A DAY OF MAGIC

My sister's account of her experience seeing and meeting the fabulous J.K. Rowling is now over at my blog In Knitting News. Allison worked hard to get her experience into words. I hope you enjoy the read.

The JK Rowling Open Book Tour Sweepstakes

Anyone still out there knitting, reading, and continuing to enjoy all things Harry Potter?

I've mentioned my HP crazed sister in past posts. I've knitted her several hats, scarves and little HP related stuffed animals.

Well she won one of the 1,000 tickets to go see JK Rowling speak at Carnegie Hall in NYC on October 19th at 7PM. Click on the Click Here in the box to the right of the box with the picture of Jo to see the list of confirmed names. She is listed under OH, Allison, Age 27.

To say that Allison is over the moon with excitement is an understatement. You can read more about it, including who she is taking with her on this adventure sadly it's not me, over at my knitting blog In Knitting News. Please stop by and congratulate her in the comments!



Here is a recent picture of her beloved Harry Potter bookshelf often referred to as 'The Shrine.' It's filled with all sorts of fun books, toys, book boxes, pictures, a film reel of HP4, a set of the British stamps, calendars, and multiple handmade HP items, even a pillow made from a party napkin by a friend.

I'm so very happy for my sister.

Happy knitting everyone.

Karen

*UPDATE 10/23/07*
Yes Allison and Nicholas were there and they had a fabulous time. Allison is currently compiling what she has dubbed the MANIFESTO a scrapbook of sorts detailing her experience. I will be posting her write up on my blog when it is ready.

WINNERS! After a very long time... and an apology

I'm back (finally) from vacation and so can (finally) announce the winners from the Second F.O. Contest!

A big congratulations to Lindsay, who did brilliantly with her Dark Mark scarf, which she not only knitted, but wrote the pattern for. Talk about impressive! By far and away our winner, Lindsay should get in touch with me (knitter.natter@yahoo.com) for her lovely prizes.

And while Lindsay swept the contest, we couldn't ignore runner-up Just a Knit Wit, who's exciting and hilarious Woolly Voldemort series kept us tuning in weekly. If you didn't read them check here for Parts One, Two, Three, and Four. JaKW, you're going to get a little something too!

Thanks to everyone for participating in Part Two of our Harry Finished Projects Contest! All the entries were fantastic.

*SPOILER COMING*
Also, a quick apology to all Snape apologists. I should have listened. I should have trusted. I should have believed Dumbledore. "The Prince's Tale" in this final book was close to undoing me. The final chapter with Albus Severus certainly did. Much appreciation to all the Snape fans who never did believe the *hype*. You folks stood up against a world of disbelievers, of which I was certainly one, and you should be proud.

More Spoilers!

I refer you to the comments for these House Ghost spoilers!

Phoenix Feathers!

I hope it isn't too late to post here. I hope everybody isn't just going to go away and forget just because Book 7 has come out. There is so much more knitting to do, to celebrate and to remember. I, for one, will not only be finishing the Severus Snape Pomatomus Socks, but will be knitting a Severus Snape Lace Scarf too - the kind someone should have made for him, to make him feel wanted and loved.

But the last week has been spent up to the elbows in dye vats as I struggled to recreate the incredible plumage of Dumbledore's wonderful mythical phoenix, so that I could do justice to Socktopia's amazing Fawkes socks. Eventually I think I've got somewhere near.

What do you think? This is a very nice superwash merino/tencel blend which has a lovely silky texture and superb stitch definition. It should make very nice Fawkes socks. I dyed four skeins so three of them will go up on eBay this evening under the Celtic Memory label and the last is mine, mine, all MINE. The socks start tonight...

Final Contest Submissions

Here are submissions for Part Two of the Big Harry Contest.



KnitWhit's Wizard's Hat.

Cheryl's Gryffindor socks.

Treesh's Gryffindor top, Slytherin top, Hufflepuff top, her Gryffindor pets, Baby Hedwig, Trevor the Toad, and Crookshanks and her Phoenix Tears scarf, all found here.

Lindsay's Dark Mark Illusion scarf.

Janet's Hufflepuff scarf.

Just a Knit Whit's Woolly Voldemort.

Birdwell's Hogwarts House Bracelets.

Mandy's Golden Snitch.

Karen's Sheldon the Turtle.

Scarves for all Seasons (a.k.a. Karen A)'s Slytherin Socks, Gryffindor socks, or Hufflepuff socks.

Please vote for your favorite in our sidebar poll! Voting will be up from now, Tues, 7/31 through Sat, 8/4. Or, knowing this KAL host, voting will be up at least that long ;-).

Good luck!

Late Entry

here are my Gryffindor socks made for a swap...

Dateline! J.K.! Spoilers Galore!

Hello everyone! Instead of posting a huge spoiler, where your eye might accidentally run over it, I thought I'd take a page out of
Birdy's book and write my Spoiler in the comments instead and continue discussion here, especially after watching the Dateline interview with J.K. Hope to keep the talk alive!

Pick a Winner

Here are submissions for Part Two of the Big Harry Contest.

KnitWhit's Wizard's Hat.

Treesh's Gryffindor top, Slytherin top, Hufflepuff top, her Gryffindor pets, Baby Hedwig, Trevor the Toad, and Crookshanks and her Phoenix Tears scarf, all found here.
(I think each top will be counted as its own entry but the pets will be grouped together as one on the poll- how does that sound Treesh?)

Lindsay's Dark Mark Illusion scarf.

Janet's Hufflepuff scarf.

Just a Knit Whit's Woolly Voldemort.

Birdwell's Hogwarts House Bracelets.
(I grouped these as one- does that work for you, Birdy?)

Mandy's Golden Snitch.

Karen's Sheldon the Turtle.

Scarves for all Seasons (a.k.a. Karen A)'s Slytherin Socks, Gryffindor socks, or Hufflepuff socks.
(These I grouped together as one- is this alright, SfaS?)

