Mobius made from the Harry Potter Advent Calendar Art Yarns

I was very happy to chat with Katie yesterday, who purchased one of last year's Harry Potter Art Yarn Advent Calendars, and who told me she had crocheted a mobius from all these mini skeins. She sent photos and kindly allowed me to post them here, so here we go:

At first I thought to post only a selection, but I loved to see the details in all of them, and I thought you might, too :-) I absolutely love the finished piece, and as I said to her yesterday, I think it's amazing how different things made from the same yarns can be. So exciting to see!

Katie also told me she took a photo of each day's yarn in front of a Pottermore picture showing the respective scene. I thought this was such a fantastic idea! She put these photos on her Ravelry page and gave me permission to post some of them here, as well - if you'd like to see them all, have a look at Katie's mobius on Ravelry!

Diagon Alley

Hogwarts Express

Severus Snape

You can find Katie on Ravelry, and she also has an Etsy shop where she sells really beautiful crocheted pieces - like the Saoirse The Selkie mobius, or the Robot Friends mobius (made from one of my yarns! :-))

Thank you for sharing all these lovely pictures, Katie! <3 br="">

Creatures from the Sea (and a Dalek)

Oh, it's been ages since I wrote the last post... I've been very busy working freelance for a market research firm who needed me for several overlapping projects at once, so there was absolutely no time for spinning. It has been quite a stressful time, but it was also very empowering because I realized I could indeed cope with that amount of work and stress, and because my work was much appreciated. So, yay! :-)

I spent my free time knitting and crocheting, as it really helped me to calm down and relax. I will become something like an aunt in October ("something like" because we're not related exactly, I'm talking about a kind of family by choice) and I started knitting lots of amigurumi. It all started with a Kraken, then I made a Seahorse, and I stuck with ocean creatures and made a rainbow jellyfish mobile and some narwhales. Oh, and I also made some jellyfish poi for myself, and I knit a scarf for my sister in law and started a scarf for my dad. I don't want to overload this post, so I'll show you the amigurumi today and might post the scarves some other time - if you're curious you can look on my Ravelry project page before then ;-)

The Fiercely Cute Kraken

When a family with two kids visited us in March, they brought rattling, crocheted octopus toys. I asked my friends whether I should make one for their child in progress, and when I did I even put a rattling device in, too. There is no pattern for this Kraken, as I made it up as I went.

The Seahorse Friend

 I had the pattern for this seahorse in my Ravelry favourites for months, and now I finally got around to making one! It was a fun knit, though a little fiddly at the beginning and end, and I learned new things. I love how I can do so with each new knitting pattern.

The Jellyfish Mobile

A full rainbow of cute jellyfish! For the photo I hung them from a simple stick from the garden, but I want to buy a circlet thing to hang them from. I wanted to use a specific pattern, but it was no longer available when I decided to buy it, and then someone sent me a link to a YouTube video on Twitter from which I took some basics - and then I made the rest up, and did some variations. If I find the time I might write up a pattern, but if I do, it will take a while.

The Narwhales 

 

I looked for more ocean creatures on Ravelry and found this cute pattern. I made two because I didn't have yarn in the colour of choice when I started, but I desperately wanted to try the pattern. For the second one, I decided on smaller needles, and here I also did the wings from the pattern, which I chose not to make for the first one. Again, it was fun to knit, again a little fiddly (the wings took ages! But it got better after the first two feathers), and again I learned a lot.


I also meant to show you a Dalek I made ages ago, but then forgot all about it - it's not from the ocean, but it has the right colour to fit in this post ;-) So here it is!

The Blue Dalek

Easier than I thought! I improvised with the attachments, the rest is from this pattern. This is not for the baby, of course, but I gave it to my sister in law who is a huge Doctor Who fan.

