Common Room Recap September 24-27

This Week in Ravenclaw

• The Sea-Beastie family in the SMONK household.
• Awwwww TriBaby!
• Wedding shawl! yay for the knitworthy!
• Milestone posts and kitties!
• Drusilla has had house drama, mostly resolved now.
• Some interesting HP news.
• The Island of Yap...really.
• Gingerbread architecture family style :)

 

Quidditch Game 1: Completed!

Game 1 was all about relating to the letter(s) R, G, S, H or N, and Ravenclaws did not disappoint -- to the gallery!

AriadneWebb crocheted a beautiful snowflake:

Overachiever Peacock scores a goal with some grey mitts...

Red robin twinsies from flamingandromeda and Secrettrail!  Golden Snitch twinsies from Lyonette and Soprano1!

This stellated dodecahedron was crocheted from self-striping sock yarn by Hypercycloid...

And now for some nifty, helpful, rather silly graphs!

Hufflepuff went letter-crazy this time around, so the rest of us got thoroughly trounced -- gratz to the Puffs!

There were more NQFYs participating on the pitch -- future Ravenclaws, mayhaps?


63% Ravenclaw participation!!  SOAR!!



NEXT UP: Challenge 2
Sports Nutrition: September 30 - October 6
Crafters can whip up something food-related and launch it at someone from another House for an epic food fight!

• Knitters/Crocheters can make a cozy for any kind of food/beverage OR make a replica of any kind of food/beverage OR make something with icons of food/beverages on it
• Dyers can dye a yarn with food-based colorants (Koolaid, Wiltons’ cake colors, coffee/tea, etc.); finished yarn has to be skeined before being “thrown”
• Spinners can spin a food-colored yarn; sell it! Spun yarn has to be off bobbin before being “thrown”
• Weavers can weave something that is either used to encase a food object OR is connected to food/beverages in some way OR has icons of food/beverages on it

The planning has started! Check out the Tower Quidditch thread tomorrow to get lists of quick patterns and dying tutorials.

Classwork Showcase: Week of 9/24

Let us take a look at some of the neat projects that are coming out of the Tower this week!

Ancient Runes
Thor.  Do I need to say anything more? Oh right, this is a tiny Thor with a tiny hammer! Nightrae did an awesome job on this project!

Charms
Otismurph created this purple (and wonderfully squishy!) reversible Malabrigo scarf to protect her from the Indiana snow.

Defense Against the Dark Arts
Many people have crafted bags, stitch makers, and hats for keeping track of things. HarryPotterAddict crafted an EYEBALL! Just like Mad-Eye's!

Flying

Peacock got to the point beautifully with this lovely baby blanket!

Herbology

Many of you have chosen to create doll clothes for class assignments. Among those is catdragon. Check out the detail in the skirt!

History of Magic

Those auditioning for the role of Amata better watch out for roocmc, who has crafted this beautiful sweater to reflect Amata's cloaking sadness.

Muggle Studies

This teething baby octopode was crafted by Jayannell to sharpen the non-pink ends of the Muggle writing implements known as pencils.
p.s. last week for sea beastie craft-along!

Potions

Several Claws have jumped on the dying bandwagon. Senkatnovo's Potion's project is simply stunning. Check out how she did it here.

There are only a few more crafting days left in the month of September! Soar Ravenclaw!

Geek of the Week: Yo-Yo Ma, Gunhilda of Gorsemoor

Welcome to "Geek of the Week"; here we honor one Muggle geek and one Wizard geek who embody Ravenclaw spirit...
when they succeed, they soar, and when they fail, they fail spectacularly!

Yo-Yo Ma (b. 1955)
"I learn something not because I have to, but because I really want to. That's the same view I have for performing. I'm performing because I really want to, not because I have to bring bread back home... When you learn something from people, or from a culture, you accept it as a gift, and it is your lifelong commitment to preserve it and build on it."

Born in Paris, Yo-Yo Ma began studying the cello at age four and has since become the most famous cellist known today.  Since earning a bachelors degree from Harvard University (where he also received an honorary doctorate), Ma has won 15 Grammy awards and has toured around the world with his cello, Petunia.  He has educated concertgoers with his study of ethnomusicology through the Silk Road Project and he serves as a UN Messenger of Peace.

Read more about Yo-Yo Ma in Smithsonian Magazine.
Find out more about Yo-Yo Ma on Wikipedia.


