Prof. Cosmo B. Mott

Hi, everyone. I'm Prof. Cosmo B. Mott (in my student days, I was Cosmo Brown), and I'll be your main teacher for this class.

I joined HOL back in December of 2003. The Sorting Hat gave me a resounding, "HUFFLEPUFF!" and that's where I am, and where I'll stay. As a student, I was a prefect, Head Girl, Quidditch player, Quidditch slacker, Quidditch co-captain, and Quidditch Board member. Now that I've graduated, I'm a professor instead of prefect and Head Girl, but the rest hasn't changed, really. (Yes, even the slacker bit. *polishes her tilted halo*)

I'm really excited to be teaching this class. I expect to have a lot of fun, and I hope you'll have fun, too.

I started knitting six or seven years ago, but it was something I wanted to learn nearly a decade before that. When I was a teenager, I was obsessed with the works of L. M. Montgomery, who wrote Anne of Green Gables and the like. Because many of her books are set in Victorian and Edwardian times, there would be occasional references to people knitting. I thought it would be, like, the coolest thing ever to knit my own pair of socks! I even bought a knitting magazine with instructions on how to knit socks. However, I didn't have any supplies, nor could I make heads or tails out of the knit and purl illustrations, let alone sock construction!

It wasn't until I jumped into Harry Potter fandom, though, that I decided I was actually going to learn to knit. Once I mastered the basics (with a little help from my sister — who had tried her hand at knitting but moved on to other things — and the internet), I knit a house scarf for a friend. It wasn't bad, but I didn't understand the mechanics and physics of knitted goods to make a really great scarf. (I've since learned a better way to make those scarves, thank goodness.) But, between making the house scarf and learning other techniques, I was hooked. I made a couple other house scarves, an Aran sampler afghan, a lace shawl, and even a pair of hand-knit socks! Back to where I wanted to be in the first place! Once I'd got the socks sorted, I realized that this knitting thing is kind of awesome and I love it. I even kind of inspired others *cough*Tarma*cough* to give it a try.

I really do enjoy my knitting. It's fun to sit and watch hours and hours of Doctor Who movies and TVs all day and still feel productive because I've been knitting. I love making things for other people. I love wearing socks I've knit. I love looking at yarn. I love examining knitted goods to get a sense of how they were made. There's something really fun — and kind of magical — about watching two sticks work a single strand of yarn into a lovely piece of fabric.

I may not be the fastest knitter or anything, but I enjoy it, and I think I'm pretty good. *cg*

Prof. Tarma Amelia Black

Cosmo, the Cheeky One, said I had to write up some sort of introduction for her Knitting Class.

I'm a graduate of HOL Hogwarts and my name is Tarma Amelia Black — my student name was Tarma Black. I'm a member of Hufflepuff, having been Sorted into that House (to my great surprise) way back in 2003. I've played Quidditch, been a Prefect and Head Girl, avoided most detentions (I have a good invisibility spell) and generally gotten into as much trouble as I could while having a good time (one and the same thing?). Cosmo and I are members of The Order of the Tilted Halos. Yes, you read that correctly. The halo IS tilted. Maybe a little bit dented too, but we don't have to mention that, right?

As for KNITTING....

I am a newbie knitter. I still will have to look up how to cast on sometimes, if I've been away from knitting for a while. I've created some wonderful things (wonderful to me anyway) that people are gracious enough to say "Oh, I like that! Thank YOU!"

A big secret to knitting presents for folks is this: the choice of a yarn. I've found out that if I choose a yarn that is pretty enough, or soft enough, or both, folks will be willing to overlook the knitting 'Ooops' that occur here and there.

Mostly I have learned that it's best to keep going. Choose a project that excites you, or can be done rapidly, and often that can be one and the same thing. Then keep knitting on it! It's quite fun to watch your stitches go from awkward and uneven to more and more evenly spaced and sized.

Why did I get into knitting? I think it was because Cosmo sent me a HUFFLEPUFF scarf. She very kindly reversed the colours to mainly black with a little bit of yellow, because I am partial to 'black' as a colour. Then I thought... wouldn't it be nice if I could do this for myself?

So it's all her fault....

*HALO*

<333 The Cheeky One

Some of Our Knitted Work