I drink tea all year round, but I feel most drawn to those cozy moments in early spring and late fall as I plan the flowers for my garden. My favorites are colorful and long-blooming dahlias. After all the work of digging, dividing, and storing dahlia tubers, I enjoy a cozy cup of tea and dream of colors I want to add to my collection the following year. Months later, as winter ends and spring begins, I again warm my hands with a cup of tea and make sketches and lists in my journal, dreaming of armfuls of flowers into late fall. For this issue, it is spring in the northern hemisphere, and fall in the southern hemisphere, so a tea cozy seemed a great fit for those two seasonal moods.

I prefer a tea cozy that has holes for the spout and handle instead of one that has to be removed to pour the tea. The slits for the handles are created by placing half of the stitches on holders and working the stranded colorwork on the front, separate from the back. You might find it fun to try purling backwards on this small project! You can choose to turn the work instead, but because it is stranded, it could be easier to keep the right side facing you. This tea cozy is worked flat from the bottom up, with increases to shape the bottom. After creating the openings for the handle and spout, the piece is joined in the round and pleats gather the fabric to define the top. Extra height is worked before the pleats to create an insulating air pocket. This also allows the tea cozy to fit different heights and shapes of teapots. One skein each of two colors will make two sizes of the tea cozy if you reverse Color A and Color B for the second cozy. See the yarn review for other possible color combinations.