Fingers aching again...

Might it be the thin needles? I'm working on Absinthe socks from Knitty and to get the gauge I have to use 1.25 mm needles. Yes, US size 00000 (5/0). They are very fine needles...

It's not quick to knit, and I start understanding why people take a week or so with knitting a sock... with my loose hand, I only need to knit half the stitches to get a pair of socks.

I also started my Goddess Mystery Shawl.


It is a pretty shawl and I love the rainbow :-)

The third project I'm knitting doesn't have illustration. In Ravelry I'm knitting Cookie's socks in a sock-a-long. We are knitting through Cookie's new book, Sock Innovations. The first project is Glynis and I don't like it. So I am knitting Marlenes from Knit.1. magazine. I think they are exciting :-) I think it's interesting to form the pattern with twisted knits.

But my hands hurt. Probably not much knitting today. Perhaps the shawl... that's bigger needles and it's quick :-)

Doomgrass...

I have had a really bad luck with socks this month...
First, I ordered some needles... I have extremely loose hand, so I need sock needles that are smaller than 2mm to knit socks with right gauge... Yes, yes, I know, I haven't spoken of much else this month.
Anyway, I started knitting Dune grass socks. The gauge is up the walls, but I adjusted the pattern. Really, not rocket science. I made one mistake though... it should have been 7n+1 and I made 7n+1 for both needles (I knitted two at a time on circular needles). Then, after the heel I should loose the +1 and have 7n stitches... I had 44, so I went down to 42. In the forming of the nice, nifty triangle in the back of the socks, 7 stitches are decreased. So I ended up with a sock with 35 stitches... for a grown man. Not even I knit that loose! So I tried to add the stitches, up to 49. Well... I suppose that would have worked, but I kept making mistakes, knitting wrong, dropping stitches... it was as if the sock was cursed! I have used two days to try to knit one effing sock leg! This morning I decided to give it up, and just knit the sock in pattern, no fancy heels and such. It took me like 5 hours to knit the legs to both socks. :->

I also made my dearest husband Hubby House Socks of cotton. Cotton is not very nice thing to knit socks with, it's way too sloppy and so, but he likes them just the way they are... too loose to my liking, with the stranded pattern too tight. Wool would be more forgiving... But - he's happy, I'm happy :-)

Now off to next sock project :-)

Sock summit...

Sock Summit 2009

I really would love to participate... It is going to be magnificent, fun, lovely, educational... a once in a lifetime moment. I will be having fun with my family in Finland... *sigh*

But - alas - I have to do it another way.
So I will knit the arch shaped knee socks from Vogue's ultimate sock book.
I will knit argyle socks in flat. Argyle socks are intarsia, you see, and that is best knitted in flat, because it's hard to knit intarsia in round... not impossible though. You just do it as if it was rose inlay... you move the yarn from left side to right side, knit it, tighten the stitches and carry on... ;-) Here's a stranded argyle pattern.
I will knit a pair of beaded cabled socks.
I will be testing different toes, heels, gussets and bind-offs and cast-ons, toes up and down. I'm especially interested in "toe chimney".
I will be experimenting with different color knitting ways.
I will be experimenting with the different knitting styles and try to speed up my knitting.
I will knit socks sideways.

I wish I would find Eclectic soles and New Pathways somewhere... And Elizabeth Zimmerman's Knitting Around. (2010 it's 100 years since Elizabeth Zimmermann was born... I can tell you, there will be a LOT of Zimmermania going on...) And Anna Zilboorg's Socks for Sandals and Clogs.

I wish I could participate in Lucy Neatby's double knitting class... Clara Parkes' finding true sock yarn happiness sounds like a great class too... Well... all of the classes sound great!

But, it's like...

"Our Luminaries:

* Cat Bordhi
* Nancy Bush
* Priscilla Gibson-Roberts
* Judith MacKenzie-McCuin
* Lucy Neatby
* Deborah Robson
* Meg Swansen
* Barbara Walker
* Anna Zilboorg

The panel will be moderated by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee and Tina Newton."

Wow. All these people in one place at the same time... Oh. These are people who are... whom I idol worship LOL
And just look at the list of teachers! OH! Even more idols! And all in the same place at the same time!!!

I will be knitting socks and wishing I was there...

