When We Were Young

[folknits]

My Care of Magical Creatures OWL(Ordinary Wizarding Level) proposal for the Harry Potter Knitting & Crochet House Cup Winter Term.

Ravelry Name: folk

House: Ravenclaw

OWL and option: Care of Magical Creatures, Option 2 Hatch an Egg (Abraxan)

Project/Pattern(s): Gail(Nightsongs)

Sequence & Points of Consideration:

Louise and I have been friends a long time. She said she thought I was worth getting to know when she saw me sitting on the radiator in the back of our 8th grade class. Knitting. Now the grown-up me was properly mortified, but I’m only a little less obnoxious now than I was then so it’s entirely possible. (My sincere apologies to Mrs. Mitchell, our genuinely sweet and patient teacher.) Fast forward.

Let’s just say last year was an annus horribilis for Louise. I decided to take her first memory of me and knit a tangible reminder of our 40 years of friendship. Together, the shawl pattern and yarn she chose remind me of the Palomino Abraxan, who with their blue-feathered wings pulled Madame Maxine’s carriage from Beauxbatons to Hogwarts. Louise’s own strength and courage pulled her and her family through those hard times. She just needs wings like the Abaraxan to fly above the slings and arrows life sometimes hurls her way. I propose to knit those wings for her.

With care and feeding of single-malt whiskey, Louise’s Abraxan will grow from the tiny swatch pictured below into a large chocolate Palomino with blue feathers, capable of pulling 20 times its weight through the night air. Nightwings. Like many others who have knitted this shawl, I chose to add a center stitch to avoid a big hole caused by the double yarn-over as well as knit with size 6 needles. I plan to add enough repeats to Abraxan to use over 800 yards of yarn. Given the demands of my new job, my task will be to finish knitting this by the March deadline. The challenge of figuring out the chart is mostly over. My project page is littered with the detritus of failed OWLs. Godspeed.

Proposed 50% Mark: One skein of Blue Morpho Bugga! (412 yards) knit with the second skein attached. Trust me. I don’t know how much yarn this thing will need, but have in reserve a third skein in addition to a cask of single-malt whiskey. Use either as needed.

Thank you for considering my proposal.

Photos of Supplies and Swatch: