Hand made round teabags

My husband brought home some special teabags when he traveled to work in Europe recently.

They are special because each teabag is hand tied. The bag is made from cotton muslin, not paper.  The price ticket reflects that of course.

This gives me an idea; I can make the sachet for my chamomile tea.

I was able to find all the tools and stuff I need around the house.  Labels for the teabags.

Cutting the cotton muslin into 5" circles.

Tea leaves, cotton string (for cooking), a little dish, and a mini Bowdabra.

Then off I went...loose tea leaves on the muslin.

 Fold the muslin in half.

Gather the folded edge together. Don't over stuff the sachet. Tealeaves need room to expand.

 Put the cotton string in the Bowdabra.

 Put the sachet's gathered edge into the Bowdabra.  I can now use both hands to tie the sachet.

 Wrap the string around the sachet and tie one more time.

Use scissor to trim back the excess string/muslin on the gathered edge and add a label.

My home made chamomile teabag is the one with a brown label.

The 5" circle gives great result.  It is a perfect match in finished sachet size to the shop purchased Earl Grey French Blue which is the bottom one with a black label.



 

Beginning of the rainy season

It is the beginning of the rainy season with us now.   It rains a lot lately, and the water forces animals away from their hiding places.

Here is one moved to the open ground to warm up and dry out.

 A close up...

Lil Lindsey Daoll

I came across a little doll and simply cannot resist buying the pattern and knitting it.

Here is my finished doll - Lil Lindsey, named after a colleague who is blond with blue eyes.

Lil Lindsey has the cutest butt cheeks.

You can fine the pattern from Ravelry (http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/purl-the-little-knit-girl)
or from the Etsy website (https://www.etsy.com/shop/KnitwithCiD).

Bob Gnome

I made some gnomes few years ago. 

Colleagues in work saw them and all said how cute they were.

Years later, one of these colleagues still asks for one...I don't have the heart to say no anymore.  So here is my 6th gnome - Bob, named after her husband. She wanted her gnome in green.

You can find the pattern on Alan Dart's UK website, listed on the side bar here.

Mobile Utility Carts

2014 has been eventful for us so far. We had a sudden unexpected flash flood in January and our place was affected. Water was so high that it flooded the cars but water did not get inside the house. We had to replace a car and a lot of cleaning to do.

Once we finished tidying up the place, I carried on with my craft room. There were a lot of stuff laying on the floor.  I need easy access and don't want to put them inside cupboard...my solution?  Mobile carts.

I searched high and low and found these in the most unlikely place - an online restaurant supple store
[http://www.webstaurantstore.com] great price, fast shipping and very good customer service.

Here is the exact link for the utility carts:

http://www.webstaurantstore.com/choice-3-shelf-gray-utility-bussing-cart-42-x-20-x-38/109CARTBLGGY.html

The cart has big wheels, very easy to move it around.  Love these mobile shelves.

A little Elf

The smallest toy I have ever knitted: a little elf.

 

He is the keeper of the fire ant...

Poppy is never too far away.

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Materials:

Odd ends of double knitting yarns

Knitting needle size:  3.0 mm

Pattern Book: Christmas Tree Decoration by Alan Dart.  (His website is listed on the side bar)

My first project - A Fire Ant

I started a little project before Christmas just for fun.

I used floral wire gauge 20 to shape the legs.

My first finished project in the New Year.

2014 is going to be a year of dolls and toys for me I think.

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Materials:

Red Heart Sport, color: 0918 Vermillion

Knitting needle size:  3.0 mm

Pattern Book: Amigurumi Knits by Hansi Singh