Throwback Thursday

September 2012 ~ HPKCHC ~ Fall 2012 Term - B6 Year

The Beginning of The End

The Harry Potter Knit/Crochet House Cup... it all began in September of 2008.  There were only about 20 students per house during that first term.  Eight calendar years later and it is still going strong with about 175 students per house.  It has grown so much that an enrollment cap had to be instituted.  There are now Students on Sabbatical and NQFYs (Not Quite First Years).

I have been involved since the beginning of House Cup time.  I have spent terms as just a student.  I have spent terms as part of Slytherin staff and House Cup staff.  And during all that time, I have only had one break term.  I am the last Slytherin from term 1.  Many things have happened since then.  A lot of good.  And some bad.

And now my time in the Cup is coming to an end.  Officially I have 3 terms left before I retire and hang up the wand.  I still enjoy it but it's just time to move on.  The only thing that is certain is that my House Cup time will end in the house it began... Slytherin in Fall 2017.  The other two terms (Winter 2017 and Spring 2017) have not been decided on.  But no matter which House I end up for next term, I am already prepared with a ravatar.

Sorting Winter 2017

Winter 2017 ~ D5 term

Let the sorting process begin.

January Summary

The first month of the Winter term was highly successful class wise. For the first time in I don't know how long I managed to complete 6 classes. The only thing I am required to do was complete one class project to maintain my priority sorting status. Well, I kinda went a bit crazy. But that's okay since I'm not doing any Advanced Studies projects this term. I'm going to slowly ease my way back into things since last year was a complete lack of focus craft wise for me. Hopefully this month's focus continues for another two months. Maybe then I'll consider doing Advanced Studies in the Spring term (May to July).

First up is a black dragon egg inspired by the HBO show "Game of Thrones"... which is in turn inspired by the book series with the same name.  I still have one more egg to crochet and then I'll have a complete set.  Then I'll find some sort of container to put the eggs in.

Next up... baseball mitts in the colours of the New York Mets. The yarn and pattern was gifted to me during a Slytherin swap.  I ended up going down one needle size to achieve gauge.  I  also changed the lace pattern on the right mitt so the laces would mirror each other.  It wasn't that difficult.  I just had to pay attention.

Item number 3 is a crocheted hat that will be gifted to someone special.  She doesn't know it yet as it's a surprise.  I may be adding a patch to it but it hasn't been ordered yet.  This was a new pattern to me but it was written pretty well and soon I was able to crochet away without looking at the pattern much.  I could totally see myself crocheting a few of these to sell.  The designer has no problem with this but just requests that some mention be made that it's her design and a link to her page.

I have been wanting to knit this cabled scarf ever since I saw it on Doctor Who.  Amy Pond wears it during the episode "The Pandorica Opens".  It's knit with bulky yarn on large needles so it went fairly quickly.  The only thing that slowed me down was the cable rows.  I actually had to use a cable needle.  I do plan on making her gloves as well.

For the most part only Ravelry crafts (knitting, crochet, weaving, spinning, and dyeing yarn) are acceptable.  But sometimes the classes are setup for other crafts.  So for one class I made was a sewn project bag.  I still need to work on my zipper sewing skills but this one came out fairly well.  It's large enough to hold a cake of sock yarn.  This looks like another project I can make for sale since it doesn't take long to sew up.  If you don't have a Facebook account then just leave her a message and she will email the pattern to you.  That's how I got it.

And last but not least... this hat was knitted during the last few days of the month.  It went fairly quickly for fair isle knitting and I probably could have done it in a day if I had started earlier and there were fewer distractions.  I will be knitting one similar to this one but in different colours soon.  I already have it charted out and just have to start it.

So, yes, it's been a productive month craft wise.  I've already looked at the class prompts for February and have a few ideas brewing in the noggin.  So until next time...

Wordless Wednesday

Coming Soon...

Harry Potter Knit/Crochet House Cup

Spring 2014

It's the return of the Race Car Driver.

WIP Wednesday

NEWT Progress:

Evenstar equals NEWT

How did the month of April begin for me?  Other than getting a tetanus shot at the doctor's office, it started with proposing an epic lace knit for the Harry Potter Knit/Crochet House Cup on Ravelry.  Why?  Because I can...  And what will this epic piece of lace and beads look like when complete?

