A finish! Just now!

Okay, I've backdated this post to yesterday, since it's supposed to be the Friday post, but it's actually 12:58 a.m. on Saturday. I have just finished a project that HAS to be done later today (Saturday) as I'm going to see the recipient. Since scheduling may get truly weird, I needed to have it done *before* attempting to sleep.

So, I stayed up until it was knit, did the finishing, took photos, and will hand it off. But first, I share with you:


As you can hopefully see, it's a Hello Kitty illusion-knit dishcloth. The recipient is TOTALLY into that beribboned feline, even more than I am (and you may remember that scarf I made. So, woohoo, an actual post REALLY INSANELY CLOSE to the time of finishment!! Slowly, I get back into the Blogging Regularly thing...!

Note: Because I gave the original pattern away, I had to recreate it for this dishcloth - but I *cannot* share it, sorry, as I do not own Hello Kitty. (Man, I would have SO MUCH YARN if I was in Sanrio's league, money-wise!)

A Lot of Dishcloths.

I knitted a LOT of cotton dishcloths in 2013. Here, have a look!

This one was huge:


... and there was just this much yarn left when it was done:


This was my second (and very successful) attempt at a centered lattice dishcloth, and I just love the colors:


This one was a sunburst... which ended up looking more like an old-fashioned corset about 5 seconds after this photo:


With any yarn left over after making a "fancy" dishcloth, I made little garter-stitch dishcloths. They have been SOOOOOO useful to have around!






They're relaxing to make, use up yarn (this is a plus!), and turn into something really useful. Hooray!

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!!

A spontaneous seasonal dishcloth happened.

Oh, hooray! I found something to make with the almost-the-rest of the giant ball of dark red cotton yarn, and it went into my queue almost a year ago!! And it was really, really fast as dishcloths-with-patterns go, because all the "pattern" is on the front - the back is just edge-purl across-edge.


Plus, it's great for helping make cookies with little hearts on them. It just kinda goes with the theme!!
Woohoo, 15 more points for Slytherin!

TARDIS dishcloth

A bit of geekery today. There's a really cool TARDIS dishcloth pattern out there. Specifically, it's here, if you're interested. Anyway, our HoH made one last month, and I saw it, and I squealed. So, I made one.


My deviation from the pattern is doing a garter-stitch edging, because I'm used to doing that on my dishcloths. I just couldn't believe I had a nice blue bit of cotton yarn left over from (gosh... flag dishcloths, cup cozies, fish...) to make it! For class, it just had to be made from leftovers from previous projects - the yarn was orignally obtained to make this, which evidently never got on either Ravelry OR my blog, which I just don't understand (must've done it when I was between cameraphones, maybe?)


and was also used for this last month:


So that should count, right?

November Wrap-up!

So, I didn't finish my OWL, but I did get nine other things finished up this month:


November wrap-up:

1. Yule Ball - the Final Dance! Yule Ball Neck Cozy, turned in post 4474, spotted by Seeker post 4476, November 7:
2. Charms, Bedsocks, turned in post 81, marked complete post 89, November 7;
3. Headmistress's Challenge, Squirrel Nutkin, turned in post 244November 7;
4. Astronomy, Stargazer Scarf, turned in post 206, marked complete post 214, November 21;
5. Muggle Studies, No Evidence!turned in post 127, marked complete post ??, November 21;
6. Herbology, Potion Protectors, turned in post 240, marked complete post 325, November 22;
7. Defense Against the Dark Arts, Secret Messages, turned in post 91, marked complete post 159, November 22;
8. Divination, Lines and Spaces, turned in post 157, marked complete post 164, November 22;
9. BROOM, Rogue Hoodie, turned in post 1695, November 29



I think I'll spend a week doing cross-stitch now.

A Secret Message

Okay, so, I finished some classes. The first up is Defense Against the Dark Arts, with the very open-ended assignment of "make something that represents a secret means of identification between you and a loved one". It was a little tricky to think of something that could be legitimately "secret", until I made a mistake making a washcloth for my niece. Her name is Emma, and I'd accidentally made one of the row increases look like a little "e". Cool!!So, I ripped back, and made the entire washcloth (and its matching face-poof - better shot on the left, better idea of the actual colors on the right) with that little "e" going around the edge. Since she's got two sisters, her being able to positively identify her washcloth may be really important!

How to tell I'm healthy enough to try going to work.

Out with a migraine for 27 hours. Upon getting my vision and coordination back (and being well past the throwing-up stage), I did what any normal person would do.