Gunhilda of Gorsemoor (1556 - 1639)

"One-eyed, hump-backed witch famous for developing a cure for Dragon Pox.  When she died, all who knew her felt great sorrow..."  ~Chocolate Frog Card

Astute students may recognize Gunhilda of Gorsemoor from her statue on the third floor of Hogwarts Castle (though few know of the passageway to Honeydukes hidden nearby, wink wink, Dissendium, you didn't hear this from me).  Known to some as "the One-Eyed Witch," Gunhilda was a talented Healer and potioneer whose cure for dragon pox has saved lives for centuries.

Find out more about Gunhilda of Gorsemoor on the Harry Potter Wiki.

Gossip with The Grey Lady

Gossip with The Grey Lady

Gossip with The Grey Lady is a bi-monthly post that includes things seen and heard from around the Tower. Ghosts have the unique ability to pop into any of the dorms, observe conversations in secret, and come and go as they please.  If you have any information you would want to share with The Grey Lady, please let me know.

On my last post I wrote about some of the decorating going on in some of the dorms. While I'd like to dish about the drapes in all of the dorms, sometimes we just have to leave some to mystery, don't we?

This week I chose to pop into the First Year dormitory to see what the newest memebers of Ravenclaw were up to.  Boy they are a chatty bunch! I think Ravenclaw added some great individuals to the Tower this year with this group. The crafting they are doing is insane! Some are already experimenting with new spells to repurpose old garments! Yarn from T-shirts?!?! I'm also glad to see so many Mama Eagles and Little Eagles getting along.

I have to say not every dorm is as chatty and active as the First Year's. The Third, Fifth and Sixth year dorms were so quiet that I thought they had all quit and gone home early for the term.  But on a second glance they are just busy! There is quite a lot of fuss about Quidditch, OWLs and Phoenix projects going on. I am betting they are all just hanging out in the Library with their nose tucked into research.

At least there is only a few more days left in the month of September. I love October because of the All Hallow's Eve holiday that is in the month allows me to have some "fun" with the inhabitants of the castle. After all, how often does a holiday come around for us ghosts?

The Grey Lady

One Week Left Stats

Alright, Claws. We have one week left to the month. I've been scanning the classwork threads, updating my informal tallies. Once again I'll show you pie charts with percentages but to give you a better idea of where we're at, according to my informal tallies we are trailing Slytherin by 45 class submissions (not including Detention). Let's do our best to finish the month strong. Do you have a project you want to squeeze into a class? Be sure to swing by the Class Correlations Corner where staff are eager to help brainstorm.

SOAR RAVENCLAWS!

Common Room Recap September 21-23

This Weekend in Ravenclaw

• Bwahahaha, yes we can :)
• Ohhhh look what Mianora learned!
• Ohhh my....Ronda is doing the hat thing again.
• This could be epic...
• Awwww Happy Birthday little Claw!
• A Quiddy Update!
• Grats to Lyonette on big life things!

 

Science Sunday

For the past two weeks in the Lab, we've done Kool-Aid dying with both solids and self striping yarns. This week we're mixing the flavors to create totally new colors! This website is a great resource for color mixing, and provides samples and instructions for 135 colors of dye! TriGirlJ also posted a very interesting chart showing the difference between starting with white yarn and a natural grey yarn:

 

How cool is that? It's amazing what different starting yarns do to the final result. So don your lab coat and goggles, pick up a package or two of Kool-Aid, and head on over to the Lab!

Friendly reminder that Convocation signups are live for another week, and are located here. You can find more info in the Tower discussion. Soar Ravenclaw!

Quiddy Game 1: Are You In?

There are still three days to participate in Game 1: Letter in a Sport!

The first game goes until 11:59:59pm Princess Onica Time (PDT) on September 25.  Remember your finished object must relate to the letter R, G, S, H or N.

Though we're not in the lead yet (trailing Gryffindor and Hufflepuff [unofficially, of course]), there have already been a stream of Claw Quidditch contributions with a sea beastie theme...

 

 

Quidditch doesn't require the sea beastie theme, of course, as long as you've linked your submission with one of the letters (ahem, R, G, S, H or N).  There is no yardage minimum, but the usual rules about blanket square sizes and finishing do apply.

SOAR RAVENCLAW!

Common Room Recap September 17-20

This Week in Ravenclaw

• After some discussion about the awesome that is individual Ravenclaws, Tindra reminds us of the big picture.
• NoNeinNyet directs us to general awesomeness.
• An RNSally update, and she's moving on!
• My cats are deeply jealous, so so jealous.
• AbbyEBee has very happy school news!
• Science, art, sea-beasties! Yup it's the Common Room alright.
• Compendia of Podcasts ala SMONK.

