Broncos Boa

If you know me, you know I'm a Denver Broncos fan. So when a ball of fluffy stuff in blue and orange wandered in front of me, a Broncos Boa was going to happen.



IT IS SO FLUFFY!!

We R Slytherins!

Might as well brighten up the weekend with a kicky* little melody!**







(*I don't endorse house elf abuse. That's one scene that could've been left out of the vid. Otherwise, it's fun!!)
(** Because I haven't gotten pictures of my knitting & spinning uploaded in a way I can show them here yet. It's the weekend.)

Jenny and the Tack-y Dress

So, I watch Nuestra Belleza Latina. (I also watch ANTM and Model Latina; I'm a sucker for pageants crossed with modeling tryouts.) Anyway, NBL's second-to-finale episode was this past Sunday, and my favorite, Miriam Hernandez, was eliminated (sigh). My second fave, Jenny Arzola, was wearing a really... interesting dress. I'm officially calling it The Tack-y Dress, because - well - look at it. The grapic elements on the dress ARE SPARKLY TACKS. (Oh, screen captures, if only I could remove your little "play" buttons.)


Tacks, I tell you.


I don't know if Jenny's going to win. The competition is pretty evenly matched this season (as opposed to 2007, when it was Alejandra Espinoza's crown to lose). I'm not sure if this dress helped or hurt her - it fit well, and it was flattering, and it was certainly memorable. And she did get the coveted Golden Ticket to the Grand Finale this Sunday.


But... it's definitely Tack-y, and might cross over to actually tacky. (Which is fine by me; if I had her figure, I'd be trying to find out where I could get one!!)

Charms done - Rock Lobster!

So, I had six classes finished by Sunday night, and that was all I needed. I'd almost finished my little lobster for Charms (WITH FLAMES), of course. The whatever-it-was that I'd been fighting off most of last week finally got me Sunday afternoon (I missed part of the NASCAR race, so you know it was pretty serious), and I wasn't sure I'd survive the commute to work on Monday. (Turns out - I wouldn't have... or, rather, the other people in the car wouldn't have been at ALL happy.) So, here was my little lobster as of Sunday:


As you can see, he only had a claw left. So, very slowly over the course of Monday morning (and it was just 30 rows, some as short as six stitches, so the fact it took all morning... sigh... I finished him up and turned him in.


Here's the actual turn-in post...

Hello, Professors! This is CraftyGryphon, Third Year Slytherin, turning in her assignment. I have chosen to do a piece representative of the B-52's classic, "Rock Lobster". While it's really more of a spoken-word piece, there's definitely something resembling music behind it, and it definitely refers to an actual lobster. I think. Anyway, I knit up this little guy. Since he's a ROCK lobster, I had to knit him WITH FLAMES. Rock is all about the attitude.


I think he's a redeemable Bad Boy, though. I mean, just lookit that sweet face...


As some students might not be familiar with the musical work in question, here's a link: Link to YouTube B-52s "Rock Lobster" Video


Yes, it's a bit strange. But I got a lovely little lobster-friend out of it, and he even matches most of my accessories. (He has, however, warned me that I WILL NOT wear him as a hat/headpiece, EVER. Or Else.)

Thanks for a fun assignment, Professors!!

And because I want to make it easy for you, here's the B-52s Rock Lobster video, right here!
Yep, today, it's all about the strange!

Tis the season... to show the loot!

First post after Christmas... so let me show you the Knitting Loot from my boss-who-knits! (She goes to FibreSpace; gift certificates were obtained; stuff was then obtained, as said certificated quickly burned a hole in my pocked. You know how it is.) First up, the adorable new Knit and Puuuuuurl shirt. I had to get the version with the blue space-cat. I'm all about blue space-cats.


front




back

Then I espied the bargain yarn bin. Lookit those tags. Yep, Malbrogio LACE. In Orange/Tiger Lily (my favorite color), and Chartreuse/Apple Green (a color that's usually on me somewhere). I'll probably be combining both into one lovely shawl, but I'm not sure. It may be one big and one small thing. We'll see. But it's really pretty lovely soft yarn!!



