all things country....

Hello everyone !
For the past two weeks, the husband and I have been renovating our shop - which hasn't been easy considering we have continued to trade during the various sawing, drilling, hammering, painting, shifting...that goes on during any reno...
Added to which, my health has been anything but good this week, so as today was Saturday, total rest was the order of the day!
 I want to share with you the little projects I have been working on- what does this have to do with renovating your business??? - I hear you ask....
Well, the new theme of our shop is country style, so I have made lots of things to sell in our shop!

Pot trivets



matching trivet and quilted pot holder





camo beanies





wooly scarves

the shop will have a country feel, with lots of 'home made' style jams, sauces and marinades. We will also have pies, quiches, frittatas and pastas.
plenty of timber shelves and cupboards so we can display the stock with a homely feel.
Some of the pieces I put in the shop last week started selling and the response from our customers is fantastic! They love the warm ambience and some even to want to hang around for a chat and a cuppa....
hopefully I will be back up to scratch next week and feeling better, but in the meantime at least I can work on some lovely craft to keep my spirits up!

all over a pot of tea....

My cousin Kath loves nothing better than a good cup of tea...well, who doesn't?
We aren't talking teabags here folks, but the kind made with real tealeaves, 'take the pot to the kettle..not the kettle to the pot' type of tea.
During one of our gossips over a steaming brew, I noticed her tea cosy was looking a little shabby (no offence intended), but very well loved I must say!
It was then, during a lull between sewing a new top and knitting up a couple of very thick scarves for a dear friend who is heading off on a holiday, that I decided to come up with a new tea cosy for Kath.
Being a collector of very delicate and divine china, this cosy had to reflect, not only the quality tips being brewed within the pot, but also the importance of the whole 'tea' ritual....
Perhaps even a bit of a reflection on times gone by when our mothers, Betty and Lucy, sat together and mulled over family hardships, illnesses and more pressing subjects like how to fix the country, cause the politicians certainly can't....
I thought about the things Kath loves...Art Deco, fine china and of course, the garden...here is what I came up with...

I knitted it using 8 ply and 5.5mm needles.

The main body of the cosy is a basket weave stitch. I also knitted 24 flowers and 12 leaves as well as a handle to make the cosy look like a basket. I painstakingly arranged and sewed on each leaf and flower to look like a basket full of flowers.

Well, Kath loved the cosy and it immediately took it's place on the serving tray, warming the teapot.

So as we sat, bone china cup and saucer in hand, accompanied by a slice of delicious home made cake, we solved the world's problems, enjoyed the midwinter sunshine and everything felt just fine...