Harry Potter and the Yarn Bombing Ninja

So as you know I have been obsessed lately with my Harry Potter hat making. The last installment of the Harry Potter movies came out last week and I made a hat for every member of the group that I went with. We had 2 Gryffindors, 2 Ravenclaws, and 1 Hufflepuff. These are the last two hats. Well ever since the movie I've taken a break from crocheting. . . sort of.

I've known about yarn bombing for awhile now, but I've never really looked into it, but for some reason the other day I really started to research it online. I found lots of pictures, lots of blogs and lots of how- tos on the subject. The only problem is, with me being such a goody-goody I'm afraid of doing anything illegal and there is conflicting data on that front. Is yarn bombing illegal? From what I've gathered the likelihood of being arrested or even yelled at for yarn bombing is slim-to-none. But I have so many ideas I never know where to start. This will need a little more deliberation.

Part of what I've concluded is that it's just easier to yarn bomb my friends.

What the HELL is a Hufflepuff?

FINALLY! It took two days and four tries, but I finally figured out the pattern. Here is my sister's Hufflepuff hat. I'm actually quite proud of it. When I had to pull it apart the third time my sister said that she wanted the colors swapped. 

Another one of my friends came over today for our "day-before-the-fourth-of-July" party and since she is coming to the movie I decided to get started on her hat too. As I was looking at some hats and patterns online she designed her own hat and I thought "that works and looks awesome" so I created this:

She decided she was lion-hearted and wanted the right Gryffindor hat to prove it. I'm really pleased. I only have two more to make now.

Harry Potter is ruining my life. . .

I'm a geek. It's okay I can admit it. I've been this way my whole life. It's just what happens when you are raised by a Trekkie. Anyway on to the reason H.P. is ruining my life. As I'm sure you are all aware Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows pt. 2 comes out in just 12 short days. I am going to the midnight showing with my mom, my sister and two very good friends. Being a geek and one that crochets I have decided I am going to make a hat for anyone who comes in their house colors (and yes we all know what house we would be in). I posted pictures of my hat a few posts ago and I am happy to wear it to the premiere, but my sister is a Hufflepuff and mom is a Gryffindor so I have those two hats to make. . . the problem is I don't like any of the patterns I have found online for my sister and her house colors so I am making my own pattern (let me just say it is difficult to do yellow and black without looking like a bumblebee). I have started this hat 3 times!

I think this is the pattern I am going to use, unfortunately it is too small. I think I am going to keep the pattern exactly the same and just switch hooks to make it the size I need and then I can finally start on my mom's Gryffindor hat and my other friends hats too.

P.S. if you want to figure out what house you are in I found this amazing personality test that is really accurate. It can be found here. And I hope you all enjoy this last installment of Harry Potter!

Now we sew!

I FINISHED THE SQUARES!!!

And it turns out that 140 granny squares are as tall as 4 Mel Brooks DVDs.

My car was commandeered. . .

There are currently 4 family members living in this house and 2 cars. . . you do the math. Even though one of these cars is mine, I don't have a job and other family members have to make a living, so my shopping trip for yarn has been postponed. I may be able to get to the store tonight, but it looks like it will probably not happen until tomorrow.

On the plus side, I've been home alone all day and the kitchen and living rooms are now almost clean, I've been listening to my favorite rock band louder than allowed when the rest of the family is home, I've done two loads of laundry and the puppy has been well behaved, so there are no complaints from me.

I'll post something interesting soon.

A short break. . .

I ran out of the off-white yarn that I am using to edge my granny squares for my afghan, so I took a break and finished one of my other projects. Last fall I started a geeky hat and scarf project. I am a Harry Potter fan, so yes I succumbed to the temptation and crocheted myself a Ravenclaw scarf. I wanted to make a matching hat, but classes got in the way and I put it off. Now with the new trailers for the last Harry Potter film I decided it was time to finish the set.

I really wanted to make a set using the book colors, but when I started I was broke and had to use what I had, so they are the movie colors. I am very happy with the outcome. The hat is a pattern that I love! I actually have two of these hats now in different colors. The pattern is here. It is simple, but demands a little bit of attention. The scarf is simply half double crochet. This is my favorite stitch for scarves if I'm doing something simple like this, because it isn't too stiff or too loose and has a very nice drape. I still need to weave in the ends on the scarf, but other than that I am completely done. The flower was a quick addition that I found here. I'm very happy and am prepared to be both warm and geeky this winter.

Tomorrow I am going to go shopping and get all of the yarn I will need to finish this afghan. I only have 36 more squares and then all 140 get sewn together into my first ever finished afghan!!! I will finish!

I've been trolling the internet. . .

So I've bee crocheting A LOT of granny squares and I needed a little break, so I just typed "geeky crochet" into Google and found a plethora of amazing and geeky things. First a wonderful Yoshi blanket. A close friend of mine is pregnant and I really want to make a cute and geeky baby blanket for these first time parents, so we can start this child off on the right foot.

Next I found a Pikathulhu. I love when people creatively tie two geeky things together and Pikathulhu is the epitome of this very thing!

Last, but certainly not least, is this crocheted throw pillow of Han Solo frozen in carbonite! The creator of this pillow didn't feel that is was fully finished, but I think it is amazing and I would gladly own one. One of my friends who saw it is already asking me to make one. 

Hope you enjoy these and they inspire you too!

I've surprised myself. . .