I knit a dishcloth, just to make sure I could.


... what do you mean, "that's not normal"?

July Wrap-Up

I kinda forgot to do the wrap-up last month, so here's June and July's Hogwarts Fun (only July pictured):

JUNE: Quidditch, Round 4 - Potter Puppet Pals (Post 3964), June 3; 50% OWL - Defense Against the Dark Arts (Post 173), June 10; Charms - American Flag Potholder (Post #233, June 27, approved post #356; DADA - Easy Pretty Dishcloth (Post #304, approved post 321; 50% OWL - History of Magic (Post 744), June 30.

JULY: Care of Magical Creatures - Bacon Washcloth and Face Poof (Post 34), approved post 53, July 5; Muggle Studies - S-is-for-Snake Dishcloth (Post 52), approved post 54, July 8; Hallows #1 - Resurrection Stone - American Flag Potholders (Post 4884, July 12 and Hallows #2 - Elder Wand - Various Dishcloths, same post, July 28; History of Magic - Ancient Cursebreaking Cloth (Post #49), approved post 109, July 13; Potions - Incendio Antidote (Post #159), approved post 164, July 14;
Charms - Star Dishcloth (Post #62), approved post 79, July 14.

Didn't finish either OWL this time. Too many Health Icks. Next term, I'm only doing ONE OWL. That's it, just one!!!

Chugging Along

Mostly worked on my HoM OWL this weekend; I'm down to 55 rows left. Since I managed to finish about 15 during the course of the entire weekend, it's going to be a bit of a rush to finish - and let's not forget I've also got my DADA OWL to get done. Sigh. Plus, I'd like to finish at least one more Hallows done for Quidditch... I have about half a Pineapple Dishcloth (today's carry-around) for that. It's going to be two of those, two round dishcloths, an Easy Pretty, and two American Flag Potholders. I think that will put me at around 800 yards, but I want to be sure. Plus, I'm having fun doing "relaxing" knitting and crochet with yarn that's bigger than size 10 cotton!







If I get far enough on the HoM OWL tonight, that will be tomorrow's picture. It's nine more rows until the second set of peacocks begins. Sigh.... but if I get this sucker in, it's a MILE of yardage bonus for Slytherin!!!

1,000 posts? Really??

Turned in three classes this week, somewhat unexpectedly, and should have a sixth by the end of the month. Wasn't planning on that, but I'll take it! These are my turn-in posts.

Charms:

I chose Option 2: Craft something that means something specific to you personally. I had some leftover yarn (about 100 yards - crochet really does use more yarn than knitting!) that didn't have a dedicated purpose, and cried out to be made into Something. This is what I came up with. (Really, the center is Navy Blue. It's just hard to tell, but it is!)


Now, the explanation. I've always had a bit of a stars-and-stripes theme going; the product of a military upbringing, in part, and a love of bright colors for the rest. My kitchen has the theme (not "Danger Men Cooking"; my mom insisted I have a border in my kitchen when we got the house; she's been trying to get me to get rid of it since), with all sorts of red-white-blue things going, most notably the curtains by the window.


I've painted furniture (it looks like it's a set of dressers, but really, it's, um, not, because who'd have dressers outside the kitchen?) to match...


... and I tend to make more things to match when I can, like, for example, dishcloths for Hallows.


But getting stars on things is tricky. Unless it's screened fabric, or something huge like an afghan, stars just don't happen easily, and even if they do, they may not look good. Leaving me with a decided Unbalance of Stars in my decor. So, I made a big one! It will go in my kitchen, probably somewhere near the oven. Since it's cotton, it will probably wind up being an all-purpose towel/dishcloth. Or just a pretty happy thing!

Thanks for the assignment, Professors. I like making pretty happy things!

---

Potions:

I chose to Craft a Direct Antidote to counteract injuries caused by the Incendio charm. It is based on the Rule of Three: it is a three-ply yarn, made from three long color runs, amounting to approximately forty and one-half yards. To activate it, simply wind it thrice, widdershins, around the affected area. Until activation, it should stay wrapped clockwise on a frame of some sorts, strands not touching. (No harm will be done if the strands are in contact, but it decreases the active life of the antidote by a few months.)


As a side note, it also seems to work nicely for mosquito bites. I'm not quite certain why, but as side effects go, I'll take it!

---

History of Magic:

I have chosen Option 2: Craft something that would help you break ancient curses. (And it only took 60 yards of cotton!)

