cosy tea cosy

My first foray into whimsical knitting was through Loani Prior's book Really Wild Tea Cosies.

I deliberated for a while on which one i would choose, and eventually settled on a crocheted granny-square extravaganza (it seemed the most straight forward to a novice knitter). Here is the finished product:

There are so many more amazing patterns in this book and the first one Wild Tea Cosies. Here is just a selection of them (all images from Loani Prior's blog the queen of the tea cosies).

And my very favourite, a picture of which is pinned up at my desk at work to be tackled when the PhD is over...

Now, if i must be honest, i have attempted one more pattern from Ms Prior's book, it is supposed to look something like this:

 

but instead, and excuse my crude language, the cosie in question looks a little like a saggy scrotum covering a tea pot (not that i would know what a scrotum looks like or anything). I think the problem is the teapot is too small for the cosie, or maybe the cosie is too big for the teapot...a philosophical debate i will leave to the experts. Regardless, the general appearance is less than desired. The worst of it is the cosie was supposed to be a gift for a dear friend and i don't have the heart to rip it out and start again so it just looks at me forlornly when ever i go into the spare room. I might add it to the 'after the PhD list'. Sorry Holly - i promise your birthday present will be totally worth it. x