October Madness

October is fast coming to a close! I'm making a dash for the finish line on hitting 50% complete on my OWL to get the 50 points set aside for that achievement, which means that this sweater back needs to start knitting itself a bit faster.



It's coming up purple, but it's actually a deep wine red.

The rest of it looks pretty much like this, except the sleeves are done now.



Chugging along.... I'm getting tons of cheering from my friends who want to see me succeed at this, which helps so much!

Meanwhile, it's October, which means that for fiber fiends such as myself in the Northeast it's Rhinebeck time!! This year I went both days and paired up with Barbara of Tumped Duck for the weekend's shenanigans.

We came, saw, and conquered. Barbara conquered a potato on a stick.













I saw a The Dude sweater in the wild (center, way far away) which was knitted in the same yarn I already have to make it with. I won't let it keep me down forever...







All in all the weekend was wonderful as always. I also got some goodies, of course.



click through for notes that label each one!

Now we get to dodge Frankenstorm! I'm in ACTION. I really hope we don't lose power for long, but at least I have plenty of yarn to entertain me. So there's that.

Project 36: Dane Shawl

This project was completed in May, 2011.

Another lovely free pattern on Ravelry! This is called Dane Shawl.





It's supposed to be a shallow triangle, based on traditional Danish heart-shaped shawls.  I blocked mine to more of a triangle and less of a heart shape.



I think every comment about this shawl in person has started with the colors.  It's all in the yarn, Plymouth Zino.  It's a sock yarn, but it's a fingering weight single (just one ply) and it just seemed like it really would work well as a triangular shawl.



Pattern: Dane Shawl by Jane Tanner (free)

Yarn: Plymouth Yarn Zino in color "8", all 436 yards of it

Needles: Size 6 (4.0mm) nickel-plated Knit Picks Options

Rav Page

Mods: I liked the written bind-off but ran out of yarn with about 3 inches to go. So I tinked back a bit and switched to a very loose regular old knit 1, pass old stitch over new stitch, repeat bind-off. I had enough yarn left from that to weave in as the tail, and that was that.

Back again...

How can two months fly by so quickly??

A quick rundown of what I've done since my last post:

- I finished two sweaters in July.
- I can no longer close the fiber drawer. This could be because it is stuffed, or because something fell behind it. Or both. Probably both.
- I spent the first 10 days of August hustling to finish two items for the fair that I'd entered when one was nearly finished and the other not begun. I finished everything..
- It paid off, because I won ribbons on all six categories I entered.
- Including the Grand Champion Wool Product.
- Holy crap.
- I made a sample for Bittersweet Woolery to display in her booth at various fiber fests this fall. It was an extremely rewarding experience as I finally got to meet the dye mistress and help her out too.
- September was kicked off in style with a trip to WEBS.
- It also was the beginning of my third term as Headmistress of the HPKCHC.
- Allergies were bad.
- Southern Adirondack Fiber Festival, however, was good!

(click through for notes)





- ...............
- Sorry, got distracted looking at the fiber....
- Anyway, now it's October and the newest superfunawesome thing is that I'm up late and then up early because my kids are trending to different sleep schedules, which means that right now I need more coffee.
- And I joined the Tour de Sock to force myself to be a sock knitter. The competition benefits Doctors Without Borders, and the competition part is to try to stay in the game as there are deadlines for completing six pairs of socks in October and November.  This will effectively double the amount of handknit socks I've made since I started knitting socks in 2004. So far I should make it to Stage 2, but only if I stop talking and get to work!

Project 35: The Golden Snitch

This project was completed in May 2011.

In the HPKCHC this term, Quidditch was split into four quaffle matches between houses in May and later hallows or horcruxes in June and July.  The first quaffle match was to make a golden snitch.

Near instant geeky gratification!

Pattern: The Golden Snitch by Melissa Mall (free pattern)

Yarn: Stitch Nation Full o' Sheep in honeycomb and Red Heart Super Saver in soft white, roughly 15 yards total.

Needles: Boye crochet hook, size G (4 mm)

Rav page

Mods: None that I can recall!