I have created a protective disc that I believe will be effective in breaking ancient curses (and protecting the user from any that might not quite break entirely).


It is a fifteen-pointed green disc, meant to be held between the cursed object/place and the user. Cursed objects may be held by the user, but the user is advised to be certain no direct contact with the actual object occurs until the disc has had a chance to work. Average working time varies from two to fifteen minutes, with up to two hours required for coverage areas in excess of two acres.

Why it works: Green was the color of the 'Eye of Horus', or 'Wedjat', which had healing and protective powers, and so the color also represented well-being. To do 'green things' was to do behave in a positive, life affirming manner - the exact opposite of curses! (There's a really interesting article on colors in Ancient Egyptian art here, if anyone else is interested.) The number five in ancient Egypt incorporates the principles of polarity (2) and reconciliation (3). "All phenomena without exception, are polar in nature, treble in principle." (1) Thus, my protective device is two sided (one to reflect the curse, one to protect the user) and made of three-pointed sections, five in total. Horus, in his aspect of deity of protection, is also associated with the number five. So, green thing with two sides, three multiples in each of five sections = pretty danged protective, especially against ancient Egyptian curses!

So, five classes and one Hallows in, with a class, two Hallows, and two OWLs left to do in two weeks. YEEK!!

Deathly Hallows, Part 1

Nope, nothing to do with the movie that's OMG ALMOST HERE EEEEE!

Instead, it's a bunch of crochet. There *is* a connection, for which I blame Raverly and the entire HPKCHC. (yay!)

Anyway, time to turn in the first of my Hallows. This is worth 35 points (yay), and for this option under the Resurrection Stone, the idea is to (a) give a face to a pattern that doesn't have a Ravelry photograph and (b) use at least 300 yards of fiber. I did one exactly by the pattern for Charms last month (so it doesn't count here), then another six. On three of the cloths, I swapped out buttons for French knots, which renders them decorative rather than practical, but still pretty.


Here's the lot of them:

Betsy Ross	1812 - The Star Spangled Banner
Old Glory (buttons)	Old Glory (knots)

The ones I like best, though, are the ones without any "stars" on them - totally machine washable no matter what, and there's no fear that something might melt from a too-warm Held Pot.


I'm going to do some more of these, with a slightly different color scheme, for one of the other Hallows. Whee!!

Care of Unmagical Creatures

I have actually been knitting quite a bit - all washcloths, lately. They're small, portable, and I can fit four balls of yarn in my purse and they don't weigh all that much! So, if a class can be made to fit a washcloth, I'm trying to make it happen.

For Care of Magical Creatures, we could start on the Christmas knitting, so I did. Most of the women in my family (whether they want them or not) will be getting little cotton washcloths, and, if there's enough yarn, little facepoofs to match. (Looks like one ball of Lily Sugar n' Cream nets two washcloths, and *maybe* one facepoof if I'm lucky. Here's the first set, turned in for class:



For Muggle Studies, I had the option of (being a Slytherin) reading through The Green Fairy Book and crafting something to represent a story from it. To my delight, it contained the tale of The Enchanted Snake!! For the HoH Challenge for July, we were also to attempt, for some class, to find a Gryffindor to stalk, and make a project of theirs that fit. I found a wee Gryffie with a perfect project to try: a dishcloth with a big giant "S" on it. Which, if done in green, winds up looking like this:


That's likely it for classes, although I have some ideas for Arithmancy, DADA... oh, heck, for all of them, but OWLS, Quidditch and Tour de Fleece come first!

Washcloth of Mystery

This is a round dishcloth/washcloth made my my Gramma Suzie. This one is her daughter's, but her other daughter has one, too (and probably her granddaughter, my SiL; can't remember if my cousin said she had one or not). It is a very pretty round washcloth, looks to be made from short rows, with a yarnover increase near the ends to make the petaly bits.


It's possible Gramma just made them off the top of her head. I did a Rav search to see if I could find the pattern, but didn't, not exactly. Marion Torgerson's is close - enough to give me an idea how to start it, anyway. And I do have a pretty good photo.

Once I've turned in my 50% HoM OWL (or failed spectacularly to do so - 18 rows left!), I'm going to do one of these just to relax on Friday. I'm sure there's a class for which I'll be able to make it work!

Tuesday - DADA done!