Also, as I was pulling pictures of Karen A's socks (and I'm so sorry, Karen, for your troubles this year- I'm glad we still had some of your pictures here), I saw many completed projects that weren't put for submissions in the last two weeks. If you have something you would like added to this list, I ask you to do a new post, with a picture, with a few lines about pattern and why you did it. Right now it's Saturday in the AM, so why don't we say all these submissions should be put up by Sunday night? So when Monday morning comes around, I'll make sure everyone who should have a submission is on here and we'll put up a poll. How does that work?

And if you'd like to change how you're submissions are grouped you can: 1)comment here 2) email me at knitter.natter@yahoo.com or 3)comment on my blog.

Hope this looks good to everyone!

Entries for Contest

For those who have been to my blog you know that life has been very active. With the loss of our grandson and our computer the only pictures of my submittals are here on the blog.
Hufflepuff Dress socks
Gryffindor Dress Socks
Slytherin Dress Socks
started Ravenclaw Dress Socks.
These were all in various extra large mens size (15 double e, 11, and 10)

Thats for a wonderful time and fun blog.

karen a
hufflepuff house

For Your Consideration

As reading the book (amongst other things) has kept me off the Internet for almost four days straight, I've been incredibly lax about doing anything I said I would (remember a contest- end of the KAL kind of thing?). Anyhoo, that all changes in the next day or two.
I will be putting together a final blog with all the submitted entries. If you've not posted (in the last ten days) your submission for the second half of the KAL, please do so at once!
In the meantime, here's a new poll for your voting pleasure. And please, get busy on Birdwell's brilliant discussion post. Thank you Birdy!

Most Dangerous Stunt

So I was at the Renaissance Faire this past weekend, watching one of the shows, a group that does "stupid and dangerous" stunts with fire and knives and what not.

So towards the end of the show the girl steps forward and announces "I will now perform our MOST DANGEROUS STUNT!!" Walking off stage, she returns with Deathly Hallows in hand. "I will read... the last page!"

It was a joke, of course, and everyone did exactly what they were supposed to do, scream and cover their ears and yell and stomp.

The head of the group runs forward, grabs the book away and says "Umm... that one's a bit TOO dangerous. Lets just juggle the knives again."

HP Boxed Set

In September a boxed set of all 7 books is coming out. The box looks wonderful! Since I don't currently own the books I thought I might get a boxed set of all books.

But...

What I really want is the British versions of the books. So I've been checking Amazon.co.uk and I see that in October a boxed set is also coming out, but they don't as yet have any pictures.

Does anyone know what the differences are between the adult versions and the children's versions? I didn't see any references to those differences on the HP Lexicon so I was wondering if they just had different cover art.

So I'm Curious...

Did anyone read the 'spoilers' that were up before the book came out?

Were they real?

Book Discussion

SPOILERS in the COMMENTS.

If you have already read the book and ARE DYING to talk about it: reply in the comments. If you're not finished--don't read the comments!

Let us begin!!

I'm Very Pleased with Book 7

I went to the Union Square Barnes & Noble (NYC) for the release. While all 4 floors were amazingly decorated, and the people who showed up in costume were also amazing, the staff weren't prepared for the hordes of people who showed up, and it was a disorganized nightmare. As we left, and took a taxi to the Penn Station Border's, we saw at least three blocks of people lining up to purchase the book. Border's wasn't as crowded, but they also had some neat decorations, people also showed up in costume, and they had a much better handle on organization and crowd control. We were out of there with our books by 12:40.

When I got back to the hotel I stayed up reading til 5:30, took a nap, and and finished the book by 10:30. I LOVED the book, it answered so many questions and was really brilliantly done. I read as slowly as possible, savoring every word, and was sorry when I finished it. So I read it again. I'll probably read it yet again, soon.

HP Sheldon

Pattern: Sheldon The Turtle
Designer: Ruth Homrighaus
Size: Just Right for My Sister's Harry Potter Gallery
Yarn: Knit Pick's Wool of the Andes in Hollyberry and Daffodil.
Needles: size 3 dpns and size 4 circs
Started April 3, 2007
Finished April 14, 2007

I would like to share the HP Sheldon I knitted back in April for my HP crazed sister but did not post to the KAL for Contest #2. His nose turned out a bit pointy but in person he is quite adorable. It's so cute how his shell is removable. He lives with the other HP inspired knits showcased in my sister's bookshelf of HP artifacts.

Just finished the book about an hour ago. You will find no spoilers here. Really looking forward to reading what everyone has to say about the book.

Happy reading and knitting everyone!

I'm Not Spoiling, I Promise!

Okay, you all know my Harry Potter mania. Well, I'm so happy to say that I'm not the only dweeb in the family! I managed to escape complete and total "dweebness" by maturely skipping the midnight book selling at Bookworld, but I just had to get up early and purchase the book as soon as Wal-mart opened at 7:00 this morning. Guess who I ran into there?

Brother-in-law Tom, who was there to purchase not one, but two books; one for himself and one for my MiL. Hee hee! Tom is very tall, and hates to be seen in the company of other dweebs, so this was the best picture I could get of him. . . . I thought it rather funny that he headed out of Wal-mart a few minutes later with his books under one arm, and an ENTIRE pack of Mello-Yellow in the other. (The man is addicted, I tell you! People really shouldn't form addictions . . . . ah . . . right . . . must continue . . .where was I? Ah yes, Harry Potter!!!)

After standing in line behind a sizable number of people who were all as excited as I, we managed to file into the store without any shoving or fighting to pick up our coveted tomes. I was pleasantly surprised to see a fair number of gray heads in the queue. The elderly lady who checked out ahead of me said that there was "no way her grandson was going to get to read it before she did; he'd just have to wait another day before getting his present!". Wonderful woman; displayed a true sense of priorities.

After barely suppressing the desire to giggle with glee, I headed to one of my favorite guilty haunts, Amigos, where I ordered breakfast and read for an hour or so (much to the waitress's amusement!)

