Tea Cosy

True to my resolution to try and extend my (very limited) Knitting skill set I resisted the urge to cast on another kep and had a look for something that would teach me something new. The Osaka tea cosy  in 'Knit Real Shetland' (15 knitting projects in real Shetland wool from Jamieson and Smith, I bought this last summer because I liked the variety of things in it, the photography, and because it was on sale - I think it's been superseded by a new collection of patterns).

The tea cosy looked like an excellent way to use up some odds and ends of yarn, have a go at putting in steeks and then cutting them (not as frightening as I thought it would be) and managing a pattern and decreases at the same time.

I could have made better colour decisions, but the cosy itself is just the right size for getting through left over yarns. Unfortunately it turns out to be not the right size for any of my teapots. One is to big, three are to small. The tea pot that's wearing it in this picture looks like it's stolen someone else's over sized jumper, and whilst I suppose it will do the job just as well I don't feel it's doing either the pattern, or my teapot, any favours.

The whole steek thing has always struck me as a bit daunting. If the term is unfamiliar it's when you add in extra stitches to a pattern forming a bridge between two sides of something which you will later cut to separate them. It lets you knit your project in the round, which is faster than doing it flat. The idea of taking scissors to something I've knitted has always made me a bit nervous, but everybody who says it's oddly liberating is right.

The bit I liked best about this though was the shaping and pattern on the crown of the cosy. I don't know why I found it so satisfying, but I did.