Category My Non-Crochet Hobbies

Vanilla Cream Spice – Davidson’s Organics Brand

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Ingredients: Organic barley (wheat), organic cinnamon, organic chicory, organic chamomile, organic carob, organic rooibos, and natural flavor.

Thoughts: You know that smell that is fresh, warm, gooey, cinnamon rolls? That is what this tea smells like. That creamy combination that is cinnamon coated in vanilla cream.

The taste however, doesn’t quite meet the promise that the smell gives. I find it tastes a lot like a basic black tea does, just with a little more sweetness to it. It it a good tea, just not one that I would drink a lot of.

Breakfast in Paris – Stash Brand

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Breakfast in Paris, from Stash Brand Tea, www.stashtea.com

Ingredients: Blended black teas, lavender, bergamot oil, vanilla extract.

My thoughts:

So I drink all my teas without adding anything to them…atleast the first couple of times I drink them. If you like tart teas, or teas with a bite to them, this is defiantly the tea for you. Personally, I think my next cup will absolutely have some sugar and possibly some milk added to it.

Its not a bad tea, just not one I would keep on hand as a daily drink. If you a fan of the bermot and black tea combo, it is very strong in this tea, I just barely deducted the lavender and vanilla.

As always, I am not being paid to write this.

Earl Grey – Twinings of London

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Twinings has been around since 1706. It’s one of the oldest tea companies in the world.

Their Earl Grey Tea is black tea that contains bergamot peel and other natural flavoring. It is a high caffeinated tea., but does have a decaf version available. You can ordered from the website for Twinings of London in both bagged and loose leaf versions.

Among the health benefits to drinking black tea, are its ingredients that help with blood cholesterol and help reduce the risk of heart disease.

I will admit that the Twinings Earl Grey is a staple in my house. I’ve been drinking it on and off since I was a teenager. Tea drinking is a daily thing with the women on my mother’s side of the family.

I drink the bagged version that can be found at most grocery stores. It’s a good black tea that has a bit of a kick to it. It’s also one of the few teas that I have had that is still drinkable when its at room temperature.

Lady Grey a la Crème Black Tea = The Spice and Tea Exchange

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I am not being paid to write this

The Lady Grey a la Crème Black Tea from The Spice and Tea Exchange is a good, light tasting Earl Grey tea. It contains the standard Earl Grey tea ingredients along with lavender, lemon and orange zest and vanilla.

It is sold as a loose leaf tea and has a high caffeine content. I bought the 2 oz bag, but you can buy it in other sizes from www.spiceandtea.com or from one of their many brick and mortar locations. They do have a large number of teas that do tend to come and go as the seasons change.

I very much think of this as more of a dessert tea or even a tea for the early mornings where the outdoor weather is going to be hot out. It is not a robust as a regular Earl Grey, but it does have the same bite to it, just not a strong of a bite.

Victorian Dress Update

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So back in April 2020, I announced that I would be making a Victorian Era day dress circa 1880s.

I’ve finally begun to make some decisions with this project.

I have 10 yards of a burgundy pongee (yes this is a historically accurate fabric choice) currently on order. I’ll still need to get an accent fabric for the overskirt and to use with the bodice. I also still need to get trimmings and other odds and ends.

I also picked up 8 yards of a grey plaid fabric. I plan on making an 1886 walking skirt with it as practice before I start the actual dress. I have a bustle pad already from a dress I mad some years ago, but I do have a new one on order.

Given that my 1971 Industrial Janome is in desperate need of repair, and I have yet to find a dealer locally who can repair it, I will most likely be doing the bulk of the sewing by hand. I will be starting the skirt next week. I’ll be post updates here and on my Instagram (octojellycrochet) for those who would like to follow along.

Sewing Project : Victorian Dress

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So, over the weekend I went and ordered some patterns. I still need to get 2 more, but I have the 4 main ones that I will need.

I ordered them from TruelyVictorian.info. (I am in no way reimbursed for this plug)

I will, probably for the next few years, be attempting to make a Victorian Day Dress circa 1880s. The tail bodice is circa 1883, the overskirt is circa 1886, the underskirt is circa 1885, and I’ll be using a corset pattern from 1880.

I still need to get a chemise pattern and a bustle pattern. I just need to do some more research on the types of bustles and chemises from that era to decide which route I want to go.

I have no idea what colors will be in this dress, nor what types of accents I’ll be using.

I’m waiting on the patterns to get here so I can see what materials are recommended. After that, once I decide materials, I’ll decide on colors.

As previously mentioned, this is a multi year project, and that’s for a number of reasons. The first being that I do not currently own a dress form. The second being space. I don’t have space for a sewing machine, which is fine, because if I stay period true to this dress, I’ll be doing a lot of hand sewing.

I’ll post more on this project at a later date.

Back to the crochet work for the time being.