Interesting knitting techniques

Some years ago there was a Japanese book out, "Nordic Knitting; 10 Amazing Techniques". About a year later the second book in the line came out. "Nordic Knitting; 7 Miraculous Techniques".

The first book presents
Korsnäs tapestry crochet and fur tape from Finland,
Domino knitting and i-cord from Denmark
entrelac from Sweden
"Kihnu vits" and Estonian spiral from Estonia
Tubular stitch (double knitting), bead knitting and "crown" (short row serrated edge) from Norway.

Now, all these techniques are more or less universal, the Finns knit just as much Kihnu's bands as in Kihnu, and the fur tape is more Swedish to me than Finnish, but that doesn't matter much.

The second book is more about interesting "tricks" - like what can be done with short row knitting (now with the Danish name, "vendepinne") and modular knitting.

It has shortrow zigzag, frills and spiraling circles, "rose", which is cable knitted "in air", carter stitch socks knitted sideways in a long strip that is then sewn together into a sock; dropped stitch and pearl necklace; moebius cowl and chain made by knitting stockinette in round around each other - stockinette stitch will curl itself, and when knit in rounds it will turn itself around itself into a pretty bangle. To me the most interesting things are the "Four Knitted Rectangles" and playing around with buttonholes.

Now... I'm not too fond of the patterns in these books, but I'd take them anyway, even though I know all these techniques - and a couple more...

Someone reviewing the books said that if there ever is Nordic Knitting III in the series, she'll take it immediately. I wonder what would be in that then... I think they need to have stranded knitting and steeks; Viking cables that go round; twined knitting; Sapmi aurora borealis color knitting... bohus knitting...Delsbo jackets, felted with "fur" on the sleeves... estonian roositud
Perhaps some more modular knitting for the Danish :-)

I like this dropped-stitches-and-cable pattern :-)

argh!

I'm waiting for my needles... I found needles in 1 1/4, 1 1/2 and 1 3/4 - American sizes 00, 000 and 0000 - needles size 2 (0) are too big for me to knit socks with 60 stitches around... I should be knitting socks, but I'm tired of calculating and adjusting the patterns to my loose hand, I want to knit socks "just like that", following slavishly the pattern without needing to do anything about it. Most patterns loose that "something" when adjusted to 2/3 of the stitch count. Of course!

I would like to knit my stockings too, but I don't want to have rude, thick woollen stockings. I want nice, thin knit, like the stockings were still in 40's.

There's also a "mate, ohoy" theme in one of my sock groups, and I just found the cutest pattern:That would make really cute socks :-) BUT the gauge must come down a lot!

So - I'm really frustrated right now.

The fact that I am having a 24 hours blood pressure testing going on, and I am so fed up with this ---- thing that I just want to rip it off and throw away... and I have had it only 7 hours now... *sigh* It measures the blood pressure 3 times every hour at daytime and 2 times every hour during the night... I can't take it off, and I can't take off the t-shirt nor my bra this whole day... I can tell you that tomorrow morning when I go down to get it taken off, I will not be very fresh... or in a good mood :-D I suppose I won't sleep well tonight.
It also seems that there's nothing wrong with my blood pressure... It's about 130-140/80-90 90% of the time. That's quite normal for a 40 years old woman. So - all this trouble and discomfort and occasionally PAIN (yes, it tightens up and it feels as if my arm will soon fall off...) for nothing. But at least they can wipe that out of the possible reasons to my joint ache and fever attacks.

Time to update :-)

The last couple of days I have been at Ravelry... I started a new group called Belle Epoque.
It is supposed to be of all things Edwardian and BEish. Like Art Nouveau, Jugend, Arts and Crafts movement (a little early but well fitting), Mucha, the great illustrators, like Arthur Rackham and Edmund Dulac, Kay Nielsen, Rudolf Koivu, John Bauer; the couple Mackintosh and the couple Larsson; Ballets Russes and Leon Bakst (a little late, but ok), Erté etc. connected to crafts; knitting, crocheting, dyeing and other crafts.


So - I have already designed a jacket inspired by Leon Bakst's costumes for the ballet Firebird; a sock pattern by Mackintosh rose; a crochet jacket inspired by pines; a variation of a free jacket pattern online... I want it fitted and with open neckline.