Like this... but grey with green beads.  Because... Slytherin, of course.

Name: GirlyWithATwist
House: Slytherin
Year: M4
NEWT (subjects and option number): Charms 1 - 1,000+ yards in a lace pattern/Ancient Runes 1- intricate charts
Completed OWLs: All 12

Subjects: Explain which subject areas (OWLs) are being explored and how they relate to each other.

For my second NEWT, I wish to attempt the Evenstar shawl. It is a full-sized round lace shawl that is knit with over 1000 yards of laceweight yarn. It also uses approximately 3000 beads on the outside edge. The pattern is comprised of four different charts that utilize 18 different symbols.

Project/Pattern(s): Evenstar

Materials:
2 skeins of Knit Picks Bare - Merino Wool Lace Weight that I dyed myself. Total yardage is 1760 yards.
Size 6 beads. Each container contains approximately 480 beads for a total of approximately 3360 beads.

Schedule:
Evenstar Spreadsheet… for tracking.

50% on round 152; 44,388 stitches
75% on round 188; 66,582 stitches
final 100% - all done - 88,776 stitches

Astronomy OWL

The Sun in SoftnShiny Twilight Fingering Sock Yarn “Laser Screwdriver” with US size 1 1/2 (2.50 mm)

Venus in Supernatural Yarns Siren Sock “Expecto Patronum” with US 1 (2.25 mm)

The Moon in SoftnShiny Midnight Sun Fingering Sock Yarn “She’s Stardust” with US size 1 1/2 (2.50 mm)

Neptune in SoftnShiny Midnight Sun Fingering Sock Yarn “Yellowknife Sky” with US size 0 (2.00 mm)

And with that… the checkered flags will fly!!!

Sock-it-to-me Sunday

Pattern: Firestarter

Yarn: SoftnShiny Twilight Fingering Sock Yarn “Laser Screwdriver” 

 Needles: US size 1 1/5 (2.50mm) DPNs

Pattern:Chimaera

Yarn: Supernatural Yarns Siren Sock “Expecto Patronum”

Needles: US size 1 (2.25mm) DPNs

Order of the Phoenix - Winter 2013

So here are the notes of the mission in its entirety...

January 2nd

“Good morning sleeping beauty.” The Crew Chief tried to gently wake up the sleeping witch knowing that she can get really cranky first thing in the morning. “I brought coffee.”

“It’s too early.” The sleeping figure just rolled over and growled. “Wait… what time is it?”

“It’s 8 in the morning… so wake up sleepy head and drink your coffee.”

She growled one more time before finally sitting up and accepting the coffee. “Have you seen Jeff around lately? I didn't see him yesterday and then got caught up in the whole beginning-of-term fun.”

“He mentioned something about a trip to Charlotte.”

“Charlotte, North Carolina? That boy’s timing needs some work. The new term has barely begun and he has already run off.” She sighed to her self and took another sip of coffee. “So what’s on the schedule for today?”

“That would be class projects.”

“What about the Order request planning?”

“Ummmm….” The Crew Chief just gave her a look and tried to figure out what to say next. ”I’m under strict orders not to plan anything for the Order project.”

“What?!? Are you kidding me? I thought he got over the whole Dark Forest incident.”

“Well, apparently not.”

“Oh for crying out loud. Did he mention when he was coming back?”

“Not to me.”

“Well then… his little Virginia rear end better be back in time or I will plan one without him. But until then… we look at class prompts.”

January 5th

The Crew Chief stood there in the common room and looked through his notes for the current term. Who knew knitting and crocheting required so much planning? It almost reminded him of all the planning he had to put in during the Nascar season. He took a look around the common room to locate his little witch… well Burton’s little witch but Burton wasn't here at the moment so he considered her to be all his until the return of that race car driver. He was just about to walk over to her when he felt a slight tug at his pants. Standing right in front of him was a house elf clutching what looked like a letter.

“Yes?” He gave the house elf a polite but questioning look.

“Excuse me, Mr. Knaus, but I have a letter for Ms. Girly and I was wondering…” The house elf looked a bit nervous.

“You were wondering if I would deliver if for you?” The house elf nodded his head up and down. “I don’t blame you for not wanting to go near her right now. She’s been a bit cranky these past few days. Of course I will deliver it for you. I can handle her cranky moods.”

