A Little Progress

I've been swatching for the shawl I'm knitting for the Harry Potter House Cup KAL on Ravelry. Well, I've been finishing up some Mrs. Figg String Bags and swatching.

I have the pattern settled for the beginning of the shawl, but I still don't have a good pattern that I like for the border around the bottom, and haven't even started to try anything about the edging that I'd like to put on. I could, conceivably, just do a picot bind off, but I'd really like a nice edging.

But I finally got impatient with not starting. We're more than half way through the month, and I have to be at least a quarter of the way through the project by the end of the month. I'm doing an OWL for Charms. OWLs are a three month project. So, I do have time, but still have to be about about 18 inches along, measured on the front edge by the end of the month.

Since I do have a pattern designed for the beginning, I thought I ought to get started on it. Here's what I've got as of this morning:

I'm using Knit Picks Options needles with the nickel finish, but I'm thinking I might like to use Harmony tips for this because they'd be just a little less slippery, so I ordered a pair of tips in size 6 today. Getting another set of tips in the right size will let me experiment with stitch patterns for the border without having to keep switching the tips from the shawl to the swatch, too.

I already did a project for the regular charms class, and I have another small project planned. They asked for projects that could be worn in the muggle community without making the wearer look odd to muggles, but that would identify that person to the magical community as a witch. I'm planning to make a lucet cord which can be tied into a bow around almost anything that the person is wearing/carrying in blue with silver knitted stars on the ends. It seems obvious to me that tying such an article to my handbag (which is blue) would identify me as a member of Ravenclaw. Not to mention what a great Christmas ornament it would be!

I'm planning to make another project for muggle studies. We were asked to make an item from muggle TV or movies to help us look more like muggles and blend in. While placing my order at Knit Picks, I ordered three skeins of Merino Style yarn in fog to make a hat like Hermione will be wearing in the  new Half Blood Prince movie which will be out this July. 

This is the only photo I've been able to find of it so far. There are instructions for copies of the hat that I've seen, but I didn't think that any of them looked enough like the photo to suit me, so I'll be designing my own for this one, too.

Sorry to put all the science fiction and stuff in yesterday's post and all the knitting in this one, but that's the way it worked out.

Have a great evening! Oh, and there's a new The Mentalist on tonight along with a new Reaper!