I also worked on some new yarns for the past few days, and will continue to do so until the next market research project. I often post work in progress photos on Facebook and sometimes Twitter, so if you're curious you're very welcome to follow! :-)
I will probably show some of the new yarns here on the blog, too. Especially the ones which come with a book recommendation - stay tuned! :-)

How Ron's Dressrobes Turned into a Hat

You might wonder, was it magic? One could certainly think so! ;-) The magic used is called crochet, and the one who performed it was Kyuubi No Kitsune. Thank you for sharing the photos with us and our readers :-)

Ron's Dress Robes

The yarn, as it was listed in our shop. Maroon, with bits of lace, just as described in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

 

 The hat it became...

 ...which features a neat steampunk button :-) Great idea, I think!

Crafting Like Mad

I am now officially addicted. I never thought I'd like crocheting that much, but the book and crazy cute Cthulhu really helped ;-) I made the skeleton bride and groom last week, which was a lot of fun.

We went to my husband's family on Friday, to celebrate the birthday of my father-in-law. The whole family is already used to me crafting, I had brought spindles, my knitting, and even my spinning wheel in the past, so a little crocheting didn't even cause surprised looks ;-) My sisters (in-law) are always interested in what I'm doing, and they really liked my version of Bellatrix Lestrange:

I think it took me two or maybe three hours to make her, but I'm not completely sure. I used bits and pieces from several creatures of the book, and I love the outcome :-) Bella now resides in the place of honour in front of our Harry Potter DVDs.

My husband and I also went to a concert on the weekend - our first after many long years, and one of my birthday presents. It was great :-)

Metal with medieval elements/instruments by the German bands Schandmaul and In Extremo - the former of whom were much more fun and likeable, though I like the music of the latter somewhat more... My muscles ached from dancing yesterday, because I can never stand still when I'm at a concert. So we spent the day on the couch, watching the new episode of Torchwood, and searching for a new game to play on the PS3. We've long wanted something like Diablo, with local multiplayer options - and we found two games: Dungeon Hunter Alliance and Dungeon Siege III. We played a little of the trial version of the latter, but since it wasn't available at the playstation store, we decided on buying Dungeon Hunter Alliance. After some hindrances in the form of a new credit card, a forgotten password and a failing internet connection at the worst possible moment we even played a little, and I think I like it :-) Looking forward to playing again tonight, but first I have to work on my thesis, spin a yarn, take some orders to the post office and so on.

Cthulhu: Done!

 

The wings were a challenge, but the videos did help ;-) 

My husband liked lil' Cthulhu so much I gave it to him to take with him to work. I am still happy, amused and slightly astonished at how much he loves these creatures and at the fact that we'll indeed have a crazy christmas tree - given that I'll be able to make enough ninjas, cthulhus, vampires, knights, valkyries and whatever else until then. I've already spun some white and some black yarn for the skeleton couple *g*

Cute Lil Cthulhu

Last week, I ordered "Creepy Cute Crochet", which had been sitting on my Amazon wish list for a long time. I started on crazy cute Cthulhu right away, and quickly realized I really had no idea about crochet. I mean, I have been able to make chain stitches and single crochets ever since school, but everything else was just a vage kind of "oh yeah, I've heard of such a thing". I am so glad there are  useful videos on Youtube, teaching me what I had to know :-)
The wings were quite a challenge, but today I discovered the author provided help videos on them, so I'll try again later, hopefully with more success. There are also free expansion patterns on the author's website, and I was delighted to discover a Viking and The Valkyrie. But for now, I'll stick to Cthulhu here, can't have him wandering about without wings or eyes (the arms are now done, at least). The next thing I want to make is the Skeleton Bride and Groom, they are so cute!
My wonderful husband consented to a Christmas tree decoration of skeletons, ninjas, cthulhus and whatever else I'll make from the book. NOW I'm looking forward to Christmas! :-D

Oh, and I also went yarn bombing again, this time in a beautiful little place called Dilsberg. We went there for coffee and a walk with my dad who visited with us for a few days. Installing the graffiti was quite funny since there was a group of little girls coming around the corner who were curious and a little sassy. They asked what it was, if I was allowed to install it and so on - but they consented that no one else asks if they can spray graffitis on the walls, and that a yarn bomb is easily removable should anyone really hate it.

