Classwork Showcase

CoMC 
GothKnitty knit this gorgeous TWO-layered shawl to demonstrate the duality of a werewolf's place in the world (day and night).

CHARMS
Wanna go out of your comfort zone while getting a fantastic FO in the process? Take a page out of digitaldiina's book and make a pair of socks with colorful functional buttons!

DADA
Catdragon may have had some problems summoning her patronus, but the pear she created was quite adorable nonetheless.

DIVINATION
Therealkarity shows her well founded obsession with the Hobbit.

HERBOLOGY

Gojenn has a lovely macrame bracelet. Eye catching!

HoM

CarinCoralie has knit a fingering weight pullover during May. Impressive!

POTIONS

Nerdmama outdid herself with this hug-gable pillow robot. Never again will you wish you had something to rest your head on while snoozing under the influence of the draught of living death cause this is all you'll need. 

TRANSFIGURATION
Meet Francis the Fish by Xamonster. The best transfiguration work I have yet to see!

Geek of the Week: Stephen Wolfram

Here we honor Muggle geeks who embody Ravenclaw spirit...
when they succeed, they soar, and when they fail, they fail spectacularly!

Stephen Wolfram (b. 1959)

"I have a motion sensor for the room that records when I pace up and down. Also a pedometer, and I am trying to get an eye-tracking system set up, but I haven’t done that yet. Oh, and I’ve been wearing a sensor to measure my posture."

**brought to you by a request from NoNeinNyet**

If that quote doesn't convince you of Stephen Wolfram's geekery, try this on for size: at age 10, he was reading physics books; at 13, he attended Eton College on scholarship; by 20, Wolfram had his PhD in theoretical physics.  He's developed the Mathematica software application, a popular mathematics tool that can juggle high-level algebra, advanced formulas, and graphics; and Wolfram Alpha, a computational search engine.

Wolfram Alpha can search math-specific queries (cosines, for example) and factual data like the distance to the moon (not only the average distance, but the actual distance right at this very second); it has recently been expanded to distill one's Facebook data for further analysis (AKA "personal analytics," a term coined by Wolfram himself... what a geek).

Find out more about Stephen Wolfram on Wikipedia.
Visit the Wolfram Demonstrations Project for math fun and crafting inspiration.

Common Room Recap May 19-25

An interesting answer for "favorite color" (and follow the replies for some more interesting answers)

TARDIS socks! And a TARDIS pole!

Portland meetup: Claws exist in real life! 

A potty-training triumph!

CathyCake's eldest will make you cry. Well, perhaps not if you're not her mother, but it's a powerful song in any case. 

As the post says, for cheering and chair-dancing purposes.

This is a meme, but this is Elekanahmen's actual house. 

Podcast recommendations here, here, here, here  and here. 

If you like Mad Men and/or gifs, this the post for you. 

This very interesting question leads to quite a lot of hijinks that will make much less sense now that everyone looks like themselves again.

Here and following, a reasonably comprehensive list of things you're not allowed to do to the Tower.

A link to a post by a man with strong feelings about state birds lead to a much larger discussion about silly state things starting a couple pages later. 

Fibery goodness indeed!

Mmm!

Craftsy has a new class with Stephen West, for those who are interested. 

PrePIEsterous: Towel Day in the Tower

Happy Towel Day to all our hoopy Claws out there!

Actual references to Hitchhiker's Guide in the Common Room so far: 6

Quidditch Update

Hello Quidditch Lovers!

I know you're out there, whizzing past the goal posts with your quaffle, or cheering mightily from the stands. Ravenclaws love Quidditch, and no one can tell us otherwise!

In the first Quidditch training film, Ravenclaws banded together and made a strong showing of typical Ravenclaw ability to meditate on a specific problem. We made a strong showing, for Ravenclaws, and it was a great way to show the other House Cuppers that we are not to be underestimated.

This blogger is proud to be in third place so far, quite sure that we can only go upwards from here.

