Egg cozies and hooped pottery

I recently treated myself to one newsstand issue of the British version of Country Living. While I found it a bit short on articles and a bit heavy on advertising (maybe it just seems that way because I want to buy everything that’s advertised, but can’t), it really made me squeak with happiness. There are so, so many things that the British seem to take for granted but to which Americans are happily oblivious. I wonder if it’s the same for Canadians, Australians, New Zealanders? I have a sneaking suspicion that they’re more “in the loop” than Americans.

Examples of things that the magazine breezily takes for granted, that Americans have basically never heard of: elderflower-flavored drinks and chamomile lawns. Chamomile lawn? I think I have that in my Netflix queue, but otherwise…? Do you like, really fill up your whole lawn with chamomile? With the darling white flowers? If so, I’d like to sign up, please.

Something that American knitters, at least, are familiar with is the tea cozy phenomenon. Knitting a tea cozy is practically a knitting rite of passage. Those who regularly flip through new Rowan books will also know that, under certain circumstances, one may find it necessary to knit an egg cozy. Like a tea cozy, but smaller. Cuter. Less useful. Sillier. More charming. In short, pretty irresistible. I mean, who doesn’t eat boiled eggs every morning, and who doesn’t have egg cups to serve them in, and who doesn’t need to make sure that the egg is kept really warm on the long trip from the kitchen to the table…?

If you don’t feel like knitting the Rowan version from Rowan Classic Home, you might feel inclined to crochet this version. I am going to be honest and up front: yes this egg cozy was directly inspired by the ones sold on Cath Kidston’s UK website. Seeing that these egg cozies are not available on her American website, however, I hope it’s okay that I have spoofed them. I’d like to make the point that I have never seen or handled one of her egg cozies in person, and I have no communication with anyone who has. I just wanted a striped egg cozy. The pattern is 100% the result of my own experimentation. And I expanded them, anyway. I made them in more colors. I didn’t put a pompom on top. ahem.

Materials: KnitPicks Palette in two contrasting colors. Shown are White for the background and Blush, Red, Blue, and Sky for contrasts.

Hook: D (3 mm) or smaller if you can manage it

Note: each round is in alternate colors throughout. Sample is croched with White for first round.

Ch 3, make circle
Round 1: ch 3, dc 11 in circle, join to top ch with sl
Round 2: ch 3, dc in same st, 2 dc in each dc around, join to top ch with sl
Round 3: ch 3, dc in next st, 2 dc in next st, (dc, dc, 2 dc) around, join to top with sl
Round 4: ch 3, dc in next 7 sts, 2dc in next st, (dc 8 times, 2 dc) around, join to top with sl
Round 5: ch 3, dc in each st around, join to top with sl
Round 6: as round 5
Round 7: sl in space between next two dc, ch 3, 5 dc in same space. (skip next 5 dc spaces, 6 dc in next dc space) around, join to top with sl
Round 8: ch 1, sc in each st around, join with sl and tie off

I like this pattern because it reminds of me hooped pottery, such as this mug by Burleigh. Hooped mugs and jugs are featured heavily in the Brambly Hedge illustrations, which I grew up with and still love (and which have heavily influenced my style of decorating). It also looks like old-fashioned men’s swimsuits (or, bathing costumes), the uni-suit kind. In fact, the eggs thought that they’d try on the cozies as bathing costumes while reclining in their hooped baths,

But then decided that the stripes clashed and that the whole idea–I mean every part of it–was very silly indeed.

About these ads