This time around in the Zakka 2.0 I am picking and choosing the projects. This teabag pouch is the first that I had picked to do. There are so many gorgeous versions of this pouch already posted on the Zakka 2.0 Flickr page.
Ayumi's pattern did not come with any diagrams and some of the wording had me confused. My usual pattern trailblazer Amanda The Patchsmith has not yet made this one. You can see my mistakes and confusion here. Thank goodness Alyce came to my rescue.
Teabag Pouch Visual Tutorial
So here is a visual tutorial to help you should you be interested in making one for yourself.
Cutting
I did not use fusible interfacing but some scraps of cotton batting and basting spray instead.
Step 1
Step 2
Step 3
Step 4
Step 5
The crux of the pattern is not clear with the written instructions for this step -"the rectangle" refers to the inner cotton solid for the interior. It took me a while to figure this out.
Step 6
Step 7
Step 8
Step 9
Step 10
+ Button Making
I do hope that this helps. Certainly a cup of tea does after a tough pattern.
This is my paltry submission to the Kate Spain blog hop over at Blossom Heart Quilts. The fabrics are from Kate Spain's Good Fortune collection which I blogged about last Sunday Stash #68.
Coffee drinkers have it so good. The cafe world revolves around them and their individual preferences: the latte, skinny cap, flat white, espresso, macchiato, decaf. moccacino on soy. Then there's all the syrup that can be added to give them the flavour of caramel, Irish cream, butter toffee, cinnamon hazelnut, raspberry chocolate, southern pecan pie and even chocolate macadamia nut!
The whole industry is BIG and thriving in in my little local town. There are 7 cafes with their own baristas (one of them is my friend Slim) and machines within a 3 Km radius.
But what about tea houses?
I can count on one hand the tea houses I have found in Australia. One in Windsor, NSW (serves High Tea on tiered plates), 1 in Leura, NSW (has a collection of tea pots and is across the road from our wedding church) and 1 in the Dandenong Ranges of Victoria called, Miss Marple's Tea Room (that we passed in the car after taking in afternoon tea at the famous Bavarian 'Cuckoo Restaurant').
And when you order a cup of tea, in a cafe, what do you get?
It's rare to get leaf tea in a pot, rarer to get a choice of teas, and impossible to get it served in a china pot and tea cup. What you normally get is a 2 cup tea pot with 1 English or Irish breakfast tea bag dangling over the edge. Not strong enough for me. At worst, you get a generic tea bag in a coffee mug. So wrong!
Alas, when I am out with my coffee drinking friends (because it's always "Do you want to go out for coffee?") I will not order tea. I can't justify paying the same price as a double shot frappacino, and only getting a lousy tea bag in hot water.
There is an art to making tea (but more on that another time) just as there is an art to making good coffee. And I want my barista to work hard for the money. So I will order either a hot chocolate or an iced chocolate.
When I find someone who shares my passion for tea, tea cups WITH saucers and dessert plates, tea pots and crazy tea cosies, it's like finding a kindred spirit. I found this great online Etsy store that sells traditional and retro china tea cups. It's called Nancy's Tea Shop and it's worth checking her store every few weeks because she sells gorgeous stuff.
I bought 3 delicious pale blue, aqua and teal tea cups last year. I ordered 2 more Colclough tea sets this month along with a tiered cake stand, creamer and an adorable pin cushion.
The two tea sets match one that my mother gave to me from her collection. Hers was pale blue and these two are pale yellow.
I have searched many op-shops and vintage stores, here in Australia, looking for tea sets but Rachel just seems to have exactly what I am looking for. Her prices and postage, from the UK, are so reasonable and she packs everything well.
Rachel also threw in free pincushion and a recipe to try...it's those little touches that I love!
So this is my tea set collection. Just missing one more to make 8. I'll keep my eye out for that in her store.
And what a great idea to turn one into a pincushion. It's gone straight to my sewing room.
