Well then.....

So I've been a busy little bee lately!
Finished both my commissions ^_^ and now I'm a happy little girlie! Now until I get another one to do I'm making two of my very own little teds for my self (or future kids).

The blue and white stripey one is made with yarn that has no harsh dyes or chemicals in the yarn, and I have personally tried to rip him apart to make sure that no part of him could come lose by pulling (he's intended to go to a very special little boy soon!),and the face has been painted on as has the anchor on his chest, using nontoxic fabric paint so there is no risk of any buttons falling off and making their way into little tiny tummies.
Th black one has been made the same way and that one is going to my mom!

On a different note I have been awake since 5:30am ish today.... Lewy woke me up before he went to work, and I was bored out of my little mind waiting for the stores to open so I could go and do some shopping. I still got there early lolz and had to wait for almost half an hour for Aldi to open. Last night I had decided to make terriyaki chicken for dinner tonight, and I had to go out and get some white wine for the sauce... let me tell you, in my area NOTHING makes you feel more like a boozehound than waiting outside a liquor store for it to open at 9:30am. And because I'm all of 2 feet tall with a handbag thats almost as big as me, walking around said liquor store all wobbly while trying to knock things over with said huge bag does not help the drunk and disorderly stereotype..... Ah the joys of living here!
On the bright side I have gone out and done all my shopping, donated some clothes to a local charity shop, and made it home before 10:30am! Clever me!!!

Now for the rest of the week I plan on doing my housework and spending the rest of the days in bed watching movies while I knit my little heart out.... that is until Sunday when I have a bridesmaid dress fitting for my friend Rhiannon's wedding!!! It's less than a year away I'm so excited for them!! I'm looking forward to showing pictures of my own teds when they are done!

As always check out these awesome links:
Our Facebook Page!
My Ravelry Page!
My Deviant Art Page
and of course
A very special blog belonging to my cousin!!!

The Little Punkin' set!

Itty Bitty Baby Booties! (newborn size)

What you need: 1 pair of knitting needles (the size recommended for your yarn, I used 8ply yarn and size 4mm needles), 1 ball of yarn (or different colors if you wish to make stripy shoes), 1 yarn needle or tapestry needle.

Instructions:

• Cast on 38 stitches

• Knit 10 rows (sole of the shoe)

• Knit 16 stitches, slip 1 stitch, knit 1 stitch, pass slipped stitch over knitted stitch, knit 2 stitches, knit 2 together, knit 16 stitches

• Purl 15 stitches, slip 1 stitch, purl 1 stitch, pass slipped stitch over purled stitch, purl 2 stitches, purl 2 together, purl 15 stitches

• Knit 14 stitches, slip 1 stitch, knit 1 stitch, pass slipped stitch over knitted stitch, knit 2 stitches, knit 2 together, knit 14 stitches

• Purl 13 stitches, slip 1 stitch, purl 1 stitch, pass slipped stitch over purled stitch, purl 2 stitches, purl 2 together, purl 13 stitches

• Knit 12 stitches, slip 1 stitch, knit 1 stitch, pass slipped stitch over knitted stitch, knit 2 stitches, knit 2 together, knit 12 stitches

• Purl 11 stitches, slip 1 stitch, purl 1 stitch, pass slipped stitch over purled stitch, purl 2 stitches, purl 2 together, purl 11 stitches

• Knit 10 stitches, slip 1 stitch, knit 1 stitch, pass slipped stitch over knitted stitch, knit 2 stitches, knit 2 together, knit 10 stitches.

• purl 1 row

Eyelet Rows (if you do not want eyelets then knit/purl across the row):

• knit 2 stitches, yarn over twice, knit 3 stitches, yarn over twice, knit 3 stitches, yarn over twice, knit 3 stitches, yarn over twice, knit 2 stitches, yarn over twice, knit 3 stitches, yarn over twice, knit 3 stitches, yarn over twice, knit 3 stitches, yarn over twice, knit 2 stitches.