Yes, I realize you can't see me very well in this photo. It's 7:00 in the morning, and I haven't fixed my hair. Deal with it.

After that, I had to head home to watch the kids for an hour so Andy could finish up a tile job. Not to worry! I put on a handy-dandy movie, and read on!

Now, Andy and I had made an "agreement", that he would watch the kids all day so I could read. I have suspicions that Andy has some goblin blood, because he "watched" the kids all day by playing 10 games of settlers (on-line game) while the kids climbed in my lap as I tried to read. Thankfully, as family members will attest, I have an amazing ability to ignore catastrophic happenings while engrossed in a book. (My brother once piled all the dining room chairs over me while I was reading; when I finished my book, I looked up to discover I was trapped in a mountain of furniture. Never noticed a thing.)

When I finished the book at 3:30 this afternoon (yes, it took me a little longer than the last book that came out. I was trying to savor the story . . .) I looked up to discover . . . .

This. (Look at all the toys piled under the piano).

And this.

All in just 7 short hours. When Andy emerges from reading the book I'm gonna kill him. It's a good thing he bought me more bottles of gin and tonic while he was "babysitting".

Avada Kadavra!

Anyone Finished Yet?

I finished reading this morning...and I am all antsy--I want to talk about the book so bad but everyone is still reading...i.e. all the forums are down. I stayed up most of the night--I had a 2 hour nap at 5 and finished the book this morning before 11.

I am sitting here groggy and tinking back my MS3, pondering if I should re-read The Deathly Hallows just for kicks.

Contest #2

I would like to add my Golden Snitch this was a fun knit I have knit a few up for the kids! I can't wait until this weekend! The move was good and I am excited and sad for the book! I hope everyone has a great weekend reading and knitting!

Hogwarts House Bracelets

Here's my entry for contest number 2:



Bracelets for three of the Hogwarts Houses. I lost my red floss for Gryffindor and I hadn't the time to go out and buy more. Also the pattern needed a lot of tweaking. But the other houses are well represented. I really love how the Slytherin bracelet came out. They are all knitted with DMC Perl 5 cotton on size 0 dpns.

Also I am making (like I mentioned before) a Hogwarts Unity bracelet, but I don't know if I can get it finished before midnight (I may finish knitting it but not blocked by then and blocking really shows the lace). But here's a preview...I'll post pictures of it tomorrow once it's finished.



You can barely see the yellow topaz crystal I used but trust me it's there. LOL. I actually only have two or three repeats but I have something to go to tonight, so no knitting time...pfft.

Drinking Too Much Butterbeer

Yummo! I love this stuff--I can totally see why Winky can't handle the stuff--it's so sweet! Via Slashfood.com, I found mugglenet's butterbeer recipe--if you read the comments it has a link to an adult version of the recipe. This stuff is awesome hot. When I made it before it was cold and I only added butterscotch syrup to the cream soda--but adding some butter and heating it up--wowee.

Does any one have plans for a Harry Potter read all night party? Since I still have to parent the next day (hubby has to work) I am going to sustain myself with Butterbeer for that all import sugar rush.

Weasley's Swamp Star Pillow

Hi!

I wanted to post pics of the yarn I received for winning the trivia contest and what I did with it.






(Pictures are clickable for enlargement).

I received two beautiful skeins of Waikiki yarn with Slytherin-green colors. This first picture shows one whole skein and one star made from the other skein.

Since I crochet, I decided to make 2 stars and then join them togther (with a black lining and batting inside), to form a pillow. (It could also be used as a sachet as well).






The colors reminded me of a swamp. Especially the mossy green. I added two buttons in that color to the centers of the star pillow on each side. So, in honor of the fabulous Weasley twins swamp created in the halls of Hogwarts, (much to Umbridge's dismay), I named it the Weasley's Swamp Star Pillow.

I really love it and I want to thank Emily for the yarn.

Contest #2 Entry

I took Woolly Voldy to the movie with me and somehow he managed to fall out of my purse and is now sitting in the passenger seat of my car.

Advice

So I am almost done with my Harry Knitted Objects--my last one is going to be a Hogwarts Unity bracelet (beaded knitted bracelet). I am going to use each swarovski crystal beads in each house color. Ruby for Gryffindor, Emerald for Slytherin, (I've seen/read references to these specific jewels in the books relating to each house) I am assuming Ravenclaw is sapphire, and here's where I need advice: should use Yellow Topaz for Hufflepuff or Black Obsidian or diamond.

On a side note I have noticed that each house color paired with a precious metal: gold, silver, bronze, and coal(?)--now I am assuming that coal is being considered a metal--just by all the other pairing...what are y'alls thoughts on this?

Should I use topaz or obsidian?

Contest #2 Entry

Here is my Hufflepuff scarf. Knitted on 19 needles in a seaweed pattern. Very comfortable and warm, just not wide enough (wore it to the OTP movie).
I wanted to wait to post until I got the hair scrunchies done. But since I haven't started them yet it doesn't look like those will get done.

Contest #2 entry

I've only knit one item for this knitalong, but writing the pattern more work than I was expecting. So, once again, here's my Dark Mark illusion scarf.



I'm very happy with how it turned out, and I've been so excited to see that other people are knitting it too :)

Contest #2 Entries

I have been feverishly knitting these past few months. It is because I know I will be going back to teaching after having a year off and, when that happens, I expect that I will not have much time to knit.

So I have several projects finished for the second part of this KAL. I've posted about all these FO's as I completed them, but here is a recap.

First is the Yule Ball Wear. I've been taking ballroom dance lessons since September and I had wanted to make some things to wear for dancing. Then, as I was re-reading the books, it occurred to me that I could knit some ball attire inspired by the Yule Ball in Goblet of Fire. I saw that I had some wonderful silk/wool fiber that reminded me of some of the house colors and I made a set of three tops for Gryffindor, Slytherin, and Hufflepuff. I had already made a tie for Ravenclaw for Contest #1 so I didn't make a Yule Ball top in those colors. I had purchased the fiber at the end of February, so I spun up all the yarn for all three tops before beginning to knit them.

