Deathly Hallows Review (Spoilers)

I couldn't go to the midnight showing of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 on Thursday like I had planned because I fractured my left foot a week ago today. I was just getting use to my crutches and I thought it would be safer if I was in a wheelchair, which I didn't get until Friday afternoon. So last night I got to see the movie and it was definitely worth the wait.


After Order of the Phoenix and Half-Blood Prince, I was worried about how close Deathly Hallows would remain to the book, but I was pleasantly surprised. While some things were left out and changed, I think it still remained true to the book.'



I was really happy with the following:

• Hermione erasing her parents' memories was a really emotional scene, I'm glad that it was shown rather than mentioned like in the book. It really shows how much Hermione had to give up in order to help Harry and keep her parents safe.
• The Seven Potters scene was very well done, it went from funny to intense so quickly just like in the book.
• I think Hedwig's death was more emotional in the movie than it was in the book because she died trying to protect Harry from the Death Eaters.
• I loved the scene where George snuck up on Harry and Ginny while they were kissing.
• I loved the little scene on the Hogwarts Express when Neville stands up to the Death Eaters because it shows what is to come in Part 2 when he stands up to the Carrows and takes over Dumbledore's Army.
• The Tale of the Three Brothers was very cool. I wasn't sure how they were going to do it because it would have been boring if Hermione just sat there and read it like in the book, but the animation made it very interesting.
• Harry visiting his parents' graves was very emotional, I got teary eyed at this point.

Overall, I was happy with the movie, but there were still some things that bothered me:

• I thought the film would open with Dumbledore's funeral, but there was no mention of it at all. I was really upset that it was left out because it was such an emotional moment in the Half-Blood Prince book.
• I was upset that Lupin didn't show up at Grimmauld Place after the wedding.
• No Kreacher's Tale
• No reaction to Snape becoming headmaster
• Gryffindor's sword was not missing!

There were some little moments in the books that I wish made it into the movie:

• The moment when Dudley says goodbye to Harry
• I was so happy that the "Holey" line was in there, but I missed the part where George says, "You'll be able to tell us apart now, anyway, mum."

Since this wasn't the midnight showing, I didn't dress up in my Luna costume like I wanted to. I did end up wearing a few Harry Potter knits that I had already made along with my Slytherin shirt and jacket that I got when Half-Blood Prince came out.

I wore my Slytherin House Scarf that I made last year. I used Brown Sheep Nature Spun Worsted in Tornado Teal and Silver Sage.

I also wore Hermione's Cable and Eyelet hat from the Half-Blood Prince movie. I used Cascade 220 Wool in Silver Gray.

I also wore my Trust Snape wristband because Snape is my favorite character and I trusted him since the first book.

"You're just as sane as I am."

Last night I dressed up as Luna Lovegood for Halloween. For a while I thought about dressing up as Hermione Granger, but everyone convinced me to go as Luna. I'm glad I decided to go with Luna because I had fun putting everything together, plus I came up with more ideas for Luna than for Hermione.

I re-used most of my uniform from last Halloween, except for the tie and patch which had to be switched to Ravenclaw. I was going to get a new skirt because the old one wasn't accurate, but I couldn't find another one and I ran out of time to make it myself. I wanted to get new shoes as well because the ones I had have flowers stamped onto them, but then I thought "Luna probably would have flowers on her shoes" so I just decided to wear those.

I made the radish earring using these instructions a couple of months ago. The butterbeer cork necklace is just a cork attatched to a blue ribbon. I wanted to do a double-stranded necklace with blue seed beads like in the movies, but it would have taken too long. I found two covers of The Quibbler on Google and I just printed them out and attachted them to construction paper.

The wand was carved from a wooden dowel rod and the handle was painted with dark brown paint. I spent three days working on it and I am very happy with how it turned out. The only problem was that it wouldn't stay behind my ear.

This is Luna's wand from the films and I think I got pretty close to matching it.

I have decided to go as Luna to the midnight showing of Deathly Hallows because I am nowhere near completing my Hufflepuff cardigan. I may still wear it to Part 2, but there is no way that it is going to be done in time for Part 1. The only thing I will need to make is a Ravenclaw bag to keep everything in and that shouldn't take too long, I just need to get the yarn.

Hermione or Luna for Halloween?

I know I previously posted that I was thinking about dressing up as Alice for Halloween, but that costume is $60 in the stores and, based on the reviews I read online, it is very cheaply made. So now I am thinking of dressing up as a Hogwarts student again in honor of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

Instead of dressing up as a random Hufflepuff student like I did last year, I was thinking about dressing up as one of the characters from the books/movies. I want to dress up as someone that people can easily recognize and I don't have too many options, I can either dress up as Hermione Granger, Ginny Weasley, or Luna Lovegood. My hair isn't red enough for Ginny, so I think it is a choice between Hermione and Luna. While my hair isn't quite light enough for Luna, I think I may be able to pull it off. If people ask, I can blame it on a Transfiguration accident :)

I can re-use most of my uniform from last year, but I will need to change a couple of things. I will have to get either a Gryffindor or Ravenclaw tie and patch, depending on who I decide to dress up as, and I will need to get a new skirt. Since I was planning to make my own skirt for the midnight release of Deathly Hallows, I can just make sure I get it done before Halloween. If I don't get it done in time, I will have to find a new one at a thrift store. I can re-use the sweater and robe that I used last year, I will just have to change the patch on the robe from Hufflepuff to either Gryffindor or Ravenclaw.

