I Finished It!

I've been working on it since last September, it is fitting that I should finish it now, just as that month restarts. It is fitting, also, as it feels like an epic battle, just like a Harry Potter book, all that occurs from one September to the next.... Slow in the beginning with minor struggles. A bombardment in the middle, tailing off again... finishing with frantic knitting,with over a hundred rows being knitted in the last week alone.

This scarf has been with me for so many different steps in the past year, helped me to survive and carry on. Now,as I open a new Chapter, I hope it will follow me as well (unless I'm not placed in the blue house at my new school...)

In celebration of my finishing of this scarf, I will bring to you a new feature every Monday for the next 2months: Knitting in Potter, looking at the various references and gorgeous knitwear pieces that the films have bought to us, finishing with the culmination-I will be visiting The Making of Harry Potter Leavesden Studio Tour at the end of October!

Where, of course, this little(very long) scarf, will take an outing.

In case you haven't latched on yet, this is my Ravenclaw Scarf. Not finished entirely, admittedly - I would like to add tassel's at some point. But, it works well enough without them.

Pattern came from the Book 'Charmed Knits' by Alison Hansel, and is usually available on Amazon. I used the pattern for years 3-4, purely because I like it better. There are a plethora of different pattern is in a range of different abilities, and I thoroughly recommend it for anyone knitting for a Potter fan.

This has been my faithful WIP for the last Year, I really need another one... small projects cannily sustain so much....Back to the drawing board, I guess...



Craft Review: Week 11: Sunday 4th March - Saturday 10th March

Sunday

I started knitting another owl today! It's for a friend who is coming to visit next week... I tried to guess the colours I would want/need for her and chose a lovely blue, orange and yellow. Very bright, quite neon, and I think very her (her birthday card was neon orange and green, and she loved it...)

Monday

I finished off the little owl by stitching him together. Isn't he/she cute?

Tuesday

After school art, as always. So close to finishing, I can almost feel the elation.

Wednesday

Using this wonderful pattern fromSimply Notable, I began knitting for my mother for Mothers Day. It's a 'Teabag Cosie' as far as I can tell, which tickles me somewhat, and as my mother drinks truckloads of tea, I figured it appropriate.

Thursday

Art lessons, and art after school. I finished! Finally... Now I can fully focus on my exam work. I will get round to, at some point, finishing up my coursework posts. I don't have a picture yet, because I forgot my camera.

Friday

Today, I made a Red Heart, much the same as I did for my mother's birthday. This will be for my friend's mother, who is also coming for the weekend. The only thing that I changed was that instead of putting a bead there, I knotted it anyway (mainly because I've run out of beads).

Saturday

I was doing a fair bit of homework today, including a sprinkling of art. This sprinkling included some Artist Research from Van Gogh, Michael Craig-Martin and  MCS Escher...

Craft Review: Week 8: Sunday 12th February - Saturday 18th February

This week was half term, so I've done far too much sleeping. And watching films. And rubbish things on TV... But it also means I get more crafty time (and more homework -_-). So this is what I did.
Sunday

Today, I picked up my Ravenclaw Scarf again, and by Jove it's getting long. I'm still following the pattern from Charmed Knits, but it prescribes fourteen colour block pairs, and I have just completed the eighth, and it's already nearly as tall as me! But I will continue on, I want one so badly, I'm not going to give up because I think it's monstrously long.

Monday

I went into town and bought 10 balls of wool for £7.00. Now that's a bargain. The cheapest ones I can find anywhere else are usually£2.50 at least. I will definitely be returning there again. I also finished this cushion I've been working on for a few months. It's the embroidery, I swear, it puts me off. I also knitted another tiny little owl, just for fun this time.

Tuesday
Today, I made R2D2! I had a lot of fun, and it's very rewarding to make a pattern yourself. It's sparked a whole load of ideas for me, and I can't wait to try and knit something else!

