Time for Tea

By Rob Newton

All of this came about as I was in my kitchen one day, missing my sister terribly.  She and I love to sit and share a cup of tea together. “I wish I could just send her a cup of tea!” I announced to no one in particular.  Since I am known for being just a wee bit on the silly side, I knew there was something I could do to let her know I was thinking about her. While the cup of tea was impossible, a tea bag in an envelope was not!  This was not out of the ordinary for me, as I had done something equally as strange years ago when my mother was recovering from heart surgery.

I was far away and had no money to travel home to be with her or purchase get well cards.  So, I did the next best thing.  I scraped my pennies together and bought a pack of construction paper, some tape and glue and a small box of envelopes.  Before her surgery, I sat and made a few cards at first and then just a little get well sign, decorating it as a  small child would do.  Soon I realized I had quickly run out of ideas.  Since it was around Easter, I somehow figured out how to make a basket out of the construction paper and toothpicks (toothpicks for stability) and when the handle on the basket was pulled up, a bunny appeared over the rim.  That was my piece de resistance  – in other words, my brain was finished.  From then on it was construction paper flowers, stars, hearts, all placed in an envelope and sent to Mom in the hospital.  Mom, of course, loved every one of them.  No notes, just silly little brightly colored shapes.  She knew my personality and could imagine me sitting at my kitchen table, laughing until tears streamed down my face – imagining how she would react when she opened her envelope of the day.  Little did I know, she was proudly showing each day’s treasures to the nursing staff and her doctor.  They, too, looked forward to seeing what her daughter had sent.

When the basket with the bunny arrived she showed it to her doctor and he said, “Your daughter is very talented!” Mom replied, “Yes!  And can you guess how old she is?”  The doctor, carefully weighing his response said, “Eight?”

Mom laughed and said, “Close!!!  She is 21!”

I am sure everyone began to question my sanity when they saw pieces of black paper shaped similarly like those below fall out of the envelope one day.

Four of them.  Again, no  note was included.  Mom had no clue.  Luckily, I was able to call and explain how I had run out of ideas and at the last moment, grabbed my cat and traced her paws, each of them – separately.  I must add, the cat was none too pleased about the process.

The point of all of this is to let you know you do not have to spend a fortune to let someone know you are thinking about them.

My wanting to just tuck a tea bag into an envelope and send it to my sister – no note – just my return address would let her know exactly what I was thinking turned into the new Tea Bag Holder sets now available on the website. With Heidi’s digitizing talent, we took some simple thoughts and ideas and turned them into quic-to-stitch projects!

Getting back to that day in the kitchen, I took a piece of printer paper, cut it into the size for a 4 x 4 hoop and began to play with it until I came up with the design I wanted – one which would fit in an envelope.  The different wording could relay any thoughts I had at the time.

This expanded into thoughts of birthdays, graduations, weddings, bridal showers – the list goes on.

While my idea is to send a tea bag, you could just as easily place a check or cash into the holder and send it along.

Designs By SiCK and I have been honored by having an article about “Tea” and the tea bag project accepted and published in Designs in Machine Embroidery Magazine (issue #63, July-Aug 2010).  The article in the magazine is completely different from this one – as it explores the reasons behind “Tea” as an event and the different uses for the tea bag holders (weddings, birthdays, fundraisers, etc).

I hope you take with this the idea of sharing your life with others. Take a moment to call a friend or relative.  Visit someone who cannot come to visit you.  Have tea with a child or grandchild.  Stitch out a tea bag holder and put your favorite tea bag in it and send it to a friend or relative. Make someone smile.

You can click below to see the two sets of of tea bag holders:

Tea Bag Holders 1

Tea Bag Holders 2

Click below for complete instructions:

Tea Bag Holder Instructions