Project 32 and 33: More Quidditch Hats!

On the last day of the Winter11 HPKCHC term, I finished up two more charity hats for Quidditch.  This time I pulled out all my wool scraps and worked on making scrappy but fabulous hats.

Errrr.  Well.  They look better in person.

This one used up as many blues and purples as I could coordinate together - lots of my little bits and bobs of dyeing practice over the years:



and this one got pinks and earth tones:



To turn them in on time, I was up late and the camera was not cooperating so we got camera phone pictures. But, I managed to make two impressively not ugly in person hats using up roughly 435 yards of yarn that will warm some heads on the other side of the world.

Project 31: Emily Shawl

This project was finished in March 2011.

I love how this shawl came out.  It's an unusual construction, which is how it became part of my Nerd Wars dissertation last spring.  The yarn is a silky, drapey thing that I only regret I do not have more of. It blocked nicely and looks great as a yarn and pattern match.  I almost - almost! - wish I hadn't given it away!






Pattern: Emily Shawl by Mandy Moore, published in Knitscene Winter/Spring 2010

Yarn: Alina Shea Creations Grassy Feet (65% superwash wool, 35% bamboo) in Summer Fun, the June 2010 yarn club offering



Needles:  Size 7 Knit Picks Options nickle-plated interchangeables

Yardage: 324 yards

Rav page

Mods: none

I enlisted the help of then-three-year-old Spike to photograph the back.  He did it well!



Sigh.  I might have to make another one of these.  In addition to being part of my Nerd Wars dissertation, I turned this project in to the HPKCHC for Charms, March 2011.

Transfiguration OWL, Spring 2011

In the HPKCHC the three-month projects are called OWLs, in reference to the big exams of fifth year students in the Harry Potter series. There is a set of guidelines by subject and to achieve an OWL in the subject you have to propose and complete a project that takes longer than six weeks but less than three months and that presents a personal challenge.

Transfiguration  

Option 1: Knit or crochet and then full (felt) something large, such as a carpet bag, a skirt, a rug. 

Option 2: Knit a large item (adult vest, sweater, large bag) that must be steeked. 

Option 3: Dye and spin enough fiber to produce sufficient yarn to craft a small adult garment. 

Option 4: Demonstrate proficiency with Vanishing and Conjuring Spells by vanishing a large quantity of yarn or fiber and conjuring one or more finished items using the vanished yarns. To truly demonstrate your virtuosity, you must use one new-to-you technique on one of these items, such as first-ever I-cord edging, first-ever socks, first-ever magic loop, first-ever Tunisian crochet, etc. Knitters must vanish a minimum of 1800 yds (this is a change from previous terms); crocheters a minimum of 2400 yds. Spinners - spin a minimum of 1.5 lbs (0.68 kg) of fiber. Machine knitters, please negotiate yardage amount with your Examiner. In line with the House Cup as a whole if a yarn is held double while crafting, it counts as a single yardage (i.e. if you use up a total of 360 yards while knitting a hat holding your yarn doubled throughout, it counts as 180 yards towards stash vanishing)

Name: Needlesnswiffers

House: Slytherin

Year: Sixth

OWL and option: Transfiguration, Option 4: Stash blowing-upping

Project/Pattern(s):
Abyssal made with my own handspun “Swamp Thing” (light fingering weight), 271 yards (15.06% of total)
free pattern online in French and English, stockinette swatch on size 7 needle, aiming for “aérienne” version, although I have no idea what that means. It’s the smaller one I think. Hope.