Here are my three Yule Ball tops for Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff:


Then there are the Gryffindor pets. This started out because I found an adorable pattern for an owl and made a tiny owl that reminded me of Pigwidgeon. Thus began my journey into making Gryffindor pets. I next made a baby Hedwig, then a tiny little Trevor toad, and finally a fuzzy Crookshanks. I didn't use handspun for these - I either used scrap yarn or, in the case of Crookshanks, bought some yarn at my LYS.

Here they are:


As my last project, I decided to make something out of Charmed Knits, and the Phoenix Tears Scarf looked like a fun thing to knit. My LYS had what I thought was the perfect fuzzy yarn (Whisper by Crystal Palace) and I thought it would feel so nice and soft. So here is the Phoenix Tears Scarf.


There they all are - all my projects. You can read details about these and all my HP projects for this KAL here. I had a lot of fun and I can hardly wait until Saturday!

Contest #2 Entry

A wizard's hat for my son. The pattern was posted somewhere on this blog, I think from Knitty Gritty. Not too hard to do, and my son loves it.

OotP and Knitting/Crochet

I just saw the movie this afternoon. I won't say anything about it other than there were some really neat knitted and crocheted things. I was too busy paying attention to the story to concentrate on figuring out what everyone was wearing, but I did notice a nice crocheted shrug/cropped sweater and a skinny filet crochet scarf that Luna was wearing. The Weasley twins got scarves reminiscent of Dr. Who for Christmas. Ron got some kind of strange fuzzy vest for Christmas. I will have to see it again to look at all the knitted/crocheted things.

End-of KAL Finished Project Contest!

With a helpful nudge from our Ravenclaw ghost Johann, I remembered we should be having a Second Big Contest to finish off this KAL. Something about ending July 2nd and winners announced July 6th? I'm not really sure what mental case came up with those dates, but thank goodness I'm here to fix all that!

The Second Big Contest is for any finished item, completed during this KAL that was not submitted in Contest One (if you don't remember if you submitted it click here for the list). The item must relate to the Harry Potter series and be knit or crochet. Please post a picture and a few lines about it on the blog.

All posts with pictures must be posted by July 19th (if you are a member of this blog, on the sidebar, but cannot post here, email your entry and pictures to me and I will post for you, knitter.natter@yahoo.com). A list of these entries will be complied into one post and up on the site on July 20th.

Then it's up to You! The Voter! to pick our winner. In place of our weekly question, we'll put up a poll to pick your favorite. Ann and I will provide a contributing vote/tie-breaker influence, but please, KAL members, pick our final winner!

We'll leave up the poll for five or six days and then announce the winner, hopefully no later than Sunday, the 29th. I won't be online until I've finished with Deathly Hollows and I'm betting a lot of you feel the same way, so we'll keep an eye on the poll and pull it when it appears a majority of the KAL have been able to vote. At least five or six days.

Have at it! Get to finishing! Start posting! Let's give this last contest before Harry our best!

Winner!

For our "Who's Your Favorite Character" contest, I thought I'd post all these wonderful answers.

Kim C
That's easy. It's Sirius Black--hands down. He's been my favorite character the whole time(at least since he really came into play in Azkaban). I have always been a sucker for the dark, tortured soul in a book and he fit the bill.

In Azkaban I loved how I spent most of the book worrying for Harry and then Sirius turned out to be on his side all along. After reading book three, I really started thinking about how Sirius' life situation shaped his character. He grew up in a wealthy, prominent, pureblood family. In my mind he had all the makings of a rich, spoiled brat. The fact that he left home and family as a teen really went against what I thought would be his character but it gave me an added measure of respect for him. The one thing I think his upbringing probably gave him was an arrogance--as evidenced by his antics with James while they were in school. His loyalty to his friend, James, was another thing that really cemented my love for him as a character.

I've always wondered how he would have turned out had he not spent 12 years in Azkaban. Can you even comprehend what spending that much time in a place like that would do to your mind? In many ways I'm sure he had stopped maturing when he went in--survival mode kicked in most definitely. Plus years of deprivation from other people and positive feelings--it's really got to destroy most of who you could have been. It's amazing to me that he was able to feel anything let alone the love he had for Harry.
I still hold out hope that one day JKR will write about the Mauraders(Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs)--that really seems like it would be a story worth telling :)

Jo "Celtic Memory Yarn"
It has to be Hagrid of course!

Big, gruff, lonely, loving, thoughtful, kind, ever careful of young people's feelings, utterly loyal to Hogwarts and those in whom he trusts, Hagrid is the kind of person we all wish we could run to when we're in trouble. And to make him perfect, he has his own passions and hobbies too, even if they are for creatures that only their mother (and Hagrid)could love.
Blast-ended Skrewts anybody?

Libby
I would have to say it's Mrs. Weasley.

She knits (or at least charms her needles to do so), raised 6 kids [Libby emailed me immediately after and said "Erm...I meant 7 kids. Apparently my counting skills have fallen by thewayside...which is bad in knitting, yes? :)"] and keeps everything in The Burrow in order. She wears fabulous mom clothes, and makes me want to have more kids, but only if I can have that
sweater and her magic skills :)

Plus, who DOESN'T love that clock?

Just a Knit Wit
My favorite character in the book is Voldemort. Aside from the necessity of there having to be a villain for the sake of the story, I think he's a wonderfully complex and well written character. He isn't just evil, like Lucius Malfoy is. He has a past history, flaws, strengths, quirks, beneath the evil façade he is still a man. A desperate man who is terrified of his own mortality and is willing to sacrifice himself to escape death, but a man nonetheless. At the same time he is charming, intelligent and strangely sympathetic to women. Consider that he tried actively to give Lily a chance to stand aside. Argued with her even. I doubt James was given the same options. And in OotP he rescued Bellatrix before escaping the ministry. Much like Snape's description of the Dark Arts in HBP, Voldemort himself is like a many headed hydra.

