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Stitching & Crafting Room:  Knit if you love Harry Potter...  |
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cmandle
True Blue Farmgirl
846 Posts
Catherine
Minneapolis
MN
846 Posts |
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BotanicalBath
True Blue Farmgirl
1014 Posts
Elizabeth
Ohio
1014 Posts |
 Posted - May 26 2007 : 07:13:41 AM
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Congrats! So what are you knitting for Harry Potter? The link wouldnt let me in... it is passpword protected.
E-
BotanicalBath@peoplepc.com
www.Botanical-Bath.com
"I do my housework in the nude. It gives me an incentive to clean the mirrors as quickly as possible." |
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cmandle
True Blue Farmgirl
846 Posts
Catherine
Minneapolis
MN
846 Posts |
Posted - May 26 2007 : 07:22:32 AM
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Oh that's a drag. It's not password protected on my end. Weird! I'm knitting socks in Ravenclaw colors for the Hogwarts Sock Swap. Here's the article, cut and pasted:
Knit if you love Harry Potter
The boy magician's tales inspire a community of tribute knitters
BY MOLLY MILLETT
Pioneer Press
Article Last Updated: 05/26/2007 08:23:50 AM CDT
Catherine Mandle, of Minneapolis, works on a pair of hand-knit socks for an online Hogwarts Sock Swap. (CRAIG BORCK, Pioneer Press)
Harry Potter fan Catherine Mandle is sure glad she's a knitter: Her knitting needles are helping her pass the time until "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" is released July 21.
The Minneapolis Muggle has joined an online Hogwarts Sock Swap, in which knitters from around the world are knitting socks for each other that are inspired by author J.K. Rowling's magical series. They're part of a growing community of Harry Potter tribute knitters.
"We're knitting socks in preparation for Book 7," Mandle said. "Everyone is so excited. It's something to keep our hands busy while we wait."
Right about now, you might be thinking: Harry Potter? Knitting? Huh? But knitting references are woven throughout the series:
# Molly Weasley, the mother of Harry's friend, Ron, gives rather poorly made, hand-knit sweaters as Christmas gifts.
# Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore enjoys reading Muggle knitting patterns.
# Harry's friend, Hermione, knits hats for house elves.
# In the movies, the characters wear lovely, hand-knit scarves, sweaters, socks and hats.
"Knitting is an ancient craft, and if you go back to a magical, historical environment like Hogwarts, it makes sense that you would find knitting and hand-knit things around," said Mandle, a 33-year-old stay-at-home mom.
The Harry Potter knitting niche began building slowly and has only recently exploded, thanks to the growing online knitting community. In the early years, knitters had to search hard to find published patterns. Some of the more dedicated crafters began designing Harry Potter tribute knits, especially the striped scarves and the oversized monogrammed sweaters featured in the movies.
"I was a knitter before I was a Harry Potter fan," said Alison Hansel, a popular knitting blogger and author of the new book, "Charmed Knits: Projects for Fans of Harry Potter" (Wiley Publishing Co., $14.99). "But then I just happened to see the first two Harry Potter movies on cable TV. As a knitter, I really wanted to make those letter sweaters that Molly Weasley makes.
"I found a small site on the Internet that had posted images from the films and made suggestions about how certain sweaters were constructed. Then I found that one of the large yarn companies had published an 'official' pattern for the sweater. I bought it, and then that pattern went out of print, which is I why I wrote my version and put it on my Web site."
Hansel began to develop a reputation as a Harry Potter tribute knitter, especially because of her Harry Potter knit-alongs, in which knitters work on Harry Potter projects at the same time and share their patterns, progress and finished garments online. Her book, which was published May 7 and includes a number of projects from contributors, is already in its second printing.
"I went through all the Harry Potter books again and looked for knitting references, like the socks Dobby the house elf gave Harry for Christmas - one is green with broomsticks and the other is red with snitches," Hansel said. "From there, you have to come up with the details. I also searched the movies. For a Harry Potter fan, any excuse to reread the books or watch the movies is good."