Tunisian Resolution Scarf with Heirloom Easy Care 8 Ply (dk weight), 321 yards (13.375% of total)
free pattern online, beginning of scarf swatched with my one and only tunisian hook, suspected to be size J

Brigid Sweater with Lion Brand Wool-Ease, 1374 yards (76.39% of total)
proof of pattern in swatch photo, size 9 obtains gauge, significant size modification (see under challenge)

To ensure that these projects achieve the required yardage total since I am mixing crafts, I have created a spreadsheet (stop snickering, you know I can’t resist a spreadsheet!). As you can see, as proposed my three projects will achieve 104% of the required work. If my projects should fall short, I assure you, dear Examiner, that I have no shortage of yarn in my house or items in my queue. I will make it happen, and consult with you as needed. If my yardage should fall short of the 100% needed, I may not know until after the deadline to modify proposals. Since yardage is the goal here and the new technique is satisfied, is that okay? It is also possible that the yardage may fall short of what I anticipate, but still over the requirement for this OWL. My estimates are based on the total yarn available to me for these projects, so I hope that falling short but still over 100% will result in a completed OWL.

Sequence & Challenge: My entire experience with tunisian crochet is my swatch for this scarf, so that is my brand new challenge! I think I want to overdye the finished scarf for Potions class this term, so that will likely be my first project attacked. I will likely work on them all simultaneously to stave off that bringer of doom, Boredom.

Regarding challenges, well, tunisian crochet is brand new to me so there’s that. For the Abyssal, I’m knitting with my own handspun and I’m a pretty new spinner, so I’m hoping to not have any problems with the yarn but you never know. Also, the pattern is translated but still not as easy to navigate as you might hope. For St. Brigid, the pattern is for a cropped jacket. I just don’t see myself in a cropped jacket; I want it to be a full-blown sweater. I will be extending the body to my waist and extending the sleeves as far as I can until I reach a regular full sleeve length or run out of yarn. This is going to be a challenge for me as I am not an experienced sweater knitter so I’ll be learning how to modify sort of as I go. I have lots of extra yarn, plus more in other colors, and a can-do attitude, so I’m hoping that will get me through.

50% Mark: Well, this one is pretty easy. Since the darn thing is based on yardage, I’ll call it at half of the required yardage (proportional to craft) with plenty of math to back it up!

Photos of Supplies and Swatch:

Here are all my swatches out sunbathing.

Handspun for Abyssal:

Heirloom 8 Ply for Tunisian crochet scarf:

Wool-Ease for Brigid:

Thank you for your time!

Herbology OWL, Spring 2011

In the HPKCHC the three-month projects are called OWLs, in reference to the big exams of fifth year students in the Harry Potter series. There is a set of guidelines by subject and to achieve an OWL in the subject you have to propose and complete a project that takes longer than six weeks but less than three months and that presents a personal challenge.

Herbology – Students should be able to easily manipulate organic materials.

Option 1: Knit or crochet an adult-size sleeved garment with multiple cables or an afghan with multiple cables. Garments usually must have at least one complex cable that travels the entire length of both the front and the back body AND at least one complex cable that travels the length of the sleeves, OR more extensive and complex cables in either of these areas. Please note that these are guidelines. The Examiners are looking for projects that demonstrate the student’s ability to follow mutiple cables. Think: all-over cabling.

Option 2: Create an item using freeform knitting or crochet.

Option 3: Spinners – spin a minimum of 600 yds of plant fiber into a plied yarn which is spun and finished in ways appropriate to the medium (meaning no drifting apart cotton singles, no stiff-as-sticks linen, etc.).

Option 4: Spinners – Spin at least 8 oz of fiber into a cabled yarn.

Name: Needlesnswiffers

House: Slytherin - first time I got to type this!!

Year: Sixth

OWL and option: Herbology Option #1 - cabled sweater

Project/Pattern(s): Cassidy

Sequence & Challenge: I intend to complete the sweater in the order the pattern suggests (back, fronts, sleeves, hood) but would like to retain the privilege to adjust this order as necessary and possible. Regarding challenges, this is my second attempt at a Herbology OWL. My first attempt had me run out of time with big chunky cables and chunky yarn. This pattern has demure little cables, lots of them, and uses a worsted weight yarn. Time will be my biggest challenge.

50% Mark: Based on the following percentages, I hope to present 50% of a sweater before the end of June.

30% back
25% fronts
20% sleeves
5% button bands
8% hood
12% finishing work

Photos of Supplies and Swatch

Seven balls of Cascade 220 superwash!

