Tag Archives: knitting

Knitting in Novels: Harry Potter

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In honor of NaNoWriMo, I thought we could talk about books and novels.  Specifically, knitting in books and novels.  Sometimes it’s a sneaky, subtle part of a book, and sometimes it seems like it’s almost a main character.  I don’t know about you, but whenever I come across a mention of knitting in a book, I always get excited, as if I just saw an old friend make a cameo.

So, without much more ado, let’s jump right in to my favorite book series of all time. Harry Potter (obviously)!

Knitting isn’t a big part of these books, but it peeks its wooly head up more than a few times.

In the first book, when Harry is first being introduced to the wizarding world, Hagrid breaks out his tent-like yellow knitting on the journey.  (Just like all of us trying to pass the time on a long commute.)

Mrs. Weasley is a well-known (and prolific) knitter, who spends her days knitting sweaters for her seven children (plus Harry).   (Sure, they’re a little tacky, and the kids don’t really appreciate them the way they should, but it’s the thought that counts, right?)Ron-Harry-Potter-Christmas-Sweaters[1]Hermione even learns a knitting charm to help her knit the piles of hats that she tries to use to set the Hogwarts house elves free.  (Can you imagine how much more you could get done if you could use a knitting charm? My whole house would probably end up covered by a gigantic knitted house-cozy.)

Knitting_charm[1]And, even Professor Dumbledore, while not a knitter himself, is a big fan of the art.  More than once, he mentions his love of warm woolen socks, and once he reads a muggle knitting magazine while waiting for a couple other characters to finish a conversation.

Clearly, I have read (and re-read) the Harry Potter books a few too many times, but, you know what?  I don’t care!  They’re fun, interesting, well-written, clever, and have lots and lots of knitting in them.

What’s your favorite knitting-related book?

Swatches on My Wall

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I have always had mixed feelings on swatches, especially when need one just to figure out my gauge.  They take time to work up, when what I really want to do is jump straight into the sweater-knitting.  And, they use up precious, precious, yarn that could be used in the aforementioned sweater.  And, of course, I hate waste, and there is nothing as wasteful as a dumb swatch sitting at the bottom of a bin in my craft room.  Nothing. (Don’t try to tell me about rainforest deforestation, or the overuse of paper towels, or the oil industry.  Swatches are more wasteful.)

Well, friends, that all changed a few weeks ago, when I was doing my bi-monthly rummage through my knitting supplies, and I realized I had acquired a sizable stash of some pretty cool swatches.

And I found some twine and clothespins.

I had no choice, really.  I had to make a swatch display on the back of a closet door.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERACool, right?  I plan on adding more and more swatches as I collect them.  It’s really fun to see all of my ideas from the last six months laid out like that.  Some of the swatches are projects I designed (see Grandma’s Sweater and the Sailor Jane Scarf in there?).  Some are ideas that I ended up not using.  And some are simple gauge swatches that I used for projects I made from other peoples’ patterns (there’s one for my Persistence is Key Sweater).

I might come up with a more permanent way to display my knitting ideas (frames maybe, or embroidery hoops?), but for now, I love the flexibility that my little “clothes line” gives me.  I can add to it easily, move things around, and if I need to take a swatch down to look at some detail, I can do it, no problem.  I love having my knitted “idea book” up on my wall.

What do you do with swatches?  Do you keep them, or do you unravel them?

Finished!

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Woo Hoo!  It’s time to do the happy dance and pose awkwardly in the back yard!  (Because (for some reason) holding a rake made me feel less weird than just standing and smiling at the camera.   I never said I was a good model.)

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERABut the sweater looks great!  It fits really well, and it is nice and cozy!  The sleeves turned out a little long (which happens to me all the time when I knit.  I have trouble getting store-bought clothes with long enough sleeves, so I tend to overcompensate when I knit, and I end up with sleeves that would work on a giraffe), but they’re perfect for turned-up cuffs.OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

And, though I agree with you guys that silver buttons would have been better, I ended up going with some nice faux-horn ones.  The sweater has 13 buttons, and, well, they are expensive!  I didn’t want to spend more on buttons than on the yarn itself.OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

I don’t plan on taking off this sweater for the next month, or until I spill coffee on it, whichever comes first.   (Probably the coffee.)

Pack-Rat

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I (like a bunch of you, I’d guess) have a tendency toward pack-ratishness.  I think it’s pretty common, especially among crafty-types.  You know the impulse, I’m sure.  “Maybe I can use these berry containers for something in the future?”  “I can’t throw away these matchboxes.  They’d be great for a craft project some day.”  “Sure, there’s only about 5 yards left of this yarn, but it wouldn’t be right to get rid of it.”

