RavenLore -- Cephalopods

Soo..what is WITH all those cephalopods anyway?  From the epic Song of Socks and Squids to the ever-present opadoos, the HPKCHC version of Ravenclaw is well known for the love of cephalopods.

My research seems to indicate that all of this tentacled goodness seems to have originated with IsisonEarth, who was our second Head of House, serving from mid-2009 through Winter Term 2011.  Isis has had a long-standing feud with the Giant Squid that lives in Black Lake, which may or may not stem from a particularly tricksy squid that she crafted Winter Term 2009.  (Incidentally, this particular prompt inspired the very first  story over six-classes, the origin of the now-defunct I.S.I.S. badge)

Squids may be Isis’s nemeses, but her true love is for their eight-limbed cousins, the octopodes.  Not octopi or octopuses, mind you, octopodes!

Her love for these intelligent cephalopods and the archaic plural form of their name has proved contagious. It may have begun with Isis, but it has found fertile ground among the Ravenclaws and over the years has spread throughout the Tower.

Whether it is Isis’s beloved octopodes that catch your fancy, or their colorful cousins the cuttlefish, or even the Giant Squid who lives in the Lake (who really isn’t all that bad), cephalopods are definitely here to stay!  

Is there a particular Ravenclaw tradition or word you are puzzled by?  Is there some bit of ancient (or not so ancient) Tower history you are curious about? Let us know! You can either reply in the comments or PM omeletsmom or s2five. We'll do our best to answer any questions you have -- or track down someone who can!

What's Happening This Week -- May 29 - June 4

May Classes -- DUE BY MIDNIGHT POT 5/31

NEWTs -- 50% DUE BY MIDNIGHT POT 5/31

Convocation -- Sign ups close 5/31

Ravenclaw Postcard Swap -- Sign ups close  5/31

Class Tetris Photo Contest -- Through 5/31

Prefects’ Challenge

Quidditch Match 2 -- Due by midnight POT 6/2

                                 Sign up for a squad here

Headmistress Challenge -- continues through  6/30

OotP Missions --  Through 7/23

June Classes

OWLs -- 50% accepted 6/1 - 6/30

Remembrall Signup Form

Last Week in the Common Room: What's your name ... machine?

Fluffy bear dogs! And dogs in costumes! And cute puppies!

Lots of good experience with online glasses retailers. Check them out!

No matter what your house says, there's always room for another spinning wheel of sewing machine. 

Lots of Bernina love in the Tower. And lots of good advice on machines and sewing in general. This is the group to ask!

What's in a name?  For a lot of people, the bond between machine & user. Sewing machine, spinning wheel, car....

Some people love road trips. Others, not so much. 

Badminton strings work for blocking wires! Who knew?

Quidditch Mid-Match Update!

RAVENCLAW ROCKS THE PITCH!

Hurrah for the Ravenclaw Chasers and their stunning win of Match 1! Ravenclaws just could not resist the challenge to craft something food-related, and then earn bonus points by connecting the project to Helga Hufflepuff.  Well done, intrepid athletes of the quidditch pitch!!!

Match 2 is underway now, and continues through midnight POT at the end of 2 June.  This time the prompt is to craft something metal-related, with bonus for connecting the project to Salazar Slytherin.  There seems to be a theme going here!

There is NO yardage bonus, so small projects work well.  There are many ways to be metal-related, including using metal hooks or needles!  Please come visit the Ravenclaw Quidditch thread to learn more.  

YES to awesomeness bonus for great work, creative turn-ins, etc, and ONE EXTRA POINT for making a connection with Salazar Slytherin.  So many ways to use our Ravenclaw research skills and creativity!

CURRENT STANDINGS have Ravenclaw in second place, with Slytherin  in the lead.

But it’s very close, and there's still plenty of time for a come-from-behind victory.  Soar out onto the pitch and show everyone what Ravenclaw Chasers are made of!  Steel, copper, tin, bronze, gold, silver, aluminum, and more - that's what.  Let's go for the win with our metal-related crafting!

Thank you to greenheron for this mid-match update!  Soar Ravenclaw!

Weekly Showcase Wednesday: The First Pickle Badges of the Spring Term!

Welcome to Spring Term!  It's hard to believe we are already over three weeks into the term.  Ravenclaws have been turning in some great projects around the House Cup, and so it's time for our first round of Pickle Badges!