“Oh, thank you!” The house elf handed the letter over to the Crew Chief and ran off in a cheery mood.

“Hey sweet cheeks…”

She just sighed at him and gave him a “what now????” look.

“Don’t be so grumpy. He’s only been gone a few days and just think we got to spend lots of time together.” He flashed her that boyish grin that he knows works so well. “Don’t make me tickle you.”

She flashed a tiny smile.

“Well, it’s a start. Oh and this letter is for you. One of the house elves gave it to me… too scared to come deliver in person no doubt… can’t imagine why.”

“Give me that… little turd. Have a seat.” She pointed to a spot next to her and then curled up next to him. “Hey, it’s from Jeff. I’m not even going to ask how he managed to pull this one off.”

Girly,

I have the most amazing idea for your Order project this term. I was checking out my new car for the upcoming season and the idea just popped into my head. It did take me a few days to get the colors needed for this project so I hope Knaus didn’t drive you too crazy in my absence. We both know how he can get when he gets in planning mode.

“What?!? What’s he trying to imply?!?” Chad asked with a slight annoyance in his voice.

“Simply that you have a tendency to get really intense when in ‘planning mode’ and we both know that it is true.”

The Crew Chief just growled in response.

“Don’t growl… that’s my job.”

I have picked up enough fingering weight yarn in colors inspired by my race car. You should be able to recognize the colors assuming Knaus hasn't blinded you with those Lowe's colors.

Chad just mumbled to himself… “Nothing wrong with those Lowe's colors…” Girly just ignored the getting-more-agitated-by-the-moment Crew Chief and continued reading.

Now let me make this perfectly clear missy. You will NOT be going into the Dark Forest this term. No, it is not up for negotiation. Don’t think I’ve forgotten that whole incident from last term. I want you safe this term. I will see you tomorrow and we can plan out what you are doing for the Order this term. By the time I get back you should already have some idea of what the missions are going to be like. So be ready to talk about them and I may even let Knaus help.

Until then…

Jeff

“I wonder which paint scheme he is talking about… hmmm… now I am kinda curious about what he is planning.”

“Pfffttt… still nothing wrong with those Lowe's colors”, replied a very grumpy Chad.

She looked at the highly agitated Crew Chief and smiled. “Don’t be so grumpy. That’s my job too.”

January 7th

Chad Knaus was extremely flustered… and annoyed. He was annoyed because a certain race car driver was a day late in returning which left his little witch in a very depressed mood. He was flustered because he had yet to find a way to cheer her up. And at the moment he was having a very difficult time trying to convince her to go to sleep since she had managed to pick up a cold from somewhere.

“But I’m not tired.” She informed him in a very pouty voice that did not convince him one little bit.

“Well, lay down anyway and get comfy. I’ll sit here with you.”

“But what if I fall asleep before Jeff gets back?”

“Then I’ll wake you up… now shush.”

“Okay…” she replied in a sleepy voice. Moments later she was fast asleep. The minutes passed by as he silently watched her sleep. That boy better have a good reason on why he is so late returning. Chad really didn't like seeing her in such a condition. A few more moments passed and he heard the door opening quietly behind him. He just sighed to himself before turning around to see Jeff entering the bedchambers. Jeff quietly closed the door behind him and placed a small bag on the nearby night stand. Stay calm, Chad… he thought to himself. Now is not the time to start yelling since she was sleeping peacefully.

He walked over to the race car driver and amazed himself at how calm he was staying. “You are late.”

“I know I said I’d be here yesterday but I had another idea and it took me longer than I thought…” Jeff paused for a moment but before he could continue he was interrupted.

“I don’t want to hear it. That poor girl has been highly upset these past two days and it is all your fault. Plus she has also managed to catch a cold so I am NOT waking her up right now. So you better be ready to apologize to her in the morning.”

“Alright… alright… I get it. I screwed up.” Dang, someone has got his panties in a wad, Jeff thought to himself. He just glanced over at the sleeping witch and wanted to wake her up but was smart enough to realize that Knaus was not in the mood to be messed with. So he just waited patiently for the Crew Chief to continue.

“And as far as her Order mission is concerned. How dare you tell her what she can and can not do. You are NOT the boss of her. She wants to go undercover at Hogsmeade so I suggest you agree to whatever store she has picked out… something about a sporting goods store.”

