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Perdita – Bluebell – A Knitted Bracelet

Last week, I officially joined the Harry Potter Knitting & Crochet House Cup on Ravelry.

Participants are sorted into houses, and monthly assignments are posted.  Participants are only required to complete one “class” per month but can complete more.  Points are awarded, and the house with the most points wins.

There is a lot of socializing as well as a lot of inspiration as projects are oohed and ahhed over.

I’ve jumped right on in, excited to have finally found a forum comprised of nice people.  Many welcomed me immediately, and I felt loved.

Anyhoo…enough about the mushy stuff.

I wanted to share one of the four projects I’ve completed in the last week.  Yes, vacation has been so good to me.  Sleep in, do a few household chores, nap, eat dinner, and knit.  I’ll enjoy this while I can!

Here’s the project.

It’s called Perdita.  This pattern, free on Knitty, actually consists of three patterns for three different bracelets.

I made Bluebell.

I used Artiste DMC Cotton Pearl.  The colorway is #790196.  It’s a light blue…very pretty.

I used size 0 needles and made the XS size.  I should have made the small though, which only adds one more repeat.

I bought the beads at Hobby Lobby.  It’s the Chocolate/Blue mixture.  I used a .75mm crochet hook to string the beads as I knit.  I did not string them all beforehand.  This link explains how to add beads to a project.

The pattern was super-easy.  I easily knit it in one evening…during a movie that Chicky and I sat down to watch together.

I’m so happy that I’ve been practicing my crocheting skills, because I was able to SC around one end and chain the button loops.  I wound up adding an extra button because there was a large gap between the two I originally put on.  The extra repeat would have prevented this gap.  Hindsight.  All worked out in the end.

The buttons are actually brown, not orange.

I absolutely love this little bracelet and will probably make more in different colors!

A Silk Scarf for AuburnChick

As you might have gathered by now, I mostly knit things for other people. I have worked on a number of Oddball Baby Blankets with a group of KnittingHelp.com knitters. I also try to surprise people with unexpected gifts. No, I’m not this fairy godmother of knitting. I simply like to knit with a purpose. That is the reason why this craft appealed to me in the beginning.

Every now and then, it’s nice to make something for myself.

You might remember the Tilli Tomas Rockstar yarn that I bought myself after my graduation. The color is Glazed Ginger. It has different hues of brown in it, and glass bead are strung on a separate thread and spun together with the silk. If you’re new to my blog, here’s a photo of it.

When I bought the yarn, I casually mentioned to the gal at the yarn store that I could probably make a scarf out of it.

“One skein won’t be enough,” she kindly informed me.

“Um, for the price I paid, one skein will have to be enough, even if I’ve got to knit it up with size 40 needles,” I thought to myself. There was no way I was going to make a scarf that cost me $80+ in supplies.

Enter in Ravelry. Now, I have to say that I am a very loyal person. KnittingHelp.com is my go-to, end-all, be-all place of knitting knowledge. The free videos, forum, and chat assure me that I will find an answer to almost any question I have, at any time of the day.

However, Ravelry has some very nice features too. One of the features I use often is the search option. You can search for patterns and find out what kinds of yarns people used and changes they made to the patterns to suit their particular preferences. I like to search by yarns to learn about patterns that have been used with them. That’s just what I did with this yarn. Thank goodness too.

I am an anal person. I cannot buy yarn without knowing beforehand what I’m going to make with it. I tend to get all flustered and bothered. I must have a plan for everything, you see. I don’t think well on my feet.

If you are a member of Ravelry, you can go to this link to see what led me to use the pattern I finally settled on. Of course, it wasn’t a free pattern but required the purchase of a book. Boy, this scarf was getting more expensive every time I turned around!

Here’s the book that has the Lace Scarf pattern I used:

Now, another part of my knitting personality is that I tend to remain loyal to a project. I do not like to put one down and start another, hence I do not have many WIP’s. But when this book arrived in my mail…well…AuburnChick stepped outside of the box…albeit a bit guiltily. I put aside my Froot Loop sock I had recently started and cast on for the scarf.

The pattern is very easy. I quickly had it memorized. The scarf flew off of my needles. If I didn’t have to work, I’m sure I could have finished it in a couple of days. It took me almost a week, blocking time included.

Here are the results…

And a close-up of the stitch…

I have resumed work on my sock, but I’m feeling too lazy to take a picture of my progress. I did finish the leg and will begin work on the heel. Pictures will follow in another post.

I hope you are all having a wonderful 4th of July! Happy celebrating, and happy knitting!