We will start off with the winners of the Golden Pickle Award!  These are projects that simply caught my eye for one reason or another while I was scrolling through all the House Cup threads.

knitsNhikes knit a delightful little butterfly, complete with her own cocoon, for Arithmancy:

HelpfulKitten spun a cheerful rainbow of mini skeins for Arithmancy:

BarnOwl created a spectacular image of a fish using watercolor brush markers for Arithmancy:

BrineyDeep sewed a fabulous top (with French seams!) for Arithmancy:

caranam made a lovely necklace and pair of earrings for Arithmancy and also did the very cool thing of carving a wooden spoon for Family & Consumer Science:

hnick spun three beautiful skeins of yarn (wound together for the photo) for Astronomy:

SameOldKnit knit a stunning beaded lace shawl for Astronomy:

Twillow knit an awesome pair of comic book mitts for DADA:

aniek1 crocheted an exquisite doily for Family & Consumer Science:

S2five wove a marvelous scarf for Muggle Studies:

ahanson08 knit a fantastic lace-edged shawl for Muggle Studies:

Stormrage crocheted two adorable penguins for Potions and Quidditch:

Next up we have the Pickle of Sanity Badge!  Ravenclaws are notorious for taunting the Mallet of Sanity, attempting to achieve feats that seem insurmountable, and this badge is for those who succeed in outrunning the Mallet to accomplish the unbelievable.

kvaustin knit an entire blanket for Family & Consumer Science, using an amazing 1965 yards of yarn!

neetsey crocheted a whole afghan for Arithmancy, using an incredible 3080 yards of yarn!

Ravenclaws also often throw a little science into their crafting, and the Electric Pickle Badge is awarded to those projects that involve a little experimentation or are just very clever or unconventional!

LadyJhia knit scrubbies and then embedded them in soap for a unique project for Family & Consumer Science:

fricknfrack experimented with different colored dyebaths to overdye a bright turquoise skein of yarn for Quidditch:

Finally, there is the Darth Pickle Badge!  This is awarded to those project turn-ins that simply made me laugh!

Hreow brought on the giggles by knitting a hilarious mohawk for her cat!

Congratulations to this week's badge winners!  Keep the amazing projects coming, and we'll have more badges in a few weeks!

What's Happening this Week -- 5/22 - 28

May Classes

Prefects’ Challenge

OWL proposals -- DUE BY MIDNIGHT POT 5/22

Quidditch Match 2 -- 5/23 - 6/2

                                Sign up for a squad here

Potions Class Blitz  -- 5/24

OotP Missions -- 5/28 - 7/23

Convocation -- Sign up through 5/31

Class Tetris Photo Contest -- Through 5/31

Ravenclaw Postcard Swap -- sign up through May 31

Headmistress Challenge -- continues through  6/30

Remembrall Signup Form

Last Week in the Common Room: May 21

CASPN, particularly the kitten cam!  Who else needs a tiny bat in their life?

Hugs from Tower friends. 

Barefoot shoes. 

Transitioning to ebooks can free up space, but many are attached to the books. No, phone, not "Ebola." No one wants to transition to Ebola. 

Twitter's guesses on our demographics are hilarious. 

QUIDDITCH - MATCH 1 - SOAR!!!

Our Ravenclaw chasers really knocked it through the hoops in the first Quidditch match of the term! The official results are not out yet, but unofficially, Ravenclaw is in the lead!

	Number of goals	Percent participation	Total base  points
Gryffindor	102	58.29%	1740
Hufflepuff	94	53.71%	1595
Ravenclaw	113	64.57%	2020
Slytherin	100	57.14%	1865

Look at all that blue in the pie chart!

The bonus points have not been factored in yet, but things are looking really good so far!

The competition between squads is very close.  Although the number of goals is identical for each squad, base point differentials have created a very small variation in total base points:

Squads:	Number of goals	Percent participation	Total base points
ChoChang	13	92.86%	245
LunaLovegood	13	100.00%	260
RogerDavies	13	100.00%	245
SybilTrelawney	13	100.00%	260

Match 2 is coming up soon!  There is no yardage bonus for this match, so even the smallest project will earn at least 15 points for Ravenclaw!  The Quidditch team has put together a fantastic bundle of metallic themed patterns if you are looking for some inspiration.  There are bonus points available for awesomeness and for linking your goals to Salazar Slytherin, so let your imagination run wild!

The match starts on Tuesday.  Do it for the PickleCake!

Thank you to stats beater freemiki for the tables and chart!