I have also got tons of things on my "want to" list...
Horst Schulz' African Adventure;
Meg Swansen's Giant Latvian Mitten Cardigan - why didn't I think of using the mitten patterns on sweaters? I don't use mittens, I don't like mitten, I won't knit mittens, but the patterns are great. I love Norwegian type sweaters though... I want the fox sweater as well...

*sigh* I also joined the Village Hopelessly Overcommitted... So much to do, so little time...

Some socks

Very orange post :-D

February Lady Socks
Arthurian Anklets

I hate inventing names to blog entries

Some promised photos:

Crocheted socks - own pattern

Knitted modular socks

Spider scarf... I think I need to do the "right thing" and rip this.

Silk scarf for my sister

Fish bag - blind for the time being

Russian crochet shawl - looks like feathers. Love it :-)

Drops' heart bag - needs the lining and a zipper

Dragon filet - this one will be BIG.

Bookmarks - one of the 101 things is to read more, read classics, read Nobel authors, read the books I've always wanted to read, etc. and that means I'm reading several at the same time. When one gets too boring, I switch to a more interesting - so there's a need for bookmarks :-)

Hubby's scarf/shawl. Black alpaca, needs more yarn...

The new Knitty has been published. Some interesting patterns there.
I like Decimal, Aeolian shawl, Reverie beret (would work with Clapotis), Shipwreck shawl and Steggie.

Today's crochet pattern is Crochet Kitten's Charmed wristwarmers.

Craftbits' newsletter tries to be funny:
"...a very comical sounding Book Thong.
I never even knew books had butts.
Spines? Yes. Butts? No!"

Thong has nothing to do with butts.
Thong is a narrow strip of material, a lash, a string.
(Yes, a string - like the string in G string...)
But, sure, show the world how it's deteriorating...
people don't know any other definition of the word "thong" but the thongy underpants, people don't read books, people... *sigh*

But, it's the crochet month, so here's a couple of crocheted book thongs
Pretty one with beads from Crochet Me
owl and owlet book thong
And here's a long list of crocheted bookmarks - if you want to follow my example and start reading books - a lot of books, all at the same time :-D
(Not recommended...)

Update - knitting and crocheting in October

First some halloweeny things I've been doing lately.
Maple leaf socks by Jeanie Townsend get to be in the picture because of the colors.
The bag is actually a trick-or-treat bag from Lion Brand, but I think it works as a Halloween hand bag too :-) I made the handles with 6 st icord. I want to felt it again, because it isn't thick enough.
The doll is Scara Lee by Sally George. It has been on my to-do list for years now, so it's about time it gets done. I gave her red hair instead of suggested white or grey. My hubby says she has my chin LOL

Spider scarf.

a soulie... a little totem where one's soul can rest when awaken abruptly... It was supposed to look like barbapapa, so pear it was...

Here's my projects... the plastic bags are my new project bags and they work perfectly. Just the right size to hold a little bigger project, see through, easy to move and stand by themselves.
In the basket left is the free crochet afghan.
In the low basket front is the acrylic yarn needed for Krystal's daisy squares; cotton for dishcloths; black alpacka for wrist warmers and pink wool for breast cancer awareness socks

My CPH

What Ket did? II

This is some things I have been doing late September, early October.
Owl Sleeping Mask - owls don't have cat eyes...
Boo Bookmark - buu in Finnish ;-)
Morning Glory bedsocks - I just knitted long enough for the purse to become socks, added heel and made them of wool instead of cotton/linen. If you do this, I suggest you make more holes for the string.
Stephanie van der Linden's Binsenkörbchen Socks

I also charted a cute kitty filet crochet - a vintage pattern

I say it's from 20's or 30's and the original is rather damaged. I don't know what it has been... It's too wide to be a bookmark, but it has a really odd shape. Perhaps it was a chair arm cover or bell pull... or meant to be inserted in a blouse. It could also have been the flap and back of a cute little bag. You do what ever you wish with it :-)

The upper part of the chart isn't accurate - I just copied the cat and the general idea - you can add or remove rows to your liking.
You start by crocheting 75 ch and make a dc in the 3rd ch from the hook and in each after that - you should have 72 dc and 1 dc made of 2 ch's. Then you just follow the chart.