I also found some colourful flowers on our walk. It was a great day :-)

Four Cowls made from Art Yarn

A while ago, a fellow Etsyian purchased some of our yarns, all of which she made into beautiful cowls - see for yourself!

You can find these stunning pieces at iWunder's Etsy shop.

When she purchased the yarns, iWunder told us she remembered us from the Etsy chat - from years ago! This really made us happy :-)

Thank you for the permission to use the photos, iWunder - and for remembering us!

Dragonback - my first yarn guerilla mission

It's been in my head for a while now, I've seen pictures of others doing it, I've read blog postings and I wanted to do it myself. What am I talking about?

YARN GRAFFITI!

At first I had a hard time getting ideas, so I postponed any action and just found the general idea very appealing. Then I got a smashing book for Christmas: Yarn Bombing by Mandy Moore and Leanne Prain (our German readers will certainly enjoy this blog posting about the book), whose blog can be found here. It is full of ideas, pictures, interviews, instructions/guidelines, it's absolutely fantastic and inspiring. Suddenly, ideas started pouring and I couldn't wait to get home, grab some yarn and knitting needles and start doing it.

I wanted to start with something simple and I wanted to start close to home. I decided on a stylized dragon because the idea was suddenly there and I planned to decorate the public park behind our flat. So, when my sisters in law sat down to read the final chapters of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (the older one, 28, reading to her younger sister, 9), I saw my chance to both knit graffiti and listen to a good story (normally I listen to Jim Dale reading it to me, thanks to my father who gave me the whole audio book series for my last birthday). When we had to leave for the restaurant I took my knitting and made good progress while sitting in the tram, while waiting for dinner and while standing outside waiting for the tram back home, which was slightly uncomfortable/freezing. When we got home I crocheted the spikes and then around midnight my husband and I went outside - I to sew the tag onto a lamp post, he to document it for you ;-) (He did get a tripod for Christmas, so he kind of jumped at the chance).



I know some people think it's about letting go - you should walk away from your graffiti and never look back, but I like the idea of walking past my first one whenever I need to go into town or somewhere else the tram can take me. I'll try to be less sentimental with the next ones ;-) I am curious how long it will last, though - and whether my favourite neighbour will ask me if I did it, since she knows about my spinning and knitting.

(By the way: my hand/wrist warmers are new, too - I hope to take a better picture of them soon)

What do I do with my Art Yarn!?

Yeah - a good question, isn't it? Jinx asked in her (german) podcast what we do with our Art Yarns. Do we just hoard them in dark places, take them out on some holidays to admire them but never do anything with them? Do we just sell our Art Yarns and don't work with them ourselves?

I can tell you, the last answer would be my answer of choice. I'm a lousy knitter and a poor crocheter, I can't read any pattern and have problems with knitting terms in general. But then there are these yarns we spin. Some are so soft to the touch I can't believe it and end up stroking the yarn for minutes (no joke). And some have such a unique look and I put so much effort in spinning just this special yarn I can't part with it.

And so, sometimes I can't help it and I have to try to do something with those yarns. So I'll show you what I, a poor knitter and lousy croecheter, did with my handspun yarns, and perhaps there's some inspiration for you. :)

This is the very first Art Yarn I ever spun. I wanted to try all techniques in one single yarn, so this Art Yarn is full of stuff and looks a little bit "stuffed".
I crocheted this thin scarf from one big skein. The drop stitch look comes from my super creative pattern which I invented: Every now and then I made a whole row with gigantic loops, contrasted by normally crocheted rows. There's nothing more to it, and because I'm such a poor crocheter I don't know if there's a term for this technique or if this can called a technique at all - but well, it did what I wanted it to do: It shows the yarn very nicely.
The look of both yarn and scarf is quite unique, and even though the yarn is that stuffed and full of clutter, I very much like this scarf and wear it often in winter. :)

