Firstie Friday -- September Stats!

Hi all!  Mama Eagle here with another edition of Firstie Friday.  Since it is getting toward the end of September, I thought it might be fun to share some Firstie Statistics!

First off, Advanced Studies.

We had SIX eager Eagles ready to cast on their Phoenixes when the Mission Chiefs gave the go ahead on Wednesday.  We eagerly await the results of their Missions!

We also have Six OWLers!  I showed you five last week; since then, we have added one more.

EngineersFalcon decided to join the ranks of those vying for the PhOWL badge.  She chose to take on History of Magic Option Two, and will be knitting three pairs of socks to commemorate important places and events in the Harry Potter universe.

SEVEN First years submitted projects to the Headmistress Challenge.  There were some really creative entries!  One of my favorites came from Balletisthebest, who crafted a bouquet to throw to the Goblet, hoping it would not notice her name tucked in amongst the blossoms:

NINE fabulous Firsties (so far -- there's 30 minutes left before the end of the match!) also competed in this term's first Quidditch match.  Some went left; some went right; some submitted mallet-worthy projects (take a look at Wednesdays showcase and you'll see what I mean!) ccgal220 submitted this gorgeous cabled hat for her solution to the right-hand riddle:

Detention has recorded NINE submissions so far.  LeahandtheDragon earned the Dancing With Dumbledore badge for these lovely socks:

while Kadiddly got that badge and the Beauxbatons Award for lace knitting for her Lightning Thief shawl:

Detail of the beading:

And finally, Classes.  Our outstanding Year Ones have turned in SEVENTEEN classes so far; I'm sure there will be many more to come before September is through!  Here are some I really love:

kvaustin's gemstone cowl for Durmstrang:

Anniewithsticks'  Aqua  Eructo! Cleanup Cloth:

and EngineersFalcon's beautiful Herbology handspun::

I can't wait to see what this amazing bunch of First Years will turn in next!

Weekly Showcase Wednesday

It is again time to marvel at some of the amazing crafting being done by Ravenclaws around the House Cup!  I am repeatedly amazed by everyone's work, and I'm excited to share not only some of my favorites from the past two weeks, but also some of the posts that made me laugh and achievements that made my jaw drop.

First off, I'd like to share the projects that earned the Golden Pickle Award this week…

SadieLou made a set of beautiful Harry Potter inspired dishes as a wedding gift for some friends and turned them in for CoMC:

CathyCake knit a lovely cabled beret for Journalism:

DrusillaWormwood crocheted a fabulous shawl for Durmstrang:

kikkitull knit a darling little skirt for Durmstrang:

rondaletts did tunisian entrelac (I'm not even sure I know what that is!) to make this baby blanket for Durmstrang:

morningwynd spun this stunning blue yarn and turned a skein in for Hogwarts and a skein in for Quidditch:

LateClematis showed her talent for stranded colorwork with this delightful hat for Hogwarts:

ccgal220 knit these very cool and unique socks for the Headmistress Challenge:

LeahandtheDragon stunned me with her entrelac socks (entrelac! on socks!), which she turned in for the Headmistress Challenge:

Natys spun this gorgeous yarn for the Headmistress Challenge:

kandbpurple made these adorable baby booties for Quidditch:

secrettrail made this awesome tea cozy (seriously, it has a frog on a lilypad on top!!) for Quidditch:

FeoragRuadh knit these beautiful cabled socks for Quidditch:

TheBeadyHooker spun this exquisite yarn for Quidditch:

KnitWit685 seems to be the master of the Reducio charm and made fantastic miniature things for DADA, Flying, Herbology, Beauxbatons, Durmstrang, Hogwarts, the Headmistress Challenge, and Quidditch:

maggievanderstok amazes me again and again with her dyeing and spinning--I think I want her as my personal yarn supplier.  These were handed in for the Headmistress Challenge, Herbology, Hogwarts, DADA, and Durmstrang:

And she also made this wonderful string of flowers for Beauxbatons:

This week, I also unveiled a few new badges:  the Electric Pickle Badge (for science!) and the Pickle of Sanity Badge (for those people who really went way beyond the imaginable).

