Common Room Recap February 25-27

This Weekend In The Ravenclaw Common Room:

• Many Ravenclaws spent the weekend OWLing, but here's what happened in the Common Room:
• WeeCorgi thus far refuses to turn.
• Dileas sighting!
• cre8vladyb and son as they went to a banquet.
• Our HeadGirl (as well as our OWL examiner) has a request.
• Cupcakes!!!
• rondaletts is looking for a few good Ravenclaws for a Quidditch challenge.
• Silverwing26 has spun  her very first handspun ever!!
• Pertela has mimosas!!!
• ali123 needs formal dress advice.
• SFCorgi keeps us informed about the knitters elitist oligarchy.

Library of the Week: Biblioteca do Palàcio Nacional da Ajuda Lisboa III, Lisbon, Portugal

Here's a lovely library in Lisbon, Portugal. I'd like to spend the time to find more information about it (everything I see is in Portuguese), but because one of my OWLs is in crisis mode this afternoon, I'll just leave you with this beautiful photo.

Common Room Recap February 21-24

This Week In The Ravenclaw Common Room:

• Our HeadGirl shared a little Dr Whovian story with us.
• Skrewcat has some extended family drama, we wish her and her cousin all the best in a difficult situation.
• TriGirlJ shared an awesome link to a Periodic Table of Fibers.
• Soprano1 had some interesting things to say about music in our culture, and here’s what greenheron added.
• felicitycot finished her amazing blanket!
• Some Stars of Isis here.
• New decoration for the Common Room

Common Room Recap February 18-20

This Weekend In The Ravenclaw Common Room:

• Earlier baby name discussion has moved on to a general name discussion.
• Radar (the dog) video.
• Rromera finished her defense and got a very stylish PHD cap.
• Stars of Isis here
• TriGirlJ’s tattoo is finished...it’s really neat!
• Our HeadGirl can fly!

Library of the Week: Cathedral Library of Kalocsa, Hungary

The town of Kalocsa is located in the western part of Bacs-Kiskun County, about 75 miles from Budapest, Hungary. The Archbishopric of Kalocsa was established by St. Stephen, the founder of the Christian state of Hungary, in 1001.

In 1733 a monastery, in 1765 a college, and in 1768 a printing press was established in the town. In 1782, Archbishop Adam Patachich founded a library by combining his private collection and that of the Bishopric’s, thus establishing the Cathedral Library of Kalocsa (Bibliotheca Metropolitanae Ecclesiae Colocensis). By the second half of the 19th century, the archbishops turned Kalocsa into an educational center of national reputation.

Today one can admire over 130,000 books here, an ever-growing collection of codices and incunabula, scriptures, songbooks, and books on medicine, law, astronomy, and more. The photo shows the reading room of Archbishop Adam Patachich, decorated in beautiful Baroque style, containing many volumes with gilded leather covers. The library’s historical exhibit is also housed in this area.

From the Editor: Teaser Picture, anyone?

Dear Isisonearth, She who seeks the righteousness in her people, see what Peck and I have been doing?

Pardon my messy desk... this is hard work.  Oh, and Bobbilicious? I found your letter.  See it?

Yours truly,

Soprano1, Tower Archivist

Common Room Recap February 14-17

This Week In The Ravenclaw Common Room:

• The post-Hogsmeade weekend reports indicate fun was had in a wide variety of ways and means and the post-holiday daze has set in :)
• Many more fun childhood memories shared in the Tower this week
• Fun with Pi
• Several different Claws with Puppy Pictures!
• The Tower strain of Ysolda Fever continues to propogate.
• Ceiling cat visited xamonster and SadieLou and the Common Room at large.
• Baby naming stratagem were discussed.
• Silverwing26 had a snake incident.

Common Room Recap February 11-13

This Weekend In The Ravenclaw Common Room:

• An eerie almost silence descended on the Common Room Friday morning and lasted much of the weekend...snatches of stifled laughter from around corners...the sound of running feet, great puddles of muddy water tracked in from the grounds...receipt scrolls from dozens of shops scattered about...oh yes Hogsmeade weekend left exhausted but silly happy students all thru Ravenclaw Tower...and here and there in the Common Room we still chatted a bit :)
• Discombobbled babies!
• Ali123 told us about some of her favorite toys as a kid. And others jumped in here and there
• Silverwing26 had a great 30th birthday!