The point-of-purchase display of needle gauges got me, since one of the things I tend to lose with regularity are needle gauges. It's pretty, and flat, and will now live in my backpack. (Which, just so you know, is chartreuse.)


Whee! I got stuff!!

Fiber O.W.L.s!!!

Under the heading of "OMG SQUEE!!!", whilst poking about Ravelry, I noticed that some people had really super-cool-looking O.W.L. Ravatars. This lead me to hunt down all the O.W.L. badges I could find, and via doing *that*, I was led to the Harry Potter Knit & Crochet Cup group on Ravelry (thanks, K!) and *WOW* there are some stunningly lovely projects that have been awarded O.W.L.s thus far. I believe all these amazing badges were designed by Michelle (aka Fruitloops). The requirements for each O.W.L. are here in spreadsheet form. O.W.L.s are in addition to monthly coursework. And Quidditch. If you'd like to play along, you can sign up on the appropriate thread in the Ravelry group & get sorted until April 28; classes begin May 1. (I got my Hogwarts Admission Letter on Monday - squeeee!!) Also, there's a blog for it all here with lots of information. (And you can just lurk, too, if you wish.)


I wish to state clearly that I have not earned any fiber O.W.L.s, and the lovely little pics above are purely for illustrative purposes and the sheer cuteness of it all. I am, however, going to have a lot of fun over the next few years (well, the next seven, assuming I graduate with the rest of the crop of First Years starting this May). There are monthly classes (projects) for House Points (take up to six per month), the Cup is awarded regularly, and, when all is said and done, I'll (hopefully!) get a few O.W.L.s in the process. Someone asked recently what I'd do if I won the lottery, not silly-huge amounts, but enough so I didn't have to work for a decade or so... and I think you can guess the answer: get my Hand Knitting Level I, II & III TKGA mastery, and all of my Hogwarts O.W.L.s!!!

Found: Knitting VIDEO podcast!

Okay, more cool stuff from the internet today! I joined a Twibe (Knitting, natch!), and wandered through the other members, looking for Cool Blogs to Follow, and discovered something possibly even COOLER -Let's Knit2Gether Podcasts!! They're free. You can see them through the link there, or download 'em free through iTunes and watch them anywhere. Portable knitting TV! I mean, really. It doesn't get much more fun than that!!

I started by downloading the first podcast through the end of 2007. The topics included "Maryland Sheep & Wool, Parts 1 and 2"; "The Yarn Harlot in NYC to Represent"; "Stitches East 2006"; "If You Block It, Will It Fit?" and a bunch more about Actual Knitting. Since the 'casts are done through donations & sponsorships, if you like them, there's several ways to donate to keep them coming. (This seems to be a cool trend: the idea of shareware expanding to "sharecasts".)

Episodes vary in length, usually around 5-10 minutes, sometimes longer, and there are almost fifty of them now. (I grabbed the first two dozen.)

I should note: There's a Ravelry group, you can get DVDs of the podcasts if you don't have another way to watch them, and, of course, there are . . .


TOTEBAGS!!!! For Sale!! Clicky!!! Yeah, okay, I have a slight totebag problem.
. . . mostly that four of my bins that are supposed to hold yarn are full of totebags. ANYway, if you have an iPod and the cables that connect your iPod to your TV, then you don't even have to worry about "hold iPod and watch OR knit". You can do both!!

ETA: Squeeeee! CAT from the Let'sKnit2Gether Podcast commented!! Squeeee!!

I like books wherein the characters knit.

Fun Find of the Weekend: Elizabeth Lenhard's Chicks with Sticks books, a trilogy of Young Adult books about high school, growing up, and, of course, knitting. They're fun (I'm halfway through the second; I read the first yesterday)! Ms. Lenhard manages to capture teenage angst well (a bit of a trick with older authors sometimes), which gives me hope for my own books (set in that nowhere-time of The Summer After College Graduation). Side note - I think books should be read. I read books - young adult, old adult, whatever. I'm still amazed at the librarian that told me I "couldn't read" young adult books, because I was an adult. I'm wondering how the heck she became a librarian with an attitude like that!! Anyway, I found a set at my local library: you should see if yours has them, too!


