Best laid plans

Uh, yeah. I changed the sweater again. But this is it! I promise!

So, what changes? Well, a comment written by Miss Lauren said that the bottom of the sweater is actually done like a polo shirt- a slit on each side and the back slightly longer than the front. However, I looked at the PoA scenes in the hospital wing, and I think that might have been changed from the first two movies. I am also positive that I saw a stripe at the bottom of the sweater- not large, but a few rows. It also showed, quite definitely, that it is done in a 2x2 rib until the stripe around the neck. Then it goes into a 1x1 to the bind off. And I think I already mentioned the sleeves being worked down from the shoulder.

Speaking of Lauren, check out her blog for some awesome pics of her Quidditch socks. Shots of both Gryffindor and movie!Ravenclaw. I can't wait for the pattern on those!

Still working on Puffs. Like I said, they are very addictive, and I recently picked up several more colors. Is there anyone else who thinks the fact that Berroco Plush's green is named "Sprout" is funny? Or is it just me?

Well, some real world stuff calls and I should get to it. The sooner it's done the sooner I can get back to the sweater, Puffs and scarves (including a PS Ravenclaw).

Quidditch sweater/ Puffs- betcha can't make just one

The yarn for my Quidditch sweater came last night. I cast on and started working, but ripped it out after a few rounds and began again today. Why? Well, originally I was doing a 1x1 rib all the way, but I didn't really like it. So now I'm going to use a K2P1 rib all the way up.

I also decided to work the sleeves from the top down. That will do two things: 1) I won't have to set them into place (yay!) and 2) I can more easily line up my black stripe with the body so they will be even. This means that the only seaming to take place will be the shoulders. Yay for that!

I've also been playing with the Pygmy Puff pattern, and as mentioned earlier, I have it the way I want. Since it's a bit changed from what I've given out, I thought I'd just post it here. Feel free to skip this. :)


I make mine out of Plush yarn, but anything that is soft, brushes up a bit and you have lying around will work.

Using US4 (3.5mm) needles, cast on 9 stitches.

Row 1: Knit 6. Turn.
Row 2: Purl 3. Turn.
Row 3: Knit 5. Turn.
Row 4: Purl 7. Turn.
Row 5: Knit to end.
Row 6: Purl to end.

Repeat rows 1-6 five more times. Bind off all stitches, leaving a long tail. Sew "top" together (I use a running stitch and draw it closed like you would the top of a hat), then seam down the back. Turn the piece so the purl side is out. Stuff firmly with polyfill and close the "bottom". Weave yarn ends into piece. Apply a face with beads or scraps of yarn and brush to bring up a halo (a cat's slicker brush works great).

That's all there is to it! I should warn you that they are addictive and once you start you may want a whole bunch of them. Oh, for authenticity's sake, the colors mentioned in the book were shades of purple and pink. But feel free to use your favorite colors.

New Knit Along Group!

Just have to give this a bit of promotion because I know several people are planning on having sweaters ready for Halloween/conventions/movie-time. Might as well do it all together in a group, right? Head on over to the HP Sweater Knit Along, which has just opened up. Basically, it's for anyone making any HP sweater, except the Weasley Sweaters (there's a site just for that!), so come on over and show your sweater-making skills!

Speaking of HP sweaters, my yarn for my Hufflepuff Quidditch sweater has shipped. And I got my patches the other day. Loving the Huffle one and the Quidditch World Cup is rather cool. That will be going on the denim jacket soon (unless I can find a good shot of Ireland's uniform sweater).

Still perfecting the Puffs. I think I've got a final pattern worked out. It's nice to be able to work on even when it is too hot and muggy to have a lap full of wool! Which is another way of saying that the scarves and shawl are languishing for the moment.

Pygmy Puffs, v 2.0

I figured out how to shrink the Puffs down to where I think they should be. They are roughly 1 inch in diameter. Somehow that seems more like the size of the balls of fluff Ginny ooh'd and ahh'd over in the shop, don't you think?