Wednesday

Today, in the breaks between the hairdressers and the opticians, and going regular shopping (such a bore, considering we didn't spend nearly enough time in Waterstones), I managed to knit up half a square for my Harry Potter Quilt. This one will be based on Sherbet Lemons, Dumbledore's favourite Muggle sweet, as is often expressed during the first few books.

A tradition of ours: Sock photography.

Thursday

I went Craft Shopping!!! We went to Hobbycraft, and my mother had to restrain me from buying everything. So, instead, I narrowed it down to what I needed: 5 Plain Plastic full face masks (for my art project); and what I really wanted, which equated to: 4 mini canvases, and a book on knitting cakes. Yumyumyum.
I also then went to Becky's for a sleepover, so there wasn't much time anywhere.

Friday

I was wiped out from Becky's (there are only so many films one can watch in one sitting, and I think three is pushing it at two in the morning...), so I spent the afternoon sleeping, doodling and writing. I actually finished the first chapter of a story I'm writing. It'll need tweaking, but if anyone wants to read it, leave a comment and perhaps one day I'll post an extract of it.

Saturday

Saturday, I really started to knuckle down and do my artwork. I did a three hour sustained drawing of two pairs of sunglasses, trying desperately to get the perspective right. It worked, eventually, I also started to tidy up any loose sheets of paper in my book, organising it, tucking things away, etc. I also started doing some studies of some photos that I took for it a few weeks ago... But because it's exam work and I don't want plagiarism, I'm keeping them to myself.
Sorry!
A few more months, and You can see them...

Toodle pip!

Meet R2D2

This is what comes of being a knitter and loving certain films. We get GEEKY.

Name: R2D2

Astromech Droid, R-series

Films: Star Wars 1-6

I love R2D2. There's something so cute and mental about him. I would almost certainly say he was my favourite Star Wars character (only almost, as I admire Padme's courage  (and costumes) in the first film). I made the pattern up myself, but it still has a few flaws, which I will have to attempt to Iron out later...

Toodle pip!

Craft Review: Weeks 6 & 7: Sunday 29th January - Saturday 11th February

I apologise to begin with, as I was away last weekend, and then digging through two feet of snow to get to the door..... It was.... Interesting, to say the least. So, to remedy my absence (and because I can't remember what happened in the past fortnight, when). I will give you a rundown of what I've made.

Yes, unfortunately, that is me...

1) I finished my Fluffy Scarf!

One 50 gram ball, knitted in Garter, on 7mm needles, with only twenty stitches.

It was nice and simple.

However, while finishing, It did occur to me that the wool not only looks like muted Ravenclaw tones (Blue, plus both book bronze and film silver), but it also looks a bit like the mottled feathers of Buckbeak. So, I now rename the Fluffy Simple scarf, The Buckbeak Scarf.

^Buckbeak====>Scarf ^

2) I made 2 owls and 4 flowers. Random? No.

This was part of my 'Just because', because I only had one flower (which I made in January) and one owl, and I didn't want to wait until after half term... My favourites are the owls... They're so cute!


3) I've done an awful lot of art. Finishing off my coursework, and starting my exam work. It's tiring, but fun, and I love working on it, so I don't mind. I did however, have problems with my circle project on Thursday, because something didn't look quite right. I will have to try and fix it after the half term....

4) I've been taking photos! But they're not very good, and mainly for my art exam work anyway... I did do a drawing on a chalkboard while away, and I wonder whether it's still there... It took ages...

5) I  experimented in painting my nails in different patterns using sellotape.  It sort of worked, but it could have been better, hence why I'm not showing you. you can be assured though, that they are in Ravenclaw colours.

6) Using my owl pattern, I began knitting an R2D2 (Yes, I'm a star wars nerd too...)! I love R2D2, I think he's so cute, and making up a pattern is a lot of fun!

7) I did a marathon 'upload onto DofE' session yesterday, and found a few things which I finished, but never showed you. Perhaps I'll get round to it another day...

I think that's it, but I may have forgotten a few things...

Toodle Pip, for now!

Just because....

Just because I'm a nice person, and I like making things, I decided to give all of my friends a little treat before the half term... In the form of knitted owls (my own, adapted pattern) or a selection of fabric flowers (made from instructions from the book I got for Christmas).

Happy Half Term!

I told you it was dangerous....

Do you remember the Victoria and Albert museum website with the pattern generator? And that I said it was Dangerous? Here's why....

One Gorgeous, lovely, beautiful Fred Weasley.

One Victoria and Albert Museum Pattern.

After 10 rows... You can't really tell, can you?

15 rows.... Beginning to see it...

Yes! Definitely there at 20 rows!

Ta Da!!! Isn't he gorgeous!

So, 4 hours, a load of confusion, several scraps of wool and two knitting needles later, I have my lovely Fred Weasley. I was determined. And that is Dangerous.

Craft Review: Week 1: 26th December 2011- Saturday 31st December 2011

Following in line with what I promised myself in my resolution, here is what I have been making this week:

Monday

This is one of the Felt Hearts from Kirstie Allsopp's CRAFT book. I made it for my mum's birthday, which is at the end of January. I have only made one at the moment, but it may end up having a few friends. I really like this pattern, it's very simple and looks beautiful.

I also knitted 4 rows of my Ravenclaw Scarf....
This is my darling, my faithful Work in Progress that I have been working on for nearly 5 months. Not that I contributed to it much during school time.... I'm following the pattern as prescribed in the book Charmed Knits by Alison Hansel.... I need 14 pairs of the white colour stripe, and I have 8... Nearly there!




Tuesday

Well, I did paint a Canvas for my friend Robyn's birthday, but I can't show that here yet as she may see it and that could be disastrous. But, I will upload a picture when she has received it.

I also started making a purple Vintage Flower, from the book 20 to Make: Fabric Flowers. By this I mean, I gathered a ring of fabric into a circular ruffle while sitting in front of the television watching Great Expectations.

Wednesday

This is my finished Vintage Flower, and I think it looks quite nice. It measures roughly 12cm x 12 cm, with a safety pin on the back so it can be used as a brooch, or to attach it to other items. The trouble is now... I don't know what to do with it. If anyone wants it, let me know. I'll accept any offers.

I also made up this pattern for a knitted bracelet. I'm going to call it the 2-stitch Bracelet. Someone somewhere else has probably made up the same thing, and I wouldn't be surprised, but it gives a nice tubular plaited look to it.

I also started to make this jar of what I will call Thought Stars. They have little tiny messages scrawled on a strip of paper, folded up origami style into a little star. I found this on stumble upon, an ingenious website which is absolutely fabulous. These will also be for my mum's birthday, as she often needs cheering up...

Seen this before?!

This is the embroidered outline that I did last week. I now have the laborious task of hand applique - ing it to this cushion cover *sigh*. So, this is what I contributed a proportion of my time to.

 Thursday

I went out shopping today. I bought some glorious cushion inserts for just £1.99 each! Guess what I'll be making shortly... I also bought a new skirt pattern, which I may try out  later with some nice tartan fabric I have lying about... But, I also bought this:

A five pack of 50g balls of wall in a wonderful grey-ish blue-ish mottled tones. For £4. BARGAIN! You could usually spend, quite easily £4 on just one ball of this type of wool. It was a brilliant offer, and absolutely gorgeous.

AND... This is what happens if you leave me for 10 minutes, with new wool and a pair of needles without work on it. I apologise profusely to my lovely other WIP's, but this is gorgeous. 20 stitches, 7mm needles, simple garter stitch. I'm in heaven. It's superbly easy, and looks beautiful. Chewing gum for the mind.

Friday

I told you it was dangerous, didn't I?! Here we see one completed Fred Weasley from Prisoner of Azkaban, Pattern via The Victoria and Albert Museum. I spent a few hours muddling my way through this. It turned out well, don't you think?

I also added a bit more to my fluffy scarf.

Saturday

I added a few more rows to my fluffy scarf on the way to the recycling centre... Not much else though... It was New Year's Eve after all!!!

So that was the weekly round up of my crafts. I think I've done quite well. What about you?