Potter Party Pals

I love themed parties. I loved them as a child and I still think they're wonderful as an adult. I love them so much, in fact, that I no longer feel the need to confine them to birthdays nor confine my imagination when given a theme. Especially when said theme is Harry Potter.

This party hasn't happened yet, but I'm already making preparations. The general idea is to have a few friends over to watch Deathly Hallows part 1 in anticipation of the release of the final Harry Potter movie. In addition to movie watching, there will be a little decor, a few themed snacks, and maybe even some trivia.

One of my favorite items that I've prepared so far is this little Hogwarts House bunting. The flags and simplified Hogwarts crest, which is held together with spray adhesive, are made from felt and I hand-stitched each of the flags onto a grosgrain ribbon. I just adore how it turned out!

A few other items on tap for the party include these adorable Owl Post notes from Celestefrittata on Etsy, which I will be using as invitations, and homemade caldron cakes made with supplies from Bake It Pretty. I really need to keep hold of my senses or I will really go overboard on the party supplies.

I have more exciting plans for this party, but that is for a future post!

All Aflutter

I think I'm falling for crochet. The more I do it, the easier and more enjoyable it becomes. And as much as I will always be primarily a knitter, I'm really coming to believe that certain things just work better in crochet. Butterflies, for example, fall into the crochet-is-better category.

I fell in love with this butterfly pattern the moment I saw it in 'Crochet Adorned'. It was originally designed to be a pocket on an apron, but I thought it would also work well as a larger statement piece. It took me a while to figure out the best place to make that statement, but I'm pretty happy with my final choice.

This gray top is one of my favorite layering shirts, but it has a tendency to slip off of my shoulders. Thankfully, a large butterfly is the perfect thing to provide structure to the shirt as well as subtly highlight the shirt's low scoop back. As the butterfly is made from recycled cotton, I now have the perfect thing to wear in all of this newly-arrived warm weather!

While I'm pondering doing more crochet from 'Crochet Adorned', I also got a copy of Linda Permann's second book, 'Little Crochet', from the library and I think it's another great offering from this author. It might just be time to up my crochet skills by attempting a tiny sweater.

Crawling out from under a Rock

I apologize for the lack of posting this week. I spent a long weekend traveling and came down with the requisite airplane-induced cold when I returned home. Blah. The one good thing about spending a few days glued to a box of kleenex was that I easily found time to read Rick Riordan's new book, The Throne of Fire, in between all of my naps.

Now that I'm back on my feet, I'm looking forward to sharing lots of exciting crafting projects with you over the next few weeks!

Spread the Love

Here are some random things that I've fallen in love with recently:

MadelineTosh yarn 

After hearing other people rave about this yarn, I had to try it myself and I must admit that it did not disappoint. The colors are simply stunning and the bases for the two yarns I bought, Tosh Merino DK and Tosh Merino Light, are incredibly soft. It's too expensive to add a lot of it to my stash but this yarn is definitely worth purchasing for one or two special projects.

Apothecary Jars

I got these inexpensive little jars from the Anchor Hocking online store, though I've seen larger and more ornate (read: more expensive) versions at Target and Williams Sonoma. I love how candy looks in these jars, though I think that I might end up putting terrariums in them.

Books by Neil Gaiman

Gaiman wrote American Gods, Coraline, Stardust, and the Sandman comics, amongst others, and is one of my favorite authors. I just finished reading Good Omens, which was a collaboration between him and Terry Pratchett, and found it a delightfully witty read. My other current reading obsession (besides Gaiman) is The Hunger Games series.

Owl Mugs

Two adorable owl mugs have come into my life recently. I purchased the one above from a local shop and got another one in a swap package. Owls are super cute and owls on mugs are even cuter.

Planning

I just concluded my 8th 'term' participating in the Harry Potter Knit/Crochet House Cup on Ravelry by celebrating a win for my house, Ravenclaw. As much as I'm looking forward to starting the next term in May (you can sign-up now for the coming term), I always enjoy the month off between House Cup terms because it gives me a chance to recharge my creative energy.

Part of the reason that I like this off-month is that I can dabble in random crafts. These pursuits don't have to be limited to knitting, crochet, or spinning and I'm not under a timeline for finishing. In fact, just the other night I whipped up this little Gryffindor prefect badge for something fun to do. I hope to do several other random projects like this during April.

The other reason I like the off month is that it gives me time to plan my next big project, or OWL (Ordinary Wizarding Level exam). While most of the projects for the House Cup must be done in under a month, OWLs are big 3-month projects. Having the structure and timeline of the House Cup really helps me finish knitting sweaters, spinning pounds of fiber, and in general tackling big projects that I would otherwise probably not complete.

For this term's OWL, I'm planning to make a bunch of magical creatures including: a knarl (pattern: Smith), a pair of imps (pattern: Daphne and Delilah), a de-horned erumpent (pattern: Flo), and a flutterby (pattern: Butterfly Apron). Best of all, I should have enough yarn in my stash to knit everything. You know, sometimes the best part of the whole knitting process is planning everything out!

Tea Bag

I'm happy to announce the second pattern in my Tea Time pattern series, the Tea Bag.

For how often I drink tea, I was surprised the first time I actually looked at the anatomy of a tea bag. The traditional tea bag is folded at the bottom so it actually has two separate pockets for tea. I thought that this clever construction would be wonderful for a little knit bag with two hidden inner pockets. And then I couldn't resist making the pockets just large enough to store a few tea bags.

The bag is made from KnitPicks City Tweed DK, Snowshoe and Toad colorways, on size 5 needles. Beyond City Tweed's incredible softness, I love how the pattern's seed stitch plays up the texture of the yarn. It's truly wonderful stuff.

As with all my Tea Time patterns, this pattern comes with tea tips and a recipe. The tips focus on brewing a great cup of tea when you are away from home and the recipe is for 'little rascals'--well-loved biscuits from Teddy Roosevelt's time in the White House.

You can purchase the Tea Bag pattern through Ravelry, as well as find more information there, or you can purchase it directly with this link for $3.50.

Questions? Contact me at brineydeepdesigns_at_gmail_dot_com!

Brewing Tea

I'm doing some final editing on the next offering in my 'Tea Time' pattern series; I hope to release it in the next couple of week. In the meantime, here is a little teaser as to the design inspiration: