Everything Old is New Again

Well, kind of!

I had a very successful op-shopping trip last week and came home with some excellent booty, including this wonderful retro tea cosy:

And this gorgeous teapot - English Staffordshire ware, although I don't know how old it is:

As you can see it's rather crazed and the crazing is a bit stained - so I'm going to have a go at cleaning it (carefully). Also some of the gilt is a bit worn on the handle, but there's nothing else wrong with it - it pours beautifully with nary a dribble in sight and it is a good size (holds about a litre, which is comfortably between my 2-cup pots and my 6-8 cup pot).

I also had the good fortune to be the recipient of a large collection of Noritake cups, saucers and plates, courtesy of a friend whose parents didn't want them any more, and who had no use for them himself. There are about ten demitasse cups and saucers, three trio sets of full size cups and a few extra plates - all in very good condition despite being very old (I believe they originally belonged to my friend's great-grandparents).

I don't know much about researching china patterns - does anyone have any handy tips? I would love to know the name of the Noritake pattern; it's not like any Noritake I've seen before!

Wishlist Wednesday - Tea 'n Textiles

Quite a few of the blogs I follow do a 'wishlist Wednesday' feature each week, so I thought I'd jump on the bandwagon. This is the first of my tea-themed (naturally) wishlists... beautiful textile products to accompany your cup of tea!

Fancy a Brew Tea Towel in Sky by Mr PS

Well, of course I would... but I might need to schedule it so I don't forget:

Tea Time Diary Organiser by Sasha Sews

Must keep the pot warm...

Red Floral Tea Cosy by Tractor Girl

... and the mug of course!

Chai Tea Organic Knitted Mug Cosy by Knit Storm

And some beautiful words to contemplate while I'm sipping (much too beautiful to actually use this tea towel for drying dishes!):

Tea - by Carol Ann Duffy Tea Towel by Kitchen Sink Dramas

Squirrel Tea Cosy

Earlier this week my new tea cosy arrived!

In this photo it is keeping my pot of Castleton Autumnal Darjeeling warm... lovely!

I first saw the pattern a couple of months back in my copy of Notebook: magazine - you can find it online here - and thought at the time how much I would love to make it. Alas, I have neither the skills nor the equipment necessary to machine-sew anything (a little basic embroidery and button sewing is my limit), but I kept it in the back of my mind, just in case.

Then a few weeks ago I discovered the Alchemy board on the DUST (Down Under Street Team, of which I'm a member) Forum, and I put up a request to see if any of the other talented DUSTers might be interested in making it for me. Lo and behold I got a response from the lovely Luisa from Dance in My Garden, who very kindly offered to make it for me.

The pale creamy colour of the felt and the finely-worked contrasting stitching is a perfect complement to my smaller teapots - this tea cosy fits comfortably over both my 350ml beehouse teapot and my slightly larger 450ml one. It's probably not as warm as a thick knitted or quilted cosy, but I think it does a pretty good job, and it's so cute (not to mention Tea Correspondent approved)!*

Luisa normally makes lovely bibs and other items for little tots, but was happy to have the chance to make a 'grown-up' item for a change - and she did such a beautiful job on my squirrelly tea cosy, I would have no hesitation in purchasing any of her other items (I'm keeping a close eye on them for when our baby is born in a few weeks). And she has also just introduced some 'drink cosies' to keep your fingers from burning on hot cups... perhaps I need one of those too...?

*That said, I do have an urge to photograph it in sinister silhouette in a lighted window, I'm not quite sure why.

Photos!

Here at last are some pretty photos of some of my teawares; I had to take them more or less all in the same spot as we only have one really well-lit sunny spot near a window in the house, but I think they turned out fairly well.

My Beehouse teapot, that I use every day (usually more than once!)

A collection of my prettier canisters and tins that I keep my tea in

My enormous (6+ cups, depending on the size of the cups) London Pottery Farmhouse teapot, with the tea cosy that I bought from Tea Leaves in Sassafras (so pretty)

And last but not least, a picture of the Earl Grey prunes that I made the other day, which are currently steeping in the fridge and will be ready to go in another couple of weeks!