"Hermione's Tea Cup" Mini Pin Cushion

I used verybigjen's flickr tutorial to make this mini pin cushion for my partner in a recent HP swap on Craftster. I named it "Hermione's Tea Cup", just for cute.


"Hermione's Tea Cup" mini pin cushion:



The "coffee" (or "tea") inside the cup is the mini pin cushion from the tutorial, and then I made a felt "tea cup" to go around it! The cup is a double thickness of felt. The fold at the top of the cup forms a slightly rounded lip.


Embroidered all around, pins in Gryffindor colors up top:






It is very small:



Of course, because its base is a tiny bottle cap! The pins won't go through the bottom of it, and it's a way to reuse.


And here it is again, with some other Gryff goodies:




Craft Info:

Made for: rosesanplacebos
Swap: "I Miss Harry Potter Swap"
Date made: Early June, 2008
Pattern: Bottlecap pincushions HOW-TO by verybigjen for the bottle cap pin cushion (the "coffee" or "tea"); for the tea cup and embroidery, I just winged it.
Materials: Bottle cap, felt (brown and cream), fiberfill stuffing, embroidery thread (brown, cream, red, and gold), straight pins (red and gold) for presentation

Small Gryffindor Items

My dear daughter and I made some little Gryffindor items for a recent HP swap on Craftster.

Mug cozy, crochet flower brooches, tea cup mini pin cushion:




Two crochet flower brooches in Gryffindor colors:



My dear daughter used cotton yarn to make these lovely brooches for me to send to my "Gryffindor" partner. I also used them as an embellishment for the Gryffindor scarf presentation.


Backs of flower brooches:




Both the brooches have lovely vintage buttons:





The buttons are sewn on with the cotton yarn in the contrast color.

I ordered the cotton yarn from Patternworks at the same time that I ordered the acrylic for the scarf. (Summer is not the greatest time to be looking in local shops for autumn colors, so I ordered online and hoped the colors would be "right".) I didn't know when I ordered the cotton what we would make with it, but I'm really pleased with the summery brooches that the DD made with it.


Gryffindor Mug Cozy:



I knit up this mug cozy as an "extra". It took maybe 20 minutes, tops. I used the same red acrylic as I used for the Gryffindor scarf. It also has a vintage button.


The mug cozy, open:



It's knit in a k1-p1 rib, with a crochet border and crocheted tapered ends. The tapered ends help it fit through the mug handle.


The mug cozy, on a mug:




The tea cup mini pin cushion will have it's own post, coming soon!


Craft Info:

Made for: rosesanplacebos
Swap: "I Miss Harry Potter Swap"
Date made: Early July, 2008

Mug Cozy

Needles: size 8 bamboo
Hook: G
Yarn: Utopia worsted-weight acrylic
Color: Pomegranate
Other materials: Vintage button (yellow-gold color)

Brooches

Made by: beauootifulsooooup (DD)
Hook: F
Yarn: Reynolds Saucy cabled worsted-weight cotton
Colors: Cranberry and Butter
Other materials: Vintage buttons (maroon and yellow), brooch pins, thread to sew on brooch pins

Making the Gryffindor Scarf: The S.P.E.W. Tote

I have had a lot of fun participating in the two Craftster HP swaps I've done so far. I have also received some cool stuff! While crafting for the most recent swap, I loved having a HP project tote to use for my HP swap project: the wonderful S.P.E.W. tote that ShardaeDobby made for me in my first swap was my project bag for the Gryffindor scarf I made for rosesanplacebos in the next swap!

S.P.E.W. Tote with Gryffindor Scarf WIP:








Because I love this bag so much, I carry it everywhere. So I've made it my own by adding pin-back buttons!

Craftster Buttons on the front of the S.P.E.W. tote:

Crafty Like Ice Is Cold:


Well, yes. ;-)


Craftster Pirate Pin:


Knit fast, die warm! Arrrgh!


Political buttons on the back of the S.P.E.W. tote:




"Obama '08" and "Women for Obama":


I agree with Norman Solomon on this issue: "The best way to avoid becoming disillusioned is to not have illusions in the first place."


"Freedom Is Participation In Power" and "Ignore Your Rights & They'll Go Away":


I added these to the bag very recently. I've had them for years, but they've been just collecting dust for a while. I decided that if I'm going to keep using the Obama buttons -- and I am -- these need to come back out and play as well. (FISA, anyone?)


