We were hit by a huge ice and snow storm on Christmas day and were without power from Tuesday - Sunday evening. We packed up and went to the in-laws who had wood stoves, but still no power there. Of course I took a big bag of yarn and hooks. I've never made socks before and was getting a little weary of the scarf I was working on so the thought to make socks was very spontaneous. Luckily I had brought a new yarn that was perfect for the job. I got on my phone and found a pattern on Ravelry. These worked up very fast. About 1.5-2 hours for each sock from chain to fastening off. They are for my two year old son.




Action shots:



The lighting is crummy. We were on wood stove lighting by then 



They were awfully snug, so we won't get much wear out of them, but I'm proud as they are my first socks. It was hugely satisfying and I can't wait to make more!

I found a couple of used Harry Potter books at Goodwill last month. I have always loved the chapter art and I wanted to use that to create something. I found these great blank paper mache  ornaments at Hobby Lobby and that's when I got the idea for the ornaments. Three of these were for swap partneres in the Harry Potter Holiday Swap, two are for friends, and two are for me! 

I found the chapter art I wanted to use then took a relevant part of the book to paste it on. Then I found the passage I wanted highlighted and glued it on there as well.

The Boy Who Lived:



Yer a wizard:



Mirror of Erised:



Owl Post:



Marauder's Map:



Expecto Patronum:



Welcome to Hogwarts:



I put glitter on the sides of them in different colors:



I'm definitely going to continue making them and try some different techniques in the future. Hope you like them!

I received a fantastic package from our fearless leader, Pinkleo!! She sent me some really great ornaments 

A Dobby sock ornament:


A Molly Weasley sweater:


An Owl Post ornament:


A group shot including the Christmas tea she included:


Thank you so much Pinkleo! I love it all. Many thanks to you and Jennie for doing another fun HP swap!

I received the most amazingly awesome package ever from bobbinalong today!!! She took an idea from my questionnaire and ran with it, creating something more wonderful than I could have imagined. I am so in love with it. I was squealing at the top of my lungs while opening it. Even my husband got excited and he never gets excited about swap packages. Without further delay here is the most incredible nativity you've ever seen:



How fabulous are they?! The detail in the characters is so wonderful. They were each individually wrapped. Upon hearing my mad giggling my husband came to see what I was doing. He sat down at the table and helped me unwrap them all. We were both laughing and ooh'ing and ahh'ing over each one. About halfway through unwrapping them all my husband looked at me and said "What did you make her? Whatever it is, it's not good enough". We both laughed and I agreed that it certainly was not worthy of this creation. Here are some close ups:


McGonagall and Dumbledore. I love that she has a wand!


Hagrid and Buckbeak!! She even made his umbrella!!!!!


A Gryffindor angel (I think it might be Neville? Help me out here bobbinalong!), and Snape, Snape, Severus Snape!


James, Lilly, and baby Harry!!


Close up of sweet baby Harry.


The manger critters: Crookshanks, Hedwig, and Scabbers.

And as if the nativity weren't enough she made me this great bag! I'm also super excited about this because I'm in desperate need of more project bags for my crocheting. Perfect size!


Thank you so much bobbinalong!!! I adore everything. I will treasure this for many, many years to come.

I received a wonderful package from jennieingram today! She sent so many fantastic goodies!!

First up, some edible yummies. Dove chocolates (ohmygoshyum) and a soup mix from Mrs. Weasley's kitchen! It looks so yummy. I can't wait to make it.



The next thing I opened was this Divination jewelry set. I absolutely love this necklace!!! She knew that loved the one she made for the Back to Hogwarts swap so she made me one of my own  YAY!!!! Love the star earrings too. Can't wait to wear this set!



Then I found this gorgeous owl post bookmark. This is so pretty. The owl is a bronze color and the beads are this beautiful midnight blue color. I love this so much!



She made two awesome ornaments! A bottle of floo powder and a bottle of polyjuice potion...George Weasley's! I love how sparkly these are in person, and the charms on the bottle add an extra touch of magic. These are so fun. Can't wait to put them on my tree!



And then a group shot:



Thank you so much Jennie!!! Everything was made so thoughtfully and beautifully. I love it all. Thank you!!

I made this Ravenclaw (Harry Potter) themed yarn wreath for my partner in the Back to Hogwarts swap. Bronze and Blue are the house colors, and the bronze eagle is the house sigil. The Sorting Hat is made from felt and I painted his Ravenclaw rhyme on small wooden plaque. 



Photo taken by my partner, hgddm.

I crocheted this pillow for my partner in the Back to Hogwarts Swap.  It's an owl messenger from the Harry Potter movies, and he has a letter for Harry! He's crocheted in two pieces and sewn together.





Photos were taken by my partner, hgddm.

I received this card from SonjaBoo. I love kitties and pumpkins, so this is perfect!! Thank you so much!!

I received a fabulous package from hgddm!! She sent me several awesome things

First I opened two scarves. I love both Ravenclaw and Gryffindor so she made me one for each house! They are super long so I made them into a more manageable size for the picture, and took a shot of my two year old modeling it:



She also made me Gryffindor and Ravenclaw stamps! I love these stamps. So cool. She also sent some cards stamped with the winged key on the outside and the Knight Bus on the inside and the little matchbook notepad. Awesome!

 

For my favorite shop, Eeylops, she made me this great storage box:



I love this. I think I'm going to use it to store my stamping stuff.



Finally, my favorite item, a display of famous witch and wizard's polyjuice potions!



From left to right: Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, Luna Lovegood, Minerva McGonagal, Severus Snape, Albus Dumbledore. Each bottle contains something indicative of that wizard to make their polyjuice potion.



I absolutely love everything hgddm! Thank you so much for a great swap!!!

I received this really cool witch card from plucky1_08. I love the cat and owl too! Thank you!!!