The Easy Pretty Dishcloth took about two hours, one ball of yarn, and was done for my mom at her request. This is the same mom that, when I made her a fairisle sweater with sailboats around the yoke UNRAVELED IT because it was too big. (She then knit it the size she thought she wanted. Which fit her then six-year-old godson perfectly and became his favorite sweater.) I don't tend to knit things often for mom, because either I'm worried she'll undo them, or she'll save them and not use them Because They Are So Much Work. This wasn't that much work - I think I'll even be able to convince her to use it, and wash it, and treat it like a normal dishcloth! It's in the next post, since I want that one to be Just The Pattern.

Dishcloth Pattern!

Easy Pretty Dishcloth

This dishcloth is made on the long edge, from alternating 5-row bands of stockinette and reverse stockinette, with a garter stitch border. It took exactly one ball of Lily Sugar'n Cream - 95 yards. (I knit loosely; your mileage may vary.
______________________

Cast on 54 stitches using long-tail method. (Explained in Knitty's '05 Summer Issue, here.)

Knit four rows. The long-tail cast on creates a row as it's made, so you'll have a total of five rows to start.

Begin Pattern:
Row 1 - K5, place marker, k across to last five stitches, place marker, K5.
Row 2 - k5, p across to last 5 stitches, k5.
Row 3 - k across
Row 4 - k5, p across to last 5 stitches, k5
Row 5 - k across


Row 6 - K across
Row 7 - k5, p across to last 5 stitches, k5
Row 8 - K across
Row 9 - K5, p across to last 5 stitches, K5
Row 10 - K across

Repeat rows 1-10 three more times (a total of forty rows of pattern, plus the five from the cast on and k-across at the beginning); then repeat rows 1-5 one time.

K four rows, then bind off. (Various methods also at Knitty, here.) If desired, crochet a hanging loop from the yarn left in the tail, slip stitch firmly back where you started the loop, tie off, and weave in ends.

June Class: Charms

This was today's turn-in post. The assignment was to make something EXACTLY following the pattern, including using the yarn called for. I actually had a project that I was comfortable making, and had the actual yarn, so this month just sort of fell into place. Here's the turn-in post:

Hello, Professors! This is CraftyGryphon, Fourth Year Slytherin, and I've actually managed to make the American Craft Yarn Council's American Flag Potholder EXACTLY according to the instructions. First, the yarn is to be Lily Sugar & Cream 4 Ply Cotton: Red #95, Wwhite #01 and Bright Navy #09. Here are my Yarn Labels as proof I used the proper yarn:


Then, I did the 37 chain stitches, and started the stripes. I kept following instructions. Exactly. (I should also add that at this point, I've made half a dozen of these, with no stars attached yet, for Quidditch/Horcruxes. Unlike my Quiddy ones, though, this one has Stars.

I also did the chain hanging loop as per the instructions. I usually prefer to just do it as I start the final row, so it's solidly attached no matter what (I don't trust slip stitches, always), but I slip stitched it here.


And then the French Knots. The pattern doesn't really specify how many stars, or where to put them, so I went with all fifty. French Knots in four-ply cotton yarn, which is NOT smooth as is, say, embroidery floss? NOT fun. I can usually make perfect French knots -and I think I got maybe three out of the fifty to look right. I will *not* be adding stars to my Quiddy potholders. They look just fine and pretty without 'em, and for the extra hour of effort, it just doesn't look that great!


This, however, must be done Exactly According To The Pattern. And, so, it is!!

So, that's all I *have* to do in June to keep playing. I've got one other class done, and I still need to get the 50% on my HoM OWL...

A slow sort of weekend.

Okay, still a little "off", so didn't get as much crafting over the weekend as I'd hoped. (And, OK, went to see Green Lantern. Which was fun. I had some issues with it, being a GL fan of long standing, but Kilowog was perfect, so I forgive all.) Did manage to wander around a few stores, though, and found BACON YARN. Okay, it's not made of bacon, but look at those colors. THAT'S BACON. If there's a July class at Hogwarts that I can fit a Bacon Dishcloth into, there will be a Bacon Dishcloth. (And really, I'm going to make it anyway, it'd just be nice if it fit into a class.


I'm getting some other dishcloths going - I'm at about 1.3 of the four I need for the Pineapple Dishcloth. Found two other colors to make 'em in, too (all shades of peach/yellow/gold). But only one finished so far. (When are Hallows due again?)


Really, I've got my Charms potholder and all my Hallows potholders ready to go, except for weaving in the ends and stitching on the stars. I've got to finish the Charms one, for certain, and get that in. Then it's tablecloth, tablecloth, tablecloth. At least it's getting faster now that I'm getting to the center bits with the big lattice stitches!!