O.W.L.

Hello:

I am on break this month.  Of course, this week is Spring Break up here for our schools, and my Godkids are on their Spring Break, too.  But, I am on break for the Harry Potter Knitting/Crochet House Cup.

The Cup is organized into 3 month Terms, with a Break month in between each Term.  I made so much stuff (still need to add up and post my yardage) last Term, that I really need this month off to relax.  Of course, I am still stitching.  Even with my visitors, I am finding time to knit and crochet. 

I have been working on charity baby hats, and on the 3 blankets I have in progress, but mainly, I am deciding on what will be my proposal for my next O.W.L. (Ordinary Wizarding Level Exam).  The Cup is full of opportunities for projects that must be completed in one month (regular class assignments), and even shorter projects (Quidditch), but there are also challenges to make items that take more than one month.  These are called Advanced Studies.  There are three types of Advanced Studies projects:  Order of the Phoenix Missions (should take 6 - 8 weeks), OWLs (should take 3 months), and NEWTs (Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Test) which are a combination of 2 OWLs and take 4 months.  There are eight different possible OWLs and if you finish them all, you are given the designation of OWL Mistress.    So far, I have completed 4: 

My first term (Fall 2012), I completed a History of Magic OWL.  I knit 3 pairs of socks, each sock representing a different famous witch or wizard.

 Coupling Socks to represent Professor McGonagall:

Bubbling Socks to represent Lily Potter:

And Snape's Stockings to represent... Snape.

The next term, Winter 2013, I completed a Transfiguration OWL.  The challenge was to "disappear" a huge amount of yarn, and I hooked an afghan.  It used over 3000 yds of yarn.

For Spring 2013, I used the OWL to hook two baby blankets for a baby shower that June.  This subject was Charms.  The challenge was to crochet 2 items in lace patterns using a minimum of 600 yds. each.

One of the things I love about the Cup in general, and the OWLs in particular, is that it pushes me to FINISH stuff.  When I have a real life deadline, like a birthday, or a baby shower, I always try to make the gifts part of a class or my OWL for that term.

I made another afghan for my Fall 2013 OWL.  That subject was Arithmancy, and the challenge was to make multiples of the same type of item.

For last term, Winter 2013, I did a NEWT instead of an OWL.  You have to have completed 4 OWLs to be eligible for a NEWT, and the NEWT has to include a subject you have already completed.  So, I did  DADA (Defense Against the Dark Arts) where I conquered the Cruciatus Curse by knitting two pieces that used mostly stockinette and garter stitch - very horrible stitches for me

and Transfiguration, where I disappeared a ton of yarn:

So this is all a big lead up to the OWL choice for this next Term, Spring 2014.  I want to use the OWL to push myself to make something I have been wanting to make and just never seem to get around to starting.  I am thinking of making Christmas Ornaments and Snowflakes. 

I have been wanting to make the ornaments from 55 Christmas Balls to Knit by Arne and Carlos.  I even checked the book out from the library two years ago, and knit 0.  Also, every year, I look at these beautiful crocheted snowflakes, and think, I'm going to make some for my kids.  And I make 0.  I test hooked a snowflake last night,  called Christmas in Paris by Deborah Atkinson.  Each arm is supposed to look like the Eiffle Tower.

There are so many beautiful snowflake patterns on Ravelry for free, and what's more, I'm sure that as I start making them, I will start designing my own.  Same thing for the Ornaments.  There is an option for Care of Magical Creatures where you Hatch an Egg or a Clutch of Eggs and craft items that are inspired  by the creature(s) you hatched.  So, I'm thinking that I will hatch a Frost Dragon, or some type of similar creature and the snowflakes and ornaments will represent the time of year, and perhaps the breath of the creature.  I just need to figure out how many is a reasonable amount of each to make. I have to remember that I will be knitting socks for both Sock Madness AND Tour de Sock during this term.  The socks will be turned in as class assignments and also most likely for my Order of the Phoenix Mission.  I want to be able to finish the OWL successfully.

This should be the push to get these done WAY before Christmas.  I am getting excited.

Peace,
f1bercat
shaping the planet with the Eiffle Tower in mercerized cotton.

Fast Post Before I Leave for Stitch Night

Spring is coming!