You make
- the "black dots" by crocheting a dc in each ch or dc on previous row (one square is 3 dc's)
- the "white dots" by crocheting 2 ch skipping next 2 ch/dc on previous row and making a dc in 3rd
- the "v square" is made by ch 3, skip next 2 ch/dc on previous row, sc in 3rd, ch 3, skip next 2 ch/dc on previous row, 1 dc in next ch/dc.
- the eye is made by making a "v square" and on the next round dc, ch 2, tr in the same dc, tr in the dc "on the other side of the v square", ch 2, dc
- The nose is a bit special. You replace two "black squares" by crocheting 1 dc, increase 3 dc, skip 3 dc from previous row, 1 dc in 4th dc and 1 dc to "finish off" the "black square".
Here's little help on how to increase in filet crochet and here's how to make the "fancy mesh" - "v square"

Don't take my blog too seriously...

My blog is a picture of a short moment in my life. Mostly I'm quite ok. Sure, I'm depressed and sad, but I can be happy too, laugh and fool around, and I do that every day, so I'm not that sad a person ;-)

Today I'm going to share with you my "Good Witch, Bad Witch" sock pattern. It's really easy. You start as you like, from toes up or cuff down, have the kind of toes or cuff you like best. The sock is going to have 48 stitches with as loose hand as I have or 72 stitches, if you knit tighter with finer yarn. You can also choose any amount of stitches that suits your yarn and hand, and add black/orange color stripes on both sides of the pattern, so that you get the amount of stitches you need. This pattern repeat has 24 stitches, so if you knit socks with 60 stitches, you'll add 6 stitches on both sides of the sock. That way you can also knit knee high socks - you put the increases/decreases in these color stripes and just repeat the witchy pattern as many times as you like. (Click on the chart to see it bigger.)

When you get to the heel, make it the way you like - it would look nice in two-colored brioche...
You can continue with the pattern on the foot too, but leave the brooms out and center the pattern. It will look better that way. Also, make the sole "dotty", like in Norwegian socks. That doesn't really need a pattern... it's R1: *1 MC, 1 CC*, 1 MC, r2: *1 CC, 1 MC*, 1 CC - repeat rounds 1 and 2 as many times as needed.
And, frankly, you can mix the stripes as you like, add other patterns and basically do what ever you want. You could make only cats the whole sock... The cat is 6 stitches wide, so it fits any size socks alone, whether you use 48, 54, 60, 66, 72 or 78 stitches in a sock. It would be lovely to make cat sock with different cat colored scrap yarns...
(Yes, I'm aware that the bats don't look much like bats, but - if you have a better chart for bats, use that in stead.)

I'm sad today... once again...

I started knitting Firestarter socks a day before yesterday. Today I frogged them, because the yarns didn't match as well as I'd hoped. *sigh*
I have ideas - one of the themes for September was Morning Glory - it's a flower, apparently September's flower, pretty. There's some free Morning Glory patterns online, and I had an idea of how to turn those into socks. I knitted the socks for several hours, realized it's not going to work and ripped them too.
I'm really sad that my ideas don't work. I'd need very much an idea that does work, to pick me up. Right now I'm really sad about the fact that I'm poor and cannot buy everything I'd like to and that my hand is so loose that even with 2 mm needles and laceweight yarn I can't make socks with 64 stitches. *sigh*
And I'm also sad that I'm fat and sick, and life is heavy.
I think I'll start a lace shawl that doesn't require any gauge... with lace shawls the looser the hand the bigger and airier the shawl :-D

But - print&pattern is inspiring and Sarah Young is wonderful.

I should be...

I have noticed there's a lot of "I should" in my posts... I would, should, could, but I don't. That bothers me.

Never mind. Today's free patterns are from pieKnits :-) Make your little angels some wings for Yule - it's only 3 months away. Or perhaps black wings and cute skull wristlets to match. The patterns that are not free are quite reasonable in price and you can buy them via Paypal.

I have started my next pair of socks. Firestarter... I'm not quite sure, but... it was the recommended pattern for Trifty Knitters Sock Club, so I'm knitting it. Henric will like them anyway. I'll finish off the ugly orange yarn and if it's not enough, I'll continue with Drops' Fabel 543 - the red orange mix. Yikes...