• purl 2 stitches, drop both yarn over stitches, purl 3 stitches, drop both yarn over stitches, purl 3 stitches, drop both yarn over stitches, purl 3 stitches, drop both yarn over stitches, purl 2 stitches, drop both yarn over stitches, purl 3 stitches, drop both yarn over stitches, purl 3 stitches, drop both yarn over stitches, purl 3 stitches, drop both yarn over stitches, purl 2 stitches.

• knit 1 row

• purl 1 row

• work 13 rows in ribbing (knit 2 stitches, purl 2 stitches)

• loosely cast off

• sew up edge

• flip down cuff

• using a ribbon or some yarn thread through the eyelets and tie into a bow

• put on a baby and admire your work!

Enjoy the video and have fun making your very own baby booties!!!! Please visit my ravelry shop to purchase the pattern for my adorable little punkin' beanie and make your very own set!

Little Patty Pumpkin (First Ravelry Pattern for Sale!!!)

My Ravelry Shop!! Follow me on facebook! My Deviant Art Page!

Some pictures of the Little Pumpkin!

Please support my attempt at making knitting patterns by purchasing them from my Ravelry Shop!!!!

Cutie Patootie Teddies!

Sorry for the bad quality video! lolz but it's way to early in the morning to care what I look like or sound like at the moment XD here's the link to the free ravelry download! click it now and make this super cute and adorable teddy bear!

CTHULHU!!!!!

So it's finally here! I have decided to let it go for free!!!

Now you can find this pattern with a link to this blog in my Ravelry Shop, or on my Deviant Art Page.

And as promised the instructions to make this beautiful piece of work:

Cthulhu Ski Mask
Single needles (beginner’s ski mask)
Ski Mask:
Start with size 3 ¼ mm needles, cast on 180 stitches, stocking stitch four rows.
Switch to size 5mm needles and continue to work in stocking stitch until piece measures four to five inches long.
Switch to size 9 needles, continue to work in stocking stitch until piece measures approximately 11 inches long.
Switch back to size 5mm needles, stocking stitch two rows. Cast off 15 stitches from beginning of a wrong side row and knit to end. Turn work and cast off 15 stitches purlwise, purl to end.
Continue working in stitch for approximately 3 inches. Cast on 10 stitches at the beginning of a wrong side row, knit to end. Turn work and cast on 10 stitches purlwise and purl to end of row. (This will be the opening for the eyes in the ski mask)
Stocking stitch two rows, and then switch back to size 9mm needles. Work in stocking stitch decreasing on wrong side rows only, decrease evenly across the rows until only ten stitches remain.
Switch back to size 5mm needles and stocking stitch two rows, thread a yarn needle and pull remaining yarn through stitches on needle and pull tight. Use the yarn on the needle to stich closed from the top to the eye opening, and from the bottom of the eye opening to the end of the work.
Bridge cover (between the eyes)
Using size 5mm needles cast on 8 stitches, decreasing two stitches at a time stocking stitch until only four stitches remain, stocking stitch 3 rows, increasing 2 stitches per row stocking stitch until you have 8 stitches and cast off. This will be going in the middle of the eye opening.
Eyebrow Piece:
These are optional, you don’t have to make them if you are afraid they will obstruct your vision, or they will make the mask too uncomfortable.
Using size 5mm needles, cast on 20 stitches. Stocking stitch several rows, increasing stitches evenly across wrong side rows, increase to 40 stitches. Decrease to 10 stitches evenly across wrong side rows. Stocking stitch several rows, increase evenly to 40 stitches across wrong side rows, decrease to 20 stitches evenly across wrong side rows, stocking stitch several rows, cast off.
Fold piece in half and stitch closed all the way around. We are going to sew this over the eye opening for the eyebrows.
Tentacles!
So we will start off with some small tentacles. I used 3 ¼mm needles, casting on 10 stitches. Knit one stitch and increase 1 stitch to the end, purl one row, Knit 1 stitch and increase 1 stitch to end, purl one row, cast off. This will give you a very curly tentacle.
Repeat the same steps by casting on 20 and 30 stitches, this will give you longer versions of the tentacles.
Switch to size 5mm needles, and continue to make tentacles by casting on 10,20,30 stitches and following the same steps.
You can stop at any point when making the tentacles, because each mask will be individual, just keep increasing the size of the needles and continue to cast on 10,20,30 stitches until you have a mask which suits your tastes!

All Hail the Video Blog!!!

Lets see how this works! Don't mind my hair or clothes (It's rainy outside, I just woke up, and I'm still in my jammies XD) Hope you enjoy my first ever video blog!

As I said at the end leave any comments below (Please make them tasteful!)

I choose you Pikachu!

So here's a new project for you all!

A lovely little Pikachu beanie!! Now the size of this beanie will depend of on the size of the yarn you use and the needles. This is a pattern for single needles so you will have a seam up the back. You can knit in the round if you choose however.

The pattern is basically a beanie like the one found here. It does say in the title that it is an adult size beanie but when I made the pattern it didnt fit me. I used normal 8ply yarn and size 4 needles, it ended up being more of a childs size beanie.

After you have made the beanie in yellow then you need to make the ears and the stripes for the back.

to make the ears:

Cast on 40 stitches in yellow, stocking stitch for 10 centimeters decreasing to 20 stitches along the way, switch to black yarn stocking stitch for 5 centimeters decreasing to 6 stitches along  the way. Pull yarn through remaining stitches and pull tight. Sew closed. Make two ears. Sew to the sides of the beanie.
Make the stripes for the back. Cast on 10 stitches in light brown, knit one row increasing to 20 stitches, purl one row, knit one row decreasing to 10 stitches, cast off. Make three stripes and sew to the back of the beanie over the seam to keep them in line.

Cut out two large circles in black felt and a small black triangle. Cut out two small white felt circles for the eyes, and two large pink or red circles for the cheeks. Sew the face in place and stitch a mouth using black yarn.

You can find proper patterns for sale, but this one's free!

Wands and Kitties!

Well things are finally starting to come along nicely with my Harry Potter gift bags.... now that I've actually finished all the bags I've made a startling discovery....

ALL THE STUFF ISN'T GOING TO FIT INSIDE THEM!

lol! But all is good because I will just make it into a couples goodie bag and put two or one of each thing in the bag (Don't worry I'll probably make those as well and they are easy as anything to do!)

We'll start this post off with the details of the magic wands.

I went to the local cheapy shop which is just down the street from me, and since it was Halloween time they had plenty of decorations to snag for a bargain! They had some basic plastic magical wands to use for costumes so I grabbed some of them and since they all looked the same I decided to make them all individual.

First thing is that its alright if you cant find a plastic wand there are heaps of tutorials on google to make them out of plain paper,this one is a good example!


You'll need to have some paper towel or toilet paper handy and some plain white glue that will dry clear. Mix the glue with an equal amount of water and then paint the plastic wand and start sticking on the toilet paper. Once you've covered it all set it aside to dry.
Now I wanted to make mine uniform in color, not identical but similar. So I used some black tissue paper and put a few layers over the paper towel in the same way.
And don't worry about getting it perfect the first time around because at this stage you can always cover up and places you have missed with a scrap of the paper you used on the last layer.

You can make them any way you like, to make each wand unique for myself I wrapped some bits of yarn in interesting patterns around them before I started the paper mache. After you have them looking the way you like then just add any extra details with some paint or a paint pen and cover the whole thing in a layer of glue (don't mix this layer with water though) and it will give the wand a shiny lacquered effect.

Now for the kitties!
 There is a free pattern for these kitties found here! but I'll go ahead and write it down on my own blog. (just giving credit where it's due!)

It makes three separate pieces which will need to be sewn together. I'll be using a yarn needle which you can get from any craft store where yarn is sold.
We'll go through this step by step so it's easier to understand.

