Secrets, Secrets are No Fun

So I finished the secret project, a black shawl...

...which still needs blocking, obviously.  I'll post true FO pics with description and pattern link once it's in the hands of its rightful owner.

Here's the two-part bad news:
1) I don't currently own blocking wires.  So that has to happen first.
2) I'm about to start another secret shawl project— 

Wait, where are you going?! There's a picture!  Please stay!

Busting stash cuz I got no cash!

I'm also working on a not-at-all-secret second modified Burnished Bronze Shrug [Rav link] for my friend's excellent wedding, and I'm not even procrastinating:

CAT and eric are keeping me entertained to the tune of ten rows a night.  AND I made dinner.  Booyah!

Thar's a Hurricane a-Comin

Most people in the western hemisphere are aware that Hurricane Irene is taking a jaunt up the east coast of the United States this weekend:

image via crisislanding.appspot.com

I live very near that turquoise cone of doom, and while I may be just west enough to be safe from the bulk of the damage, there's no doubt that something's in the air today...

 

The first few drops have started to fall.  We're hunkered down tight.  Stay safe, everybody.

Knitwear at the Movies: Little Children

Have you seen Little Children?  It was a really good movie. Several people thought so.  Not a lot of knitwear, I must admit; that's not really the draw.  But there was this pretty awesome skater hat...

A Pretty Awesome Skater Hat

 

It's not a skater hat per se, but the young gentleman wearing the hat was cast as a sk8r boi (hate you, Avril!) and he probably wants to be Shaun White.  ANYWAY.

This slouchy beret seems so soft, yet still structured enough to keep its shape and show off the stitch definition for the cabling.  The openwork lattice motif is unisex and appropriate for basically any cold-weather situation.

Since there aren't a lot of patterns to "round-up" for this post and I couldn't find this specific pattern already written, I may just have to figure it out for myself.  Eventually.  For now, you just get some look-similars.  You're welcome!

Pretty Darn Close

Fenimore [Rav link] by Jared Flood; $5.00 USD
Gramps Slouch [Rav link] by Kate Oates; $6.00 USD

Kinda Remindy

free!  Tidal Bore Beanie [Rav link] by Inge Sandholt
Double Crossed [Rav link] by Katie White; $4.50 USD
Diamant Tam [Rav link] by Lindsey Stephens; $4.95 USD

Still Here, I Swear

I've been knitting and watching movies and working and knitting some more!  Who knew my secret project would be this much of a timesink?... (A: not me.)

lotso stitches, lotso yarn

More after cast off and blocking -- almost there!

Getting Back on the Knitting Horse

All that movie watching and I've only gotten halfway finished with my secret project??:

Well.  That's just sad.

And I've watched a lot more movies that I've detailed here.  Tip for you: do not watch "Pretty Baby" starring Brooke Shields; it's very well acted, but criminy, I couldn't handle the subject matter.  I pride myself on being pretty unflappable -- is it in print? I can read it -- but sometimes onscreen images get under my skin in the worst way.  A scene in which a twelve-year-old's virginity is sold to the highest bidder made me physically ill; I'm sure it's worse for me now that I have a daughter... just heartbreaking.

ANYWAY: during my blog break, I did some knitting every night.  I've had two projects going on at once: said secret project PLUS a prototype for a shrug for the bridesmaids at my friend's wedding in November.  It's the Burnished Bronze Shrug [Rav link] by Lion Brand Yarn, knit with three skeins of Bernat Satin Solids in Amber.  I'll link to the project page on Ravelry, but no pictures here yet, as my self-photo shoot was rather disastrous.

So this post is kinda lame.  But at least it's not Potter-related.

The last HP post for a good long time

I didn't quite intend for this blog to be hijacked by Pottermania, but I am a bit of a superfan and I don't know when I'm going to be able to see the movie and there's lots of knitwear in the series and I'm done with excuses now.  This is it.

Hey, is it just me, or should these guys be cast as brothers at some point?:

left: Jason Isaacs AKA Lucius Malfoy; right: Mad Men's Jon Hamm

Also, in case anyone has been doubting my HP cred:

on the right: movie hand holding movie prop; on the left: my actual hand holding actual box.

There was a chocolate frog in the chocolate frog box at one point, but I eated it.  And, because "chocolate frogs have cards inside them, you know, to collect":

Rowena Ravenclaw  Medieval (precise dates unknown)

"One of the four famous Founders of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Rowena Ravenclaw was the most brilliant witch of her time, though legend has it that a broken heart -- cause unknown -- contributed to her demise."

You can expect our regularly scheduled knit-blog programming on my return.  I'm going to let the incomparable Tessa sing us out because this is my new favorite thing:

Pattern Round-Up: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1

HEY guess what, it's August.  I completely burnt myself out with the earlier pace, hence the gigantic break.  This one is long overdue, so here it goes:

Pattern Round-Up: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1

relevant links to the KM post with pictures are helpfully provided in the pattern title heading

Screen Grab: Hermione's Hat

This one is very popular, for obvious reasons; all free:

French too!  Hermione Deathly Hollow [Rav link] by Chantal Boucher

German too!  Hermione's Godrics Hollow Hat [Rav link] by Melanie Richter

Godric's Hollow Hat [Rav link] by Rebecca Beam

Hermione's Deathly Hallows Graveyard Beret [Rav link] by Grace Falls

and a twist:  Hermione Inspired Openwork Headband [Rav link] by Katie H Kibler

Screen Grab: Hermione's Fingerless Gloves

image via Life After College

Also popular, as Hermione's knits are classy and sassy.  Crocheter innermindofthefreakz seems to be working on a pattern, but it's still in the planning stages, I guess.  So far, all the patterns are knit:
free!  Hermione Fingerless Gloves [Rav link] by Lindsey Carroll
free!  Hermione Granger inspired gloves by The Lady Fritzler
free solid stripes!  Harry Potter Deathly Hallows Hermione's wand gloves [Rav link] by Nancy Fry
solid stripes!  Hallowed Hands [Rav link] by Sandra Paul; £1.60 GBP
free fair isle!  Hermione's Magic Mittens [Rav link] by Genevra Lee

Inspiration: Obliviate

image via The Leaky Cauldron gallery

I usually position the "inspirations" after the "screen grabs," but this pattern is a little of both.  Designer Owl in Socks sought to duplicate the scrunchiness and bunchiness of Hermione's fingerless mitts without necessarily duplicating the colors or colorwork [Rav link]; pattern costs $3.99 USD.

Screen Grab: Hermione's Scarf

image via The Leaky Cauldron gallery

Designer Nancy Fry put together a free pattern for the simple scarf [Rav link] worn by Hermione.

Inspiration: Dark Mark Arm Warmers Pattern and Chart

For those on the Slytherin side of things, designer Christa Casebeer has created some Magic Loop fingerless gloves [Rav link] to assist you in alerting the Dark Lord.

Inspiration: Deathly Hallows Wristband

This cute, free wristband pattern [Rav link], designed by not_gini, has the symbol of the deathly hallows with stranded colorwork.

Oh yeah: good times from Lion Brand, too; they've got some HP inspired Deathly Hallows patterns on their blog as well.

EDIT 12/22/2011: There's this one, too!

Screen Grab: Ron's Cabled Cardigan

It's the cardigan, but for a baby!  Say it with me: aaaaawwwwww.
free!  Hallows Cardigan [Rav link] by Melissa Metzbower