My First OWL: A first year’s account of sitting an OWL exam

My first semester at Hogwarts! How exciting! After reading the OWL descriptions I thought I’d jump right on in and settled on sitting the Care of Magical Creatures OWL. It is my favorite class and I loved Hagrid’s lessons with Buckbeak. One day I hope that I will be lucky enough to befriend a Hippogriff!

Dragons have been favorite characters of mine ever since I was a little girl and read Dealing with Dragons by Patricia Wrede. I began searching for an appropriate dragon pattern to hatch my egg and messaged my mama eagle, Becky (aka mommyknitz), asking for pattern search help on Ravelry. Even though there were several great designs, I did not find what I was looking for, a dragon pattern that used three colors. As with many other designers, I decided to design my own pattern because what I desired to knit hadn’t been designed yet!

I wanted to use three colors because the last time I used that technique I had given the project away as a gift. Over time I realized it was the thing I was most proud of knitting, and I felt sad that it was gone. With the inspiration from HPKCHP I became inspired to take up another three color knitting project; and this time it would be for me. I designed a dragon chart that I have grown to love more and more. My dragon is very much a product of my personal creative process, and that makes her even more special to me.

With the chart ready I pulled some needles and yarn, took pictures, and posted my proposal in the Ravenclaw Tower to make sure I didn’t forget anything. I cannot express how much it meant to me when other ‘Claws admired my chart and some even asked for a pattern. It simply feels wonderful to have other knitters give such positive feedback to my creative ideas. Thank you.

Three color knitting is quite a lot of fun as well as a challenge. When I first tried this technique I was inspired by a Kaffe Fassett book in which he says something to the effect of just try it! I used a combination of intarsia and stranded color techniques and at one point had 12 different balls of yarn attached to the knitting!

I loved watching my dragon emerge stitch by stitch, row by row. Now the chart is finished and my dragon has come to life. I named her Gwenyth, because it sounded and felt right. I am still working on the rest of the bag and look forward to being able to carry around some of my best work.

Gwenyth would have never been born if it had not been for this group, this exam, and my wonderful house. I am supremely grateful to everyone who sent me encouraging words, advise, and help. I couldn’t have done it without you.