Don’t deny it.  You know you do it, too.

But I just realized that I was keeping one thing that I’m even less likely to use than my other “treasures.”

Ball bands.

Dozens and dozens of ball bands.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAYou know, the paper labels that come wrapped around balls of yarn?  For some reason, I always hesitate to throw them away, and then they end up cluttering up my knitting studio.  I always try to rationalize it to myself; they have lots of important information about the yarn (washing directions, colorways, etc) which makes me think I might need them in the future.  But, I don’t think I’ve ever actually referenced a ball band once I finished a project.

Is there any real reason I should throw these out?  Or am I just being a crazy pack-rat?  Help me!  Save me from myself!

Second Guesses, Sales, and Waiting- The Grandma’s Sweater Saga

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You guys are totally right.  I needed to get a different shade of gray for my Grandma’s Sweater.  I’ve decided to go with Knit Picks’ Dove Gray Heather:

25615[1](Ooh! Aah!)

It’s a really pretty soft gray in a similar tone as Dogwood Heather (pink).  I think it’ll turn out really prettily.

So, having made my decision, I went to the Knit Picks website yesterday, filled up my cart and hit submit.  (I even managed to constrain myself to the single skein I needed, instead of buying fifty dollars’ worth of extra yarn to get the free shipping.  Don’t judge me.  You know you’ve done it.)

To make sure the order went through (because I’m paranoid like that), I clicked over to my email to see the confirmation email.

Sure enough, there was a message from Knit Picks.  In fact, there were two emails.  The first was my order confirmation.  The second was this ad:

Sale*Insert sad trumpet sound here*

Sure it would have been less than a dollar saved, but it’s the principle of the thing!  (And now, I kind of want to go order some more yarn to take advantage of the sale.  So much for self-control.)

Now, I have to sit here and play the waiting game.  I can’t really start knitting until I have the gray yarn in my knitting basket, so I’ll just sit by the window and harass the mailman until it arrives.

Snack Time!

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I don’t know about you, but sometimes I can work up an appetite with all my knitting.  After all, it’s practically exercise, right?  (Right?  Maybe?)  And, when you grab a snack to go with your knitting, you don’t want anything too gooey, or covered in cheese dust (getting Cheetos-powder out of merino is more trouble than it’s worth). OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAI love a cup of tea and a plate of these amazing scones when I’m knitting (or doing just about anything else).  They’re slightly sweet, buttery, flaky and delicious.  They’re crunchy on the outside, and soft and tender on the inside.  I like to throw in a couple handfuls of raisins or blueberries.  They come together in about a half hour (from ingredients in the pantry to a plate of finished deliciousness).  And, the recipe is easy to halve if you have self-control issues (like me).  These scones are amazing right out of the oven, but they’re great warmed up in a toaster oven the next day, too.

Simple Sweet Scones

Yields: 12 or 16 small scones

2 1/2 C all purpose flower

1 Tbl baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 stick (8 Tbl) cold butter, cut up

1/4 C granulated sugar

2/3 C milk

Heat oven to 425 F.  Put flower, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl; stir to mix well.

Add butter and cut in with a pastry blender or rub in with your fingers until the mixture looks like fine granules.  Add sugar; toss to mix.

Add milk and stir with a fork until a soft dough forms.  Form dough into a ball, put onto a lightly floured board and give 10-12 kneads.

To make triangular scones, cut dough in half.  Knead each half lightly into a ball and turn smooth side up.  Pat or roll into a 6-8 inch circle.  Cut each circle into 6 or 8 wedges.  Place wedges on an ungreased cookie sheet-slightly apart for crisp sides, touching for soft sides.

Bake about 12 minutes, or until medium brown on top.  Put a linen or cotton dish towel on a wire rack, cover loosely with the cloth and cool completely before serving (if you can wait that long).

OK, Maybe You Should Have Stopped Me

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The downside of my Finish-The-Project-Or-Die-Trying mania is that sometimes everything gets a little out of hand.  Point in case, last night:

9:00 – I sit down with a glass of wine, an episode of Castle, and the determination to finish one button band before I go to bed.  I cast on, and start knitting.

9:30 – I reach the button hole row, and read over my pattern (poorly, as it turns out).  I go ahead and make all my button holes.

9:35 – I make it to the end of the button hole row, and I realize that I didn’t count correctly, and as a result, I don’t have enough space for all the buttons that I wanted to add.  I tink back the row.  Not to worry.  It’s just a small setback.