I still like my larger version and will keep it happily nearby, but these are just too adorable and fun to not make more in various colors- including the authentic purple and pink.

Now I need to see if I can find some squeak-toy inserts so I can put that in. I think that would be fun if they made noise when you handled them.

I've gotta do it!

I apologize to anyone not done reading yet, but I have to share this! It's my version of the pygmy puffs the twins were selling in their shop. I'm planning on a whole flock... herd... what do you call a group of puffs... coming to live with me very soon. :D

Book break

I took a few days off from the internet to read HBP. Now that I've finished it I'm back, but some of the things I wanted to say would be potential spoilers, so I'm going to keep quiet on it. :)

While waiting for the book, I did get a few more bars done on the Hufflepuff scarf and the second Gryffindor bar on the Dumbledore scarf.

I've also ordered both yarn and patches for my Quidditch sweater (Hufflepuff, natch!). I decided to go with the Knit Picks Merino Style yarn, which is what I used for the Dumbledore. The colors will be Honey and Coal. (mmm! soft and yummy sounding!)

I've also ordered a Quidditch World Cup patch, the original idea being to replicate the Ireland sweaters, but I have grave doubts of seeing their uniforms, so that will likely go on the sleeve of my denim jacket. And the Muggles can just wonder! ;)

I've got a couple of inches done on the baby blanket. I really like the colors. It almost seems to fall in blocks and diagonals. Neat.

Progress Report

Here are the scarves so far. The Hufflepuff one (which isn't quite as bright as it looks here) will have a total of 13 trapped bars in it. I'll work on that while I'm waiting for the book (a bit more "authentic" ;) ). The Dumbledore scarf (which is really a bit more grape-purple than it looks here) will have another repeat of the four houses and then it will reverse itself to go down the other side, so there will be 16 bars total. I'm estimating it will be somewhere between 9 and 10 feet long when finished.

Oh, and I found some patches for the Quidditch sweaters at Patch Palace, so I'll be starting a Hufflepuff Quidditch sweater very soon! Although I love working with the Nature Spun, I am so in love with both the feel and the color of the Merino Style that I think that will be what the sweater is made of. Yay, me!

Brown. Definitely brown.

OK. The Ravenclaw bar is done and I'm half-way to the Slytherin. Now that I have the blue on either side and the purple done as well, I'm seeing that the Cinnamon I chose is more to the brown than the bronze. So I have two options: 1) let it ride since it's only 6 rows and occurs 4 times in the scarf, or 2) rip it out and use some of the grey I got for the Slytherin bars and have movie colors instead of book. Anyone got an opinion?

A great idea from Lauren about the bookmarks- she used one ply from some left-over worsted yarn to make one. She did tell me that you can't yank too hard on the yarn, but that it works great on the size 1 needles. I have some acrylic in Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw colors, so I may give that a try. With T- 2 days and a few hours, I should probably get a move on it if I'd like to use it for my reading.

Bronze or brown?

Amazingly, the Dumbledore scarf seems to be going more quickly than the Huffle. I'm in the middle of the third bar (Ravenclaw) right now. I'm not entirely sure on the "bronze" I picked. It seems a bit too much on the brown side, but it was the best choice if I wanted to go with book colors and not use a different yarn. It should be all right, though, especially since it is only a small bit of the entire thing.

I have been switching back and forth between the two, and did mess up the Huffle scarf. I knitted the bars in the gauge for the Dumbledore one. So I had to unknit a few rows. Thank goodness I caught it quickly. Now I have 2 bars done on that and half-way to the third.

So, expect pics in the next day or so.

In my HP love-fest, I can't forget about Os and Vs. The poor baby has been left alone for the last week, but I'll keep working on her, too. But, this week belongs to Harry Potter!

