Sunday, June 21, 2020

Harry Learns to Play Quidditch



In the "Sorcerer's Stone", Harry is chosen to be Seeker for the Gryffindor Quidditch team. For those of you who STILL haven't read Harry Potter, Quidditch is the preferred sport of the Wizarding World. Below, in the movie, Harry meets with Oliver Wood at the Quidditch Pitch to learn the rules, and how to play the game. 


 
For this scene, Harry wears a Navy sweater and dark gray or putty colored corduroy trousers. Well, naturally, my Harry felt he needed a similar outfit, and fortunately, he had something similar ready to hand. 

At the the Portland, Maine Festival in 2007, we received a pair of cords, along with a hand knitted sweater, as part of our souvenirs. Mine were more tan than putty, but Harry didn't seem to mind. I purchased a navy sweater with cables in the sales room that year, which Harry confiscated after he joined my Sasha family in 2009. He says he can make do with the tan cords until I can find some gray or putty colored corduroy to make him a proper pair. Decent of him. 

Back in 2016, Running Press issued a collectible Quidditch trunk set, a must have for any die-hard Harry Potter fan. Naturally, I ordered one. It contains a removable quaffle, and two bludgers, plus a non-removable golden snitch, affixed to the inside of the lid. I was disappointed to find that there were no bats for the beaters included, but fortunately, I was able to make them, using instructions from The American Girl Ideas BlogspotThere are a lot of great ideas, instructions, and printable on this website that work well for Sasha and Gregor, as well as the American Girl dolls. But I digress...

 

Below is a photo of Harry, having a look into the Quidditch trunk, and wondering where the beater's bats could have disappeared to. Undoubtedly the work of those pranksters, Fred and George Weasley!







Monday, March 23, 2020

Harry's Hogwarts Pajamas and Bathrobe



This past fall, I finally got around to sewing up a couple of things that I've had in the works for a while, Harry's gray striped pajamas, and his dark gray Hogwarts bathrobe. In the movie, Harry's pajamas are a pale blue striped pattern, with the stripes in varied widths, as seen below, in the hospital scene from "The Sorcerer's Stone" movie.




Since it's often difficult to find the exact fabric you need in a scale that fits the doll you are working with, sometimes you just have to do the best you can with what you are able to find. I found a decent  scale cotton fabric online a couple of years ago, with medium toned 1/4 inch gray and white stripes. Since gray is the Hogwarts school color, I thought that the gray stripes would be appropriate. The pajama pattern is from the "Sasha Dolls: Clothing and Patterns" book, by Ann Chandler, Anne Votaw, and Susanna Lewis. The pajamas were fun to make and Harry is relieved that he no longer has to sleep in his underwear, as there are numerous Sasha girls wandering around the doll room!




I made Harry's shawl collared bathrobe from a charcoal gray herringbone flannel and trimmed it with scarlett piping around the front edges. The pattern is a shorter version of the "Bathrobe and Booties" pattern by Phyllis Goedeke, that was printed in the Winter, 2000 issue of "Friends of Sasha" newsletter, which may, (or may not,) still be available from Dorisanne Osborn. I don't recall ever seeing Harry wear a bathrobe in the movies, but he is mentioned as having worn one in the Christmas morning scene in “The Sorcerer’s Stone,” (*Chapter 12) In any case, Hogwarts is often chilly, so my Harry wanted one to help keep him toasty. (Now he needs some slippers!)




Ron is a tiny bit jealous, as he often is, since he is still sleeping in shorts and a t-shirt, and has a borrowed robe. Then again, Ron is used to making do with hand-me-downs, so he is not overly fussed about it. 



"Well," he says comfortably, "Just so long as I get my school uniform before next term starts!" I am currently working on souvenirs for the 2020 Festival, and making face masks for my daughter, (an LPN who works at a nursing home,) and her friends. "We'll just have to see how that goes, Ron...poor Harry waited several years for his uniform."

"Oh, no..." moans Ron. "And I've only been here a couple of months. I'm doomed!"

"You're doomed," Harry agrees. A fat lot of comfort he is!


*FootNote:
 “Merry Christmas,” said Ron sleepily as Harry scrambled out of bed and pulled on his bathrobe”

Excerpt From
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
J.K. Rowling
This material may be protected by copyright.


Harry Learns to Play Quidditch

In the "Sorcerer's Stone", Harry is chosen to be Seeker for the Gryffindor Quidditch team. For those of you who STILL haven...