9:45 – I begin the row again, this time making sure that I do the right thing.  (But, of course, I still don’t actually re-read the pattern.  Because I am stubborn and dumb.)

9:50 – I finish the row, and realize I counted my stitches wrong (again), but this time in a different way.

9:55 – I pout and pour myself another glass of wine.

10:00 – I swear under my breath, and tink back the row again.

10:10 – I knit the row one more time, being extra-special 100% sure that I do the right thing.

10:15 – I finish the row and count that I have the right number of button holes.  I do a little happy dance and keep knitting.

10:45 – I sit back, almost ready to bind off the button band, and check over my work.  The button holes are nicely spaced across the whole button band, but something looks a little off, a little wonky.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERASee that button hole?  (It’s kind of hard to see in the photo, sorry.)  See how it’s kind of halfway up the little piece of ribbing?  I think to myself, “Huh, shouldn’t the button holes be centered in the purl sections of the ribbing?  That’s a weird way to design a pattern.  Oh well.”

10:50 – I start getting ready to bind off, but the off-kilter button holes are still bugging me.  I get out my computer and start poking around on Ravelry.  The other people who’ve made this sweater don’t have weird off-kilter button holes.  I am perplexed and a little frustrated.

11:00 – I actually re-read the pattern again, and I realize that I’ve made a huge mistake.  What I thought was a typo in the pattern (that I half read two hours earlier) was actually not a mistake at all.  I realize that I am stupid and arrogant for not really reading the directions.

11:10 – I consider ripping out the button band back to the holes, swear a little bit, and have a pity party for myself.

11:20 – I cry uncle, and give up for the night.  I’ll re-do the band in the morning, when I’m less blinded by stupidity and frustration.  Ugh.

 

Don’t Stop Me Now!

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I’ve gotten to that point in my Persistence is Key Cardigan.  The point at which I start ignoring the laundry piling up, letting the lawn grow long, and forgetting to go to the grocery store (I managed to run out of milk without noticing last night.  I had to drink my tea black this morning.  Like a heathen!)

When I start a sweater (or other big project), I begin with gusto.  But soon enough, the dreary slog of making a big item with teensy tiny needles, stitch by stitch, begins to take over and I get less and less excited.  I still will put in a few rows’ work every day, but I won’t sit for hours, knitting away.

But then, suddenly, something clicks in my brain, and I see the light at the end of the tunnel.  I realize that if I can just put in the time, I’ll have a brand new, finished, cozy, wonderful sweater (or afghan).  And I want that finished sweater.  No.  I need that finished sweater.

The next thing I know, I’m up all hours of the night, missing meals, and letting my house fall apart around me.

And the ridiculous thing is, that I’m not even that close to finishing.  This time, the mania set in when I still had a half a sleeve, the collar, and two button bands to knit up, not to mention weaving in all my ends, sewing on buttons, and blocking the dang thing.

At least I’m making headway, and enjoying myself.   Soon (though not soon enough), I will be the proud owner of a brand new cabled sweater.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Three Months

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(Sung to the tune of “Christmas is Coming”)

Christmas is coming

My list is getting full.

Please knit a sweater

From my bag of wool.

If you cannot knit a sweater,

A simple hat will do.

If you cannot knit a simple hat,

Then god bless you!

032ce3630d50f0a28cfbdd01681a791b[1](In case it wasn’t clear, this is my round-about way of reminding you that we have three months until Christmas.  I’ve got to get knitting!)

250

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Ahoy, me hearties!  It be a happy day indeed, for we do be arrived upon the shore of the 250th post!

Also, a hearty “Ahoy” and “Avast” to our new shipmates from allfreeknitting.com.  Be ye welcome, me hearties, and partake in our grog and good cheer upon the good ship On the Needles.

As we be upon the 250th post of our voyage, let us share the bounty of projects requiring naught but 250 yards of wool.

Jamaica Pouch by Sandra Clockedile:  She be a grand place to store your booty, plundered during our voyage.

3759785656_6a08451879_z[1]Ridge Washcloth by Hannah Maier: A fine tool for scrubbing the decks, ye bilge rat!

20140105_0016_medium2[1]Rye / Ruista ranteeseen by Hanne Katajamäki:  For those cold, foggy nights keepin’ watch from the crow’s nest.neulotut_ka_cc_88mmenikka_cc_88a_cc_88t_medium2[1](Also, happy Talk Like a Pirate Day!)