Library of the Week: Kloster Schussenried Bibliotekssaal, Baden-Württemberg, Germany

Schussenried Abbey (Kloster Schussenried) was a monastery in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, founded in 1183. The abbey suffered tremendous damage and losses in the Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648). Many of the monastic buildings were burnt down by the Swedes, and the lands were largely laid waste. But sufficient recovery had been made by the 18th century for comprehensive rebuilding to be undertaken, and the present name Neues Kloster (“new monastery”) refers to the Baroque reconstruction from 1752.

The main attraction of the monastery is the magnificently light-flooded Rococo library hall (Bibliothekssaal) in the center projection of the North Wing. The locked bookcases are arranged in two stories. The ornamentation is among the richest of the 18th century in the German-speaking world. The ceiling fresco completed by Franz Georg Hermann shows in bewildering detail the workings of divine wisdom.

Common Room Recap February 7-10

This Week In The Ravenclaw Common Room:

• xamonster got her beard on!
• skrewkat opined about using her first handspun which led  SFCorgi,  and IsisonEarth to share their first handspun projects.
• Stars of Isis handed out here and here
• MightyGoodYarn has found a new happy place and is definitely doing the happy dance about it :)
• andryl explained what DADA really stands for.
• PorcupineSnuggles gave us some fascinating insights into hand-raising endangered butterflies.
• Danemum has school “drama” going on and we hope all goes well for her!
• Mariacraft’s and SMONK’s yarny packages finally arrived. At first we believed that the packages had not had any inappropriate contact with one another (or Yaz’s yarn package) while in postal limbo. But it appears we were wrong!
• There is a kerfuffle in a crockpot about Fwooper spinning and its impacts on the base population. HoH says this is a product of molting (humanely gathered no doubt) and that no Fwooper was harmed.
• SarahTheEntwife shared an amusing email and GazeboGal and soprano1 both ran with it.
• Picture of the Hypertwins!
• Toppington has thrown his hat.....errrr tail...into the running as next Ravenclaw Head of House. He has buttons and everything. NNS has taken this under advisement.

In the Interim

So I was exploring the common room yesterday, you know as you do. When I discovered a set of stairs I hadn’t realised were there before. Giving a quick look round the room I noticed nobody else was really paying me any mind, so I went on up.

The stairs were old and slightly rickety and the polished wood had the tell tale signs that this path had been taken many many times before.

At the top of the stairs was a large polished oak door. I gave a tentative knock and was greeted with a cheery voice.

“Come on in! Door’s open!”

The room was large, light, airy and a slight triangular shape. On the wall were large posters of various Ravenclaw emblems as well as pictures of extremely cute lurchers! On the large desk was a mixture of knitting projects, with various scraps of paper and forms all in neat piles. A rather modern and brightly coloured tea set , sat next to a plate of shortbread cookies, beside a couple of very comfortable and squishy looking chairs.

I took a seat and a few seconds later SadieLou, Ravenclaw Head Girl appeared carrying two large tubs of ice cream.

Giving me a smile she offered me the yummy strawberry flavoured one, sat down on the other seat, picked up her knitting and gave a little laugh.

“You had no idea this room was up here did you? Convinently placed between the chimneys in the tower, this room is lovely and toasty in the winter and cool and wonderful in the summer!”

She gave me a small wink.

“One of the perks of being Head Girl you know. If you’re good, I’ll tell you about the secret passage! Now I believe you had some questions for me?”

Hello My Name is…. Sadielou, Sadie, SarahLouise or SL - it depends who I’m talking to!

My Job within the house cup is… Head Girl of Ravenclaw House and OWL examiner for the House Cup - this term I am examining the Gryffindors and they’re doing a fantastic job so far!

My favourite colour is… blue or silver (but that’s really predictable isn’t it?!) apart from when we’re talking about Ravenclaw, and then it’s blue and bronze. :)

My favourite yarn is… Hmmm. I don’t know that I have a favourite yarn… I’ve just finished something in Malabrigo and I’ve fallen in love with it, but actually I think my favourite to knit with so far has been the Shilasdair Aran I used for my Hawthorne shawl - I just adored the colour, feel and fabric it created!

The Project I have completed which I am most proud of this month is… This month I’m pretty darn pleased with the hat I test knit for Inkslinger1121, it’s inspired by the hat Hermione wears in Deathly Hallows (pt 1) in the Graveyard Scene. It’s a wonderful pattern and I cannot stop gushing about it!


If I ruled the world… Owl post would be real, all rescue dogs would have families who loved them, I would have an unlimited yarn budget and a new house in which I would have a craft room to store all my crafting supplies, spinning wheel and comfy chair. Oh, and I would teach everyone to knit, and therefore would achieve world piece because everyone would be much less stressed.

My favourite ice cream… is Mackies Honeycomb, or possibly Ben and Jerry’s Half Baked. :)

Chocolate or Sweets? You mean I can’t have both? Sweets then. Fruit Pastilles to be precise. Or cookies.

Tea or coffee? Tea, Nambarrie with milk and no sugar, thankyaverymuch!

If I were an animal, I’d be a… lurcher, just to be thin and leggy and be able to run veryveryveryfast. And to play lurcher games which involve Raaaarface and Tagyou’reiti’mgonnaeatyounoi’mnothahahahai’mfasterthanyou.

My favourite Ravelry craft is… knitting, though I love learning to spin!

My favourite thing about the house cup is… The people from all over the world that I learn from and about in a million different ways.

My favourite thing about my house is… Um, everything? How I can ask any question about anything at all in life and get a well-reasoned and logical answer. Everything from recipes or chemistry to reading or running… I think we should have our own website: Ask-a-Ravenclaw-apedia.

If I could live in Harry Potters World for one day I would… Go to Hogsmeade and visit all the wizardly businesses, and then go to Diagon Alley via Floo powder for the ultimate shopping day! How coincidental that I’ll be able to visit Hogsmeade this weekend right here in the House Cup!





There you have it ‘Claws! A comprehensive guide to our lovely, talented and wonderful Ravenclaw Head Girl. Aren’t we so lucky to have her?! :)

Now...if there are no objections. I’m going to sit here finish my ice cream and see if I can get Sadie Lou to teach me how to knit! And then maybe...you know, see if I can find that secret passage she was talking about....

Get to Know the Firsties! - Week of 2/7/2011

We're back again this week to introduce two more of our first-year Ravenclaws: hybridhopes and Brandea!!

First up, hybridhopes!

Preferred Ravelry Craft? knit and crochet

Favorite Harry Potter Character? Luna Lovegood


If you weren't a 'Claw, what house would you be in? Gryffindor

Favorite non-Harry Potter Book? The Wheel of Time series.  I can't stop until I've finished them all!


Best Ravenclaw Moment?  My husband and I got back from a board game night.  But not Apples to Apples type games, more like Arkham Horror and Agricola.  This year, we're also going to GenCon - our second year and hopefully not our last. (Have fun!!)

Non-Ravelry Hobbies? reading, jogging, dancing, chicken raising, gardening


hybridhopes made this great Cthulu dice bag in January!  I love it!! Perfect for Call of Cthulu game nights.

Next up, we have Brandea!!! (pronounced Bran-dee)


Preferred Ravelry Craft? knit

Favorite Harry Potter Character? It's tough to pick one.  I like Hermione for her smarts and balanced nature, Luna Lovegood for her quirks and other-worldliness, and Ron because he's handsome and genuine


If you weren't a 'Claw, what house would you be in? Slytherin

Favorite non-Harry Potter Book? The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami.  I was hooked from the first page and highly recommend everyone checking this book out.


Best Ravenclaw Moment? My mom said that I used to give my stuffed animals lessons when I was little.  In high school, I would get on the city bus 2 hours early to get to the high school I wanted to go to.  I taught myself to knit.  I'm ambitious, a critical thinker, and I love learning!