I am over halfway with my afghan! This is the best progress I've ever made on a large project and I think it is because I told the internet that I would finish. I have 84 squares done which means that I only have 56 squares to go. It's slow going because I have to do other things like eat and make sure I let the dog out so she doesn't have an accident, but I am pleasantly surprised at my progress and thought I would share.

I WILL FINISH!

I am bound and determined to finish an afghan! 

When it come to crochet I am the master of the quick project. I can whip out a hat in two hours, I can make a headband in 45 minutes, scarves in 3-4 hours, most of my amigurumi patterns between 2-7 hours... basically if I can finish it in the duration of a favorite movie or a self-made T.V. marathon, then I love to do it. However, I have never finished a large project. I haven't even had the patience to make baby blankets for pregnant friends, but now I am determined to make an afghan. (This will probably not end well.)

I really got into crochet in Jr. high and high school when I was living in Michigan. Hats and scarves are so easy and quick to make, and a lot of my friends wanted custom made hats, so I could make a couple extra bucks making hats for them. Now that I am in my twenties I feel like I should be able to complete large and time consuming projects. Now that I'm not in high school, life takes up a lot of time and I get discouraged easily when things don't come together, but I WILL FINISH!

I buy a lot of brightly colored yarn which I love to use when making my little amigurumi dudes, however, I always have a nearly full skein left over. As I was rummaging through my stash yesterday I came across several colors that I love, but I can't make hats or scarves out of for two reasons: 1) I live in the south where winter last about a week and 2) these colors look terrible on me! I am an earth tones kind of girl; forest greens, plum purples, wine reds, and navy blues are my colors, but I wanted to use these bright colors, so I pulled them out and started to pair them together.

These are the four color combinations that I am working on. I really like them and I am excited to finish an afghan, but the thing that frightens me is the fact that I need 140 squares to complete this thing. That is always where the problem starts. I don't know how to stay motivated to finish 140 granny squares, but I am trying, trying, trying to finish at least one afghan in my lifetime. (Maybe it will be done in time for my grandkids.)

My pattern is listed!!!

This may be slightly ridiculous, but I'm really excited. I've got a pattern listed in the pattern directory at Crochet Pattern Central. It is my Lily Pad Headband and it is listed under Hair Accessories (I'd link you to it, but it would just lead you back here to last weeks post). I'm really excited, I hope to post more patterns here and get some more up on that website.

I am a huge fan of Crochet Pattern Central. It has great tutorials and tons of patterns. It is a fantastic resource! (and I'm not just saying that because my pattern is now listed, but it doesn't hurt.)

I'm sorry this is a short, self-centered post, but it's Memorial Day and there is a lot going on in my house. I'm working on an afghan and I will try to write up a post with pics, either later today or tomorrow, and I am working on some new patterns to post. Everybody have a safe and fun Memorial Day!

Sorry for the wait: Lily Pad Headband

I created this pattern months ago, but was too lazy to put the pattern on this blog. I'm sorry for the wait, but I offer up the pattern now. Enjoy!

Lily Pad Headband

F hook

worsted weight yarn for lilypad, baby weight for flower

Lilypad: f hook / worsted weight

ch 4 sl st into circle

Row1: ch 2, 9hdc in circle (10)

Row2: ch 2, hdc in same st *2hdc in rest around (20)

Row3: ch 2, 2hdc in next, *hdc in next st, 2hdc in next around (30)

Row4: ch 2, hdc in next, 2hdc in next, *hdc in next 2, 2hdc in next (40)

Row5: ch 2, hdc in next 2, 2hdc in next, *hdc in next 3, 2hdc in next (50)

Row6: ch 2, hdc in next 3, 2hdc in next *hdc in next 4, 2hdc in next (60)

Flower: f hook / baby weight (Modified from http://www.allcrafts.net/fjs.htm?url=www.headhuggers.org/patterns/flower01c.htm)

Rnd1: ch 2, work 6 sc into 1st ch, join with sl st in front loop only (do not turn, work in rounds)

Rnd2: Working in front loops only, (ch 4, sc in 2nd ch from hook, hdc in next ch, sc in next ch, sl st into next unworked front loop) x 6, join, ch 2, sl st in first unworked back loop.

Rnd3: Working in unused back loops only, ch 1, 2sc/st x 6, join with sl st in front loop only.

Rnd4: sl st to loop, ch 1, sc, {in next loop work (2 dc, 2 trc, 1 quc, ch 3, sl st to 1st ch, 1 quc, 2 trc, 2 dc), in next loop work sc} x 6, ending with petal and join with sl st to 1st sc. Fasten off.

Headband: G hook / worsted weight

Single crochet around band. This is really up to you. Whatever you find aesthetically pleasing. You can make it so the elastic shows through or put enough stitches around to make sure all the elastic is covered when it is on your head. The only danger with this is that if you put too many you could stretch out the headband and it will fall off your head so be mindful of this.

If you find any errors in my pattern, please let me know so that I can fix it.

This is an original pattern by me. I hope you enjoy it. Feel free to give away, sell or alter this pattern. It is free to you. Credit for the creation of this pattern is appreciated, but if you can't do that when asked just be honest and say you stole it from some chick on the internets. :D

Sure I should have spent the day looking for a job...

But I did this instead! :D

This is a pattern that I found and was too cute to pass up. I made this over the course of today and it was really simple and helped me to use up some extra yarn I had lying around.