The Body:

1. Cast on 24 stitches of any yarn in any color in any type on any size needles. (the finished size of the kitten will depend on what type of yarn you have used and what size needles you need, but as we are stuffing this kitten make sure the knitting is tight so the stuffing doesn't peak through!) 
2. Straight Knit 52 rows 
3. Cast off.

Simple right? But it looks like a square of yarn. Fold it in half length ways, and make a stitch in the yarn to hold the place. Now you will have two more edges, and pull each of those to the middle and make a stitch to hold them in place. You should have four corners now and four openings to sew up. Sew up three of the openings and place some craft stuffing inside to fill out the body before sewing the last opening open.

The Head:

1. Cast on 12 stitches in the same yarn you used for the body.
2. Straight Knit 14 rows
3. Knit 4 more rows but knit two stitches together at the beginning of each row. (this will give the head a tapered effect.)
4. Now Knit 4 more rows but increase one stitch at the beginning of each row. (we're gonna fold the head in half!)
5. Straight Knit 14 rows
6. Cast off.

Now you have a shape that slightly resembles an hour glass right? Good! Fold the shape in half where the cast on and cast off edges are even. Stitch around the head, leaving a small opening to stuff, and be sure to stitch around the ears!
Now pick an end of the body and sew the back of the head to it!

The Tail:

1. Cast on 14 stitches in the same yarn as the body and head.
2. Straight Knit 7 rows.
3. Cast off.

Sew the long edge together and across one of the short ends. You should have a small tube with one end sewn shut. If it is big enough you can stuff the tail, but it is not necessary. Sew the open end to the end of the body.

With some black yarn or thread sew on a little face and some whiskers and VIOLA!!! Your very own easy peasy knitted kitten! 

All the BAGS!!!!

So we have finally come to it, the last of the bags and scarves!!!!

We'll start with the awesome set of Harry potter bags found HERE!! Now when and if you try these yourself here are a few tips:
1. 1 normal ball of 8ply yarn will make a bag as large as the Hufflepuff/Ravenclaw/Slytherin bags in the photo (the black thing in the background is of course my laptop just for a size reference) Of course you can use any size yarn you like and the bag size will vary.
2. You don't have to have the fringe at the bottom, you can sew the bag up and it will still look nice.
3. Because of all the yarn crossovers on the inside, if you actually plan on using your new bag for anything it would be best to make a lining for it. (I just used a Flat Fats from Spotlight it was enough to do both bags I made in each color with enough left over for a third bag if you choose to make it)
4. The colors I have used are the actual colors recommended in the pattern but you can make them whatever color you like!
5. The patterns also tell you to knit in the round, now I myself am only a novice knitter teaching myself, and I havent quite grasped the ability to do that yet. These bags can be knitted conventionally on two needles and stitched together on the open side. It's barely noticeable.
6. We all make mistakes, I made several when making these bags. I forgot a stitch or missed a color, but here's the thing, at first glance you wont notice at all! So dont think that you need to start completely over just because you accidentally made 6 stitches in the main color instead of 5!

Over all I know it has taken me FREAKING AGES to complete all of these, and considering that I have only done 8 bags it really has been a bit too long. But when you consider we have moved house and had to unpack, as well as remodeling and actual real life work that took me two hours to get too and from every day and working weekends, I really hope you all dont hold it against me...

Now for the scarves!!! I am admittedly still completing these but I have finished the first set (hence the photo)

Now I cant take full responsibility for these, The pattern that gave me the Idea can be found HERE!! but as you can plainly see they dont look alike. All I did was google "Hogwarts House Scarves Images" and there were two types of scarves. The one with chunky blocks of color (as seen in the photo) and then one for the older students which has large blocks and smaller stripes (this is the set I am still in the process of making).
As you can see in the photo the scarves tend to roll up in themselves after you make them, easily fixed by ironing them flat! I have decided to mix it up a bit and only add a fringe to some of the scarves and leave others with a plain edge.

Now for the next item on my to do list: Making the wands! This one's gonna be messy folks!

Introducing Sackboys!

So I know lately I've been working on my Harry Potter things, but I have decided to take a little break from all that (we don't want to get bored do we?).