 

Classwork Showcase

Earlier this week we looked at pie charts of how we are doing. Now let's looking at some of the work behind those numbers.

Ancient Runes

SineMairi and a lobster. Need I say more?

Charms

This sweater by jasperquaint is certain to protect his girlfriend from the cold. Boy do I wish I had that charmed sweater.

Defense Against The Dark Arts

Eiseldora submitted this scarf that will help track a friend through both TIME and SPACE! How ingenious is that?

Flying

Check out this amazing crocheted Chinese Fireball by Stormmoon! She's certain to learn loads about flying from this dragon.

Herbology

Littlecaptina spun this luscious, shimmery bombyx silk yarn that is inspired by a maple tree. Isn't it simply magnificent?

History of Magic

Asha's entrance into the garden via Creeper kidnap is illustrated by xamonster's costume piece; these vines will come in handy when she auditions for the role.

Muggle Studies

We feature another amazing coin purse from Muggle Studies, this one by isisonearth; thieves risk the wrath of a watchful, woken Elder God.

Potions

KnitWit685 discovered this television that is tired of entertaining others and demands to be entertained instead. Her plan: put it in the path of Hufflepuffs in hopes that they think it's an oven and try to use it to bake muffins. Keep us posted on what happens. :)

We hope you enjoyed this sample of classwork submitted this week. Be sure to stop by next week to see more featured work!

Geek of the Week: Vannevar Bush, Nicolas Flamel

Welcome to "Geek of the Week"; here we honor one Muggle geek and one Wizard geek who embody Ravenclaw spirit...
when they succeed, they soar, and when they fail, they fail spectacularly!

Vannevar Bush (1890 - 1974)

"Fear cannot be banished, but it can be calm and without panic; it can be mitigated by reason and evaluation."

Vannevar Bush was an electrical engineer, inventor, and science administrator.  His early work to improve submarine detection during WWI, successful in testing, was unsuccessfully implemented by Navy officials.  Afterward, undeterred by this frustration, Bush completed the first differential analyzer; his work at MIT was the beginning of digital circuit design theory.  During WWII, he briefed the U.S. President on the feasibility of atomic weapons and began work on the Manhattan Project.

The year 1945 found Bush theorizing in some major publications.  His article Science-- The Endless Frontier detailed the importance of government support for scientific research, spurring the creation of the National Science Foundation, and his Atlantic Monthly article As We May Think has been hailed as an introduction to the possibility of hypertext, decades before the creation of the internet.

Find out more about Vannevar Bush on Wikipedia.

Nicolas Flamel (1327 - 1992)

"You must learn to question everything. 
To wait before moving, to look before stepping, 
and to observe everything."

Nicolas Flamel is known as the greatest alchemist in world history.  His work on the creation of the only known Philosopher's Stone, guided by the Book of Abramelin the Mage, has been well documented over the centuries. 

Some Muggle records indicate that Flamel died in 1418 at the age of 91; however, those in the wizarding world know of Flamel lived to be 665, thanks to the Elixir of Life generated by his famous invention.

Read the Muggle version of Flamel's life on Wikipedia.

Gossip with The Grey Lady

Gossip with The Grey Lady

Gossip with The Grey Lady is a bi-monthly post that includes things seen and heard from around the Tower. Ghosts have the unique ability to pop into any of the dorms, observe conversations in secret, and come and go as they please.  If you have any information you would want to share with The Grey Lady, please let us know.

This week I chose to pop into some of the dorms and see what the students were up to. I chose a few at random and later this month I will tell you about the others.

The 4th Years have one of the most exciting dorms so far. They have their very own lounge with a bar! It is decorated in one of my favorite color schemes: Blue and Silver.  There have been quite a few discussions on the new event going on in the Tower this term: Moonpaths. I'd also like to personally welcome some of the new transfer students from Hufflepuff that have found the 4th year dorm to be to their liking.

The 2nd year dorm is the place to be if you are into reading and relaxing. It features a wall of books and comfy reading spaces. If you are of the knitting variety, and I know many of you like to knit, it also is a great place to kick back and work on that new colorwork sweater.  If you see anyone zooming around the Tower with a camera it is most likely to be a 2nd year as they have several avid photographers in their midst.