Johann, our Ravenclaw Ghost
I love Harry's mom, Lily, and Ginny Weasley, for very similar reasons,
but my favorite would have to be Remus Lupin.

Here is a man who was faced with the most extreme provication to turn
to evil, or at least handle things badly. You only have to look at
Greyback to see how bad he could have made things.

But he chose to do his best.

Granted, he's not living a really happy life, but he has managed to
help others while doing his best. The kids he taught at Hogwarts are
all better for knowing him. And now he's in the Order of the Phoenix.

I really hope he doesn't die in the next book, and I'd even like to
see him have some happiness with Tonks.

I've had some bad breaks over the last 12 years, and was dissappointed
that I hadn't been able to do a better job of turning them around. But
reading about Lupin and Greyback has made me realize that I'm not
all-powerful, and I could have done much worse. Others with my
problems have turned to drink and drugs. I turned to knitting. And I
realize I've done the best possible with the rotten hand I was dealt.
He's let me hold my head up again and keep going.


Thank you so much for all these great answers! I loved that a) we had no repeats b) we have such personal reasons for loving these characters and c) Deathly Hollows will be out in a week! Er- sorry- I'm just really excited.

Due to the number of responses and the fact there's no way to pick a winner, Ann and I decided to go with the tried and true method of names in a hat. The Hubba served as a non-partial judge and he withdrew the name:

Kim C!

I'll be changing some dates as we completely missed the Big Second Contest deadline. Anyone else notice, besides Johann (thanks for that Jo!)? This sort of inefficiency would never be condoned at Hogwarts! Though I will not drag my co-host into this, I can only say, I am the Gilderoy Lockhart of blogs. And I learned joined together writing for a reason.

Cheers!

I've gone and made my predictions at Mugglenet

Scrolly scrolly scrolly.

Ron Weasley will...
Live

Hermione Granger will...
Live

Severus Snape will...
Live

Lord Voldemort will...
Die

Remus Lupin will...
Die

Ginny Weasley will...
Live

Molly Weasley will...
Live

Arthur Weasley will...
Live

Nymphadora Tonks will...
Something else

Luna Lovegood will...
Live

Neville Longbottom will...
Something else

Minerva McGonagall will...
Live

Peter Pettigrew will...
Die

Bellatrix Lestrange will...
Die

Draco Malfoy will...
Die

Rubeus Hagrid will...
Live

Fred Weasley will...
Live

George Weasley will...
Live

Charlie Weasley will...
Live

Fleur Delacour will...
Live

Harry Potter will...
Live

Is RAB Regulus Black?
No

Is RAB alive?
Yes

Did RAB destroy the locket Horcrux?
No

Is Harry a Horcrux?
No

Will Harry and Ginny end up together?
Yes

Will Harry and Hermione end up together?
No

Will Ron and Hermione end up together?
Yes

Will Draco and Hermione end up together?
No

Snape loyalties lie with:
The Order

Will Draco Malfoy redeem himself?
Yes

Will Percy Weasley redeem himself?
No

Will Hogwarts re-open?
Yes

Assuming Hogwarts does re-open, will Harry return?
Yes

Assuming Harry does return, will he graduate?
Yes

Is Dumbledore really dead?
Yes

Assuming Dumbledore is dead, did he plan his death?
Yes

Is Sirius Black dead?
No

Will any of Luna's conspiracy theories be found to be true? (If yes, please include which ones at the end)
We won't find this out

Is/was Snape in love with Lily Potter?
Yes

Will Wormtail repay his life debt to Harry?
Yes

Was Wormtail present at Godric's Hollow the night Voldemort killed Harry's parents?
No

Who will be the squib/muggle who uses magic later in life?
Someone else

Is Harry the heir of Slytherin?
No

Will Dumbledore's Army re-form?
No

Will the Muggles ever discover the wizarding world?
No

Will we ever see the other side of the veil?
Yes

Will Neville be the student who gets a job as a Hogwarts professor after graduation, teaching herbology?
No

Will Hermione be Head Girl?
Yes

Will Ron be Head Boy?
Yes

Will Harry be Head Boy?
No

Will we see time travel in Book 7?
No

Did Voldemort ever fulfill his wish to make Horcruxes out of objects belonging to each Hogwarts' four founders?
Yes

Is Ollivander working for Voldemort?
Yes

Will Harry's scar disappear?
No

Does Voldemort have multiple spies in the Order?
No

Was the green potion Dumbledore drank in the cave the Draught of the Living Death?
No

Will Dumbledore's defeat of the dark wizard Grindlewald in 1945 be relevant?
No

Will Hagrid rekindle his romance with Madam Maxime?
No

Will Harry go through the veil?
Yes

Is the veil the gateway to the underworld?
No

Will we see the Mirror of Erised again?
Yes

Will McGonagall lead the Order of the Phoenix?
Yes

Will Voldemort ever realize his undying love for the giant squid?
No

Who will win the final battle?
Harry and the Order

In 500 words or less, describe what will happen in Deathly Hallows?
The trio have to hunt down all the horcruxes and destroy them, but they will have help. Snape will be loyal to Dumbledore. At some point Harry will end up at the Ministry, where he will finally figure out what's up with the veil, and why it harmed Sirius. Harry will be able to use the 2-way mirrors to contact Sirius somehow...eventually Harry will have to confront Voldemort, but Voldemort WILL be defeated. I'm hoping Umbridge gets eaten by the qiant squid, and Harry becomes Hogwarts headmaster in the epilogue.

Thoughts in the comments, and let us know if you've done yours too.

Phoenix Tears Scarf

When I got Charmed Knits, I really wanted to make the Invisibility Cloak. And I still do, but I want to spin the yarn for that. So that will take me a while (a LONG while) to spin up enough very fine yarn.