Also, there's progress on the Star Tam. It's just not quite as fast now that I'm hitting 200 stitches per round!


Tomorrow: a fun new magazine!!

Yarn on Thursday: all Lit Up!

I'm worried someone may have missed this bit of wonderfulness, so I'm reposting it today for Yarn on Thursday. It's lit-up yarn on the lam(b)!

Art, with Sheep. But in a whole new way...

Well, after a lot of soul-searching and thinking and debating with myself, I will *not* be trying to get to Maryland Sheep & Wool or Rhinebeck this year. The allergies are already responding to treatment, but if I give it one more year, then I may actually be able to enjoy myself without fear that I'll have to walk back to the hotel just to get away from the allergens. So, no Sheep & Wool. I will, however, be hitting Nature's Yarns and hanging out that weekend - because for some reason, things are really really slow just then!

There's a cute webcomic out there, Knit Princess. The link goes to my favorite strip. It's pretty new, so it won't take that long to read 'em all.

But, I can bring you some sheep and wool... with SHEEP ART!!!

Those are the best-trained sheepdogs. EVER.

Magic Socks!!

Back in the dawn of days (we'll call it the "80's"), I was headed off to college. I ended up going to a Math Intensive Type-school, for reasons that still escape me, other than it was a blast, I had fun, and I managed to leave on time, with a degree that I actually used for a few years. Had I not gone there, I'd have gone to a liberal arts college nearby, and majored in classical history, art and mythology, with a minor in Italian, and what classes I could muster in Ancient Greek. My masters would've been narrowed down to art & mythology; my PhD (well, I would've gone for it, I know me) would've been centered around some theme in Greco-Roman pantheistic mythology. Preferably one where I'd have an excuse to wander around Greece and Italy in search of ruins, art, and local variations on various myths (aka "poking around in old books and museums and libraries and private collections to my heart's content").

The reason I tell you this is so that you will understand why my husband thought I'd been shot when I started screaming (loudly: "EEEEEE! EEEEEEEEEEE! EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!") when I got the most recent Fairy Tale Sock Club box in the mail last Thursday evening. Rather than strictly a fairy tale, these socks are based off one of the most well-known of the ancient Greek myths/histories out there: Theseus and the Minotaur. And they're based on one of the most well-known ancient Greek art forms: the Red Figured vase. (Example of the Gods and Goddesses on a vase, here.)


I should also add here that I love the Greek Key motif. My baby grand piano has it carved around the edges as decoration. The lovely treat-dishes on said piano have it. I inlaid the floor on the other side of the chimney from said piano with a Greek Key.

For me, socks really don't get any better. You get the idea now, yes? Anyway, I started them right away - balled up the yarn and everything, figured out how I could follow the pattern and still wear the socks (I'm experimenting with being able to knit much more tightly than I do... more like a 'normal person'...). Squealed a lot more. Loudly. (My poor husband. And he was home sick, too.)

Sadly, I was sleeping much of the weekend, or running around a convention - neither of which is conducive to knitting. So, Friday night, I was this far:


After an entire three-day weekend, I had only made it to the start of the heel flap:


Look at that Greek Key in mosaic stitch.
I'd been doing mosaic stitch wrong for years.
Yay for good directions!!
So Tuesday morning, I finished turning the heel - and was way behind where I wanted to be by then. See?


Now on the upside, I'm learning to knit a bit tighter when it matters, so using the instructions for the Small Sock and size 2 needles (yes, bigger than called for, I'm in training), I'm keeping gauge and getting a sock that fits. I'm quite impressed with myself, unduly so, since being able to knit tightly or loosely seems to be something most knitters accomplish long before I did. So far, Sock #1 actually fits, and quite well... and I've actually got THE NUMBER OF STITCHES CALLED FOR on the needles! Wheeee! As of... I think Wednesday evening, I'd gotten the second mosaic band done (and am in awe of the Clever involved in getting decreases to work in a patterned band... really nifty trick!!) . . .