At the other end of the Tower are the Seventh Years. Veterans. They know the ropes of the Tower. They know the ins and the outs of Hogwarts like none other. and they are preparing. There is much discussion about OWLs, NEWTs, and detention turn ins. The decor in this dorm is still up for debate. I suspect it will feature beds with canopies and comfy pillows.

The dorms of the BA4, 5, 6 is one of my favorite places to lurk. They have a glorious grotto in their dorm. It's stonewalls and dim lights make it a relaxing area. For a bit of fun they also have a lovely in-ground spa and pool. The unfortunate part is you have to be a BA 4, 5, 6 or HoH to enjoy this peaceful retreat.  Admist all this relaxation, this group of students is very chatty and love their lists including, lists of projects to accomplish, lists of organization, and lists of tasks outside the Tower to tackle. Rumor has it they are also whipping up some delicious soups.

I hope you have enjoyed this tiny glimpse into the dorms. This isn't everything about them, and there are definitely secrets I won't be sharing on here. Until next time....

The Grey Lady

Interhouse Activies: Sea Beasties!

I have a confession to make. I was the kid who was afraid to swim in a lake for fear that a fish would brush against me or worse, bite me. My parents tried to convince me that the fish were more afraid of me than I was of them but I found it hard to believe.

Last term was my first term in Ravenclaw and my first term participating in the HPKCHC in general. Not long into the term, I noticed that the word, "cephalopod" would pop up sporadically and somewhat frequently in The Tower. I had a hard time imagining myself jumping on the cephalopod bandwagon since the thought alone of all those tentacles gave me the heebie-jeebies. 

At the start of my second term, I finally asked someone why cephalopods are so popular in The Tower. Upperclassmen were more than willing to share this bit of Ravenclaw history and knowing the history has changed how I view cephalopods. I'm not going to divulge into the history in this post since I know it is on Soprano1's research list. (In other words, keep a look-out for a post in the future on this part of Ravencalw history.) But let me tell you this: according to Wikipedia, cephalopods are widely regarded as the most intelligent of the invertebrates. That alone is reason enough for cephalopods to be a mascot of sorts for Ravenclaw.

All this to say, this month you have an opportunity to participate in a piece of Ravenclaw's cephalopod/sea beastie history. I am pretty sure once Soprano1 properly enlightens/reminds all of us of this unique aspect of The Tower, you will be glad you jumped on the bandwagon.

Looking for pattern ideas? Check out this post by Ali123 with a link to pattern ideas.

Want to see what people have been making? Check out this post by Ali123 that includes a YouTube video of all the projects that have been submitted so far.

Mid-September Classwork Stats

Hello, marvelous Claws! Can you believe September is already half way over? Crazy, I know. Anyhow, I scanned through all the class threads up to and including September 15th to come up with an informal tally of how each of the houses are doing so far. Below are pie charts representing the data gathered. (Click on the graphs for easier viewing.)

As you can see, we're pretty neck-and-neck with Gryffindor with the other two houses hot on our trail. Looking at my tallies, one class in particular jumps out: Flying. In that class, we turned in a respectable 25 assignments while Hufflepuff has turned in 27, Slytherin has turned in 29, and Gryffindor has turned in a whopping 44 assignments! They must have a craft-a-long going on for that class or something.

Overall we are doing really well. Let's keep the momentum going! If you are looking for some inspiration, don't forget to check out the Class Correlations Corner thread. Have you thought about trying to dye yarn? Check out The Lab discussion thread for links to helpful tutorials. And whatever you do, don't forget to have fun. :)

Soar Ravenclaw!

Common Room Recap September 14-16

This Weekend in Ravenclaw

• Adorable new Raven-pet pictures...exceeding cuteness alert...you have been warned!
• Ooooohhh look what senkatnovo got!
• Hehehe at least you didn't find them by stepping on the barefooted...Legos I am looking at YOU!
• HeadGirl is back from vacation!
• Bwahahaha...eternal punishment seems a little severe though.
• You can learn about anything in the CR.
• Sea Beasties are everywhere!
• Sadie's Stable of Spinning Wheels.

 

Meanwhile in the Lab...

Building off last week's Science Saturday, this week the technique of choice is self-striping Kool-Aid dye. Doing tonals would be fun too... I know I can never resist a nice shaded solid! Eunny Jang has a great tutorial here, and the "What a Kool Way to Dye" group on Ravelry will be sure to have lots of resources as well.
Convocation signups are still going on! They're up until the end of the month, and I'm sure it'll be very worth it. What are you still doing here? Go sign up now!