So to amuse myself in the meantime I made the Phoenix Tears Scarf from Charmed Knits.



I just put the final details (the beads representing the tears) on it today. Details on the yarns can be found here.

Should we be worrying now?

Mugglenet has just reported that apparently Jo says in her documentary that some people will "absolutely loathe" book 7. This to me sounds scary almost- outlook is terrible on Harry's chances of survival- and is a bit depressing. I know there is a large debate going over whether he will die and whether he needs to die, but I don't WANT him to die!! Eeek. So...what do you guys think? Should I start to brace myself now? I nearly lost it when Dumbledore died, I've no idea how I would handle Harry's death... :(

OotP *spoilers*

Ok, so having seen the movie twice now (I went alone at midnight and then yesterday with a friend) I have a few observations...

*highlight below with your mouse to read what is written*

I wish they hadn’t eliminated so much of the verbal banter between Dumbledore and Voldemort. I think it showed a certain respect between the two, an acknowledgement of eachother’s power.

I love how they started eliminating Neville’s comic props. He said in an interview that he wore too big shoes to get the clumsy walk and ear wedges to push his ears out and it seems like they got rid of them and gave him a chance to prove his ability as a serious actor.

I would have liked to see a bit more anger from Harry. He really hit it perfectly in Dumbledore’s office after the snake attack, but everywhere else it was sort of lukewarm.

I loved how they took the sound out after Sirius died and just put music and quiet sobbing. It made the scene so much more emotional.

Did anyone else notice that manic grin on Harry’s face when Voldemort is whispering for him to kill Bellatrix? It’s only there for a few seconds but it is EVIL and very cool.

I also liked how Dan Radcliff did a subtle imitation of Voldemort throughout the movie. If you watch, when he gets those twitches, it’s the same motions as Voldemort makes at the train station when he’s in the suit, face to the side, neck stretched out.

How freaking awesome was the possession!!! Without a doubt my favorite part of the movie. And it goes right along with a theory that I have about how Dumbledore stresses to Harry that his love is his greatest strength. I honestly think that he’ll have to pity Voldemort before he can destroy him.

A&E Hp show

OMG did anyone watch the show on A&E tonight? It made me want to hijack a car and drive 90 mph to anchorage (which is 123 miles away) just to see the fifth film. It looks really good!

Movies, Contests, and What-Not

I thought, what with so many of us probably having seen the movie, we should be able to discuss it here. But not wanting to discuss it in front of those who might not have been at the 11:59pm showing, Tuesday, (I'm with you there Knit Wit), we Heads of House ask, if feel you could give something about the film away, put the word "Spoiler" in your title. I realize that's probably a "no kidding" request, but just to keep us all on the same page...

Also, the winner of the "Who's Your Favorite Character" contest will be posted by tomorrow night. So keep your eyes open, there were lots of great answers!

As for What-Not, well, I can't think of any... except- Good Job OotP filmmakers. I don't have time to go into it now (and I didn't write "Spoiler" in my title ;-0 ), but I was pleased. And with that being my favorite book, I had high expectations. In our poll (oh- yes!- there's a new poll- don't forget to vote- turn out last time was faaaabulous) I even picked that "Exceeds Expectations." I don't know if I could ever give an HP film "Outstanding" unless they could make it six hours long, and fit in almost every character. An HP miniseries perhaps... it's an idea...

Midnight Movie Release

*YAAAAAAWN*

So very tired. I decided to go with the insane decision and bought a ticket to the midnight showing (12:02 actually) of OotP.

Now I won't give away anything about the movie, I know people want to see it and judge for themselves.

But it was good.

Now if you'll excuse me, as I'm at work I'm going to curl up under my desk for a little nap. Could you get the phones for me?

Thanks.

Is the movie a Tuesday release?

Just dawned on me... the movie opens WHAT TOMORROW!!! And that would be a Tuesday, right. Looks like DH has to reschedule band cause I can see a hot date. With the scarf done, just need to make a hair scrunchie. That should be fast.

First Slytherin Sock Slides Off The Needles!

You thought I wasn't doing anything on this KAL, didn't you? Well I was, so there!

Here is the first sleekly snakily beautiful Slytherin Sock (the pattern is Pomatomus from that genius Cookie A), worked in my own hand-dyed suitably green colourway.

And you know the way Scots kilt-wearers sometimes slip a skean dhu in their stocking top, in case they might meet a sworn enemy in the banqueting hall?

Well here is my Slytherin Snake Pin, used to fasten a shawl or to decorate a sock, as one feels moved. Cool, huh?

Now to get the second one finished. Not much time left before the movie opens. But if I miss that deadline (it is a rather complicated pattern), they'll definitely be ready for the book launch.

And I've been busy on general Hogwarts knitting too. I decided that Dobby the House Elf should have his own mini-gansey, to counteract the rather bright items he might receive from Mrs. Weasley.

This is the sampler in Beth Brown-Reinsel's marvellous book, Knitting Ganseys. The idea is that by the time you've worked your way through this inches-wide little treasure, you'll be well versed in all the intricacies and more than able to tackle a full-sized project. So I was hooked immediately (wouldn't anyone be?) and I'm knitting it up on a size 0 circular with a fairly fine sockweight in Cheviot pure wool. I'll post a picture when there is more than the miniscule welt to see.

Think Dobby will like it? Does he wear little cotton vests? If not, the wool might be a tad scratchy...

Hello

Hi, I'm Nicole, and I love Harry Potter and Knitting! I've been previously sorted into Ravenclaw which is where I've always seen myself. I'm uber excited for the 7th book but disappointed I can't get it right away (2 day shipping from amazon isn't guaranteed to Alaska)!
By the way my favorite book is POA but I really liked GOF too. I love them all. My blog is www.thepursuitofnodroppedstitches.blogspot.com I know its a mouth full. Also Hermionie is my favorite character.
-Nicole

FO's for Slytherin

Happy Saturday everyone - I finally finished something...and started something else :) (ETA: I apologize for the spacing - I'm not used to Blogger's edits!!)