“Fine… fine… I’ll agree to whatever she has picked out. Anything else I should know?”

“One last thing… there is NOTHING wrong with those Lowe's colors.”

BROOM

Name (RavID): GirlyWithATwist
House: Slytherin
Mission Division: Security Operations: Open your ears in Hogsmeade

Dear Mission Chief GazeboGal:

I have come across a most awesome shop in Hogsmeade. It is a named Spintwitches and apparently sells sporting goods. This shop would be perfect for me to catch any rumours that may be flying around. Nobody should question why I am working in this particular store since it is a well known fact that I adore the muggle sport of car racing. The Race Car Driver has given me some lovely fingering weight yarn in colours that have been inspired by one of his race cars. I intend to use at least 800 yards to produce a scarf and a coordinating pair of fingerless mitts. And the best part about it… he was totally on board with my idea. ::lets out a totally un-Slytherin squee::

I shall wait patiently for your reply.  Until then... GirlyWithATwist

Name (RavID): GirlyWithATwist
House: Slytherin
Mission Division: Security Operations: Open your ears in Hogsmeade
Project Pages: RCD Spectra and Veyla
Total yardage: ~ 808.5 yards

“Chad… Are you awake?” Girly whispered in the darkness to get her crew chief’s attention.

“Yes… what about Burton? Are you sure he isn't going to wake up?”

“Of course I’m sure. Are you doubting my potion making skills? He won’t be waking up until the morning. Now come on… we can talk somewhere else.” She started to move silently through the bedchambers to the door motioning for Chad to follow her. The two slipped out of the room and into the Slytherin common room. She looked around the room until she found what she was looking for… a quiet spot to talk.

The two got cozy on a rather larger pillow on the floor and Chad pulled out the binder for her to write down notes for her mission report.

“I can’t believe you practically drugged Burton.”

“It was just a simple sleeping potion. Honestly Chad, it won’t hurt him. Besides he needed a good night’s sleep anyway. I still don’t know how you manage to thrive on so little sleep Mr. ‘I've seen 6:48 three times so far and haven’t been to sleep yet’.” She just shook her head at the Crew Chief.

“I drink lots of coffee. Now start your notes. We don’t have all night.”

A few moments passed as she frantically wrote what she had overheard at the sporting goods store in Hogsmeade. Wolves… actual wolves or animangi?!?!? Now that was the question.

“Wait… wolves?”

“Yeah, it was a bit weird. At first I thought maybe they were just talking about sports mascots but then they would get all nervous and look around to see if anyone was listening. And that would be just plain silly if it was something as innocent as a sports mascot.” She paused for a few seconds before continuing. “It would be the perfect animal to use since people are normally a little scared to go near a wolf. So no one would get close enough to see if it was just an actual animal. They could just stay in the shadows and listen. Wolves do have a really good sense of hearing.”

Chad just shook his head in response and placed his head on her lap. “Sooooo….”, said a sleepy voice… “Did you finish those items with the yarn Burton brought over for you.”

“Yes, yes I did and they both came out totally awesome!!! I made the scarf a little longer than the pattern called for which was a good idea since I barely got over the minimum yardage I proposed of 800 yards… I ended up using about 808.5 yards. And the mitts fit!!! I think the checkered flag buttons were a nice touch.”

“That’s nice… still think they would have looked good in Lowe's colors.” It didn't take long and soon she had a sleeping crew chief using her lap as a pillow.

Silly boy… looks like that lack of sleep has finally caught up. She just sat there in silence working on her notes while stroking his hair. But not even that could keep the haunting image out of her head… that of a light grey wolf with striking blue eyes staring right at her like it knew her.

Little Red Gryffindor

Name: GirlyWithATwist
House: Ravenclaw
Category: Wrock

Inspired by:

To the theme of: Little Red Riding Hood by Sam The Sham & The Pharaohs



Little Red Gryffindor

Hiiiiisssss

Who's that I see walkin' out towards the pitch
Why, it's a Little Red Gryffindor
Hey there Little Red Gryffindor
You sure are looking good
You're everything a Slytherin could want

Listen to me

Little Red Gryffindor
I don't think that a Keeper should
Go walking out to the pitch alone

Hiiiiisssss

What big eyes you have
Those brown eyes just drive Snakes mad
So just to see that you don't get chased
I think I ought to walk with you for a ways
What a nice broom you have
It's sure to fly wicked fast
I sure hope that it flies real well
So you don't get hit with a bludger today

I'm gonna keep fingers crossed
All throughout today's Quidditch match
Until I'm sure that you get through okay

Hiiiiisssss

Little Red Gryffindor
I'd like to hold you if I could
But you might think I'm a big bad Snake so I won't

Hiiiiisssss!