. . . and here's where I was this morning:


Look! Tiny Minotaur Feet!!
The stranded work is going a bit more slowly than I'd like, mostly because it's the counted cross-stitch of knitting: unlike regular knitting, where even patterned stuff has a repeat that can eventually be committed to memory, trying to commit this graphed image (in its entirety) to memory would result in ME being committed. So, I have to "look away from the knitting" and "count actual numbers" and other things that tend to slow me down. I've almost gotten the hang of socks-on-two-circs at this point, and I'm hoping to have a Finished Sock #1 and bits of a started Sock #2 to show you early next week!

Contests, Pandas, and Virtue Rewarded

Okay, Knitty is having its Biggest Contest Ever right now! To enter, you just join their mailing list (yahoogroup). Okay, I can do that... and I *totally* want to win the audiobooks from Knitting Out Loud, two of which I've almost bought already. To be honest, I'd be happy with *any* of the prizes. Sometimes my luck is in, and it's been a good week so far!

Speaking of prizes, I was almost *instantly* rewarded yesterday for not going nuts and buying a sweater's worth of Kauni. Background: I wanted to go to Victoria, BC, last fall, but didn't. Thea Dueck, founder of The Victoria Sampler, my favorite cross-stitch design supplier, designed a Twelve Days of Christmas sampler/ornaments last year. And it was offered at a class in Victoria, exclusively. (This is why I wanted to go.) Yesterday, I got an e-mail letting me know that (YAY!) the Twelve Days of Christmas Cyberclass was available for sign-up. I didn't even have to think about it, and felt Quite Noble for not ordering any yarn. Clearly, it was a Sign/Reward for Good Behavior. ♥♥Yaaaaaay!♥♥

PS, it might be somebody's birthday. Not mine. But someone's.


(c) SadDogShirts.com(Also ♥♥!)

Stitchopoly!!

OMG, I'm totaly getting a copy of Stitchopoly for my friend Midge for her upcoming birthday. Probably one for myself, too... she just saw it at AC Moore, had to call me and tell me about it, and I reminded her NOT to buy it for herself.
I mean, I just HAVE to. (And I'm totally being the Scissors every time I play, unless the owner of the board wants them. We'll have to play it at her birthday party, for sure!) I wish I could find a better pic online, but there will be *much* better pictures coming once she has hers in hand!!

$1 a ball. For Patons.

Last night was, as it turns out, a really good night for shopping. Someone in the blogiverse had gotten her paws on her copy of "Things I Learned From Knitting (Whether I Wanted To or Not)", so I had to check the local B&N to see if they had a copy. They did - ONE. Just one. MineMineMineMineMine!! Since I was already buying stuff, I checked to see if they had season 1 & 2 of "Project Runway" - they did. They were also playing an Armik album I hadn't heard (and thus did not own) - got that, too. Then, it was off to the neighborhood of the gym. Nearby the gym, you see, is a Dollar Tree. This, in itself, isn't incredible - but the fact that it's selling skeins of Patons Yarn(!!!) for a buck apiece (!!!!) is. I got three skeins of Lacette - yeah, that's what I needed to finish my Travelling Roses shawl - for THREE DOLLARS. Mom had wiped out the entire stock of whatever-she's-making-her-sweater-in - ice blue Allure, I think - the day before. (If you're interested, it's at the northeast corner of the intersection of Old Keene Mill Rd. and Rolling Rd. in Springfield - next to the Giant. The yarn is just sitting in one of the racks outside the store, waiting for you.)

When I got home, I looked at the five balls of pink Lacette that I'd gotten for just shy of $6 apiece, and frowned. I have three balls of a deep mauve/dark rose... I do not need these five balls. (If I can find the receipt, some of those overpriced little hussies are going back to Michael's.) After chastising my yarn for a while, I curled up in my chair, and spent the rest of the evening startling my spouse by randomly laughing out loud.



You understand.

Also, much fun was had in Toronto, thanks to the Yarn Harlot's photo-with-sock scavenger hunt. (Rules here). I feel like setting up something like this in DC - it would be a ton of fun, and it would be a neat way to get people into the city to find all the cool little corners I've found. (I shoud add that I've been thinking of doing a photo scavenger hunt for years; I just have to save up enough prize money/get enough sponsors that lots of people would play.)

