Shockingly, I can finish it.

January 24 // Bright blue sky of Manitoba

January 25 // Knitting my Missoni-inspired blanket!

January 26 // Gala Dessert tasting

January 27 // Two new tea flavours from David’s Tea.

January 28 // Inside the car wash!

Please link me to your Project 365s even if they’re not photos. I’d love to see what you’re up to.

Project 365: January 15 – January 21, 2012

Wow! I might actually make it past the first month!!

January 15// Finished cable knit pillow. I admit that it’s a bit of a cop out.

January 16 // I stand by the fact that The Bachelor is the funniest show on tv. However, I can’t get through the second hour without consuming alcohol. It’s just too much to ask of a person. They’ve just announced that they’re doing a Canadian version. God help us all.

January 17 // It was another late night meeting so I picked up a ready made pizza to pop in the oven when I got home. Not bad at all.

January 18// Salsa for Splurge!

January 19 // Reading through some of my magazines: Maclean’s and AFP Philanthropy

January 20// Frost on the windows of my car.

January 21 // Sticky Toffee Pudding & vanilla ice cream. Leftover from Splurge.

Please link me to your Project 365s even if they’re not photos. I’d love to see what you’re up to.

WIPW: Knit Cable Pillow

This is my first knitting project with cables! For some reason, I was really freaked out by it but it’s really not that difficult at all. Just another example of something looking scarier than it actually is. I’m hoping to make two of these. One in this dusty pink that you see here and another in cream. It would be a good little cushion for when my friends are over and some have to sit on the floor. The pattern can be found here.

What projects are you currently working on?

WIPW: Mittens for Me!

 Since the cowl is now complete (hooray!), I knew I’d definitely need matching mittens so I’m using this pattern from Bernat c/o Ravelry. I do like the looks of the scarf as well so I’m thinking of making it in another colour perhaps red. It’ll go great with a hat I made a few months earlier.

What projects are you currently working on?

Work In Progress Wednesday : Gaptastic Cowl

My cowl is thisclose to being finished. It was a long haul for me. It’s really monotonus to just do seed stitch for 15 inches but it’s also great practice since I don’t have a lot of knitting experience. The great thing about this project is how it’s teaching me a lot of new things: What is seed stitch? How do you knit in the round? How do you cast off in a round? The last one I’ll be learning later tonight. It probably sounds scarier than it actually is. Overall, this pattern was really easy and I’m sure if I was really determined I could’ve accomplished it over a weekend. It’s really getting chilly here now so I’m really excited to start wearing it!!

I found the pattern on ravelry. I LOVE ravelry so much. It’s really got everything you could need.

Project: Granny Square Baby Blanket

My entire life I’ve wanted to learn how to knit & crochet. Every summer, my grandmother would show me how and I’d get going on a pretty quick little scarf. However, during the 8 hour drive back home, all my knowledge of knitting would fly right out of the window. I’d often get books from the library and start up all over again. Finally, last winter I decided to just get on with it. I took up knitting (again!) thanks to Stitch ‘n’ Bitch. I got the hang of it and then put down the needles to complete the biggest needlepoint of my life. Honestly, it took 2 1/2 years to complete.

The needlepoint for your interest. In the end, I got it framed at Michael’s and gave it to my grandmother as intended.

Anyway, I saw a couple of granny square blankets online and thought that would be the perfect beginner project. One of my closest friends was pregnant with her first child (girl) and so I strived to get it done for when I visited her in Kelowna. For once, a craft project was completed within a decent timeline! Using The Happy Hooker and a few YouTube videos, I was able to get the hang of granny squares. Somehow, I thought that putting together the squares would be easier than the squares themselves. Yeah, not so much. I mean, it was straight forward but it was time consuming.

Step 1: Make some granny squares!

Step 2: Lay it out and stitch the squares together

Step 3: Add a couple rows of single crochet around the entire blanket to give it more of an edge.

Things I’ve learned from this project:
1. I love crocheting more than knitting!
2. Yeah, let’s not leave all the loose ends to weave until the end.
3. Crochet is hard on the wrist if done for too long!
4. Once you make a blanket for one baby, everyone will want one!

Current Crochet Project: My cousin’s second baby’s blanket. This time, I’m doing a straight forward double crochet blanket straight from The Happy Hooker. It’s very cute in neopolitan ice cream colours: chocolate brown, white and the same bright pink as above.