Sometimes, projects don't behave well at first.

Sometimes, projects just don't want to cooperate right off the mark. They're fiddly, even if they really shouldn't be, or the yarn just does NOT want to play nicely, or you try knitting cobweb mohair lace on a moving train or something equally silly. And eventually, you sit yourself down at your desk, listen to the projects, and make them happy so you can both get along until they're done. To wit:

Wisp

After doing the same row three times and missing a stitch every time (and having already repaired ONE giant hole in this thing left by a missed stitch), I finally put a lifeline in my Wisp:


Here it is now, well past the lifeline... which probably means I should put another one in.


Entrelac Hat

After casting on, getting through 30 rows of ribbing, the setup triangles and the entire first row of entrelac squares, I decided the hat didn't fit, I hated the edge, and it needed to be frogged. And then the second cast-on didn't quite work. So, third time's the charm, and here's how it looked The Morning After The Frog:


... and here it is actually finished.

It is the warmest, snuggliest hat EVER. I love Feza's Cypus Mohair; I wish it was still available! (Heck, I wish Google could find the Feza site!) OMG!!! http://heavenlyhuesyarn.com/cyprusmohair.aspx appears to have some. Now I just have to decide if it's worth buying out whatever they have left or not...

Gryphon Hat

Using the adult instructions, I at least figured out I should have used the Large Child set for my own hat. (I get a HUGE break on the cost of my glasses, because I can wear kids' frames. And yes, Donna Karan makes kids' frames. The break on the frames is completely offset by the cost of the lenses, so I'm still paying half an arm and three toes, but any savings is good!) So, I frogged back past the last increase row, and started again.


It, on the next attempt, actually got finished and turned into a nice little hat, which I wore at Katsucon for hours on end the weekend before last:


So, if something is going horribly wrong (knitting/crochet-wise, anyway), starting over is usually a good idea if you actually want the finished item!

Cross Stitch is In.

This was in the window at CUSP last week:


Yep, that whole waistband is cross-stitched. I was wondering if cross-stitch would ever be "fashion" the way knitting & crochet have been the last couple of years, and I guess the answer is "yes"!!

Katsucon Loot

A couple of weekends ago was Katsucon, which is one of the local Anime/SF/Cosplay/Art/Whatever conventions, and one of the bigger ones. (Not Dragon*Con big, but really... what is?) I got some great loot running amok in the Dealers' Room and Artists' Alley. Yes, that's Nyan Cat in several incarnations (tshirt, bumper stickers and pins). The Quidditch goggles aren't actually mine, but my husband's. The comis are the first two printed issues of Snow By Night, which is one of my favorite webcomics.


Here's a close up of some of the stuff. Yep, I got a Deathly Hallows decal for my car. And more pins. And more decals. And some little magnets. And some Munchkin cards.


The prize, though, was an official Slytherin tie. "Do you even wear ties?" asks my husband. Yes, yes I do - IF THEY'RE COOL. And this is. So it will, indeed, be worn. With my Slytherin sweater vest, so there!!


It was fun; next year, we're going to try to be there for more than four hours!!

50% of an O.W.L.

So, I did make my 50% mark (and then some, actually!) on my Defense Against the Dark Arts O.W.L. Since I'm still trying to catch up on blogposts, here's my turn-in post from Wednesday....

Name: CraftyGryphon
House: Slytherin, Sixth Year
Project Page: Tree Skirt Invisibility Cloak
Proposal Post: submitted post 409
Tags: sqwin12 dadaowl defenseagainstthedarkartsowl owlwinter2012
Yards (so far): 3,215.5 (isn't as bad as I thought it might be at this point.)

Hello, Examiners! I made it!!

Proposed 50% Mark: Halfsies!! There are 36 edge squares, 12 big trapezoids, 24 inner trapezoids, and then all the center stuff. The total area of actual crochet (last column, below) is approximately 63 square feet; half is about 31.5 square feet. The 50% point falls about just under 1/4 of the way through the 12" block section, so 1/4 of the 12" blocks (i.e., 3 blocks) plus 24 6" inner blocks plus the 18" of clusters should get me over the 50% mark.

What I've actually got done: 36 edge squares, 12 big trapezoids, 24 inner trapezoids, and all the center stuff. Which is all the component parts, yay! And yet... there is still more to do! I've actually got to join everything together, and math being what it is, it appears I will need to make an additional four small trapezoids for the bottom row. (I evidently calculated a nice pie-wedge opening, instead of the actual "hey, this needs to be straight-closed down the front" that actually happened.)

Here's everything finished thus far, sort of spread out. On a king-sized bed. Except for the 34 outer-edge trapezoids that are dumped in the middle.


The stuff dumped in the middle.


An earlier progress photo to show that there's actually a hole in the center of the thing, which was entirely covered by trapezoids in the other two shots:


Getting it all together and hanging properly AND lying flat is really turning into a challenge. I'm not using any sort of pattern, just making it up as I go, and it's a bit trickier than expected. I'm getting pretty good at figuring out how to crochet pretty strange shapes on the fly, although there's been a LOT of ripping back to get things to work. Whee?

I think I've got a good shot at actually finishing this thing. It's eating up an AMAZING amount of yarn - half a bongo bag so far - and it's going to make a really pretty tree skirt/cloak. But mostly tree skirt, which will be wonderful with my electric-white fake Christmas tree!!

February Wrap-Up

Okay, some of these you haven't seen yet (because I was sick), but they'll show up over the next week. Especially the Invasion Pending.



1. Muggle Studies - Gerald the Groundhog, turned in post 32, marked complete 74, February 2
2. Care of Magical Creatures - TARDIS Dishcloth, turned in Post 82, marked complete post 157, February 6
3. Astronomy - Little Redskins Fan, turned in post 73, marked complete post 85, February 7
4. Charms - Hearts' Illusion Mitts, turned in post 110, marked complete in posts 184 and 193, February 9
5. History of Magic - Sybil's Slytherin Scarf, turned in post 80, marked complete 96, February 13
6. Quidditch - Be My Dishcloth, turned in post 2174, accepted post 2539, February 13
7. Detention - One Fish, Two Fish, turned in 287, marked complete post 309, February 14 (Badge awarded!)
8. Challenge Quidditch #2 - TKGA Level One Hat, turned in post 2224, accepted post 2540, February 14
9. Herbology - Gryphon Hat, turned in post 180, marked complete post 219, February 17
10. Hogsmeade Weekend, Owl Post Assistance - Highly-Visible Owl Cup Cozie, turned in post 167, marked complete post 204, February 19
10-1/2. Hogsmeade Weekend, Shrieking Shack - Got the "I'm More Terrifying than Tom Riddle!" badge for this story
11. BBC Scarfgate Scarf of Doom - not Hogwarts-related, just for fun, February 28
12. Regular Quidditch - Item #3, Entrelac Hat for Me, post 2709, tallied post _____, February 28
13. 50% OWL - Tree Skirt Invisibility Cloak, turned in post 564, accepted post ____, February 28

March classes drop tomorrow (of course), and, per the picture above, I've got a Bunny Nugget Army preparing to launch!!