Here we have the marvelous Sackboy from the very fun playstation game Little Big Planet!

This one to the left is the doubled size version.  He's about 1.5 feet tall, and yes I know the photo is not the best, but I couldn't find big enough buttons for his eyes and now he looks creepy.
The photo on the right (the gray one with the play station remote) Is the size of the doll you will get if you follow the pattern given from HERE!  As much work and effort as I put into the double sized version I really do prefer the original one, he's just so much more adorable!

If you are feeling up to the task I will give you the pattern I used to make the big one.

Head
Cast on 24 stitches
purl one row
knit one row
(increase 2, increase 2, knit 2)  to end (gives you 40 stitches total)
purl one row
knit one row
purl one row
(increase 2, knit 2) to end (gives you 60 stitches total)
purl one row
knit one row
purl one row
(knit 2, increase 2, knit 2) to end (gives you 80 stitches total)
purl one row
knit one row
purl one row
(knit 2, increase 2, knit 4) to end (gives you 100 stitches total)
purl one row
knit one row
purl one row
(knit 4, increase 2, knit 4) to end (gives you 120 stitches total)
purl one row
knit one row
purl one row
(knit 4, increase 2, knit 6) to end (gives you 140 stitches total)
stocking stitch 7 rows
(knit 12, knit 2 together, knit 2 together, knit 12) to end (gives you 130 stitches total)
stocking stitch 7 rows (beginning and ending on purl rows)
(knit 12, knit 2 together, knit 2 together, knit 10) to end (gives you 120 stitches total)
stocking stitch 7 rows (beginning and ending on purl rows)
(knit 10, knit 2 together, knit 2 together, knit 10) to end (gives you 110 stitches total)
stocking stitch 7 rows (beginning and ending on purl rows)
(knit 10, knit 2 together, knit 2 together, knit 8) to end (gives you 100 stitches total)
stocking stitch 7 rows (beginning and ending on purl rows)
(knit 4, knit 2 together, knit 2 together, knit 2) to end (gives you 80 stitches total)
purl one row
knit one row
(purl 2 together, purl 2 together, purl 4) to end (gives you 60 stitches total)
stocking stitch 4 rows
(knit 2, knit 2 together, knit 2 together) to end (gives you 40 stitches total)
purl one row
knit 2 together to end (gives you 20 stitches total)
break the yarn off leaving a long tail, using a yarn needle thread yarn through remaining 20 stitches and pull tight, and use tail to stitch up head to neck. Stuff head.

Body
cast on 24 stitches
knit one row
purl one row
knit one row
purl one row
knit 2, (increase 2 x6 times), knit 6, (increase 2 x6 times), knit 4 (gives you 36 stitches total)
purl one row
knit one row
purl one row
knit 2, (increase 2, knit 2 x6 times) knit 6, (increase 2, knit 2 x6 times), knit 4 (gives you 48 stitches total)
purl one row
knit one row
purl one row
(knit 4, increase 2 x6 times), knit 10, (increase 2, knit 4 x6 times), knit 2 (gives you 60 stitches total)
stocking stitch 26 rows
(knit 4, knit 2 together, knit 2 together, knit 2) to end (gives you 48 stitches total)
purl one row
knit one row
purl one row
(knit 2, knit 2 together, knit 2 together, knit 2) to end (gives you 36 stitches total)
purl one row
knit one row
purl one row
(knit 2, knit 2 together, knit 2 together) to end (gives you 24 stitches total)
purl one row
knit one row
purl one row
(knit 4, knit 2 together, knit 2 together, knit 4) x2 times (gives you 20 stitches total)
cast off
Using the zipper start at the cast off end, sew around the zipper attaching it to either edge making sure that it covers the length of the body (overhang is fine at the top as you can tuck it into the head and you wont see it). Once the zipper is secured sew the body to the head it does not matter which way it faces. Open the zipper and stuff the body, when re-zipping the zipper add some glue to the teeth, this will make sure the zipper cannot be opened again (especially good if you are making this for a child)

Arms (make 2)
cast on 12 stitches
purl one row
increase into every stitch (gives you 24 stitches total)
stocking stitch 27 rows
cast on an extra 6 stitches at the beginning of the next two rows (gives you 36 stitches total)
cast off 6 stitches at the beginning of the next two rows (gives you 24 stitches total)
stocking stitch 4 rows

Fingers
knit 15 work these stitches only 
purl 6 work these stitches only
knit one row
purl one row
knit one row
break yarn, leaving a 60cm tail. Using a yarn needle thread the tail through the 6 stitches and pull tight, sew down edge of finger and continue knitting using the tail of yarn.
RING FINGER
knit 3 from left needle and work these  12 only
purl 6 and work these only

knit one row
purl one row
knit one row
Using a yarn needle thread the tail through the 6 stitches and pull tight, sew down edge of finger and continue knitting using the tail of yarn.
MIDDLE FINGER
knit 2 from left needle work these 12 only
purl 6 stitches work these only
knit one row
purl one row
knit one row
Using a yarn needle thread the tail through the 6 stitches and pull tight, sew down edge of finger and continue knitting using the tail of yarn.
INDEX FINGER
knit 4 from left needle
stocking stitch 4 rows
Using a yarn needle thread the tail through the 6 stitches and pull tight, sew down edge of finger and continue knitting using the tail of yarn. Using the tail, continue to sew the edge of the hand, stuff and close the opening, then sew to the edge of the body. Remember to make sure that you're thumb is pointing out!

Legs (make 2)
cast on 16 stitches
increase into every stitch (gives you 32 stitches total)
purl one row
knit one row
purl one row
(increase 2, knit 2) to end (gives you 48 stitches total)
stocking stitch 7 rows
(knit 2, knit 2 together, knit 2 together) to end (gives you 32 stitches total)
stocking stitch 23 rows
knit 2 together to end (gives you 16 stitches total)
break yarn, leaving a long tail. Using a yarn needle thread the tail through the stitches and pull tight, sew down edge of leg, stuff and close opening and sew to body

Taking a contrast color make some little X's around the bottom of the legs near the feet, around the wrists of the arms, and around the top of the head. Stitch a cute little mouth, and if you can find them use some really large buttons for the eyes. If you cant find large enough buttons you can always cut out circles of felt and use that!

Remember this is the pattern for the large doll. The pattern for the normal size doll can be found by clicking the link above!

Winter Project #1

Introducing the Harley Quinn Beanie!!!!

I got really bored and needed a break from some of my Harry Potter stuff, so I decided to take on a winter project. It is getting quite chilly down here in Aus afterall!

I decided to make a beanie for myself after my favorite character from Batman, Harley Quinn! 

I'm sure that there are a few patterns out there for this type of hat but I didn't use one this time. So here's my free pattern for it!

Step #1 measure around your head.

Step #2 divide that measurement in half (half of the hat will be red, the other half black)

Step #3 get your materials together.

I used two 50g balls each of Moda Vera Blissful of black and red, and one 50g ball of Moda Vera Blissful white, size 2 straight needles, size 4 straight needles, a yarn needle, and a pompom maker called twinkle bee.

The size of the needles will depend on the yarn you are using, but as a general note I would use one size smaller than the recommended size for the yarn, and then use the size recommended for the yarn.

Now the amount of stitches you cast on will depend on what type of yarn you are using, but just cast on enough so that when you stretch it out on the needles it is equal to the measurement of half your head. We will start with the smaller needles, and cast on your stitches, first with red. Continue in stocking stitch for about 6 rows, be sure to stop on the wrong side to change needles.

Change needles to the larger size and continue knitting for approximately 8 rows in stocking stitch.

After you have gotten this far we will start to decrease our stitches. I use the Knit 3 Knit 2 together method for decreasing my stitches. After each row of decreases continue to knit about 4 rows in stocking stitch before decreasing another row.

Once you have knitted to the desired length and have about 8 stitches remaining cut the yarn leaving a long tail, thread this tail through the remaining stitches and pull tight.

