After seeing a truly unusual tea cozy in the window of a shop in SF Jay challenged me to make an even uglier tea cozy. So for his birthday I am doing my best. I know in his mind extra colors and extra texture are ugly so I’m hoping this will be just the trick.

9/17 - Oops, perfect pattern except I don’t know what a FPDC is. We’ll call it a learning opportunity!
9/17 (later) - Quick internet tutorial and FPDC is easy-peasy-lemon squeezy. Of course making the scallops is still a little tricky for a newish crocheter. I’m not going to say difficult-difficult-lemon difficult, but definitely something. I’d call this a class III crochet project and since I’m a class I crocheter…well you get the idea.
9/21 - I’m 8 or so scallop rows in and it’s definitely coming along. The crocheting is pretty straight forward now that I’ve got the hang of it. I can say Jay’s going to find it really ugly, though I find it somewhat attractive in a Carmen-Miranda-Bathing-Cap kind of way.
9/25 - Went to Target and got an attractive teapot to hide in this monstrosity. Don’t get me wrong, I still think it’s cute in that Carmen Miranda bathing cap way. It’s just a bit, shall we say, “much.” Both sides are done and what’s left is the weaving in of ends (so many ends) and sewing up. Let’s pray it fits.
9/28 - So it fits - a little wonky but it fits. And if Jay doesn’t find this to be the ugliest tea cozy he’s ever seen I’ll be surprised. It is so very like the crochet items that he’s berated before.
10/2 - He likes it! He says it surpasses his expectations. He agrees it is ugly and functional…in that it will keep tea warm better than any granny square would what with all its holes. Ah, what a relief!