Now I'll go and buy some milk so I'll get my morning tea... it's already 11 and I have been doing all kinds of things to avoid going to the grocery store... *sigh*

Update

Lovely 2paw left a comment in my blog yesterday and I paid back the visit - and found Lynette Anderson's Noah's Ark embroidery-a-long :-) (BOM = Block Of the Month). I LOVE projects like this... and the bunny square is absolutely lovely :-D

In the picture - my binder with all the hundreds of free sock patterns I have collected from on-line and from different sock groups, KALs and so on; the socks - the yarn is more pink - and the sock journal :-) I whipped that up yesterday evening. So far it is adequate :-D But see how small it is :-)

I think today I'm going to sew some project bags... I'm going to need zippers, the see-through plastic I already have... *hmm*

-----------------------------------------

Knowing how much yarn you have left?

The WPI/YPP correlation index (wraps per inch / yards per pound) is pretty accurate - accurate enough for scrap yarns.

Check the wpi and then weigh the left-over yarn. Let's say you have 2 ounces of 14 wpi yarn. 14 wpi yarn is about 1200-1800 yards per pound, so you have 150-225 yards yarn. Not enough for a pair of socks, but enough for main color of stranded socks.

Here's some helpful sites:
Knitfits: yarn size demystified
some tables about WPI, gauge, names and numbers
Floryknits' yarn comparison chart
names of different thickness of yarn in US, UK, NZ and Australia

I'd so much wanna be in a sock club...

But I can't afford it. :´(

So I think I have my own private sock club :-)

First there will be a very cute sock journal... When I was in the craft school, we had a work book where we wrote all the work hours, yarn/thread we used and all the necessary information... It was really fun to look at those work books later, I remembered everything I had made by the tiny bits of yarn and so... So a sock journal.
I wish I had put all the socks I have ever made into a sock journal... with pattern information, yarn (sample and label, WPI), needles, gauge and time it took to make them...
So - in my own one woman's sock club the first gift is a sock journal. :-)
(Kathryn Ivy's Knitting Journal - very pretty and free (printable)...)

I would like to have a pre-printed booklet, but as I don't have access to bookprinters and so, I have to use my own ability to bind books and create the pages myself and bind them into a booklet myself. Then I will decorate the covers :-)

And as I will be the designer too of this sock club, I think I'll have one page for inspiration and design ideas and so on... A little art journaling :-)

*hmm*

My first pattern will be Mercurial Colorbands by Cat Bordhi. I have never done that, so it will be a new technique for me. I am using some odd woolly kind of yarn I have found - no labels. It's weird pinkish reddish orangish color, quite strong, but my hubby thinks it's nice... He has some curious likings every now and then... and I'm going to knit the colorbands with black, white and bright red. These socks will be very interesting LOL

Then I'm going to add a handful of things in my sock club package... like singlepackaged chocolates and so...

Then I'd really need project bags... those see-through zippered bags big enough for the project and sturdy enough for needles... *sigh* I think I just have to sew them myself too.

Then, of course, everything needed for knitting the socks are included... needles (mine are Addis, my first pair :-) I hate how the brass stinks when the needles warm up... ;-))

Phew!

No more dancing with Sir Frog-a-lot! The Aran Twist is danced!


And meet Huugo, the book owl :-) (Or owlet book thong, as it is called in the pattern...)

Here's a couple of other owl bookmarks...
paper owl bookmark
very easy paper owl bookmark
flat crocheted bookmark - owl motif
flat owl book thong

Hate it...

I hate it when patterns aren't easily followable. I just finished a doily I had to read from the PICTURE to get, because the pattern wasn't for this specific doily... Now I'm fighting with socks, that are... *sigh*
First, the pattern was written to someone who knits very tight and I don't. So I had to adjust the pattern to my hand.
Then the ribbing... The pattern starts with K2P2 ribbing and then when the cables start, it turns upside down - P2, K2, P2, K6. It should start with K6.
Then comes the twist... "Knit two together, but leave them to left needle and then..." Really complicated and uncomprehensible... to me, that is. It seems to be quite comprehensible to others, who don't seem to have any problems at all with this pattern, and who look at me as if I was an idiot, but - ok, I'm an idiot, but I still don't get it! So I do normal, ordinary, easy 1B1 cables and I'm happy with my twists. This is the way my knitting guide tells me to do twists. And my twists look exactly like the twists in the pattern. So I think that explanation is just another way to confuse stupid little knitters like me.
Now, today I arrived to the heel... and as I had started as a good girl I am, with P2, K2, P2, I had to knit a half round after the ribbing to start twisting, and now I needed to knit a half round to start the heel... you see, the purls are to make nice borders to the top of the foot...
I did that. "knit 2 1/2 inches of heel and pick 18 stitches". Ok... sounds a lot, but, hey, the designer is always right. I tried to count how many rows of the original pattern the heel is - knit in some slipstitch pattern - to find out if it's 1 or 2 needles, but if one is to pick 18 stitches and edge stitches are all knit (yes, KNIT! Not purl, which would create a pretty and easy chain, but knits, which create an interesting twisted edge - at least as I do it) I think it's about the stitches of two needles, so that is what I do. Then I turn the heel with short rows and start gussets and...
You can see the results yourself.

THIS is what I end up ALWAYS with this kind of a heel...

The measure is in cm's, 10 cms is about 4 inches. And that is WAY TOO MUCH FOR A SOCK IN THIS STAGE... *sigh* *sigh* *deepsigh* I SHOULD frog it and start all over again and make the 1 needle heel and end up with a human heel instead of this monstruosity heel for giants... But I have been fighting with these damned socks for days now, and it shouldn't take this long to knit a simple (uhum) pair of socks. It shouldn't! I want my sock knitting points at knitwars!

So I knit bookmarks and try to calm down,
and I knit my horseshoe cardi, and that turns out beautifully :-)

And I suppose I ought to be happy... And I'm not. I so wish I could just take a sock pattern, yarn and needles and follow the pattern and end up with human size socks just as in the pictures that illustrate the patterns... *sigh*

So, I'm going to take another break and knit another bookmark and knit a couple more rows of my cardigan and a couple more rows of the socks (HATEITHATEITHATEIT!!!) and a cute little amigurumi... I have a pattern of a little but ferocious dragon :-) If that doesn't make me forget the socks (HATEITHATEITHATEIT!!!) then nothing will. I might crochet an owl bookmark too. Or make Dobby style bookmark, and take my sock points from that >:->

DA-DAA!

FINALLY they are done! These are done in double-knitting... the Kory Stamper's Extreme sock knitting two-in-one a la Tolstoi... do you see the intricate decreases in the ankle and the beautiful braiding on foot? All done in double-knitting!
I think I should actually deserve some extra XPs for these socks. But, I'm modest and honest and stupid and will take only the points I think I can. Nevertheless, I'm on the second place at Lime&Violet party's weekly list... Not bad :-)

Sorry about the red pic... my hubby insisted on wearing them and going to bed with them on, and I janked up the duvet to photograph the socks :-D Later perhaps a better picture - to better show off the finesses of these socks ;-)

Today's links:
Little Cotton Rabbit's free patterns
frugal knitting house: free patterns

Currently working on...

I decided to put the pictures on the right side this time, to create a little action... Er... I don't think I want that kind of action. But I'll let it stay.
One should do new things every day ;-)

The first picture is two socks in one - inside each other. It was supposed to be my Olympic mission, but - nah. I'm bored with socks right now.



Next one is the pink cotton I got from my sister and that I used to knit the Horseshoe Cardigan. The pattern was from Magknits, and Magknits is gone now, so - no pattern. And I found out that the last page of the pattern was missing... So I frogged the whole cardigan (The bodice was done) and thought of doing something else with the yarn. Now... I found the rest of the pattern. The creatrix had kindly put it in Ravelry... So now I'll start all over again and knit the horseshoe cardigan :-)




The next image is a cotton net cap to my hubby.






Magic Mirror socks. I started both at the same time on circular needle, but there was a little miss in the pattern and I chose to believe the Creatrix' word instead of my own common sense. So the other sock was "wrong", so I frogged it. Now I'm thinking of whether to knit it to this point separately and then join the socks and finish them together or not. But as said - I'm bored with socks right now. (And then I join the Sock Harvest... :-D I'm mad!)

The last beauty is Patricia Kristoffersson's doily. Patricia's specialty is structure... My crochet hook is a bit too small for the thread, so the doily gets a little squashed look, but it will be fine with a little blocking :-)

I WILL RESIST!!!