Now do the exact same thing with the Black yarn.

The next step is a bit tricky. You need to measure how far down to sew each arm of the beanie. To do this take one of the colors and place it on the side of your head, and pinch down until you have reached your scalp, remove the yarn from your head and move your fingers up approximately 1 inch. Sew the tail of yarn using the yarn needle to this point on half the beanie. Do the same with the other half.

Now using either color thread or remaining yarn sew both halves of the beanie together.

Now we make the pompoms. We will use the pompom maker from the Twinkle Bee set. If you cant get one of these then that is ok just use something small to wrap your yarn around, but be sure that you can tie some yarn around it before you have to cut it otherwise it will be very difficult!

I wrapped my yarn around this pompom maker exactly 100 times. On the large end of the maker.

Make sure when you tie your yarn around the pompom maker that it is very tight, and that you leave a long tail to use to sew the pompoms to the beanie.

On each of the arms of the beanie at the end you will need to sew the pompom using the yarn needle. I turned mine inside out, but with the yarn I used it was quite messy trying to flip it right side out once I had the pompom secured.

After the pompoms have been sewn on, try the hat on to make sure it fits! And Viola!!! You have your very own Harley Quinn beanie! Of course this doesn't have to be just a Harley Quinn beanie, you can use it as a jesters hat, add your own patterns to the knitting, add more arms, use different colors, whatever you like!

Le Hufflepuff Bags!

So once again I present to you the Hufflepuff Bag Set (free pattern by clicking here)! I'm still working on the scarves but they will be up soon.

Now you may notice that this set of bags differs a bit from the others, this is because I used two different types of yarn. The black yarn is just a normal 12 ply where the yellow is the very soft baby type yarn used to make blankets or baby clothing....
This made it difficult to do the fringe at the bottom, as every time I tried to pull a bit of yellow yarn through I ended up pulling the fluff off of it and was left with a few threads, so the fringe for the hufflepuff bag is a solid color, and the fringe on the scarves will be the same.  Lately I have also been looking around for some decoration ideas. I have found quite a few! There's the Hogwarts Crest that I have put on the top of my invitational letters, and used GIMP2 to turn it a nice green color to match the ink in the movies. There's the Potion Bottle Labels that I plan on using for my lollies and drink bottles, which will be easily done. I plan on getting a few of the glass water bottles from a cheapy shop and placing a label on it for drinks, and getting a few of the glass jars for the lollies.
There are the Butter beer labels which you can print off for free, and I will also be putting those on some of the water bottles, but I plan on getting some glass beer mugs and placing a label on each one of those as well, as a party favor for my guests.


I do also have my slytherin cloak finished entirely now, but as I am home by myself at the moment and would need someone to model it for me.... well it will just have to wait until some one else gets home, because I highly doubt that any one wants to see it on my puppy! There will be an awesome step by step video for the next blog so stay tuned!

Back In Business!!!!

So as of today I have full internet access as well as a fully functioning computer ^_^ its gonna take me a while to get back into the swing of things though I've been forced to use my phone for so freaking long I've almost forgotten how to use a proper keyboard!

Now I haven't slacked off, don't you worry! I've finished both the Slytherin and Gryffindor house bags and the sets of scarves, as well as came up with some really cute golden snitch key rings. (Pictures and instructions will follow at a later date.)

I am currently starting work on the Huffelpuff bags and scarves. The invitations are ready and awaiting a chosen date, all of the decorations are ready to be put into place, the menu is set, and now all we need to do is finish unpacking our new house, and get our kitchen sorted and we will be on a roll!

The First bag...

So here we go! Now I got the pattern for these bags at This Site, and in the instructions it says to knit it "in the round"... now since I'm only a beginner I dont really know how to do that so I have cheated a little bit and decided that I am going to knit two different sections and sew them together.