What a big heart I have
The better to love you with
Little Red Gryffindor
Even bad Snakes can be good
I'll try to keep satisfied
Just to walk close by your side
Maybe you'll see things my way
Before we get to the pitch today

Little Red Gryffindor
You sure are looking good
You're everything a Slytherin could want

Hiiiiisssss

I mean baaaaa ...  baaaaa... baaaaa...

The Mrs. Lovegood Memorial Mad Scientist Prize

The Mrs. Lovegood Memorial Mad Scientist Prize is highly sought after within the House of Ravenclaw. It is named after a character in the Harry Potter series. Mrs. Lovegood was a very talented witch who liked to experiment with spells. One day a spell went horribly wrong and she died in front of both her husband and her only child Luna.  So this award was created to reward those Ravenclaws who dared to venture out of their comfort zone and attempt the daring in their crafting.

During the Fall 2013 term of the Harry Potter Knitting/Crochet House Cup, I left my home of Slytherin for a term abroad in Ravenclaw.  My Herbology OWL for the term was to be a heavily cabled seamed sweater which was a first for me.  Well, I was happily knitting along when I noticed that my cables didn't quite look right.  So I compared them to the cables in my little swatch and that is when I discovered that some of the cables were traveling the wrong direction.  Of course the easy thing to do was blame a certain Illinois Crew Chief for being so distracting but even he wouldn't believe that excuse and would just tell me that it was my lack of focus that caused the miss-directing cables.  He would be right.

So there were a few options I could have gone with in this situation.  The first was to just ignore the miss-directing cables and call my mistake "a design element".  As in "I totally meant to do it that way".  But it would have bugged the crap out of me every single time I looked at those cables.  If I am going to spend hours and hours knitting a sweater then I want to be happy with the results.  Ignoring the problem and calling it a "design element" was not the answer.

The next option was just to frog (or completely undo) the knitting all the way back so I can correct the mistake.  I wasn't quite ready to do that option.  So I did the next best thing and just concentrated on the section with the mistakes.  And here is the result... a 29 stitch cable section dropped back 48 rows and looking like a massive amount of yarn spaghetti.  Not every knitter is capable of doing this feat.  It requires a great amount of patience.  But as far I was concerned, it had to be done.  So I just took it one stitch at a time and one row at a time.

And finally after about 1 1/2 to 2 hours... I was rewarded with cables going in the right direction.  It was totally worth the time to fix.  This incident reminded me to stay focused.  I really didn't want to have to do it again.

I am pleased to say that the sweater was completed in time (it had a 3 month deadline).  It does fit perfectly and I am thinking that I need one in blue.  I haven't picked the shade out yet.

And that award I was talking about.  Well, here it is.  So yes, it is possible for a visiting Slytherin to win a totally awesome Ravenclaw award.  I am still quite proud of it.

Order of the Phoenix

House Cuppers might find this amusing... I don't think she believes Chad. But it's true... that boy is always up to something.

Wordless Wednesday

Better be Slytherin!

Well, another Sorting Day for the Harry Potter Knit/Crochet Ravelry group has happened and I am once again in Slytherin.  While I did have great fun spending a term in Gryffindor, the heart was still wrapped in green and silver.  You can take the girl out of Slytherin, but you can't take Slytherin out of the girl.  Plotting has already begun with plans for a Potions OWL and an Order of the Phoenix project.  Although we don't know the prompts yet for the Order, I have already picked a project.  I'll just have to make it fit with some fancy story telling.  It's all about selling the project.  Oh, and I have been chosen as a Slytherin Quest Minion this term.  So I am back on Slytherin staff.  Yes, I am looking forward to an awesome Slytherific term.

Spring 2012: Which House?

Gryffindor vs. Ravenclaw

Badges are cool

HPKCHC March 2012

Quidditch Cheer Day