Common Room Recap September 10-13

This Week in Ravenclaw

• Our student-abroad from Slytherin Drusilla posted some glasswork.
• This is just cool.
• An entry in the "science is beautiful" category.
• And check out this interesting article.
• Historical/heraldic info regarding Ravenclaw.
• Ali123 has wonderful news!
• HiddenTohru also has exciting news.
• Happy things and an announcement from our HoH.
• The September Tower Craft-a-long is going swimmingly.
• Congratulations to Hypercycloid and the whole Hyperfamily.

 

Classwork Showcase

So many classes, so much homework...  but Ravenclaw has been turning it out!  It was very difficult to narrow down projects to feature at this point in the month; the following entries combine craftsmanship and story in a way that deserves extra mention.

Ancient Runes
Here is something both fascinating and useful from crankyangel, who translated the rune Nauthiz (meaning "need") into a necessary baby item.

Charms
Meilindis has crafted this beautiful sweater to protect her from extreme weather (how do you people create large, beautiful sweaters in two short weeks?):

Defense Against the Dark Arts
DADA is a flurry of activity as students tinker with their own WPS (Wizard Positioning System).  Check out DJMeuer's spectacular project bags, perfect for tracking a project or eight:

Flying
Flying this month involves jumping through hoops and using Point Me. Neither spell is easy, but dixiehellcat is jumping through hoopa beautifully with her cephalopod:

p.s. if the allure of sea beasties is too much to resist, we have a KAL going here.

Treesh spun and chain-plied some BFL into this beautiful long-repeat self-striping yarn that will create circles when worked:

Herbology
Pictured below is a cowl knit by SarahTheEntwife. This was her first attempt at stranded colorwork and it is simply smashing. Way to tackle a new challenge head on!

History of Magic
The preparations are ongoing for the theatrical production of The Fountain of Fair Fortune, and volkat's enchanted firecracker will be perfect to highlight the romantic climax of the third act.  "It will explode with joy over their heads take after take, and reform to go again"... now that's some fancy wandwork.

(p.s. happy birthday, volkat!)

Muggle Studies
This felted coin purse was enchanted with an anti-theft charm by jessdhill to protect a Hogwarts student's Knuts and Sickles.  "If anyone other than the rightful owner tries to take change from it, they will get a nasty surprise!"

Potions
A few Ravenclaws have taken on the challenge of crafting something silly for Potions class this month. KristyRecycles is one of them. "I made the plarn, which is plastic bag yarn. I cut up lots of brown plastic bags into loops, and joined them to create the yarn.  Then I spun it and plied it with purple novelty yarn." How creative! It's definitely so-silly-it's-awesome in a very fun and resourceful way.

Well done, everyone!  Keep that classwork coming! SOAR RAVENCLAW!!

Geek of the Week: Jacques Cousteau, Uric the Oddball

Welcome to "Geek of the Week"; here we honor one Muggle geek and one Wizard geek who embody Ravenclaw spirit...
when they succeed, they soar, and when they fail, they fail spectacularly!

In keeping with Sea Beasties September...

Jacques Cousteau (1910 - 1997)

"What is a scientist after all? It is a curious man looking through a keyhole, the keyhole of nature, trying to know what's going on."

Jacques Cousteau often referred to himself as an "oceanographic technician," but here are just a few of the accomplishments on this pioneer's CV:

filmmaker	explorer
photographer	author
inventor

You've heard of the Aqua-Lung?  No, not Jethro Tull, I mean the first open-circuit SCUBA system?  Jacques Cousteau.
You've heard of marine conservation?  The fact that we care about coral reefs and ocean ecosystems and the water on our planet?  Jacques Cousteau.

Oh, also, underwater archaeologist.
In summation: do all the things and do them spectacularly.  So Ravenclaw.

Find out more about Jacques Cousteau on Wikipedia.

Uric the Oddball (Middle Ages)

"Uric was a strange wizard who lived in ancient times. Among other things, he was famous for wearing a jellyfish as a hat. No one knows if he meant to become the weirdest wizard of the ages or if it just came naturally."

 ~Chocolate Frog trading card

The epitome of the Ravenclaw eccentric, Uric the Oddball is most well-known for his sea beastie headgear.  He was featured in N. Scamander's Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them entry on Augureys, as he slept with fifty of the birds in one room.

Uric's research work on the benefits of Fwooper song proved inconclusive, after he presented at Wizards' Council wearing only a dead badger toupee.

Find out more about Uric the Oddball on the Harry Potter Wiki.