This is a hat I did for myself. I have always wanted a totally unique hat, one that no one else has, but the patterns and yarns my granny used (and still uses, I guess) for knitting hats just didn't seem right.
So there was this really scrappy yarn, spun from lots of bordeaux red merino wool and bits of woolen left-overs in green, lilac and white. It looked really boring as a skein. But I knew that there was something to this skein... And as I had just raised my confidence in crocheting as I had completed this strange faux drop-stitch scarf, I thought: "I can do that!" and just started off.
It was a piece of cake. The yarn was very easy to work with, quite plain with some thicker parts, and as I wanted the colored pieces to stick out a bit, I varied the stitch from time to time.
I was done in about an hour - the yarn had been about 6-9 WPI or so. And I have to say: I love the hat! It's a completely unique piece of work, it's individual and a bit nerdy, but it's not the classical handspun eye-catcher, nor does it look as if it's a knitted (or crocheted) remainder from the stone ages.
Sadly I can't wear both scarf and hat, the colors don't match...

This is a neck warmer I knit. Yeah, I do indeed knit from time to time, even though I'm a veeeeery slow (and painful... sigh) knitter. I had to knit something from this yarn: It's Happy Alpaca, Yummy Lime, and I really had to try this super soft yarn! I love the colors, they're are so fresh and light! And so I knit this mini-shawl - again without a pattern (because, as I already said: I can't read patterns other than those written in plain words). I don't know how much yarn I used exactly, but it's not very much. This piece of work really taught me that crocheting just eats up your yarn, while if you knit you can easily get twice as far with the same amount of yarn! It must be about 20-30 g or even less, really not more! This mini-shawl made a great gift. :)

And here is another drop stitch scarf. And this time, it's a real one, a knitted one!
The yarn I used was quite similar to my White as Snow, Red as Blood and Black as Ebony yarn. It's of such a soft wool/silk-blend, it doesn't scratch in the slightest!
Again, as I knitted, I became aware of how much less yarn is used up by knitting than by crocheting. From one big fat skein of about 130 g I knitted not one, but two drop stitch scarves, one to keep for myself and one for my mum's birthday.
I really think drop stitch patterns show the structure of Art Yarns very well. And the best thing: Very few yarn is used in a drop stitch pattern and you knit very fast. Being a slow knitter, it took me two evenings for one scarf, but I guess if you're a bit more advanced than I am (which is quite likely!!), you can complete a thin scarf in just one evening!

So these are some of my knitted and crocheted objects. I think, the advice I can give you if you want to knit or crochet something from an Art Yarn is: Don't be intimidated by this yarn. Try something easy at first, just as I did, and choose perhaps a pattern (if you can read them ;) ) which shows the yarn off a bit, like a drop stitch pattern. And: If you don't have a larger amount of yarn, stick to knitting, as you'll get much farther than with crocheting. And: The more extravagant and stuffed with stuff the yarn is, the plainer the pattern - 'cause you won't see the beautiful pattern anyway if you use a highly complex Art Yarn. ;)

Weird posted some of her projects lately, perhaps she'll add her other projects, too. :)

Yay for stars!

TQs Super Magical Beenie

I did it. I sent my first entry to a spinning challenge! And I even got two votes so far, even though one of the votes was Weird's. ;-)

Pluckyfluff wanted the participants to spin a yarn that is either representative of oneself, consists of ones favorite materials, illustrates a theme that one identifies oneself with or all of this. The second part of the challenge was to crochet or knit a beenie in a size and style that suits one or says something about oneself.

I did so and it seems I was the first to finish the challenge: Mine is the first in the long line of nine entries. I don't think I'll win, all others spun so great freaky yarns! But I really love my hat. It indeed reflects a part of my personality. If you want to see more pictures, visit my flickr-site, there are quite a lot of the beenie and the yarn.