(I have four more in a different dyelot if needed too)

This is my swatch, and you can see the pattern on the screen of my computer.

As far as sweaters go, I’ve finished one adult sweater and it was my Muggle Studies OWL last term. The list of shame of my unfinished sweaters is …. it’s long.

Thank you for your consideration!

ETA: This swatch was made with a size 7 needle! :D

Project 30: Paul's Saturday Morning Not-Hoodie

This project was completed in March 2011.

I finally finished my first sweater!



Like the first sweater I ever started, lo these many years ago (2005 I believe), this one is for my husband.  We saw its humble beginnings in my Muggle Studies OWL proposal last January.  Despite the name, he did not want the hood. I dove in hoping that I'd figure out how to not have a hood later, and as you all can see - I managed!



I just picked up stitches for the collar/buttonband as I would have around the hood, except there was no hood.  Shockingly, it worked.  And now Paul has a sweater!  And it actually fits!


Pattern: Saturday Morning Hoodie (free pattern from Lion Brand Yarns)

Yarn: Knit Picks Wool of the Andes Bulky, only 807 yards (I still have 6 skeins and some change left! Incredible!)

Needles: Size 11 and 13 Knit Picks Options nickle-plated interchangeables.

Notions: six recycled plastic buttons purchased at Jo-Ann's Fabrics.

Rav page

Mods: I didn't knit the hood - see text above.

I still look at it and wonder if I really made such a thing.  It looks like real clothes. And I made it.  I'm impressed!

Project 29: Charity Scarf

This project was completed in March 2011.

I finished a third and final scarf for the same charity as the fluffy pink scarf before I boxed up my scarves, leftover kits, and some yarn to donate and sent the box back to California last week.  The short answer as to why I didn't make all the kits is that I found no joy in crafting these scarves for this charity anymore, so I fulfilled my obligations of donating postage to the charity, donated some yarn I thought they might find useful, and returned the scarves and kits I had.

Here's the last one!



Now I can direct my energy to others in need.

Projects 26, 27, and 28: Challenge Hats for Quidditch

These projects were completed in March 2011.


One of the Quidditch challenges back in March was a duel where you set the terms between you and your partner, and my partner and I decided to make as many hats for charity in one day as we could.  She beat me, soundly, but I still made three more hats for charity than I otherwise would have.



The purple hat and the green-purple-blue hat are my own hand-dyed yarn.  The orange hat is from wool I inherited so I don't know what it is.  The pattern is my own (same as this project) but as of yet unpublished.

In total, I estimated 404 yards were used in these three hats.

Project 25: Celeste Shawl

This project was finished in March 2011.

Last Christmas my parents were up visiting and as usual I got out my newest pattern books for my mom to look though.  She saw the Celeste Shawl pattern and fell in love.  The picture in the book has the shawl on a hanger and it's hard to tell much about it, but a quick look through projects on Ravelry helped.

Shawls are very popular right now, but this is a shape you don't see all that often.



But it sits nicely on the shoulders,



and floats nicely too.

Yarn: Sliver Moon Farms 65% superwash wool, 35% bamboo fingering weight yarn purchased at Rhinebeck in 2009

Pattern: Celeste Shawl from the book Sock Yarn One-Skein Wonders

Needles: US 7 (4.5mm) Knit Picks Options, Nickel-plated tips

Yardage: 543 yards

Rav Page link

Mods:  I left off the beads in the edging.

This project is the finish for my Care of Magical Creatures OWL, which I successfully completed last March.

Project 24: Fluffy Pink Scarf

A while back I discovered a charity called Handmade Especially For You.  They provide handmade scarves for abused women in shelters, originally in California but chapters have sprung up all over.  They also have a lot of donated yarn, so the people who run the charity set up yarn kits for garter stitch scarves already with doubled yarn wound up to match on both ends.  This scarf is from one of their kits.



The organizers want every scarf to have something "fancy" and, having several of these kits, I guess that fancy means furry.  Hey... why not?  Fun fur is fun, after all!

