This competition is now closed. Thank you to everyone who entered. If you didn’t win try your luck again with our day 9 competition.

Congratulations to our winners Jen from and Rebecca from .

The answer to the question is our two Harry Potter inspired adult sock patterns are Molly Weasley’s Gift Socks and Serpentine Valentine socks.

Some of answered with Socks for Little Witches and Socks for Little Wizards which are related to Harry Potter but are kids socks, not adult. They are all great patterns.

Here’s your chance to win this marvellous Undercover Owl project bag witha cheerful sock pattern and a beautiful skein of YarnYard Twistle (80% Blue faced Leicester, 20% nylon, 365m, 100g)…

… OR this humourous  Undercover Owl “death by knitting” project bag with skein of squidgy soft Easy Knits yarn in colour way Conker (80% superwash merino, 10% cashmere, 10% nylon, 400m, 100g).

Because it’s Monday, and you may be feeling a tad worse for wear, what with it being the festive party season, we have a knitting related question.

We have over thirty-five knitting patterns which raise money for MSF, including sixteen sock patterns.

Which two of our ADULT sock patterns are inspired by Harry Potter?

Email your answer to p-hop@london.msf.org with the subject “Socks” by 2pm (GMT) on Tuesday 13th December.

Come back on Friday for another chance to win a brilliant prize!

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Rules:

1) Competition ends at 2pm (GMT) on Tuesday 13th December 2011

2) Winners will be drawn from all correct answers by random number generator and notified by email. Prizes will be sent by post.
3) Competition open to everyone, including people outside UK.
4) No cash alternatives
5) One entry per person per competition.

Dear Knitter,

As you might have realised from the name of the socks I am a Harry Potter fan. What we knitters always look out for is the latest Christmas offerings from Molly Weasley’s
needles, both in description in the book, and visually on the films. It has always seemed that her knitting for the boys of the family, and often Harry, are a little hurried
and done because there was not a huge amount of money in the house hold.

After the battles and the wars, and the family had grown up and left home, I began to wonder what Molly and Arthur Weasley would do with their time. I knew that Arthur would be happy in his shed with his Muggle bits and pieces, but what about Molly, with time and stillness on her hands, what would she knit? She’d often knitted for her boys and Ginny too, but what could she knit that was a little bit special? What could she knit for the possible daughters in law? Socks seemed to be the perfect answer, and for all the daughters, what better than lace socks? Or perhaps during a lull in family life Molly treated herself to a pair of these?

Molly Weasley's Gift Socks

The lace pattern was based upon one in the Barbara Walker Treasury series of books, and charted to be knitted in the round. While it is a pretty lace pattern it is not complicated, and I and my test knitter found it a joy to see the pattern emerge. I have one other sock pattern donated to P/hop and always had this in mind when I wrote this pattern.

Close up of vine lace pattern

Everyone in life needs a little help, even in every day life, but when disaster strikes they need all the help we can give them. So I hope you enjoy the socks, and the pleasure of knitting them, and I know that the money raised is going to a wonderful and worthwhile cause, Doctors Without Borders, MSF.

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A big thank you to Susan for another great pattern (click here to go to the pattern page) which will help MSF weave their humanitarian magic around the world. If you like this pattern please take a look at Susan’s other p/hop pattern, the popular Ruth’s Harvest Socks.

Harry Potter and the Sleeping Commuter

P/hop swapping is frenzied in the p/hop world at the moment, turning the forum in ravelry into a veritable market place. Except with less tat. As I wander past the various stands and stalls, I see Thimblina p/hopping some cobweb yarn from the back of a white van.  Our very own Lou is browsing over at Yellowpurplezebra’s stall as they work out what size needles she might need for her first project. In another corner, Natalie is doing a line in antique patterns, announcing her wares through the brisk winter’s morning like Delboy himself.

Other swappers are busy all over the place and the atmosphere is great, the sun is shining.

But what’s this?? Hilltopkatie is offering a Harry Potter DVD?? Is this to do with knitting? Is it Harry Potter and the Needles of Newport? No, it is not. As news spreads through the market, a hush falls… “That’s nothing to do with knitting” is heard murmured from place to place……     A tumbleweed blows through the scene………

Then, and at the same time, the traders and customers come to a communal realisation. P/hop isn’t about knitting! It is because of, and thanks to knitters, but really it’s about compassion and sharing and recycling and supporting a great cause!

People turn again to Hilltopkatie with smiles in their eyes. Villain to visionary in 8.3 seconds… Not bad.

So, you can p/hop swap anything. And it will all benefit MSF. I wonder what time the market closes….

By msf-pete. Photo by gunnisal, courtesy of Flickr.