Gryffindor Scarf

I'm so excited to have finished this project. I had seen this pattern online, but I had not gotten around to doing it. Then a couple of weeks ago, a new knitting book came out full of Harry Potter patterns (Charmed Knits) and I decided to work on a bunch of Harry Potter projects, starting with a Gryffindor scarf.



The scarf itself was pretty easy to make - it was knit in the round so to get the stockinette look, I just had to knit and knit and knit (no purling or other stitches). That did make it a bit boring to work on at times, but by remembering what I would have at the end, I was able to keep up with it.



The fringing was a new technique for me but it wasn't that difficult. Of course I did run into my usual problem with binding off too tightly so that one end was not as wide as the other, which affected the fringe. If you count, you can see that one side has two more pieces of fringe than the other because one side just held more. Oops! I really do need to start binding off using a large needle to see if that will work for me.



So here's the scarf on me. It's the height of summer right now so I won't be needing it any time soon (nor do I want the weather to get colder - I can wait to wear it). Sorry about the photo being dark - I used a mirror so couldn't use a flash.



Next up for a scarf is a Slytherin one for Jarrett. I also plan to make house socks, Quidditch socks, a Quidditch sweater, and smaller scarves to be used as bookmarks. And that's just what I have yarn for - there's plenty more patterns to be found in the book!

Edited August 16, 2010 to add what yarn was used.

Yarn: Cascade 220 Wool in Burgundy (#2413) and Gold (#7827)
Note: The Charmed Knits book has a list of recommended colors for all houses in this yarn, Cascade 220 Superwash, Plymouth Encore, Lang Jawoll Sport, Knit Picks Essential, Jaeger Matchmaker DK, Brown Sheep Nature Spun Worsed, and Jamieson's Double Knitting. So it's well worthwhile to buy the book just to get the color selections already done for you.

Husky Dog

I have a book called World of Knitted Toys, which is what I used when I made the snake for Kyle. Jarrett was really excited to see a husky pattern inside as he loves huskies. So I made it for him and finished this morning - just in time as today is his birthday.

I'm not sure how much he truly looks like a husky, but it's a cute little thing. I'm glad I was able to find blue eyes - Jarrett says that it's not a husky without blue eyes.





I did run into a few problems while I was knitting this. The yarns that I used were two different brands and although they looked like they were the same weight, they knitted up quite differently. My first attempt at the body created a very tiny grey piece and a large white piece which just looked awful together. So I tried again, going up two needles sizes for the grey. It's still a little smaller, but looks much better than the first one. I also couldn't figure out how to get the feet to turn so the legs are just straight down, but I don't think it looks that bad. He doesn't want to stand up, so I did have to fix the front two legs to get him to stand - I'll ask Jarrett if he wants me to do the back legs also or if he's okay like this. Lots of seaming and sewing together - tasks I don't like very much, but he's cute and will make Jarrett happy, so it's worth it.

Yarn used:
Grey - Plymouth Yarn (80% Baby Alpaca; 20% Acrylic)
White - Sensations Beautiful (49% Acrylic; 51% Nylon)

More Small Felted Purses

I think I went crazy with the small felted purse. I've made two more in the past couple of weeks, trying to use up some of my yarn stash.



So here are all four purses that I've finished together.

Bib #2

I've been a bit behind in keeping up with posting what I've been knitting. I finished this second bib about a month ago. Since my brother-in-law and his wife are expecting the baby at the end of July, this means I finished way ahead of schedule. Now I just need to make sure that I mail it to them with plenty of time!

My First Sock!!

Yes, I do mean sock. I've finished the first one of a pair. I should probably wait until finishing the second sock before posting this as a finished project, but I was so excited with how the first one turned out that I had to write about it.

Here's the beginning of the sock, working on the cuff:


And here's where I'm working on the heel:


I couldn't resist trying it on well before it was done:


And here are a few final shots of me wearing the finished sock!

Bib #1

I'm working on a set of bibs for my brother-in-law and his wife, who are expecting their first baby this summer. This is the first bib, in purple. It was a little difficult because I had to create the five petal pieces separately, put them on stitch holders, and then knit them all together. But the challenge was worthwhile because I love the way the bib turned out.



For the other bibs, I have some pink yarn, so I'll do one completely in pink. Then, since the petals are done separately, I'm going to do two more bibs with some variation in the pink and purple (either all the petals and the tie in one color and the body in another or alternating petals in the pink and purple - I haven't completely decided yet).

Pattern: Petal Bib from One Skein
Yarn: Rowan Calmer (75% cotton; 25% acrylic)

Fingerless Mittens

I've been having really cold hands in the apartment, which makes it difficult to read and knit at times, so I decided to make some fingerless mittens. I had one ball of beautiful purple Malabrigo, so I decided it would be perfect and feel really nice against my hands.

