Teacup & Laptop Cozy

Here's a couple things I made as presents last year...

Enjoy your afternoon tea & quilted crafts :o)

Apron, Tea & Stars

Come over for tea so I can show off my fabulous new apron!!! My friend and fellow quilt designer Sonja and I swapped some goodies on thursday night at the Vancouver Modern Quilt Guild meeting and I am just giddy with excitement about the apron she made for me! I wore my new apron for the entire meeting and all the way home too!

The only problem was that I couldn't decide which side to wear because it's reversible! How cool is that?!! And I received all these other goodies too including some delicious Nut Crunch tea! Thank you Sonja!

Here is what Sonja received... I made her a cozy for her french press in colours to match the apron that she made herself a few months ago. I also included some homemade Cocoa Cranberry Cookies (my own recipe), a lavender teabag sachet, and some wood buttons from Italy & Japan.

I actually didn't know the exact size for her french press. However, she had sent me a picture and told me where she purchased it. So I snuck over to London Drugs, purchased the french press, brought it home, measured it, and returned it the next day! It was only slightly different than the Kaffe press from Ikea for which I designed my pattern.

I also did a tiny swap with Prairie Mouse. This little bird is flying all the way to New Zealand in exchange for this sweet little green bunny! Thanks Louise!

And here is a look at my newly updated tea drawer. The jars hold loose leaf teas and was inspired by The Great Wall Tea Co right here in New Westminster!

And because they look like my tea drawer, here is a peek at my wonky star blocks. I really like how they look right now but I still have a ziploc full of 2 1/2" linen squares so I'm not certain if the quilt will keep growing...

Enjoy your afternoon tea & quilted crafts :o)

Evening Tea Party & a Cozy

I made this french press cozy a while back. It is much simpler than my other designs... floral linen with red plaid binding and ties, and buttons embellishing the centres of quilted flowers! Lately I can seem to resist adding some sort of hand embroidery to each piece so I added little cross-stitches on the ties in the same dusty grey-green as in the linen. I really like how it turned out :o)

I hosted what will no doubt be the last evening tea party in my garden for the year. The weather is getting colder and wetter but I'm not complaining because my craftroom is bright even on a gloomy day. I am so lucky to have two of my high school friends as neighbours since moving to New Westminster. We try to get together every Wednesday evening for tea and sometimes a walk as well. Our visit was lovely! Solar lanterns hung from the wisteria vine, and tea lights in lanterns and jars added sparkle to the evening. The pie was baked with freshly picked blackberries! Yummmm...

For pure eye candy, I will throw in a picture of the cake I made for my husband's birthday in August...

Enjoy your afternoon tea & quilted crafts :o)

Tea Cozy & Garden Party

Enjoying ourselves at a local Tea House, my friend mentioned that she needed a tea cozy and was going to buy one from the gift shop. I immediately told her that I would not allow her to purchase one and that I would make her one... enter the deluxe patchwork tea cozy with two different sides!

The quote that I embroidered along the bottom, I borrowed from a vintage cross-stitch that my friend gave to me recently. It reads "Come into my kitchen and chat with me while I prepare a pot of tea." I think it may be my new favourite tea phrase!

It suddenly appeared on her teapot during our Wednesday night tea time... she almost cried :o)

As my family and I were entering a cafe, I spotted this license plate! I jumped up and down pointing at it. My hubby thought I was insane but I managed to get him to sneak a photo for me!

I turned 37 on June 13th. I made my own birthday cake this year which was polished off in minutes near the end of my small garden party :o) I usually don't like to make layer cakes because of the mess it makes when you try to cut the layers. This time I baked thin layers that looked like giant cookies. No cutting, no crumbs, no mess! PERFECT... especially with fresh strawberries and whipped cream!

I had a lovely afternoon enjoying my friends and my garden. Many thanks for all the birthday wishes I received via e-mail, flickr , and facebook too!!!

Enjoy your afternoon tea & quilted crafts :o)