Hreow showed her science talents by dyeing with natural materials--buckthorn, indigo, and logwood:

And JessiaSott also did a dyeing experiment, comparing the effects of knotting the yarn in different ways:

Matematichica knit two miniature shawls comparing two different ways of doing short rows (with and without decreases) and the effect these methods have on the final shape:

Moving into the realm of the jaw-dropping, LeahandtheDragon outran the Mallet of Sanity and spun 2664 yards of singles and then chain-plied them for Quidditch:

And rosimoto used 1390 yards of yarn to crochet this cheerful blanket for Quidditch:

bigsnakes has already machine knit more than 5300 yards for projects for DADA, Herbology, the Headmistress Challenge, and Quidditch:

And SarahTheEntwife has spun more than 5200 yards for CoMC, Herbology, Journalism, Durmstrang,  the Headmistress Challenge, and Quidditch:

Finally, for the posts that made me laugh and earned the Darth Pickle Badge…

TiggerishJen managed to convince her Explorer Scout Leader to award her a hexapuff medal:

And perhaps Betsy the cat should have been awarded the Darth Pickle Badge for her performance in this video, but it was andryl who actually made the recording:

Congratulations to all the badge winners this week!  I hope you enjoyed this showcase of Ravenclaw achievements!

Advanced Studies Saturday: The End and The Beginning

On a night of rain, Frodo smelled a sweet fragrance on the air and heard the sound of singing that came over the water… The grey rain-curtain turned all to silver glass and was rolled back, and he beheld white shores and beyond them a far green country under a swift sunrise. J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King.

A small noise startled Frodo, and he turned to find Bilbo standing beside him.  Elrond glided into place beside Bilbo and the three stood together, looking silently into the West.  The regrets, pains, burdens, and fears of Middle Earth fell away under the caress of the welcoming songs sung by those who came to the West before.

The white ship pulled up to a silvery-grey dock of espaliered mallaron trees.  The gently rolling hills beyond the dock reminded Frodo of the Shire.  Beyond the hills, a forest filled the horizon.  

Legolas greeted the new arrivals on the dock.  He led Frodo and Bilbo to a hobbit hole freshly dug in the rolling hills, beside the forest.  Two ancient mallaron trees marked the entrance to the forest.  Long ago, the people of the West espaliered the two trees to form an archway.  Now the branches wrapped around each other without additional encouragement.  Elven runes glowed along both trunks, welcoming all into the forest beyond.

Legolas gestured at the archway.  “The Aglaraldannon is the entrance to Taurgaernumen, the home of all the elves of the West. You may make your home anywhere in the West, but we thought you might like to spend at least your first night in familiar place, so we built this hobbit hole for you.”

Photo courtesy of Carin Lynch

Bilbo and Frodo were glad of the familiar surroundings.  This hobbit hole was not as large as their home in Bag End, but they had no need of extravagance.  After all, they came to the West for rest.  The two quickly fell into a routine of eating, reading, writing, and visiting with their friends.

One evening, some time after the ship arrived in the West, Bilbo and Frodo were companionably reading as was their wont.  Frodo slowly became aware of singing on the path coming towards their home from the wood.  As the singer came closer, the words became more distinct.

The Road goes ever on and on

 Out from the door where it began.

To that Road the travellers are drawn

 And soon begin to make a plan.

Let them a journey new begin,

 Who thought themselves from life withdrawn,

For when they pause and look within,

 They'll find hope for Barad Thoron.

Bilbo jumped from his seat and greeted Elrond at the door.  “I have already begun to prepare for a journey, though I knew not where,” Bilbo said.  “On September 22, Frodo and I must celebrate our first birthdays in the West. I'll be ready to depart on September 23."

Frodo looked a little guilty.  “I too have felt the call of the road outside our door.  I have already begun, in a small way.  While Bilbo napped in the afternoons, I explored the library of the Taurgaernumen. With the help of the Lead Librarian, the wise OWL Hreow, I found maps and began to plot a journey.  I have even begun traveling in a small way, exploring the hidden byways of the West.  But who or what is Barad Thoron? I have not seen or heard of it during my explorations.”

Elrond smiled enigmatically.  “I have learned only small pieces of the answer myself. I was on the road with 24 others, and they seem to know the way well. Some few sprinted ahead -- 5 have already reached the halfway point and continued on from there, leaving notes or sending back messengers with encouragement to the rest of the party. Having newly arrived in this country, I am in no rush and wanted to enjoy my travels, so I brought up the rear. I thought perhaps you two would like a new adventure.  I paused in my work, leaving all in a camp along the path, so I could return quickly and retrieve you.  It sounds as though you'd like to come along?”

To Be Continued...

Firstie Friday -- Advanced Studies Edition

Hello! It’s Omeletsmom, back again with Firstie Friday!

This week, in celebration of this term’s first Advanced Studies weekend, I’m going to feature the brave First Years who have boldly stepped up and taken the plunge into AS!

First, the Missions:

Anniewithsticks has volunteered to help make our visitors from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang welcome by knitting a hat and a scarf, one for a student from each school.

Ccgal220 is also extending a welcoming hand, knitting a blanket for some chilly Beauxbatons student.