Here's a picture of the first mitten in progress:



And here's the finished fingerless mittens. I wore the first one while knitting the second. And I've been wearing both of them most of the day since finishing them. My hands are definitely thanking me!



I learned a new technique with these. For the thumb hole, on one row I bound off four stitches and then on the next I cast back on those four stitches. I've never cast on stitches in the middle of a row before (I had to look up how to do it), but I think it turned out well.

Pattern: The Wave Hand Warmers from One-Skein Wonders edited by Judith Durant
Yarn: Malabrigo (kettle dyed pure merino wool and oh so soft!) in Purple Mystery
Needles: Size 8 double pointed

One Skein Felted Purse - Yellow and Green

Last month I made a little felted purse and fell in love with it. I had to make another one. Since it's knitted with two strands of yarn, I thought I'd try using two different colors. So I checked my stash and grabbed a green and yellow. One again, it came out rather nicely, although the colors aren't ones that I personally love. But that's okay as this is definitely one that I made specifically for the silent auction, so I hope someone else will like it. I also think that if I do another one, I'll try using i-cord for the handle.

Here's the purse before felting.



And then after felting, where the colors have blended in together rather nicely. (Still drying in the picture, hence the reason for the plastic bags you can see poking out of the inside.) Once it is dry, I'm going to add a magnetic button closure to it.



Here are the specs:
Pattern: One-Skein Felted Purse from One-Skein Wonders
Yarn: KnitPicks Wool of the Andes (100% Peruvian Highland Wool) in Forest Green Heather and Daffodil
Needles: Size 11 circular (24"); changed to straight needles for handle

Beanie

Jarrett doesn't have a hat and it's gotten pretty cold here, so I thought I'd try making one for him. I used the same yarn as the yarn in the "Tank Purse" since I have a lot of it still. Well, the hat turned out nicely, but I wasn't thinking ahead about fit, so it's too small for Jarrett. I'll have to do another one in a larger size for him. So I've tried it on myself - I don't really think I'm much of a beanie person, but it does fit me. Perhaps this will be another item for the silent auction in November. (I'm looking down in the picture so I can see the viewing screen on my camera. It's the best picture of the lot that I took, but the only one where I was looking down. *shrug*)



Pattern: The London Beanie
Yarn: KP Swish Superwash (100% Superwash Wool) – Bordeaux
Needles: Size 8 double pointed

Tank Purse

Okay, so I was working on the Tank Girl pattern in the first SNB book, a project I started way back in August. A project that I started before I truly understood the importance of yarn weight, needle size, and test swatches. Why is this important? Because the pattern used a bulky yarn with size 9 needles and I was using worsted and size 8. *sigh* I had gotten to the point of shaping the armholes:




But the whole time I was working on this (the back panel), I was wondering about the width. It seemed a bit narrow. I held it up to myself and noticed that it didn't stretch across my back to the sides unless I pulled on it a lot. Hmm...that would be a problem. I looked at the pattern again and noticed the difference in yarn and needle size. I also noticed a sketch that showed the dimensions of the piece. The width should have been 16-1/4 inches (or something close to that). What was mine? Only 9-1/2 inches!! Eek! No wonder it seemed a bit narrow. *big sigh* What to do? I didn't want to frog it all and start over. I just didn't have the heart. So I decided to make something different out of it.

An easy fold and some seaming and I had myself a purse! I did an i-cord handle (my first time with i-cord, which turned out nicely) and was happy with it:



The part where I had started the armhole shaping became the flap of the purse.



But there was one problem. When I held the purse by the handle, it sagged a LOT. So much so that it made the purse almost useless. So I decided to line it. I found this patterned felt and decided to try it. But I also used plastic canvas underneath to give it stiffness.



Well, the purse is now stiff and holds up perfectly when you hold the handle. But I think it might be a little too stiff and since I sewed the bottoms together, it is a bit narrow now on the inside. It definitely won't hold my fat wallet. I should have done a separate panel for the bottom. Grr.

Oh, well, I definitely learned a lot while working on this project (which I'm calling Tank Purse since it was originally a tank top pattern), and I hope I can use my lessons to benefit future projects. As for this purse, I'm not sure yet what I'm going to do with it. I used fabric glue to insert the panels, so I'm not sure if I can take them out. I might try to do that and then go buy more felt and try it without the plastic canvas. But I don't know if I can get the glue to unstick.

Original pattern: Tank Girl from SNB - adapted into a purse
Yarn: KP Swish Superwash (100% Superwash Wool) – Bordeaux
Needles: Size 8