tea cosies

Australian textile artist Trevor Smith learned how to crochet from his mother when he was just a child. His first projects were baby blankets for family friends and doll clothes for his younger cousins.

He’s been experimenting and perfecting all manner of applications ever since, recently creating imaginative tea cosies, retro appliances, and platters of colorful food. Most of the pieces shown in this post were part of a large-scale exhibition held at the Michael Reid Gallery in Sydney last year. It was called “Cocktail Hour” — retro-domestic bliss with a touch of humor.

What’s especially impressive about Trevor’s work is that he doesn’t use any patterns or make sketches ahead of time. He’ll look at images of what he wants to make online and then proceed with a plan of what he wants to do in his head.

For his tea cosies, he’ll first crochet a traditional cover for the base, then build a 3D form out of foam or wire for whatever animal, person or object he wants to add, and then crochet a cover for it. Finally, he’ll crochet any other loose accessories or finishing details to sew on later.

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cosycardigan — *Hand Knitted Christmas Cardigan Cosy by rTracyO*

Surely the best part of winter is having reason to drink even more tea. Gotta keep warm, right?

‘Tis not the season for mug-in-the-microwave tea. Nay, winter tea calls for the careful selection of just the right teapot, just the right cup and saucer, and your favorite silver teaspoon. It often means turning your nose up at tea bags (gasp!) in favor of that raise-the-eyebrow indulgence, loose tea. Oh yes — you’re worth it, you tea slut, you.

Loose loose loose.

Don’t worry, I won’t tell your mama.

And as long as you’re gonna brew a perky pot (better look sharp as Mr. Darcy is sure to visit), you know very well this will require some patience. Once it’s ready you’ll want to sip and savor ever so slowly, while you dip into that ~~bodice ripper~~ socially redeeming literary novel, or skillfully chat up your dapper British tea companion.

It was for times like these that lovely, adorable, whimsical tea cosies were invented. They likely appeared around the same time the Duchess of Bedford popularized afternoon tea in late 19th century Britain. With so much serious chit chat and juicy gossip going on — and when one is trading scandalous bon mots, one must never rush — they had to find a way to keep their teapots warm.

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