Traning film #2, Heat Therapy has started and we have sprinted out of the gates already. Every single one of our entries have the maximum 5 hats and/or squares to ensure maximum pointage.

Check out some of the great submissions made so far by fellow Ravenclaws, it’s heartwarming to see all the different charities that will be benifitting from this Quidditch event.

Everyone should knit a square or two, or even the maximum 5. Every point counts, and every warm and fuzzy knit will warm someone in need. Here is some inspiration from Ravenclaws Heat Therapy submisions.

Akasha111182 made these five stripey hats for WoolAid, and only in two days!

ThroughTheLooking made these fabulous five blanket squares for the charity A Hug for Boston, I’m sure the finished blanket will be warm and huggable.

I look forward to keeping up with the training heats this term, I'm positive the Ravenclaws have got a little something up their sleeves this year! coughFirstiesQuidditchMadnesscough Woooooo!

To the Quidditch lovers out there, craft on, and have fun!

Classwork Showcase

Hello everyone! Classwork Showcase is back. :) A little late per our new schedule but back nonetheless. Without further ado, let's take a peak and what Claws have been up to so far this term.


CoMC 
GazeboGal's TARDIS socks are knit with TWO different colors and have a dual nature (small and portable, yes, but also bigger on the inside!).

CHARMS
Firstie Shellbot used DPNs for the first time to create these pretty cabled mitts:

DADA
KnitInferno summoned a Patronus of a rabbit. 

DIVINATION
Jessdhill may not be obsessed about pigs, but her sister is. So she made an entire family of pigs for her.

 

HERBOLOGY

Owls all around, Jayannell has made the cutest little knit owl. 

HoM

This class thread is worth a peek this term, the insane bravery is taking overs. Shawl battles galore!
But Nightrae has made a dragon to wear on ones head! Brilliant! 

POTIONS

While studying the draught of Living death, Cakewalkqueen crafted a snail to remind her of the importance of stirring in the correct direction.  

TRANSFIGURATION
Jillian79 conjured a magical sprig of Lavender, so magical that it went traveling all on its own!

Geek of the Week: Mary Dixon Kies

Here we honor Muggle geeks who embody Ravenclaw spirit...
when they succeed, they soar, and when they fail, they fail spectacularly!

Mary Dixon Kies (1752 - 1837)

Hurray for craft geeks and inventing pioneers!  Mary Dixon Kies was the first female ever to receive a U.S. patent, more than 200 years ago in May 1809. Prior to 1790, women could only receive patents in their husbands' names, and while the Patent Act of that year opened up the possibility, many women were deterred by the fact that they could not legally own property in many states (wah-wah).

Kies devised a cost-effective method of weaving straw with silk to produce durable material for mass-producing hats; long-lasting headgear was important for shielding field workers from the hot sun.  First Lady Dolley Madison was a fan, and so is the Ravenclaw Aerie!

Find out more about Mary Dixon Kies on Wikipedia.

Common Room Recap May 12-18

Common room recaps are back! Normally you'll find them here on Sundays but for now, please enjoy this fashionably late recap. :)

• FatesLady's little Boo learned a new trick.
• Matematichica knows some interesting research regarding improving test scores.
• Nightrae had an epic weekend and provided proof.
• MrsPistachio checks in. Spoiler: she's working on a new board game.
• Hypercycloid's pretty yarn (Cause who doesn't like to look at pretty yarn?) and what to do if you see a coyote.
• CathyCake shares a picture of a cell full of histamine and Soprano1 shows us it's flower counterpart.
• KnittingLinguist paid off student loans! Big, big, congrats! (also, so jealous)
• Nothing could be more appropriate to post in The Tower than this picture roocmc found.
• DrusillaWormwood, lots of light and love for you and yours.
• Jullian79 shares the magic of felting!
• StacyMarie pops in to share a picture of her adorable munchkin as does AnnieCC.