Estimated 120 yards, doubled, so 240 yards of yarn.  Even though these kits are not yarn that I consider mine, I do work with the yarn and so I am counting the yardage as yarn out.  It is going out of the house!

Project 15: BFL Swamp Thing Handspun

Here comes more handspun!



This is BFL from the big fluffy ball that came free with purchase of my wheel from The Spinning Room.  Spike and I dyed it back in November while stalking the windows for the UPS man we knew would be bringing the wheel.  Today's spinning is from the braid on the left.



I worked on spinning it as thinly as I could, which when plied turned out to be a light fingering weight yarn.  In 57 grams, I got 272 yards of 2-ply after it was washed and gently thwacked and laid flat to dry.



I'm ridiculously proud of this skein.

Slight Monday madness

We're snowed in today, although the skies are now blue and the plows came through at last.  It's been a good day to catch up with ourselves and I've been busy finally catching up in all the things I like to do on Ravelry and of course a few things around the house.

One thing I missed was WIP Wednesday last week!  I have a good enough reason though - I even took a WIP Wednesday picture and explained it all, but I did it for an interview with the Ravenclaw Aerie!

So, here's my picture anyway....



Quoth myself from the interview:

Upper left, a blanket I'm seaming.  Continuing clockwise around the edge, the pink/green thing is my CoMC OWL that I need to frog back to 50%.  I'm making a crochet square sampler on the right, slowly turning in squares for classes here and there. (Part of that blanket was on a stop sign last weekend for Transfiguration's yarn bombing assignment.) The furry pink scarf is for a charity called Handmade Especially For You, which gets donations of yarn and they send out kits with the fur pre-placed all wound into a ball, and all you do is get to work with some chunky needles.  The pink and brown striped tube is about half of a Hallowed Hands fingerless glove, which is a Deathly Hallows Part 1 inspired pattern by Hufflepuff's Tiggersjp.  Finally, the green blob is a fingering weight version of Lehmus-huivi that is part of a challenge in another Ravelry group.  

And if you'd like, here's my interview!

I've since finished one of the Hallowed Hands mitts and holy monkey there are a kajillion ends to weave in!  I seriously considered not even making the second mitt.  But then I tried it on, and, well.  It's so pretty.  I'll keep chugging along!

Now, in my previous post I promised an avalanche of finished projects. They're still finished and I'm slowly getting my pictures added to posts to document them.  So for real this time..... watch out, here they come!

But first I think it's time for a cup of tea and maybe a little bite of brownie.  It is a snow day after all!

Project 13: Itty Bitty Quiddy

Knitting with your own handspun is a transcendent experience.

I enjoyed every second of knitting up this little sweater, using my Hurley Yellow handspun yarn.  I made it for a little fun challenge on Ravelry to make a team of four and have each team member make part of a miniature Quidditch uniform.  My team, consisting of two Slytherins, a Ravenclaw, and I, a Hufflepuff, made a Gryffindor-esque uniform.  It was just for fun, but this month's Potions prompt is for making something to sneak a love potion, and I'm sure it could be done in a tiny sweater!





Pattern: Heavily modified from Zimmer-Minis (free pattern)

Yarn: Hurley Yellow Handspun, my own handspun, blogged here

Needles: Size 7 (aluminum) and 8 (bamboo) double pointed needles

Roughly 20 yards

Rav page

Mods: I used much heavier yarn, so everything was scaled down yet again from a pattern for a miniature sweater.  An adventure!

This month's Potions assignment is to craft something that will disguise or hide a love potion, and Defense Against the Dark Arts involves knowing what's in a love potion that would take you down.  So for DADA I dyed some yarn (to be posted later!) and my dye will have a cunning disguise.

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....

Brrrr for a WIP Wednesday, January 19, 2011

This is the view from my office/craft room this afternoon:

Makes you want a cup of tea and some knitting, doesn't it? I mean, that's a perfectly normal reaction to icicles over three feet long, I think.