Knitting for fun and profit?

Quick Note: CraftyGryphon Knits is now available on LiveJournal as a feed. http://syndicated.livejournal.com/crftygrphnknits/.

I don't feel bad about not having a picture for today, since I've been really good with the pictures lately. Instead, I will point out fun stuff and ask a question.

Fun stuff: Okay, I'm totally getting the Yarn Harlot 2009 Calendar. (Like I'm not gonna get the new book the second I see it on the shelves! See, I badger my local Border's to get such things, so I buy 'em there when I have a coupon (which, thanks to being on the e-list, is pretty much constantly).

And now, the question: KnittyDragon asked, probably rhetorically, if there was a way she could spend her life knitting, writing and other good stuff... without starving in the streets. I, of course, tried to think of some. This is what I have so far; any other ideas most welcome.

1. Win the lottery, preferably over $2.3 million after taxes. Assuming you're over the age of three, that should do it.
   Downside: You'll need a financial planner, and they ain't cheep. Then again, you're rich now.
    
2. Find a YarnDaddy or YarnMomma... someone who's willing to support you whilst you do this stuff.
   Downside: He or she will probably want something in return, and it could be ooky.
    
3. Become famous knitblogger - it's worked for Wendy, the Yarn Harlot, Crazy Aunt Purl, etc. Why not you?
   Downside: Breaking through is tough... but once you do, you're golden.
    
4. Find a job you *also* enjoy, and teach everyone there to knit. (This is my method until I win the lottery, btw.)
   Downside: Some actual work has to get done.
    
5. Realize that eventually, there will be retirement, and if you've planned well, you get to write and knit as much as you want.
   Downside: "Retirement" can be decades away, and not everyone is that patient.

Anyone have any other (legal) methods to add to the list?

First Monday of the New year

I want a Seed Stitcher!! I got an imported latch hook kit, and the latch hook provided is too big for the canvas it comes with! Can you believe this? Now, I can use a lovely size 10 crochet hook, fold the little rugyarnbits in half, pull them halfway through the canvas (about twenty at a time), then go *back* and pull the ends through each loop, one by one... but this really kills the mindless rhythm of latch hook. I *will* say that it's the best printed canvas I've ever worked - I won't have to refer to a chart to get the picture just as it should be.

But man, it needs a tiny, tiny latch hook!!

I did get something I wanted: Laurie Perry's 'Drunk, Divorced and Covered in Cat Hair'. Finished it in a day, and it was wonderful. If you don't quite know who I'm talking about, she's also Crazy Aunt Purl.

Didn't get any actual knitting done (maybe a row or two on the Lilly of the Valley shawl). Didn't get much cross-stitch done. Didn't actually get past the buy-the-necessary-materials step of further home renovations. Instead, I went to see movies!

Movie	Opinion
National Treasure: Book of Secrets	Fun, and more or less what I expected, based on the previous film. Predictable? Sure... but that's the point of treasure-hunt based popcorn flicks. It was fun seeing lots of DC-local stuff, and fun seeing what I know they filmed when they were in town... that didn't make it into the movie. But, then, Riley's two best lines from the trailer aren't actually in the film. It did, however, contain fun things like puzzles, travel around the world, car chases, a somewhat likeable villian (that's smart - I like this series because the villians are just as smart as the heroes), and Helen Mirren. (plot summary)
Enchanted	Disney fluff, with the up-to-date strong heroines, fun musical numbers and MORE talking chipmunks (like the other three weren't enough). I have some serious issues with the animated princess, though... she's what, a size 0? Great job promoting health, there, Disney. Usually you make your heroines at least somewhat *possible*. And, I suppose, the animated Giselle is... she lived in the middle of a forest, and maybe she didn't know how to feed herself. But no, wait, the evil Queen Narcissa is *also* a toothpick. And her dragon looked soooooooo much better in the trailers. ASIDE FROM THAT, though, it's a nice, fluffy, fun bit of entertainment. And, OK, I hadn't realized James Marsden was Prince Edward. Oh, and the wonderful character actor Timothy Spall is the Evil Sidekick, which is a nice visual shorthand for the kiddies that first met him as Peter Pettigrew/Wormtail in the Harry Potter films.
Sweeny Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street	Wow. Okay, this is a really bloody, gory musical (yes, musical) about a guy who kills a lot of people, and his downstairs neighbor, who turns the victims into meat pies she then sells. It's a VERY hard R - you get to see the killing being done, complete with blood everywhere and then some. If you can get past that, this is one of my top three favorite movies for cinematography and visuals (the other two being "300" and "The Matrix") - and OMG, the actors totally rocked it. Johnny Depp and Alan Rickman have always been favorites of mine, and now that she's playing truer to herself, Helena Bonham Carter is amazing. Timothy Spall and Sascha Baron Cohen, too? If there's an award for casting, I hope Susie Figgis gets it. Even Stephen Sondheim is reported to like this adaptation of his work. Tim Burton is finally back on-stride here. Yaaay! Musical horror!!

