Finished!

What an adventure! I learned so much this term! I created my own chart, learned how to use a sewing machine, put in a zipper, and learned how to hand sew a liner into a bag. I must admit, I faltered quite a bit on this OWL. At one point I was forced to rip back over 2600 stitches because I was off by one row on my checkerboard. Thankfully I hadn’t woven in those ends yet.

Ends… so…many…ends! Each check had at least two ends as did each color change on the badger. I lost track of how many hours I spent carefully weaving in ends.

I also learned that my other half is amazing with a sewing machine! His grandmother was very talented and he was an observant grandchild. He was terribly kind and patient with me as I tried to wrap my head around the concepts of that intimidating monster. I thought I might just give up the whole thing when it came time for the zipper. He also stayed up with me last night to show me how to sew in my liner, a task which took me over 5 hours!

My badger bag is 18 inches tall and 20 inches wide. It has two lined pockets prefect for books or patterns and a zipper. The bottom is flat and tucks nicely into the corners.

Link to grading post

OWL Proposal:
Name: LydiaDiane
House: Hufflepuff 1st year
OWL and option: Ancient Runes Option 1 - intricately charted
Project: LydiaDiane’s OWL Proposal
Pattern(s): modified Starling Handbag with combination of charts from HP Fair Isle Pouch Bags and Hurray Hufflepuff

Sequence & Points of Consideration: I submit for your consideration a book bag with a detailed chart of a badger in honor of my House. I will be using the Starling Handbag as my canvas. The background is modeled after the HP Fair Isle Pouch Bags. The badger on the crest is from the Hurray Hufflepuff socks. I have carefully transferred these designs to my own chart.

The finished tote would be modified to be apx. 18 inches wide and apx. 14.5 inches tall. According to my gauge on my previous charted project I am getting apx 4.2 stitches per inch horizontally and 5 stitches per inch vertically.

Proposed 50% Mark: My proposed 50% mark would be to finish the bag up to the head of the badger as I will still have to line the bag, add the zipper and the straps.

This is my second time following a chart and my first time adapting one to fit my project. This will also be my first time to line a finished bag. The finished bag will also have straps and a zipper. I feel that this is OWL-worthy as I usually make toys and afghans. This bag will be a challenge as I have never used a sewing machine before.