I won't join any more swaps. I won't! But they are organizing Harry Potter Sock Kit Swap again, and I WAAAAAANT!!!
I am going to get myself a package. :-)
It will be packaged in a big box - I think I'm going to buy me one of those nice boxes from IKEA.
The box will be filled with tissue paper in my house colors (blue and bronze - I'm a Ravenclaw girl :-)) and then I'll make dozens of those cute paper strip stars instead of styrofoam. I loved it when one of my swap pals had sprinkled a handful of tiny sparkly stars in the package :-)
There will be a couple of magic sock yarn balls filled with surprises, ebony needles tucked in the balls. I think I'll put some rosewood needles in the other ball.
One of the yarns will be hand-painted in Orion nebula colors - as that fits the Ravenclaw :-)


The other will be koigu, so that I too can get my Ziggys :-) I think I need two balls of Koigu...
(You know, I joined a magic yarn ball swap several years ago, and never got my yarn ball... Or an explanation then either >:-> And, yes, I'm still sad about that.)
I think I'll make some potpurri pillows to be used as the "heart" of the yarn ball.

There will be knitting tools, like stitch markers with matching scissor chain and row counter bracelet; tape measure with nice cover, clover yarn cutter medallion, if I can find one somewhere, and the lovely sheep needle sizer/gauge measure I have been drooling over for years now... And a stitch saver.
Needle case - or wand case :-D - of chinese brokade.
There will be nail file, an everlasting glass file or a stone file. Or a handy pocket case for emery boards. A small tube of quickly drying hand cream. I'll see if I can find a jar of bond's butter.
In the yarn balls will be hair accessories, like sticks and combs... I really love hair accessories :-)
There will be a pretty medieval-looking notepad and marker, bookmarks and magnets. I don't like stickers, but I think I'd like some fake tattoos :-D
There will be Harry Potter candy, a big bag of jellybeans, Lindts chocolate and a box of the new toffee I saw in the store last week. I think I'll make some chocolate chip cookies... toffee chip cookies?
I think there could be a raven too, for example a pin cushion... with self-decorated pins... for example shrinky-dink pins or polymer clay pins... (I think this is absolutely adorable... and the silver charm is great!)
There definitely will be a pair of earrings.


Then there will be a "book" of sock patterns. I have copied hundreds (yes!) of free patterns from the net for Summer of Socks, and I think it would be nice to finally get them on paper and in plastic pockets in a binder. I think I will also give me a knitting magazine... I was really happy to get the Interweave Knits in one swap :-)
Perhaps I'll also buy a sock pattern. I love Lucy Neatby's patterns, and Cookie's socks are wonderful too :-)

And then there will be a cigar box decorated with decoupage collage, and filled with magic stuff... I might even buy me a new tarot deck :-D
There will be a pocket book which might not have anything to do with HP, and bookmark.
There will be socks, tam and house scarf in Ravenclaw colors.
Then there will be dog toys and candy for Boris the Springer Spaniel.
There will be some good tea and a teapot cosy, and perhaps some other tea related stuff, like tea ball or sugar sticks.
There will be a soap sweater made from stone colored yarn with inscripture, with vanilla soap inside, and a HP washcloth...
Then there will be something with fox... a mixed CD with my favorite songs... Maybe I'll buy myself Nickleback's or Staind's CD. Maybe some coasters... a real quill, dragon's blood ink and paper... some hundred pretty beads for knitting... I think it would be fun to find something like a zen garden in your pocket or braingames or so... a knitting calendar with quotes about knitting, life and other important things. It would be nice if I'd find a raven cookie cutter. It really is nice with some recipe cards too... perhaps some spices and such to make something nice for dinner. I'd love a gargoyle. And a tiny owl...

These will be packed in their own totebags. Or perhaps I'll wrap them in shawls and scarfs and pretty pieces of fabrique ;-)

I'd like to add some funnies too... I love the idea of sending a little bottle of syrup or liquor with self-made "magic potion" lable, or "a sample of transformation magic" - elephant poo paper :-D Subversive cross stitch. "Grow your own enchanted castle" (sunflower seeds) or "magic" beans :-D Perhaps some seeds of witchy plants like mandragora.
Or a bumber sticker... "Save the Broom - Ride a Quiddich Player"... SO NASTY!!! ROTFLMAO

Something self-made:
Themed list: Harry Potter Patterns

Here are some of the best freebie patterns I have seen outside Knitty and Ulla :-D