If I decide to dress up as Hermione, I have a Time-Turner that I can wear with my uniform. If I knew how to make them, I could also make an S.P.E.W. badge but most people wouldn't get that unless they read the books. I could buy a copy of The Tales of Beedle the Bard. It would be cool if I could figure out how to make Hogwarts: A History or A History of Magic.

If I decide to dress up as Luna, I can wear the earrings that I made a couple of months ago. I need to make a butterbeer cork necklace to wear with them, I just need to find unused corks that don't have writing on them. I can also get a pair of Spectra Specs that I can wear as well. I found a few covers for The Quibbler online, so I can print those out and attach them to old magazines. I can also keep my wand behind my left ear like Luna does in the books.

It's never too early to start thinking about Halloween

This year I plan on dressing up as Alice from Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland. I was hoping that there was going to be a costume based on the blue dress that Alice wears when she falls down the rabbit hole and there is.

I have been thinking about dressing up as Alice for a couple of years now, but I could never find a costume that I liked. They have always been way too short for me, but now I think this year I will finally be able to do it. I just hope I will be able to find this costume in the stores.

Hufflepuff Uniform

Last Halloween I dressed up as a Hufflepuff student and now I plan on dressing up again for the midnight release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Since I threw it together rather quickly for Halloween, I need to change a couple of things before November if I want it to be more accurate to the uniforms seen in the movies. I am putting together the uniform seen in Prisoner of Azkaban to Half-Blood Prince because I like them better than the ones in Sorcerer's Stone and Chamber of Secrets.

Most of my uniform came from thrift shops, such as the robe, sweater, and skirt. The tie and patch both came from eBay and I already had the white shirt and shoes. My "wand" was a wooden knitting needle that I wasn't using.

I can re-use the white shirt and patch for sure, but I would like to find a new tie if I can because the colors of the one I have are more gold and navy blue instead of yellow and black. The colors of the official tie might be more accurate, but I can't be sure since the Gryffindor tie is way off.

I would like to get a robe from Whimsic Alley, but it is a lot to pay for something I am probably only going to wear twice. I can try making one myself, but I have never sewn clothing before. If I need to, I can either re-use the robe I have or not wear one at all. I might decide not to wear it because I will be wearing a long-sleeved shirt as well as a wool cardigan and I don't want to get overheated. If I do decide to wear it, it will probably only be for Part 1 since Part 2 is going to be released in July and it will be too hot to wear it.

The skirt I used for Halloween doesn't fit me anymore and it wasn't entirely accurate. I was thinking about making a skirt using the Starfire Phoenix skirt tutorial, but again I have never sewn clothing before. I like the idea of making the skirt myself because I can never find skirts that fit me and they are never accurate. I would rather make the skirt instead of the robe because it seems easier to do and won't take as long. I'll probably look around for a skirt first, but if I can't find one I will end up making one myself.

I am in the process of making a house cardigan with Paton's Classic Wool in Dark Grey Mix and Brown Sheep Nature Spun Worsted in Impasse Yellow and Pepper. I like the look of the cardigans better than the sweaters and it would be easier to put on and take off. I'm using the Wizard School Cardigan pattern from Hobbie's House of Wizard Wear.

I am also making a house scarf with Brown Sheep Nature Spun Worsted in Impasse Yellow and Pepper. I am probably only going to wear it for Part 1 if I get it done in time. I am using the atypically.knit pattern for the Prisoner of Azkaban scarf.

I can either find a wand on eBay or carve one out of wood by hand, but I think it might be easier just to buy one. Hermione's wand is one of my favorites but I don't know if I want the light-up version or the regular version. I am also thinking about getting Snape's wand because he is one of my favorite characters.

I want to make the HP House Fair Isle Pouch Bag by Quietish using the Hufflepuff chart. This won't take that long to make because my Gryffindor bag (shown above) only took about two weeks to make. I will have to use larger needles because my Gryffindor bag can only hold my wallet and my cell phone.

I don't know if I will be able to get all this knitting done in time for November 19th, but I will do the best I can. I should probably focus on the cardigan and the bag because I am going to need those for sure. My scarf can be a backup project for when I get tired of working on my other projects. I should check out the Harry Potter audio books from the library so I can listen to them while knitting. It is probably the only way I can read the entire series again before Deathly Hallows comes out.

Alice in Wonderland Inspired Gloves

These gloves were inspired by the gloves worn by Alice in the Tim Burton version of Alice in Wonderland. The moment I saw these in the film I knew I had to make a pair for myself.

They are very snug and lightweight, which will be perfect for the fall and early winter. The pattern is very simple and easy to remember. So far I only have two pairs of these gloves completed, but I will be making more in the near future.

This pair was made using Brown Sheep Nature Spun Sport in Aran and Winter Blue. I tried to match the color to the pair worn by Alice in the film and I think I got pretty close.

This is one of the best pictures I could find that show the gloves clearly. I had to watch the movie a couple of times before I could figure out exactly what shade of blue they were, luckily I already had a pretty close shade in my stash so I didn't have to go looking everywhere to find something that matches.

This pair was also made using Brown Sheep Nature Spun Sport in Victorian Pink and Royal Purple. Once I began working on this pair, I realized that I had chosen colors that remind me of the Cheshire Cat from the animated Disney version of Alice in Wonderland.

Right now I am working on a pair that I call my Tim Burton gloves. Black and white stripes always remind me of Tim Burton since they appear in many of his films, so I thought the name was fitting. I am using Brown Sheep Nature Spun Sport in Pepper and Aran. So far I have the first glove completed and 1/4 of the second one done.

The pattern was designed by Tiny Owl Knits.