Non-Ravelry Hobbies? reading, learning, walking my dog, making collages, baking cookies, and art journaling.


Other things we should know about you? I'm left handed.  I was born in my town and have lived here my entire life.  I will not eat ANY condiments whatsoever.  My first crush when I was little was David Bowie in Labyrinth.

Brandea made this great hat in January.  I love it!  Where can I get the owl fabric in the background?

Class Ideas Spotlight - February

This month for Class Ideas Spotlight I will be focusing on smaller projects. These are things to whip up in a couple of hours when you realize that you haven't made anything for a class yet because you've been furiously knitting away on your OWL.

History of Magic
Let's get our candy on! Mmm. I'm sure your professors haven't tried all of the candies available at Honeydukes, so perhaps you can make up your own magical candy creation...

Cupcakes!

Or a cupcake representation:

These could be Fire, Sunshine, and Ice drops...  Or some other candy in other colors...

Any or several of these pieces from a Box of Chocolates could turn out to have interesting properties...

 

Charms
Knit something inspired by a song or piece of music.

How about the Ravenclaw Song of Socks and Squids as inspiration? This goes along with the HoH challenge too!

This little octopus can be attached applique style to a variety of project ideas.

For the dishcloth prone.

A super quick crocheted music bookmark. Inspired by your favorite song about books?

Common Room Recap February 4-6

This Weekend In The Ravenclaw Common Room:

• There was a salmon recipe.
• TriGirlJ started an amusing discussion about the pronunciation of place names, that went all over the place, and into other names.
• HoH spun some lovely yarn!
• Some fondue experiments may be forthcoming!
• MightyGoodYarn got a bust dart tutorial from SFCorgi complete with illustrations, it was appreciated!
• So what sound does a gazelle make anyway?
• Jayannell had an impressive laundry incident.
• A slice of Packers cake.

Library of the Week: Amelia S. Givin Free Library, Mount Holly Springs, Pennsylvania

I’m in the mood for a cozy reading room this week. Let’s find a chair by one of the windows and settle in with a novel. Our library of the week is an architectural jewel.

One of the finest examples of the Richardsonian Romanesque architecture is the Amelia S. Givin Free Library in Mt. Holly Springs, Pennsylvania. The architect was James T. Steen from Pittsburgh; he was a prominent architect who also designed the old Western Pennsylvania University (now University of Pittsburgh). The original building was built in 1889 of brown limestone quarried from nearby Hummelstown, Pennsylvania. The interior contains examples of Moorish fretwork woodwork done by Moses Ransom of Cleveland, Ohio.

In addition to the lovely woodwork, there is an intricately tiled fireplace, semicircular arched windows, and a circular reading room. The building has been expanded, adding greatly to the size available for the library's book collection. The library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on August 11, 2004.

Weekly Candles

This week in the tower, we lit short-term candles for:


AshleyTree (post 41) 
Soprano1 (post 51) 
Topperarnold (for her daughter, Post 57) 




We also had new Long-term candle requests for:


The Tower and Isisonearth! (post 48) 
Folk’s friend L and her son J, Light for strength, wisdom, and a positive outcome from a bad situation. (post 50) 
Egypt (because of current political turmoil) (post 52 for an explanation and eloquent wish) 
Greenegirl’s grandfather (in care for a heart attack) (post 55) 
Folk’s friend Mike (had a heart attack) (post 61) 
Boppingbeth’s sister J (lost second baby in 3 months) (post 67) 
Boppingbeth’s friend G (having troubles in school with adult bullies) (post 67) 
BrineyDeep’s three sisters (marital and other troubles) (post 69) 
Queensland, Australia (from Nevelyn and Greenheron--Queensland is suffering terrible flooding, and now added cyclone damage. Posts 76 and 78) 
Dreamerknits’s daughter’s school, which will be closed next year. (Post 79) 
Benningsm, going through financial troubles. (Post 80) 
Sparksearcher, for snow relief for those who need it (post 106)