Because this is allegedly a knitting blog (which is a trick when I haven't knitted since last post), I give you a photo of older knitting-in-progress. Much to my surprise when I found this recently, I was about a third of the way done... which is something, given there's around 260 stitches PER ROW, and it takes FOUR ROWS to get one "pattern" row done... gaaaaaa!!
[KnitStuff/illusiondragon-1.jpg]
The Dragon Illusion Blanket.
You can sort of see the dragon's wing starting to emerge...

LastDay

Final UFO count for 2008: Presently at 60; 59 TOTALLY possible!! See? And, need I add, I've managed to not start ANYTHING new, despite getting yarn *and* cross-stitch kits for Christmas!

Project # for 2007	Project/Start Date (if known)	Craft	Likely?
30	Britney Handbag (10/13/07)	Knitting	Really Freakin' Close!!!
33	Set of 8 Dice Bags for Gamers	Sewing	DONE

I'm gonna finish the bag tonight. I'm also over the halfway point on the Lilly of the Valley shawl; carrying it around has magically made it grow. And I seem to have more yarn than I thought I did; I'll have most of the "body" of the shawl done off the first ball of yarn, so I should actually be able to do some edging. (Now, of course, I'm wondering why I took the extra seconds to make a Very Perfect Edge on my shawl, since I'm going to hide it with edging... but I suppose the join will be all pretty, and that'll be worth it.)

For any knitting Browncoats out there, here's a pointer to Adam Baldwin singing 'The Hero of Canton' while wearing the original Jayne hat.

In other news, I joined the "Resolutions 2008" group Hazy started on Ravelry. I made lots and lots of resolutions... and I may actually be able to commit to some of them. Starting, for example, a DeviantArt account or Etsy store will be cake. I didn't say I had to have anything to put in either one, mind you! Shipping out "Escape from HappyWorld" will be a bit more traumatic, however.

Here's the full list of Things This Gryphon Will Attempt in 2008:

Craft related:

1. Get under 50 UFOs. I’ve got 60 as of today, and this year's was "under 60". Given I've started thirtysomething things, and finished another thirtysomething things in 2007, this is actually a much bigger challenge than you might think.
2. Start working on the publishable patterns and publish (free or for money) at least two.
3. Start etsy store (dice bags?).
4. Start DeviantArt account for art.
5. Start regular publication of comic strip.
6. Ship manuscript out to at least 20 publishers.

Life related:

1. Lose at least 30 pounds.
2. Go to Curves at a minimum 3 times a week.
3. Get up to moving-faster-than-walking for 5k.
4. Become friends with vegetables at least once a week.
5. Drink water, just straight water, at least five times a week.

House related:

1. Pull all the books off the shelves and catalog.
2. Eliminate duplicates via sale or donation.
3. Eliminate all excess electronics via sale or donation.
4. Find floor in craft room; attempt to keep same visible at all times.
5. Conquer fear of sewing machine to allow it into craft room.
6. Finish final touches on all the shelves.