So in the triumphant return of WIP Wednesday we have quite an assortment here:

Starting with the blue thing in the upper left corner and moving clockwise, we have a (blue) afghan square in progress (for a class this month), a pink Broadripple Sock and its mate in progress, a pink and sometimes fuzzy scarf made with donated yarn for Handmade Especially For You, and my pink/green/peach Celeste Shawl, all floating on an ocean of Zee's Baby Blanket which, after a long hibernation, is back and rushing for a finish!

Care of Magical Creatures OWL, Winter 2011

In the HPKCHC the three-month projects are called OWLs, in reference to the big exams of fifth year students in the Harry Potter series. There is a set of guidelines by subject and to achieve an OWL in the subject you have to propose and complete a project that takes longer than one month but less than three months and that presents a personal challenge.

Care of Magical Creatures (CoMC)

Option 1: Craft a CoM zoo. Go into the paddock and bring out at least 4 different creatures found in the magical world: dragons, hippogriffs, unicorns, etc. These creatures can be stuffed toys OR a design element/yarn in an item, such as socks, scarves, mittens, etc. OR yarns (minimum 1.5 lbs (0.68 kg) of fiber). Amigurumi will be considered for this option, but you must make many, many of them.

Option 2: Hatch an Egg. Identify your egg (dragon, phoenix, etc.) and knit or crochet an object inspired by your creature. If you make a physical creature it must be a minimum of 12 inches in at least one dimension.

Option 3: Groom a hippogriff: Create an item with at least 3 distinct patterns.

Option 4: Bowtruckles. These wood guardians have exceptionally pointy fingers and toes which can do great damage to unwary witches and wizards. To prove you know how to handle pointy objects, craft an item using a new-to-you technique or crafting skill. If you usually knit, you must crochet. If you usually crochet, you must knit. If you usually use a spindle, you must use a wheel and vice versa. Simply using a new-to-you fiber or stitch pattern does not qualify a project for the Bowtruckles option.

RavID: needlesnswiffers

House (or NQFY/SoS): Hufflepuff

Year: Fifth year

OWL subject and option: Care of Magical Creatures (CoMC) Option 2: Hatch an egg

Greetings, fine Examiners! I would like to propose OWL certification in Care of Magical Creatures by hatching a dragon egg. If my understanding is correct, the egg I have is that of the highly dangerous Ukrainian Ironbelly, which is "rotund and slower in flight than other dragons"***. In honor of the creature within, I have chosen to craft a Celeste Shawl which is a lace shawl of unusual shape and slightly larger than other sock yarn shawls. The coloring is evocative of the juvenile coloring of the Ironbelly, which has the sheen maintained with maturity but with peach, pink, and green undertones that disappear with time. Long live the serial comma.

I have, of course, swatched to determine if my needle and yarn combination is a success. The yarn is Sliver Moon Farm Fingering 65%superwash/35%bamboo in the color Cahoonzie, and the needles are size 7 (4.5mm). I should note that at this time I intend to exclude the beads on the edge.

Regarding challenges, I am experienced at starting lace shawls and not finishing them. I anticipate this shawl taking the 6 to 8 weeks of consistent effort required of an OWL (if not, of course, I will have a victory project proposal later!). The pattern is charted using five different charts, one of which is three charts in one apparently. That sounds nice and confusing.

Thank you for this opportunity!

*** http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Ukrainian_Ironbelly

Project 6: Black Fiber from Pacasha

When I got my wheel last November Pacasha sent me a little package including some mystery fiber, telling me to use it to practice chain plying or something. So when the time came to start a new spinning project in 2011 I knew what to go for and go for it I did!

Pacasha has since elaborated that this is about 2.5 oz of Brown Sheep mill ends fiber, so I'm guessing that the content is a wool/mohair blend.

I did end up spinning it into a continuous single and then chain plying. I overspun it in plying and ended up running it back through the wheel to take some of the twist out, which ended up making most of it just right and a little of it underspun. The singles were nice and tight though so I think it will hold up okay in a project. Now I just have to figure out what to make with it!! It's quite a nice looking skein - it looks like real yarn.

71g

87 yards

10 wpi, which Ravelry tells me is between a worsted and dk... I'd say worsted

Rav page

The fiber: