Muggle Studies OWL, Winter 2011

To find out what the heck an OWL is and to read my first OWL proposal from this term, check this post.

Muggle Studies - Produce clothing and/or outer wear to use as a disguise when dealing with muggles.

Option 1: Knit or crochet an adult sweater OR two children’s (age 6 yr and up) sweaters OR four toddler items (to keep the crafting time about the same).

Option 2: Create a ‘coordinated’ (according to the wizarding world) set of at least 3 adult-size accesories (hat, scarf, mittens, bag, socks, etc.).

RavID: needlesnswiffers

House: Hufflepuff

Year: Fifth

OWL subject and option: Muggle Studies - Produce clothing and/or outer wear to use as a disguise when dealing with muggles. Option 1: Knit or crochet an adult sweater

Hello again, Examiners! This is my second OWL proposal for the Winter11 term. I am seeking my OWL in Muggle Studies by making an adult-sized sweater for my husband, who is an adult.*

Eleven days ago I received an email with a link, a charming little lobster gif, and a request to make the sweater depicted in the link, the Saturday Morning Hoodie. I immediately** plotted, stash-dived, and started planning the yarn. I settled on Knit Picks Wool of the Andes Bulky. It seems that this Hoodie is typical muggle casualwear for relaxing weekends in a slightly chilly house reading the newspaper and stirring a pot of chili. I hope to have a reenactment of this muggle entertainment once the sweater is complete.

In order to knit this sweater I have secured 12 skeins of Knit Picks Wool of the Andes Bulky in Oregano, a green color that my husband picked out himself, size 13 needle tips, and an extra pair of 47" cords.

My supplies arrived today*** and I knit up a freaking huge swatch.

I know, it looks normal.

There. Those are my normal human-sized feet. It's a big swatch.

Washed and laid flat, once it was dry I pulled out my trusty ruler and surveyed the damage. My gauge is a teensy weensy bit small - half a stitch too many over 4". My husband turns out to be needing a size adjustment on stitch gauge, so that works out. I think. I think I'm going to be doing a lot of measuring and holding up sweater pieces to him while he is distracted.

Challenges: well, unfortunately one is the same I had with an OWL proposal last term - there is still a dead heat for the title of My First Sweater.

A Brief History of Me and Sweaters:

1. The original sweater for my husband, then boyfriend? Fiancé? Somewhere around knitting project #5 ever, still in pieces and missing a sleeve 6 years later.

2. One tiny baby sweater of my own design.

3. One baby wrap sweater that fit .... um... poorly. On a baby. They're shaped like sausages, how do you mess that up?

4. Baby cardigan - half a back done.

5. Easy Baby Cardigan, finished too late to fit any of my children.

6. Iced sweater in LB Homespun... iced.

7. Mythos Cardigan stalled for evermore prior to reaching halfway

8. Quidditch sweater autopsied and buried

9. Sweater for Spike - toddler size bottom up in the round, to the underarms before a roving band of scavengers took the needle tips for another OWL... ahem....

10. Fireside Cardigan - failed Herbology OWL Fall10.

So you see, of ten documented sweater attempts, I have two finished objects to show for it, both sized for the 0-3 months set. They do not count.

Sizing, ease, seaming, toggle buttons, pockets, and re-figuring the collar to exclude the hood are just some of the challenges I will face. There is also that pile of fail in the numbered list above hanging over me. Luckily I made a big, trustworthy-looking swatch and I have plenty of yarn. Also, my husband is tall and skinny which means that to make a truly pleasing sweater it has to be a little less wide and a little more long than any of the sizes offered, so I will sorta be making a medium-large. Scary business for a First Sweater.

I plan to make the sweater in the order that they are presented in the instructions - back, front, front, sleeve, sleeve, collar, edging, pocket, pocket, button loops. I am very worried about the finishing portion and will want to take my time there. So, let's say halfway is the back, a front and part of a second front?

Thank you for your time!

* Most of the time. He is certainly always adult-*sized*.

** ... after jumping up and down with glee for a minute...

*** Actually since it was negative eleventy degrees outside we didn't leave the house yesterday and it probably came Saturday, unnoticed and unloved out in the cold. Shhh, shhh, don't cry, it's okay....