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More tea cozies!

New tea cozies!

The first tea cozy is knitted out of Noro Kureyon, 100% wool.  I love the colors of Kureyon but don't like to make anything that touches the skin because it's so scratchy, therefore, a tea cozy was the perfect use for this yarn.  It felts wonderfully but I was too lazy to make this one felted.  It fits my Old Amsterdam 6 cup teapot perfectly.

The second one is crocheted out of an acrylic yarn from Hobby Lobby called I Love This Yarn!  It is so soft and a pleasure to work with, unlike Red Heart.  It fits my 3 cup pot.

Lastly, is a crocheted cozy based on one I saw here.  I must admit that I didn't follow her instructions, just the concept.  I watched videos on YouTube and had a demonstration of the stitch by Marta from my knitting group, Las Vegas Knitters.  I kinda worked it up as I went along.  The colors weren't planned but I just grabbed what yarn I had handy at the time.  You see?  I am a lazy crafter!

TeaCUP Cozy!

Okay, your teapot is all warm and toasty in it's sweater and teapot cozy.  You pour yourself a nice hot cuppa and now what?  It just sits there getting all cold!!!!  Yuck!  Not anymore!  This cute baby of a tea cozy fits perfectly over my teacup and keeps my tea warm longer.  There is nothing worse than tepid tea.  I'm so excited!  I'll be doing a test run of these in my Etsy store very soon...like maybe tomorrow.  I just had to test it out tonight.  BINGO!

Cozy Teapot Sweaters

I thought I'd call these teapot sweaters because that's what they remind me of, a cozy sweater for your teapot! I now have both versions for sale on Etsy as a test run. There are several Etsy sellers who make very similar cozies but they were too cute for me not to make myself.

Tea Cozies!

 I've been going crazy making tea cozies!  They all fit a 6 cup pot, except for the knitted one, which I made especially for my 3 cup pot.  I'll be putting some up on my Etsy shop soon!  I've met a lady, Louise, who owns a local tea business and she'll be selling them as well.  Her business is called Tea-rrific Teas.  She will also be selling my tea wallets.  It's nice to see someone get excited about things you make, isn't it?

So sad today.

The more I learn about the shooting in Tucson, Arizona yesterday, the sadder I get.  Christina Green was only 9 years old, born on 9/11/01.  Such a pretty little girl who was taught about the significance of her date of birth and wanted to grow up and have a life in public service.  I can't imagine what her parents are going through.  My heart bleeds for them.  I don't consider myself overly protective although I think I'm moreso than many parents around.  My youngest son will be 11 this week and I still watch him walk to school until he's no longer in my sight.  I worry every time he goes out to ride his bike, calling him or making him call me when he arrives at his destination.  My eldest is 18 and he doesn't understand why it's so important to call me the moment he gets "home" when he leaves here to go back to his college 3 hours away. Just thinking about not being able to see them or call them is bringing me to tears.  May God bless the family of Christina Green and, of course, the families of the other shooting victims.  I hope justice is swift and harsh for the shooter.

Keurig K Cup Rack! So excited!

Look at what my very talented husband made for me!  I was so excited!  Then my friend and fellow Keurig owner, Erika, stopped by and saw it!  She reminded us that it was her birthday so she is now the proud owner of this new K Cup rack.  Bernie didn't want me to give it to her because he said it is just a "prototype" but I loved it and so did she.  I will soon be listing these in my Etsy shop for $25.00 with FREE personalization of up to 11 characters.  If people don't want it personalized, he said he can fit another row of K Cups on it for a total of 18 cups.

Remember that I re-use my K Cups?  I think I've finally found the method that works for me.  I rinse out the coffee from the used K Cup and after drying, I fill it with my choice of coffee.  I then cover it with a single sheet of Glad Press N Seal and wrap with a tiny hair elastic (not rubber band!).  After the internal filter has failed, I make my own filter, again top off with Glad Press N Seal and then secure with a tiny hair elastic band.  They work great!  What a great way to have wonderful coffee and save money, too!

My homemade filter inside the white K Cup.

Thanksgiving Leftovers

Sorry I don't have any pictures, but I just wanted to list some of the leftovers that we had from our Thanksgiving dinner.  We had both turkey and ham with the usual fixings so there were plenty of leftovers.

Turkey:
1) Turkey sandwiches with stuffing, cranberry sauce, and mayo.  A local sandwich shop calls this "the Bobby".
2) Turkey salad sandwiches.  I put everything I normally put in chicken salad into these.
3) Turkey & spinach Alfredo with angel hair pasta

Ham:
1) Ham & eggs
2) Ham slices, collard greens, & rice
3) Split pea soup

I fed what was left of the turkey to the dogs but still had enough ham for about three more meals.  I used my Seal-A-Meal and separated the ham into three bags, including a very meaty ham bone.  For sure I'll make some red beans & rice for one meal and definitely more split pea soup.  Maybe some baked macaroni & cheese with ham for the last meal.  They all sound good but I have to wait for awhile before I can eat  more ham.  I still have another bone-in half ham that I bought before Thanksgiving because it was only $0.77 per/lb.

Between us, I'm so over Thanksgiving leftovers...we had PIZZA for dinner!

Re-using K Cups - Part Deux - Make your own filters!

I love re-using my K cups, especially since I've purchased the My-Kap lids.  The only problem with using these is that after awhile the lids cause the filters to detach from the K cup rendering them useless.  NOT ANYMORE!  I always wondered how I could make my own filters to get more life out of my K cup and now there's an answer.  The folks at My-Kap.com came up with a solution and I just tweaked their instructions a little so that I could use my old Melitta basket filters instead of going out and buying Melitta #4 cone filters that they suggested and with my method, there is no template required!  Now it's even easier to re-use my K cups because I just lift out the used filter and replace it with a new one!  Here we go:





Cut the basket filter in 1/2 to make 2 filters



Fold this piece in 1/2 with the opening on the right







Fold the tip up




Fold the open side over 3-4 times







Form into a cone and place into clean K cup




So easy to use and much easier to clean than rinsing out the used K cups.  It literally takes just seconds to assemble a new filter.  I hope all the Keurig lovers will try this.

**EDIT 10/27/10**  This method is not foolproof.  If you don't roll the edge up tight, it might fail.  Also, if you're re-using your K cups, I've found that it works better if you don't use a regular drip grind.  It's too coarse.  Something between the drip grind and an espresso grind works well.  Also, in all honesty, I prefer using the Glad Press N Seal to using the My Kap lids because it's a tighter seal and there is no leakage or dripping from the sides of the coffee maker like there is when you use the My Kap lids.  The re-usable lids, however, are more convenient and once you buy them you don't have to buy anything else...other than more coffee!

 **UPDATE 12/30/11**  Since this post, I didn't give up trying to find a better alternative to the paper filter and I found it.  I have created little filters out of unbleached cotton muslin.  I have been using them for several months and they have NEVER failed!  Here is the link to the post I made about them back in May.