Geek of the Week: Jonathan Coulton

Here we honor Muggle geeks who embody Ravenclaw spirit... 
when they succeed, they soar, and when they fail, they fail spectacularly!

Jonathan Coulton (b. 1970)

 "All we want to do is eat your brains"

**brought to you by a request from Eiseldora**

Yale graduate and former computer programmer Jonathan Coulton has been getting music to early podcast adopters since 2005 with his A Thing A Week project.  The man writes songs, and geeky songs at that: songs about robots and pizza, laptops and the Mandelbrot Set.  There is a graphic novel in the works based on characters from several JoCo songs (including his most popular, "Code Monkey").

Fun fact: Jonathan recorded a French version of his song "Re: Your Brains", titled (what else) "Re: Vos Cerveaux"; you can listen here, if you find it under its album, The Aftermath!

Find out more about Jonathan Coulton on Wikipedia.

May Flight of the First!

May's Flight of the First Week has come and gone, and in keeping with the Epic Shawl Battle Royale this term, there were so. many. shawls. representing in Detention!
 
Bklyngrrl67's Capriole; curiouskate's Emanuela; SarahTheEntwife's Haruni; Shellbot's Florelei (her first shawl!)

Cyprienne's Melon Sorbet; tkannon's Color Affection (her first shawl!); xamonster's Whippoorwill Order Mission; jessdhill's hand-dyed Sea Leaves

knitsNhikes's Hogwarts Express; mimulus's Holden Shawlette; raederle's gorgeous gradient Evenstar; volkat's Age of Brass and Steam Kerchief

...and a special shout-out goes to GothKnitty for her stunning The Lady Of The Lake!

Keep those completed WIPs coming -- Detention runs all month!

Geek of the Week: Ellen Ochoa

Here we honor Muggle geeks who embody Ravenclaw spirit...
when they succeed, they soar, and when they fail, they fail spectacularly!

Ellen Ochoa (b. 1958)
"Education is what allows you to stand out."

Happy early birthday to Ellen Ochoa, current director of the Johnson Space Center!

Want some facts?  Armed with degrees in physics and electrical engineering, Ochoa was inspired by Sally Ride's first voyage into space.  She has since risen to astronomical heights figuratively (as the second female director of JSC) and literally (nearly 1,000 orbit hours logged).  Ochoa, a licensed private pilot, also co-invented three patents.

Want some firsts?  First Latina to go to space; JSC's first Hispanic director

Want some flutes?  EO does, because she’s also a classical flutist.  Skadoosh!

Find out more about Ellen Ochoa on Wikipedia.

Geek of the Week: The Vlog Brothers

Here we honor Muggle geeks who embody Ravenclaw spirit...
when they succeed, they soar, and when they fail, they fail spectacularly!

Hank Green (b. 1980)
John Green (b. 1977)
"Don't Forget To Be Awesome."

HE: is a science writer and online content creator (founder of EcoGeek blog, co-creator of The Lizzie Bennet Diaries!) with degrees in biochemistry and environmental studies.  He has written a number of geektastic songs (Accio Deathly Hallows includes the lyrics "I need my Harry Potter like a grindylow needs water") and his interest in environmental technology is well-documented (because he's green like that).  Hank's newest business venture?  Glasses that allow one to view 3D movies in 2D!

HE: is the author of Looking for Alaska and other works of YA fiction (operative adjectives: award-winning, New York Times bestselling).  He has interviewed President Obama via Google Hangout.  John's recommendations for young writers: read, and "tell stories to your friends and pay attention to when they get bored."

THEY: are the Vlog Brothers, collaborating via non-text means since 2007, the originators of Brotherhood 2.0 and grand high poobahs of Nerdfighteria.  The Green brothers created VidCon, started the Crash Course educational video series, and run an annual Project for Awesome drive that has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for charity.  They recently held an Evening of Awesome at Carnegie Hall.

Find out more about Hank Green on Wikipedia.
Find out more about John Green on Wikipedia.