A House Hat (with a bit of a wonky crown, but it fits my giant melon...)


































A Slytherin coloured bookscarf (re-reading the last book to refresh my memory...)





































And last, but most certainly not least, a Dark Mark Illusion scarf in progress. Add about 10 inches to this, and that's where I am now. This pattern is brilliant....I've never done illusion knitting before, and never really cared to until this...hope to have it done when Mr. Man (my boyfriend) and I head to the Potter movie on Tuesday (our local cinema is having a 7pm showing Tuesday!!)











xoxox
Libby
http://hotrodlibbyloo.typepad.com

Contest Three- Bring on the Opinions!

Hello All!

I'm heading out of town for the weekend (if curious, check here), but thought I'd leave the KAL with another little contest.

This one should be fairly simple if you a)have an opinion about the books and b)might like some free yarn in exchange for said opinion ;-).

So: Who is your favorite character in the Harry Potter series, outside of Harry, Ron, and Hermione? Send me two or three lines about who it is and why and Head of House Ann and I will pick a winner.

Email me (Em) at knitter.natter@yahoo.com no later than Monday, 7.09.07, at 10:00pm (when I get home and, coincidentally, the day before the OotP opens- hooray!).

A grand weekend to you all!

Potter Back Story

We’re all so excited to find out more and more back story of why and when and who in the Potter stories, but I’m curious to hear about other back stories.

How/When/Why did you start reading Harry Potter?

I, I am almost embarrassed to admit, was vehemently against reading the books. I had no interest. I didn’t want to sit around and read children’s books. I had other things to do. My friend, a rabid Potter fan, took me to see the movie and I was still unmoved. The movie was cute, yes, and I did buy it on DVD, but I still wasn’t feeling the need to read the books.

It wasn’t until 2002 when I enrolled in some courses at the community college that I read the first book. It was part of the Fiction 115 class. I was hooked. I finished the first book, got into my car and drove straight to the store to buy the rest of them. I resisted buying Goblet of Fire, as it would be out in paperback when I finished all my classes, so I decided that it would be my present. I've been hooked ever since.

So what’s your Potter back story?

HufflePuff Scarf

Here is my Hufflepuff Scarf, I didn't have enough yarn for a shawl. This was knit w/2 strands of fun fur and 2 of worsted weight acrylic with 19 needles. (us size) I co on the night of July 1 and finished late July 3. I didn't weave in the ends as I wasn't sure if I want fringe or not.
I have a lot of yarn left over to make a head band or hair scrunchies. Or fringe.

Copy Cat

When I saw Treesh's adorable Crookshanks I just couldn't resist the urge to knit one up myself. I even had the perfect yarn sitting in my stash!

He took me about 3 hours to knit, seam and finish up. I used safety eyes and embroidered his little nose on.

The yarn I used is Sensations Angel Hair. It wasn't furzy enough for me, so I used my hairbrush to floof it up. I ended up having to trim the hair off around the face though, his poor eyes got lost in all the fur.

Next up... Nagini!

Howdy :)

Hey everybody,

My name is Libby (*Hi Libby!*) and I blog at Derby and String....brought to you from sunny (at least today) Bothell, Washington.

My son (MHP, he's 7) and I are BIG Poter fans. MHP has been reading the 3rd book as of late (it takes him a bit longer because he likes to illustrate every chapter in his notebooks) and I'm re-reading The Order of the Phoenix (my fave book by far) for the 5th time.

I don't really have a favorite movie, unfortunately...I'm not a fan of translating books to movies, as I feel that a lot of the excitement and magic is lost. I'm a dork like that. If I had to choose though, I would say Prisoner of Azkaban because I *heart* Gary Oldman. (And to tell the honest truth, I own all 4 DVDs, bought the special editions when they were available, and they're my go-to movies when I can't figure out what to watch.)

Anyhoo...I've started a basic House hat and scarf for the book launch...in Slytherin colours to match my Draco Malfoy teeshirt. :) But I'm not really evil. I promise.

Poll One Results!

Our first poll "Who will be the most important Death Eater in Book 7 after Voldemort?" broke down as follows:
Severus Snape, at 16 votes, earned 40%,
Bellatrix Lestrange was runner up at 10 votes, with 25%,
Lucius Malfoy made a strong comeback at 6 votes for 15%,
"A brand new character" started off strong, but fell behind to finish with 4 votes, at 10%,
and Draco Malfoy and Fenrir Greyback tied with 2 votes apiece, at 5% each.
Any reasons why? Any discussion about this? I was torn between Snape and "a brand new character" (with RAB, perhaps Regulus Black, in mind), but after Half-Blood Prince's ending, I had to go with Snape. Anyone else still undecided or feel very strongly about a particular character? I was especially surprised by a) Draco Malfoy's poor turn-out and b) the strong response to his father. Should I have listed Narcissa Malfoy, too, I wonder?
Thanks for participating- with 40 votes it was nice to see so many of the KAL are still with us!
Check out our new poll too!
There's another contest question going up today or tomorrow- I would especially advise all Huffles to keep their eyes open... ;-)

Crookshanks

I finally got Crookshanks done.



Yarn: Crystal Palace Whisper
Pattern: Knitted Kitty
Started: June 4, 2007
Finished: July 1, 2007

I still may put some button eyes and a nose on him, but I haven't decided about that yet.

Winner! And Thoughts on H-B P

Our latest contest winner is Becky, who correctly answered our "How Fast Can Harry Find Himself in Trouble?" question. Becky, a Sly gal, will be receiving two skeins of truly Slytherin green Wakiki yarn by Crystal Palace. Good job, Becky!

Another question, perhaps a little easier, will be coming this week. Stay tuned...

I had a few thoughts after re-reading Half-Blood Prince.

