Potter Pattern Done!

Eighty nine pages later, I have finally come up with a pattern for the Ron Weasley Blanket. I put a tremendous number of photos into it to make it a decent attempt at explaining how to make it and I'm afraid the pattern is quite lengthy.

Here is a link to check out the monstrosity that is The Ron Weasley Blanket Pattern.

I've never written a pattern before so I'm sure it's got errors but I figured I'd have a go at it since no one has come up with a detailed pattern for this popular project yet.

If anyone does decide to use this pattern, I would love to see pictures!

Mischief Managed!!

After two years, I'm finally done with the Ron Weasley Blanket! I've been pouring over pictures, hunting through yarn stores and have spent hours doing garter stitch, and it's finally complete! The blanket is as accurate as possible and I'm quite excited by how it has turned out. I've taken a couple photos of the my blanket in the same position as the pictures, I'm quite pleased.

The only thing left to do now is write out the pattern. I don't know that anyone else will be crazy enough to replicate the blanket as seen in the movie but I'll keep working on it. The pattern will be rather lengthy as there are 80 different squares to write instructions for. I'm including reference pictures to show where each sqaure pattern was obtained.

Here are a couple pictures to show my blanket and how it compares to the real thing!

I'm a Potter Freak...

I'm not ashamed to admit a sizable portion of my knitting projects have been Harry Potter related. The first project I ever made and the reason I learned to knit was a Gryffindor house scarf. I followed it up with three more in the appropriate shades to create a complete set of house scarves for myself. I became quite practiced at creating the lengthy garment and I made several more for my mom, cousin and even the dog!

After ten scarves, I was ready for something different...but still Potter related! Through out the movies various knitted items have caught the eye of avid knitters and I was no different. I've since tried my hand at a Gryffindor house sweater, a couple of hats worn by Ginny and Hermione and even a few Gryffindor themed items to match the house scarf. But the most daunting project I undertook was the patchwork blanket seen on Ron Weasley's bed.

The blanket escaped my notice early on, but later captured my attention when I saw it up close while touring the Harry Potter exhibit. The obsession to recreate it started with a simple suggestion from a friend that I should make it. I didn't immediately jump at the thought. The blanket was big with so many colors and patterns! And we weren't even allowed to take pictures. Making Ron's blanket would be a huge undertaking, I wasn't sure I was up to it.

Of course, the seed was already planted that day. I couldn't get the blanket out of my head. I searched online and found a couple of pictures of the blanket. I was done for, there was no turning back...

At first I created a couple of squares using leftover yarn from my then modest stash. After scrutinizing the photos, I started purchasing a skein or two of yarn to replicate the squares I could see. The more I made, the more obsessed I became. I scoured the internet for photos, even taking my own screen caps of the movies in which the blanket made a cameo appearance. Each new angle provided a view of a couple more squares, I wanted my blanket to be as accurate as possible!

Meanwhile, my yarn collection grew with each purchase of a yarn that was "just perfect" for a square I'd figured out. My stash now totals over seventy different yarns and I own multiple shades of every color.

It's been two years since I started the Ron Weasley blanket and I think I've compiled every known photo of the blanket. Having looked at them repeatedly, I think they're burned in my memory. Though not every square was identifiable, I managed to create a master guide in which the majority are not only represented but in the correct arrangement. The corner of the blanket that remained hidden in most shots contains squares with locations that I couldn't accurately identify. The few remaining empty slots were filled with squares I could make with the surplus of yarn remnants I have collected through out this project.

By now I estimate the blanket is nearly eighty percent done. Having finally completed the design for the last elusive corner of the blanket, I am posting this with the intent of documenting the finally stretch of completing this tremendous project.

In the event that any fellow Potter fanatics want to replicate the blanket as exactly as possible, here is a link to all the photos I used to create my blanket design.

An Ugly Merry Christmas

A year ago I was faced with an arduous task: design an Ugly Christmas Sweater. No, not just ugly but the ugliest Christmas sweater I could imagine. One so ugly it was guaranteed to win any contest. Well, at the very least, the one my brother was entering during last year's Christmas season.

Fast-forward to now...the sweater competed and won in 2010, don't worry. But it's great success doesn't do justice to the monumental effort it took to design.

Creating it was quite the undertaking. I had sworn to include every holiday figure and icon I could knit. My vision included Santa, Rudolph and Frosty. They were all there along with gingerbread men, evergreen trees, wreaths, presents and candy canes. Jingle bells? There might have been a few. But in my search to create the most obnoxious red and green garment only an old lady could still consider classy, I found I needed to start designing my own knitting charts. There just weren't enough available on the Internet.

That being said, in the event that anyone who's crafty with needles decides to embark on an ugly Christmas sweater adventure in the future, I thought I'd share these.

Couldn't have made these without this very useful website: http://jacquie.typepad.com/Charts/knitChart.htm

This one's not entirely mine. I tweeked a Santa chart I found on Ravelry... The original just looked too sad! The original chart can be found at www.knitting-and.com/knitting/patterns/charts/santaclaus.htm Many thanks to the creator!