Owl Post

I’m a person with predictable tastes. If you know me, you know I love tea, Harry Potter, knitting Ysolda patterns, and wearing dresses. I try not to splurge on these things too much, but sometimes something comes along that I can’t resist. Like the new "Unofficial Harry Potter Knits" magazine from Interweave.

This magazine contains over 30 Harry-Potter inspired patterns, ranging from sweaters and shawls to socks and mitts. Some of the patterns are overtly Potter, like the O.W.L. mittens and modern house scarves, but most are just beautiful patterns inspired by the books. I especially enjoyed seeing knits from the books, like Hagrid's giant yellow sweater and S.P.E.W. caps, imagined in real life.

The patterns themselves are great but what really makes them stand out is the styling. The models representing Luna, Hagrid, etc. really look like the characters and the scenery is straight out of the books. Taken together, it really makes me wish I had gotten my Hogwarts letter. Alas, another year has gone by and the Hogwarts Express left without me.

I like a lot of patterns in this magazine, but I absolutely adore the O.W.L. mittens and knew at first glance that I had to knit them. They have little owls on the back of the hand but what absolutely gets me are the spells written on the palms. I'm making my pair in two close shades of gray (the actual contrast is a bit better than in the photos) so I can have the secret pleasure of wearing these mittens while still appearing to be a muggle.

If you are a Harry Potter fan and a knitter, I think you'll like this magazine. It won't give you patterns for knits seen in the movies (for that I recommend Charmed Knits), but there are a lot of beautiful wearable garments with echos of Potter in them. I think that's all the better, as I have enough overt Harry Potter stuff as it is.