Knitters don't just watch the movies - they study them.
"The knit items in the movie are really nicely made, and knitters will go back and pause scenes to see how the items are constructed," Hansel said.
Still, they're apparently hungry for more information. Locally, knitters asked about Hansel's book at yarn supply shops long before it was released. Yarn suppliers have been answering Harry Potter queries and stocking Harry Potter colors for years.
"When the first movie came out, it took yarn stores by surprise," said Karen Rumpza, owner of Needlework Unlimited of Linden Hills. "People would come in and say, 'I'm making a scarf like in Harry Potter - do you have this color or that color?'
"Now, they make a lot of other things, too. We just had a group of younger, college-age girls come in who were looking to make some sort of hat they saw Ron wear in the trailer for 'Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.' They want to wear it to the premiere."
The tribute knitters also make socks - there are Quidditch socks as well as different socks for the four Houses within Hogwarts School of Witchcraft Wizardry - House sweaters, House mittens and more ornate projects, like the frilly housecoat that Molly Weasley wears.
Harry Potter projects and knitalongs are heating up along with the buzz for the July 13 opening of the fifth movie, "Order of the Phoenix," and the release of the seventh and final book a week later.
"The knitalongs all start cropping up when a book is about to be released or a new movie is coming out," Hansel said. "Folks want to wear their items to the premieres and parties. It's a way to show they are excited about the books ... It's this secret world that you can be a part of, even though you look like any other Muggle."
Randi Arnar, 36, of Excelsior, had been making Harry Potter-inspired clothing for her three kids when she recently discovered the Hogwarts Sock Swap while searching online for Harry Potter knitting patterns. In the swap, members are organized into Houses and then knit socks for an assigned pal, sending along their creations with other small gifts, such as knitting needles.
"I thought it was hilarious that there were other people out there who would think that this was fun," said Arnar. "I am now knitting the ugliest pair of black-and-yellow Hufflepuff socks for my pal, and I need to get them to her before the book comes out on July 21, because we all want to dress up in our geeky socks when we pick up our books."
My Blog: http://yogurtandgranola.blogspot.com
My Etsy Shop: http://yogurtandgranola.etsy.com |
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shmeg
True Blue Farmgirl
222 Posts
Megan
Granville
Ohio
USA
222 Posts |
Posted - May 26 2007 : 1:42:12 PM
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That is so cool, Catherine!!! Good job. Hope that earns Hufflepuff some points. Personally, I think those Slytherin points are weighted a litte too heavily! Hope you are having fun with the swap!
-Megan |
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daffodil dreamer
True Blue Farmgirl
805 Posts
Jayne
Hamilton
Victoria
Australia
805 Posts |
Posted - Jun 02 2007 : 9:35:59 PM
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That is too exciting, Catherine. Has that Harry Potter knitting book you ordered arrived yet? I was really interested to hear if you thought it was worth buying (although I can't buy it in Buy Nothing Winter, can I?!)
Best wishes,
Jayne |
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Kati
True Blue Farmgirl
76 Posts
Kati
North Pole
AK
USA
76 Posts |
Posted - Jun 03 2007 : 4:50:53 PM
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LOL That is too cool!!! I made myself a Ravenclaw scarf on a knitting loom a couple of years past, but it'll be too warm to wear it to the theater when the next movie comes out next month.
Congrats on getting mentioned in the paper, what fun!!!! Oh, and any pictures you can share with us, of your HP socks??? |
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Aunt George
True Blue Farmgirl
1476 Posts
Georgann
Midlothian
VA
1476 Posts |
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daffodil dreamer
True Blue Farmgirl
805 Posts
Jayne
Hamilton
Victoria
Australia
805 Posts |
Posted - Jun 03 2007 : 11:30:41 PM
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You are a clever cookie, Georgann! I found it too, now that you showed the way!
Best wishes,
Jayne |
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Stitching & Crafting Room: Knit if you love Harry Potter... |
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Knit if you love Harry Potter...