American Flag Peace Symbol:


This is the button that is most visible when the bag is on my shoulder: it is positioned so it sits to the front when the bag is worn. This is also one of my earliest political buttons. I bought it way back in 2001 when -- suddenly, tragically -- the peace symbol was obscure and old-fashioned no longer. I chose the one with the flag because peace is patriotic, of course.

Gryffindor Scarf: POA (Trapped Bar) Style

I knit a Gryffindor scarf for my lovely partner, rosesanplacebos, in the recent "I Miss Harry Potter Swap".

The scarf, tied with a ribbon for presentation:




I used the atypically.knit pattern to make this scarf, with some modifications, such as making the fringe a bit longer than the pattern calls for. I also used larger needles and cast on fewer stitches to get the width.

The scarf with fringe, and small Gryffindor items:



The little Gryffindor items were "extras" for the swap: crochet flower brooches made by my DD and a knit mug cozy made with the scarf's MC yarn.

I made the scarf's fringe about six inches, the same as the length of the large MC stripe. The atypically.knit pattern calls for a fringe of about four inches, but I think the longer length is a bit more feminine. Rosesanplacebos encouraged me to use creative license on this scarf (and believe me, before making an item of this scale, I ask a ton of questions!), so this is what I did with the fringe. If I were making this scarf for a guy, I would probably use the fringe length from the pattern.

The scarf, laid out:



It's about 8.5 feet long and about 8 inches wide.

Because it is knit in the round, the scarf is a long tube. Here are some shots of the edge of the scarf (the scarf is folded in half, then rolled up).

The scarf, rolled up:






Rosesanplacebos posted a lovely action shot here in the swap gallery!

Craft Info:

Made for: rosesanplacebos
Swap: "I Miss Harry Potter Swap"
Date: Mid June - Early July, 2008
Pattern: atypically.knit pattern, with modifications: larger needles (size 10), co 72 stitches, made fringe about 6" long (same as length of large MC stripe)
Needles: size 10 bamboo 16" circular
Yarn: Utopia worsted-weight acrylic, Pomegranate (MC) and Maize (CC)
Dimensions: About 8.5 feet long, 8 inches wide


Other posts about this scarf:

My post at Craftster:

• Gryffindor Scarf! POA (trapped bar) style

Rosesanplacebos's posts at Craftster:

• post with action shot of the scarf
• gallery post of the whole package

HP Craft Swap at Craftster: Summary Post

June and the beginning of July was Harry Potter crafting! The "I Miss Harry Potter Swap" at Craftster was lots of fun. My lovely partner, rosesanplacebos, had lots of green items on her wists, so I made her a fun HP shopping tote set:



And some other stuff!

The whole swap package:




More posts to come detailing all the crafts, and other info from the swap!

Swap Info:

Swap: "I Miss Harry Potter Swap" at Craftster
Swap Gallery: "I Miss Harry Potter Swap Gallery"
Crafting Dates: June 2 - July 10, 2008
Date Sent: July 10, 2008


Posted at Craftster: (this section will be updated with links as posts are made on Craftster)

rosesanplacebos's posts (the crafts I made, that she received):

• post with action shot of the scarf
• gallery post of the whole package

My posts:

• Gryffindor Scarf! POA (trapped bar) style

Hey Mister DJ

So my Weird Sisters record purse project was initially delayed just a bit as I worked on acquiring suitable records.

In my first attempt, I purchased three records from the thrift store and brought them home. Not wanting to commit Crimes Against Music, I asked our resident DJ (my dear brother) to approve the crafty use of the records.

The records were small releases by artists from the seventies. One was bad country music. I thought, "Great. No one will miss this!" Thinking that the few folks who had listened to the record in the first place would have moved on to other music by now, that there would be no great demand for the records. Or in other words, that I wasn't "taking away" the record from anyone who would want to buy it and listen to it.

Just one problem: break beats. You see, these "small releases by artists from the seventies" could possibly have breaks on them -- little samples of music -- that a DJ could use.

"It's not even very likely," the resident DJ explained, "but, you know . . ."

"You have to listen to them first . . . "

Yeah. So Mister DJ went home with the records, and I went back to the thrift store. This time with new information: find records by prominent artists whose fans have moved on to CDs (or iTunes). Any breaks from those songs have already been used -- no new discoveries there -- so I really wouldn't be taking music away from anyone, DJs included.