Engineersfalcon has proposed to knit a shoulder or neck covering using the minimum 747 yards needed to guard the maze.

Kadiddly is hoping to help out at the Ministry of Magic, and will knit a sweater to insulate herself against the chilly conditions that can occur there.

kvaustin will be welcoming the visiting students by crafting three pillows that should make them feel right at home.

Leahandthedragon will be emulating an acromantula by knitting a lace shawl in order to help catch the bugs that have been plaguing the Castle grounds.




Bravo to Ravenclaw's newest Order agents!


And now our intrepid OWLers: 

We have five dedicated First Years who have thrown caution to the wind and embarked on a quest for the coveted PhOWL badge!

Anniewithsticks will be knitting a lovely purple Flax sweater for Muggle Studies.





ccgal220 will be exploring the History of Magic by crafting a 1940s era sweater in a lovely soft pink.

kadiddly will be getting her math on, exploring Arithmancy through the study of mathematical braids.

kvaustin will be leading a Charmed life as she knits three shawls for that OWL.

leahandthedragon will be prepping and spinning some raw fleece for Potions.

Good luck to all of our OWLers!


While I am here showing off the First Years, I'd like to give a huge shout out to our transfer students.  100% of them have committed to doing double AS this term!

MissJaneJetson - OWL and Phoenix
Sumiregusa - OWL and Phoenix
TheBeadyHooker -  OWL and Phoenix
WebSchaf -  NEWT and Phoenix
JessiaSott -  OWL and Phoenix
Quiltyone - OWL and Phoenix
Bijou3owl - NEWT and Phoenix
dnatheory -  OWL and Phoenix
EvilMichelle - OWL and Phoenix

We are sure to win the House Cup with such dedication!  



Phoenixes: By Feastilwloa (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Owl: BBy Brocken Inaglory (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html), CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/) or CC BY-SA 2.5-2.0-1.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5-2.0-1.0)], via Wikimedia Commonss

From the Desk of the Spreadsheet Sorceress: Advanced Studies Analysis

We're well into the swing of things in the third week of term, and Advanced Studies are already underway!  NEWT students have been working for a month now and are already earning points for Ravenclaw with their 50% submissions.  OWL proposals are still being accepted (you have until Sept. 22!), but many students have had their OWLs approved and have cast on.  BROOM period has ended, and many students are eagerly awaiting GO! date on September 23.  What does all this mean for Ravenclaw's points earning?  I'm so glad you asked.

First, let's look at NEWTs.  Ravenclaw has an astounding 24 NEWT students--more than any house in any term since we started keeping the Claw Lawg in Spring 2014.  Slytherin is in second with 15 NEWTs, Hufflepuff has 13 and Gryffindor has 12.  That's a big lead for Ravenclaw!  When translated to potential points, NEWTs alone could give us a 3600-point advantage over the next house!  Here's how the potential points stack up.

Of course, while we always aim to fly high, sometimes our plans just don't work out.  But when it comes to Advanced Studies, Ravenclaw has a good track record of getting projects done!  So while the chart above shows us the potential points from NEWTs, we might also want to look at the realistic picture of how many points we can actually expect.  Based on the past four terms of data for NEWT completion, I have projected our points from NEWTs.  And our high completion rates should serve us well!  Instead of giving us a 3600-point advantage, I have projected us to have almost a 3800-point advantage from NEWTs!

And by the way, three of our intrepid NEWT students have already turned in their 50% NEWTs.  Congratulations to akasha111182, Hreow, and IAmACuttlefish!

OWL proposals are still coming in, and it's a very tight race as of the writing of this post!  Slytherin has the most proposals with 98, Ravenclaw and Gryffindor are tied with 97, and Hufflepuff has 90.  That's about as close as it gets!  When we look again at the projections for completion rates based on the last four terms, we still get about a 700-point advantage, though!

Finally, Order Missions!  Ravenclaws are showing that they are fully committed to the Order this term with a grand total of 110 BROOMs!  This is more than any other house this term!  Hufflepuff is in second with 103, Slytherin has 94, and Gryffindor has 90.  Even though the number of BROOMs is pretty close, I'm still projecting that we'll pick up about a 100-point advantage with Order Missions!

Taken all together, Advanced Studies is looking like it will give us a good lead this term--more than 6000 points!

Let's get those last OWL proposals in, cheer our NEWT students to 50%, and SOAR!

PS.  The astute reader will notice that 3800+700+100 is less than 6000.  That is because our nearest competitor in each category isn't always the same--Slytherin is in second for NEWTs and OWLs, but Hufflepuff is in second for Order Missions.  Hufflepuff is in second overall, in our projections.