1. Is Dumbledore setting up his own death? I was just a tad-bit hysterical at finishing H-B P and found a LOT of comfort in the website Dumbledore Is Not Dead (now called "Beyond Hogwarts") when the book was first released. Even after J.K. assured us all he IS dead, I've gone back to that site to remind myself that maybe Snape isn't, oh, I don't know, the scum of the earth and there is some crucial reason to Dumbledore's death.

I realize, Dumbledore had to go, he was the last adult protecting Harry from his inevitable final meeting with Voldemort. There's no one left in Harry's life who he might look to for guidance; I get it, Dumbledore couldn't be in the seventh book (though maybe, just maybe, he is... just maybe).

But did Dumbledore mean to die? On my last reading, H-B P seemed littered with signs he was putting all the pieces into place, giving Harry all the necessary tools for Harry and the Order to carry on after he was gone. (Of course, now I can't find any of them easily, but they're there, I swear it! ;-)

2. Is there a chance the final showdown, we'll call it, between Harry and Voldemort happens at Hogwarts and not Godric's Hollow? Or that Hogwarts will play a bigger role than any of us, or I, at least, expected? In "Lord Voldemort's Request", Dumbledore says,
"'Voldemort was, I believe, more attached to this school than he ever has been to a person. Hogwarts was where he had been happiest; the first and only place he had felt at home.'
Harry felt slightly uncomfortable at these words, for this was exactly how he felt about Hogwarts too.
'Secondly, the castle is a stronghold of ancient magic... he [Voldemort] may have felt that there were mysteries still to be penetrated.'" ( H-B P American edition, p 431)
I can't help but think that, even though Harry won't be going back to school, he will end up back at Hogwarts in Book 7.

3. Even if, and I really hope this is true, Snape IS on the side of the Order, is he a "good guy"? I have some sympathy for him after what J.K. revealed of his youth in OotP, but I can't bring myself to like him even a little. Yes, I love Alan Rickman, and it's hard to hate him in the movie, but when I read OotP and H-B P, I'm reminded of what a small, petty, nasty character Snape is, not only to Harry, but to almost everyone- Neville, Hermione, Ron. Can all that cruelty be part of his double-agent role?

Just some questions/concerns/comments. Getting to the end of Book 6 suddenly made the release of Deathly Hollows seem so much more crucial and, therefore, so much farther away. When will the 21st of July get here?!

Part 4: A New Man

When we last left our woollen Dark Lord, he was reclining in the sunshine with his new found friend, revealing his deepest desires.
"A flower shop? Really?"

"Yeah... it's silly, but I've always liked that idea. Making arrangements and creating beautiful things that make other people happy."
"I guess it's part of growing up in that dank orphanage. There was no color. No beauty."

"I just can't get over how different you are than I expected. You're really... you're a whole different man. Here..."
"Take your wand back. I want to see the good you can do with it."

"I... I don't know what to say. Except..."

"Yes?"

"Avada Kedavra!"

"Gullible twit..."

"Now then... I know I saw it in here somewhere..."
"Ah yes..."Harry has powerful protection while he can still call this house 'home.' This magic will cease to operate the moment that Harry turns seventeen."* Finally! I have found the way to defeat him! Now then, to get my body back... Finite Incantatem!"

"Now... Harry Potter... you will DIE!!!"

And They All Lived Happily Ever After

The End

*Quote taken from HBP, US edition pgs 55-56

WARNING!

I'm sure all of you have heard the rumors that some guy hacked into the publisher's database and found the secrets of book 7 and posted them on-line.

I'm 100% positive that they're fake, but if you want to avoid it all together DON'T read the comments attached to the Mugglenet.com article. Someone went and read it and then told everything that was in it, in a "This is what it said, don't believe any of it" kinda way.

Just a heads up.

Harold The Purple Pygmy Puff

While I was walking around Diagon Alley looking for a new pet for the start of school, I stopped by Weasly's Wizarding Wheezes. I found the sweetest Pygmy Puff. He is purple with black eyes and his name is Harold. Here's a picture of him for you!

I just love him to death! He is soft and fluffy and just plain cute! I used Mandy's Pygmy Puff pattern and he turned out wonderfully.

I am once again rereading the first Harry book. It is by far my favorite book. I love discovering the magic in Harry's point of view. This is the fourth time this summer that I am rereading this book. I want to read it seven times.

QUESTION! CONTEST!

Our second week of our Countdown Contest is now in play!

The first two KALers to email me a correct answer at knitter.natter@yahoo.com will win!

Please only email me if you're currently a member of this blog. In your email, besides your clever answer, include how you're listed on the sidebar so I can link your name on the winners' post.

So.

We've watched Harry, in these last six books, grow more rebellious and more defiant of authority. Can you tell us every book in which Harry has received detention, from any teacher, in his first week of school? Include in your answer: 1) which book, 2) the teacher who gave the detention and 3) the length of the punishment (one detention, two detentions, etc).

Any questions?
GO!

Winners and the correct answer will be posted tomorrow, Friday, evening or first thing Saturday morning.

And I'll be shopping tomorrow for some extra-Harry prizes... ;-)

Good luck!

Controversial topic

Interesting topic or is this Pandora's Box?
Today at work another mom and I started discussing JK Rawlings. Strangely enough J.K. attends the same church that C.S. Lewis did. When he did his writings many Christians didn't read his books because of magical creatures. Also when a reporter asked J.K. what her views where on being a Christian. J.K.'s response was if "I answered than I would be giving out the ending of my book". I already knew about the connection between a mother's love and Christ's love and good vs. evil. But now I am really curious. Just some thoughts.

House Afghan Progress

I'm behind in reading--I'm just getting finished with Chamber of Secrets. But I am making progress on my house afghan. I've finished Hufflepuff and Slytherin's squares.

Onto Gryffindor, then Ravenclaw, then the hard work begins--assembly and the border :)

Here's the whole story(if you're interested).

Happy knitting and reading!