So I came home with three new records -- love songs by famous pop artists from the seventies and early eighties -- and called the DJ if to ask if he wanted to come over and check them out before I used them. When I told him what they were he laughed.

"No, no," he said. "You need to cut those records up."

Weird Sisters Record Purse

My swap partner for the recent HP swap had a record purse on her wists, so I had to make one for her! The Weird Sisters are the wizard rock band from the Harry Potter series, and I decided they had to have released some albums (though there aren't any in the books -- we both enjoy a loose interpretation of canon.)

I used this tutorial: Mod Record Purse for instructions, and this Craftster project for additional inspiration: Vinyl Record Purse (from my partner's wists).

The Weird Sisters record purse:



Both sides:



Each side of the purse is Side One of a different album. I printed out the labels on colored heavy weight printer paper, and used double-sided paper adhesive to attach them over the existing labels on the records. ("Do the Hippogriff" is a song from the HP books, but the rest are not. Loose canon, right? And fair warning: this post only gets geekier from here on in.)

Close up of the labels (Conjuring the Rock Produtions, charmed to play in the Divinaphone):

WS's first album (1978):


Sophmore album (1980):


My two favorite titles are "From the Owlery" and "Arithmancy of the Soul". Just don't ask me what they mean, because I don't know. But that is some Wizarding rock.

I used two layers of records for the handles, and attached the handles and sides with hemp twine (in purple).

Close up of attachment:



The concept of the purse is that it is "partially transfigured" -- that is, transfigured from records into a purse, but still retaining characteristics of the original item. (See what I mean about even geekier?) So, the circles in the lining fabric are reminiscent of records, and the pockets are lined with sheet music fabric, of course.

Inside:



There are two flat pockets on one side; the snap-close pocket is just peeking out on the other side. The ends are pinched and stitched so they fold inward when the purse is shut.

Snap-close pocket open:



Close up of fabrics:



This was my favorite item to make for this swap, and I am so thankful to my partner for allowing me to subject her to my super HP geekiness!

Craft Info:

Swap: "Because We Miss Harry Potter" Swap at Craftster
Swap Partner: ShardaeDobby at Craftster
Date made: March 2008
Pattern: Mod Record Purse, Vinyl Record Purse
Fabrics: Pink vinyl, woven cotton novelty fabrics (pink with colored circles and pink sheet music)
Other materials: Records, heavy weight paper for labels (pink and green), double-sided adhesive, hemp twine (purple), magnetic snap


Posted at Craftster:
Weird Sisters (Harry Potter) Record Purse

"Every Flavour" Shopping Tote with Pouch

My partner from the "Because We Miss Harry Potter" Swap at Craftster, ShardaeDobby, was really good at asking fun HP questions to help us get to know each other's HP interests. (This was in addition to the swap questionnaire!) Based on her answers, I thought she would like something from Honeydukes! So here it is:

"Every Flavour" drawstring pouch:



Open it up:



What's inside:



Let's go shopping:


(action shot with DD before sending out)

The pouch has a double drawstring, so it stays shut nicely. The drawstrings are turquoise-color hemp twine with plastic beads. I painted "Every Flavour" and the little stars on the finished pouch with a couple of coats of yellow flexible fabric paint. When that was dry, I painted over and around the letters with gold glitter flexible fabric paint to give it a magical effect.

The shopping tote is made from jelly bean novelty fabric: the Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans inside the pouch! The tote's straps are the same pink fabric as the pouch. The tote has French seams, so it should be sturdy, and a gusset at the bottom, so it's pretty roomy.

Tote with pouch:



This was lots of fun to make!

Craft Info:

Swap: "Because We Miss Harry Potter" Swap at Craftster
Swap Partner: ShardaeDobby at Craftster

"Every Flavour" Pouch

Date made: March 2008
Construction: Double drawstring pouch
Fabric: Cotton blend woven fabric, hemp drawstring
Other materials: Fabric paint, glitter fabric paint, plastic beads

Every Flavour Beans Shopping Tote

Date made: March 2008
Construction: French seams, bottom gusset
Fabric: Woven cotton jelly beans novelty fabric, strap fabric same as pouch


Posted at Craftster:
"Every Flavour" Shopping Tote with Pouch