Rethink

I finished the first Gryffindor bar on the Dumbledore scarf last night. And may I say, the burgundy and gold look great against the purple ground. :)

But. I am going to have to do some retooling on the purple. Since I am pretty much making this as I go (loosely basing it on Lauren's pattern, of course), I had to guestimate how much yarn I'd need. I ordered 10 skeins of the purple but if I do 5 inches between bars I won't have enough to do all 16 bars. So I think what I'll do is leave the ends at 5 inches and shorten the interior sections to 4 or 4 1/2. It's probably just as well since the original idea would have been a little over 10 feet long! Much too much for my 5'3" self. This way I won't run into dye-lot problems and can still make the fringe. *wipes brow*

Fortunately, the Huffle scarf is running into no problems. One miscalculation at a time!

Here a scarf, there a scarf, everywhere a...

Well, you get the idea.

I got through the first trapped bar on my Huffle scarf. The yellow is a touch brighter than I would have liked, but it may tone down after washing. Either way, I'm liking it more and more now that the black is in the mix.

I'm almost at the first bar for the Dumbledore scarf. I really am looking forward to seeing how those work out. Hmm. If I haven't finished it by the movie I suppose I could bring it with me to work on while waiting in line, right? Naturally the Huffle must be done by movie day. :)

Also, someone on the HP Knitting LJ posted a link for a PoA style bookmark that is too cute and I just have to share. How sweet would one of those be? I may have to make some up in each of the House colors.

Once I have a few of the bars done on each of the scarves, I'll post a progress pic.

The Future Dumbledore Scarf

Lookie what came in the mail for me today! I've got the colors laid out in the House pairs- Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw (book) and Slytherin. As you can see, I couldn't wait to cast on and start! I also got my yarn for my Hufflepuff scarf, which I also cast on and started. The challenge will be to remember how many rounds I do on each scarf since this is DK weight and the Huffle is worsted. Ah well, I can't wait until I have enough progress to show the different stripes!

And, yes, I will be working on one or the other while awaiting the book next Friday night. Even though the release party I'm going to is online with friends, as I ordered the book from Amazon. ;)

Tobey's New Clothes

I made a quick cozy for Tobey the other night. Problem was, I was lazy and didn't swatch or measure him thoroughly enough and it's a bit large. The cutout for the display window worked out well, but since I mostly use him when I go walking, I don't normally look at the window. So I think the next one will just be a closed sleeve that fits a bit more snuggly. I can get the trapped bars a bit further apart, too, so they look more balanced.

I'm still waiting on the yarn for both the Hufflepuff PoA scarf and my Dumbledore scarf. In the meantime, I've been working on Os and Vs, who is growing steadily. I also forgot about the cross-stitched throw I wanted to make. I got a book of HP designs and had some Anne cloth that was already fringed. It'll be about crib-size, so I may hang it on the wall, instead. Anyway, I charted out several designs for the squares. The four House banners are in the corners, Hogwarts' crest in the center and owls, rats, books, wands, etc. in various other squares. Maybe I should work on that, too.

It's official

Os and Vs will be travelling when she is done. My aunt is having a milestone birthday this fall, and the color will go perfectly on her, so off it will go. Which, of course, means that I need to find something for myself for an "everyday" shawl. How badly do I want Molly's shawl from PoA? I'm going to have to go through the movie and capture stills to see how much of it I can figure out.

Since I have fully embraced my Huffle nature, as noted in the last post, I think that Tobey needs to be sporting some Badger Pride, too. Tobey, for anyone who may not know, is my MP3 player. He is a Zen, not an IPod (all right! I'm too cheap to spring for the Apple!). There are several patterns out there for IPods, but since the shape and location of buttons are different for the Zen I'll have to come up with something myself. I think I have some yarn that will be safe to use on it. That might be a quick thing for tonight.

There comes a time when you simply have to bow to fate

And, as a friend of mine just told me, I am a Hufflepuff. Not a Ravenclaw. This, of course, explains the reason that I can't get the blue yarn right.

So, I have decided to listen to what the voices of reason have been trying to tell me. After all, I am rather proud of my Hufflepuff nature, so I should show it outwardly. Therefore, some Nature Spun worsted is on its way to me in Proud Puff colors.

I'm not giving up the Dobby socks, though.