Kids, if I get through all of this, 2008 will be a VERY good year!!

And to end 2007 on a bizarre note, I present you with the knitted chandelier that's hanging in a display case on the second floor of the Georgetown Park Mall:

[KnitStuff/KnittedChandelier.jpg]
Okay, so it's actually just been wrapped in something that must have once been a sweater... but it looks ghostly. Like Knitting of Christmas Past, or something. Spoooooooky!

Happy New Year!!!

The Alleged Pattern for the "Harry Potter" Scarf

I've had one request for the alleged "pattern" I used to make my HPII scarf, and just in case anyone else is interested, here you go. Note: This makes a nice jacket-length scarf, a hair under six feet long. If you want your scarf ultra-long like in the movie, you'll have to add a few more repeats, and I'd suggest getting an additional skein of yarn as well.

Materials: I used Red Heart sportweight in "Cardinal" and/or "Vermillion (I'm guessing one is the name of the color in 2006, the other in 2007, since they match!), three skeins.
Gold Glitterspun, 1 ball.
Circular needles, anywhere from size 5 to 8, depending on what's comfortable for you. (I used 6's.)

Pattern: C/O 66 st in the round.
Knit 32 rows in red; 3 rows gold, 5 rows red, 3 rows gold.
Repeat six times, then, after the last set of gold rows, knit 32 rows.
Cast off.
You now have a Harry Potter tube.
Make fringe to desired length; fringe.

Lesson on fringing: It's really pretty easy.
1. Making fringe to desired length - well, I tend to wrap my yarn about 100 times around a standard Harlequin-sized romance, and cut through at one end of the book. Ooo, lots of fringe pieces!

2. I attach the "sides" of scarf together, making certain the start of a new row is on the very-thin edge of the scarf, as I attach the fringe.

3. Attaching happens by jabbing through both layers of the scarf with a crochet hook, pulling two fringe pieces at a time through by the center (so there's a loop on one side of the scarf, and dangly ends on the other), and catching the ends through the loop.

4. I also square-knot two strands of neighboring fringe once everything's in place, so there's no chance of my fringes trying to go free.

5. Should there be undesired unevenness in the fringe, trim carefully to desired length/eveness. I tend to just let it be fringey.

A finish!

The finished HP-2 scarf. This one is mine. It's about half the length of the Truly Authentic one I did for my mother, due to less yarn, and less patience for myself. It'll still look good at the next movie.
[nitStuff/HP2Scarf1.jpg]

Knit happened.

Progress in the world of knits (and pictures sometime later this week).

1. The Lilly-of-the-Valley Shawl (From Lace Style, and the knit-along) finally somewhat "clicked" in my head. One - the nubs? Stitch them VERY VERY loosely, or you need a size 0 metal crochet hook to get the bloody things p5tog'd. Two - somewhere, I have about two hundred stitch markers for my very small needles. You'd think I'd be able to find more than two, right? Assignment for today: find more than two. I'm halfway through the first 28-row repeat (I think I'm actually about to start row 17)... and it's starting to resemble a shawl. I've decided that if I run out of yarn for the edge, I'm not going to worry about tracking down the same dye lot or whatever: I'll just try to find the same stuff in a nice, pretty-goes-with color: light blue or, preferably, light green.

2. The HPII scarf hit a snag, of sorts. That third skein of sport-weight Red Hart "Vermillion" that I was certain I had? It's a skein of worsted "Cardinal". While the switch-off might work if I wasn't in the middle of a major red section... I don't think it's gonna work now. I think I've hit "take out last twenty-two rows, use that for the fringe on the other end, switch down two sizes of needle, recommence knitting with new color - that's really the same, it's just a different weight". It's either that, or attempt to find a probably nonexistent skein of yarn in the Craft Room. *shudder*

3. Need to figure out which of the knitting projects I've already started (and actually plan to finish) will be the carryaround for the next little bit. While I really like the LOTV Shawl, I MUST have 15 uninterrupted minutes to be certain I finish a set of rows... which even with my commute, means I'm getting about eight rows total a day. It just goes faster if I'm not on a train!