Hello:

Quick post because I have been stitching more than posting, and then, even this is not of all that I have been working on, but I have hit the "half-way mark" on my Transfiguration OWL Afghan which is 12 squares sewn together.  Whew!  Can we say run on?  But I need to post fast...

Here it is:

I LOVE IT!  And I still need to show you all how I am doing the color changes and take some close ups of the joins because they are invisible.  I kid you not.  Such a pro Hooker.

More tonight of the stitch meet up.

Peace.
Yours,
f1bercat
shaping the planet with half of an afghan.

Honestly, this is a view from my back deck.

Please, Help Me Decide How to Join These Squares

Hello:

For my OWL (a project that should take 3 months) for the HPKCHC, I am making a 20 square afghan.  Each square will be 12 x 12 inches and there will be some type of boarder. 

I have made many afghans over the years, but given them ALL away, except for the one I made as my wedding gift to my husband which is on our bed though looking a bit thin after 30 years and many washings (our cats love to sleep on it ...)  We really need some nice afghans for both the living room and our TV room (that's what we call the family room).

I have been so inspired by the BAMCAL group I am in (it's the 2013BAMCAL this year).  I loved almost all of the squares we made last year, but I didn't want to make a sampler, so I went back over the squares I made as I was hooking together Himes's ghan, and chose a few to think about.  Then I took a really good look at the rug in the living room, and decided to make Julie Yeager's Eight Pointed Flower with LOTS of color changes.

The OWL prompt I chose is for Transfiguration, and it is to Vanish a large amount of yarn.  For crocheters, that means 2,400 yds.  I used about 124 yds for each square I made last summer, so if I make 20 squares, I will already be over the minimum at 2483 yds, even without the crocheted border.

 For the OWL to be accepted, you have to do a bunch of preparation and submit a real project proposal.  I NEVER do this type of thing.  Honestly, I always just wing it.  I make afghans without making sure I have enough yarn, and if I run out and can't find the right color, I just add a new color.  My stripes are always random.  And so on.  I had to be really disciplined this time. I was not very exact with my squares last year, and few are really 12 x 12, but this square was right on.  I knew if I had gauge, I could be sure my squares were the right size if I followed the rounds I added on to make my 2012BAMCAL squares.  I actually made a little "template"  so I could decide color changes in advance, and have some uniformity and plan to it all.

The pointy things are supposed to represent the petals.  I am working with an old version of Paint, so cut me some slack.  I was able to use the fill tool and find some colors that were close to colors in my rug to make up some possible color combinations.

One of the other really cool things about this OWL is that you have to use a new technique.  I asked in one of the Gryffindor chat threads, and someone suggested Air Crochet, Paperclip method, and invisible seaming.

I already use the seaming method (more on that in a bit), but both Air Crochet and the Paperclip method of starting rounds were new to me.  I will not try to explain them here, but might do a tutorial in the future.  Anyway, WOW!  I can't believe how much neater my squares look with these techniques.  Air Crochet is an especially neat way to start a round with a new color, and finish that color off at the end of the round.  The  Paperclip method is much like an Air Crochet beginning, but since you are not changing color, it shows how to finish that round and then continue on to the next round with the same color.  Honesty, sometimes I can not find where I began a round.  Also, I often can't find the final join. 

So far I have finished 2 squares.

I need to seam as I go.  First because I don't want a ton of seaming at the end.  But, secondly, I put in my proposal that the 50% mark would be 12 squares finished and seamed.  The last 50% will include the border, so I wanted to be ahead with the number of squares at 50%. 

The question is, how to seam them?  Usually, I make all of my squares have the same color border, then seam with that color.  But I don't want to do this.  I am going to use the navy and the claret in alternating squares, and I want a third color for the seam, I think... So, I was thinking the beige, or perhaps the olive green for the seam color.  Most likely the beige.  Should it show?  or should I just do an invisible seam and have the blue meet the claret?

This shows the squares seamed together with the seam showing:

and up close:

This is the backside, or what it would look like if the seams were invisible from the front:

I had planned to make the final rounds of each square a sc (single crochet) round.  But now I am wondering if that round will get lost with the seam.  Hmm, maybe I should make the pentultimate round sc and the last round hdc (half-double crochet).  That would make them just a bit wider, and then they would show up better with the seaming.  I think I will make my 2nd pair of squares that way, and compare the two sets.

