I love Sherlock Holmes. I’ve read all the stories many times. I’ve introduced him to the next generation, and now my children love him too. We’ve followed Sherlock from print to screen: Basil Rathbone, Jeremy Brett, Robert Downey Jr., and now Benedict Cumberbatch as the modern Sherlock.

So what is it about Sherlock Holmes that keeps him alive generation after generation? Is it the mysteries themselves? No. While they are interesting, there is something more. I think we read and reread the stories for Sherlock himself. We love him for all his oddities and quirks. We revel in the tobacco in the Persian slipper and are positively thrilled by a three pipe problem. There really is no one like Sherlock Holmes.

He must not have been an easy man to live with. Watson had moments of irritation at Holme’s arrogance, and frustration at his reticence. But, he also had the thrill of the chase, and he did get a wife out of one of their cases.

Scotland Yard definitely had a love/hate relationship with the great detective, but he did help them solve their mysteries, and made them look good to public in the process.

There is one person, though, who seems to have put up with much without any tangible benefit: Mrs. Hudson, the faithful housekeeper. Her home was invaded by all sorts of “interesting” people at odd hours, and I’m sure that the indoor revolver practice was not appreciated. But, I think her biggest frustration had to be preparing meals for Sherlock Holmes, as shown by the following excerpts.

“My friend had no breakfast himself, for it was one of his peculiarities that in his more intense moments he would permit himself no food, and I have known him to presume upon his iron strength until he fainted from pure inanition.”-The Norwood Builder

“All that day and the next and the next Holmes was in a mood which his friends would call taciturn, and others morose. He ran out and in, smoked incessantly, played snatches on his violin, sank in reveries, devoured sandwiches at irregular hours, and hardly answered the casual questions I put to him.”-The Second Stain

“Mrs. Hudson, the landlady of Sherlock Holmes, was a long-suffering woman. Not only was her first-floor flat invaded at all hours by throngs of singular and often undesirable characters, but her remarkable lodger showed an eccentricity and irregularity in his life which must have sorely tried her patience.”-The Dying Detective

I’m sure there were many times the tea pot sat waiting while Holmes was out chasing down a clue. So, to honor the patient Mrs. Hudson, and all who keep the tea pot warm while waiting for their loved ones to come home, here’s Mrs. Hudson’s Tea Cozy.

The stitch pattern chosen for the body of the cozy is known as Puzzle Stitch by the French. The puzzle is, how many of the eight rows in the pattern are purled? The answer is one, but it seems to stump many people when looking at the finished fabric. Since Holmes is a detective, it seemed appropriate that there should be some mystery even regarding his teapot. The ruffle at the top is a nod to the Victorian era.

Pattern is written out line by line.

Note on yardage: I used one complete ball. There were only a few yards left, so you may want to purchase one extra ball to ensure you have enough yarn.