Aussie Kitchen Kitsch - Popcorn tea cosy and hot pads

Popcorn Tea Cosy and Hot Pads
So what's kitsch about a crochet tea cosy and hot pad? I guess it is all a matter of taste, but if it is tasteless and tacky we Aussies do it with style! In which case is it then kitsch? My Nana always had a tea cosy. It was a part of growing up with the scones and jam and cream. Silly thing was she used the tea cosy to protect the Shelly tea pot.

The reality is that tea cosies work in doing a mighty fine job of keeping the teapot toasty warm, and the hot pad or pot holder protects hands and surfaces.

I used to make lots of tea coies for the school fetes and got tired of the cutesy and daggy stuff in the pattern books. I also like to do something that works up quick so if it needs lining, it just isn't going to happen with me.

My daughter has one of the new beaut mod kitchens in her unit. You know the ones with the good fen shui (or whatever), and every thing is black and white with a splash of oriental red. The sort of kitchen where I find it hard to believe people cook in them.
This look would never work for me as I like colour, and fruit bowls, and candles and clutter...

Never the less, in the mod kitchen the teapot can still go cold, and the pots are still hot so I designed the black and white little number for her. I think it is just the thing to go with the noodle bowls and square plates that are so fashionable at the moment.

The hot pad is a variation of the main pattern which is based on the old popcorn stitch whioch has been arround for yonks.

These are a great use for scraps, and despite the kitsch reputation of crocheted tea cosies I think they look pretty cool.

I have just listed the patterns on my etsy stall. I have some more kitchen kitsch to come. Some stuff which I have been doing for a while, other stuff which is new. Given that retro is in again, I might just write up a few of them.