This is a quite difficult thing to do (unless you're an expert knitter), I had to start over about 4 times which is why it has taken me so long to put up a blog about it! I am VERY happy with the end result even though it took me a while and its not entirely finished, this part on its own could be used by its self, for a wall hanging or a patch on a jacket, maybe even sewn on to a pillow for a Harry Potter themed throw!
For this one I use some angora wool not sure what size it is, and size 11 knitting needles. There is more to this project though, I still have the other half of this bag to do and the other three houses as well! But now that I know what I'm doing it will be easy peasy! So hopefully this will get you all in the mood to try it out, and attempt it at least its a really fun project to do, especially on a rainy day like today was!

Next on the list: finish off the bags! Make more snitches, mice, and cats, and figure out a way to make some magic wands!

The Bag Lady...

So I have been working on some House Bags (<-- pattern found at that link) And I must say they are a lot harder than they look. Since I am only a beginner knitter I haven't really figured out how to "work in the round" just yet so I am just straight knitting them and sewing them together after I am finished.

I've started off with the Gryffindor House bag (The first pattern on the link above) and at the moment I am about 1/4 of the way finished with it, it really is a good thing this movie shindig is a few months away at least! I'm sure  I would have been further along with my knitting projects had I not spent so much of my time creating the house elf pattern and trying to perfect it, however since putting the pattern up on my deviant art page it has been added to a few groups which feature various patterns and I have been informed that a few people are actually going to attempt to make one themselves! I'm sure you must all know how good that feels to know that people are attempting to recreate something you have made for them,  I'm just appreciative that people have taken the time to look at it and the fact that they want to try and make it themselves is just the icing on the cake!
My friend Katie (who has admitted to me that she is a horrible sewer) has commissioned me to make her one of her very own, and I have been informed by a few people that I should create two of them and give them to her as a wedding present since she is the biggest Harry Potter Fan Girl that I know (besides myself when it comes to Tom Felton *drools*) I have considered doing this for her however, I'm not sure if I would actually be able to make two of them by the time her wedding comes around since I am still in the middle of searching for a job and having to drive back and forth to interviews all day long... Still it seems like an intriguing idea.

Any ways back to the bag! Yes the bag, I have been using size 4 needles, red and yellow Oki Angora Delux Yarn which is 70% Goat Hair and 30% PAC. and I have discovered that if you intend on using the double needle method as I have decided to do then you cannot just start the pattern from the beginning of each row as I thought, you need to work from the first to last stitch of one row and the last to first stitch of the next row in order to have the pattern turn out right, otherwise it will be very messy and all over the place, trust me I have had to restart it once already because I made this mistake!
That's all for the time being, just thought I would let you all know what I was working on at this particular moment in time, will update you all again once I have finished the first bag and I will be sure to include some photos!!!

The Golden Snitch

Yet another Harry Potter themed object! This time it's a golden snitch, just like the first one Harry caught in his first game of Quiddich! Free Pattern Available Here! This was a very fun pattern to make, and very simple. I have made this one out of two different yarns and this one is the one that looks best. I made this one with size 2mm needles, using Moda Vera yarn 75% Viscose 25% Metallic  the ball is made from gold and the wings from silver. This was a very hard yarn to work with however, the metallic strand incorporated into the yarn hurt my fingers a bit while holding the yarn, but it gave it a very nice finished look!
One more pattern that has been approved for my Harry Potter goodie bags (the one I'm making for each guest attending my movie marathon once the last DVD comes out!)  I'm still trying to perfect my House Elf pattern working on getting the face to look right, and I havent figured out what to use for the eyes just yet.... Its proving to be a bit difficult, from looking at the photos on google images I'm looking at making HUGE eyes on a smallish face, I'm a little bit worried that using polymer clay is not going to make the cut for making eyes, and I cant figure out where to get dolls eyes at any shop. Will have to make several attempts at creating them I'm sure... but we will get there eventually =) Any tips would be much appreciated!

As I said I'm still working on the pattern and creation of the House Elf, the pattern will still be free to you all once I get it right.
And I'm still looking for a nice cat, owl, and magical wand pattern to put in my goodie bags.  I will keep you all updated on the progress!