I would really appreciate any input.  Again, I am leaning towards having the seams show.  This is a pretty busy afghan, so why not make it even busier?


Peace,
Yours,
f1bercat
shaping the planet with afghan squares.

Cooperstown Dreams

Hello!

Life
Well, my nephew, Nino's, team finally lost a game in their Cooperstown Tournament, and are now finished competing.  They made it to the 6th round, which I believe was the sweet 16 teams left.  My brother, Mark, had said last night that it would probably be their hardest game in the tournament.  And as he said, all the teams except one will end the tournament with a loss.  But Nino's team went really far, farther than we had thought they would when they caught their flight out to New York.  The boys had a great time at the facility.  For kids used to the brown of a Southern California summer, the lush green of upstate New York was amazing.

In between games, the kids are allowed to explore, make friends, and just have fun.  There is a stream that runs nearby, and Nino caught a frog.  So, along with the double play he made from Shortstop in the final game, and his 2 home runs earlier in the tournament, I would say he had a wonderful time.

Knitting
I have another FO to share.  I finished my Thistle Tam from the Liz Marino Gift Knits Club.  I started this hat at Disneyland, and worked on the ribbed band while standing in line at various rides.  Once I got to the pattern for the top, I had to put it aside until I could find quiet time to focus.  Instead, I worked on my Capricious Cowl that I had purchased at Churchmouse Yarn & Teas during the 2012 Puget Sound LYS Tour.  Once we had moved into my brother's house, I was able to pick up the Tam again when things were relatively quiet.  Now that my sister K has taken her 2 kids back to Texas, and my sons Himes and Pookie have gone on to Univ. of Arizona and home to get ready for high school to start, I have had much more quiet time.  Thus, I finished my tam yesterday.

What projects do I have left? Well, I brought the Better Than French Vanilla Socks from the Liz Marino Snuggly Socks Pattern that I am making in Cascade Heritage 150 Paints.  I am currently on the gusset section, so pretty far.  I am making these for Mark, though, and he has huge feet.  His feet were big anyway, and now with the swelling from the ALS, they are even bigger!  Since he can't put socks on by himself anymore, he needs super stretchy ones, and this is a great pattern for that.

I brought the Echo Flower Shawl that I am making for my Mom. I am ready to knit the first row of the border that has Nupps in it, so I will need a few hours and a VERY quiet place for that.

HPKCHC
I also brought some yarn and another hat pattern that I got during the 2012 Puget Sound LYS Tour.  I am not sure if I will start that, though.  Of course, the shawl will probably take the 2 weeks that I have left here.  But also, I am thinking of submitting an OWL proposal for the HPKCHC Group on Ravelry.

An OWL is a project that should take 2 - 3 months of ordinary knitting/crocheting to complete.  The Arithmancy OWL is to make 8 of something.  Originally. I had thought to make 4 pairs of socks (that would count for this OWL), but of course, my sock stash is up in Washington, and I would need to submit swatches for each pair of socks I am proposing to knit.  I actually thought that maybe I would just BUY 4 more skeins of sock yarn, and do it anyway (though I DO NOT NEED MORE SOCK YARN THIS YEAR), but I can't find any good solid yarn, and since I want to also submit what I make to Solid Socks and Sock Knitters Anonymous, I will not do socks for the OWL.

One of the other NQFY's (Not Quite First Years) in the group suggested I think about Hats.  I don't have much stash yarn other than lace, sock, and acrylic for afghans and amigurumi.  So buying some yarn for hats would be investing.  Right?  I have been busy looking up good hat patterns on Ravelry.  I have this one hat with me.  I would need 7 more.  Seriously thinking about it. 

Another idea, would be to make a lace shawl.  If I finish the Echo Flower Shawl for my mom, I will need another lace project.  I hope to make another Advent Calendar Scarf but that won't be until December.

What ever I decide, if I want to submit an OWL, I need to get all of the swatches finished, and the proposal written up ready to submit September 1.

EEK!

I might just take this first term as a Firstie to get to know people and participate in other ways.  If I feel pressured to knit knit knit, I won't be able to get on the chat threads.  I have noticed, ahem, that when I am reading chat threads, my productivity goes way down.

Stay safe and well.
Yours,
f1bercat
Shaping the planet with a new Tam.