WorkUp Page Series

Series by definition means coming one after the other; I make no promises but I have begun a 'series' of scrapbook pages reflecting on and culminating in photo-documents of the quilting work I have done over the past ten years. That marks the time of our being in North Carolina and my actually having a sewing room in which to work (a first!).


Page one of the photo layouts is "Tea Cozies," a part of life and dining that has been very important to me. I traveled within and studied British culture for decades, being fortunate enough to have had tea in many places: The Grovsner House, Liberty's of London, Harrod's, the Birmingham Museum of Arts, and several historical house estates including Chatsworth with the Duchess of Devonshire. But my favorite was always Fortum and Mason on Piccadilly, tea vendor to the world. For that reason I felt a responsibility to spread the cultural habit, not easy in a land of coffee drinkers.

Because I was smitten with tea drinking and tea culture years ago when it came to making gifts I adopted the habit of making quilted tea cozies. Americans are less acquainted with the tea cozy for keeping the 'pot hot' as it is not necessary in the age of the microwave but the British will always use them if not for energy savings for the decorative quality they bring to the table.

The page shown is just nine of many of the quilted pot covers; some with pot holders, place mats, table runners or other table accessories. Others were given away years ago before the notion of documenting via photography occurred to me. All these have been shot in the digital age and with my recently acquired scrapbooking skills are the few that will prove my efforts.

Of those pictured, the lower right is the first cozy made for my sister, the second being middle row left, to match her newly acquired kitchen scheme. The bottom row center is the orange tea cozy made for the Orange County Arts Commissioner, and mid-row right (red), is the rancho-themed set made for niece Meghan's wedding present. The cozy is almost always made with a color scheme in mind and a mess of scraps begins the process.

Yes I do have tea cozies, three currently and yes, I did use them. Until quite recently when digestion problems caused the doctor to say NO to all caffeine; coffee, tea, chocolate etc. (Double Bummer). Perhaps one day soon.

Also See:
http://www.fortumandmason.com/
http://www.chatsworth.org/
www.artsorange.org