Firstie Friday

We have some more interviews this week with our fabulous Firsties!

qtinki (LeighAnn)

How did you find the Cup and what motivated you to give the Cup a try? One of my coworkers mentioned it, wish I knew her Ravelry name (she’s actually a Slytherin) and I thought something to geed my habits and give me motivation sign me up!

What, in your own estimation, is your wackiest/most awesome project and why? I make primarily hats so there aren’t many weird or wacky things that I make. I’m currently working on a Magikarp hat, aka a giant fish eating ones head.

What characteristics do you love most about the Tower so far? How do these things impact and change or encourage you? I love all of the chat rooms. I regularly check in on my first year dorm room and see what everyone is up to, as well as getting ideas for projects based on what others have recently done. I check in on the common room, however with how fast that place moves it’s a little intimidating. The AS group was a place I never thought I would visit, large projects are not my thing, however with the help of our mama Eagle (Wendebular) and the AS group I drafted my first mission and got it approved.

What is on your crafting bucket list? Finishing my hexagon blanket is top of my bucket list. I started it in April and get shots of motivation for it, however they can be few and far between. My goal is to finish my blanket this term, however I am falling behind this month on my progress goals so hopefully next month with go better.

What is currently on your needles/hook? I strictly crochet and my hook of choice is the 5.0 mm/H/8. Unless a pattern calls for something else, and even sometimes if it does, this is my go to. It works the best for the gauge I need to acquire, I’m a loose stitch so most patterns that call for a 5.5 actually want me to use a 5.

I’m just excited to see how this term progresses. I was shocked by the amount of work I got done last semester as a NQFY and know with the support of all my fellow Eagles I’ll be able to soar to great new heights.

Taleweaver (Carolyn)

How did you find the Cup and what motivated you to give the Cup a try? A good friend of mine, strem3kids, kept talking about all these fun challenges and finally, one day told me that I should join the group. I took a look, got overwhelmed and let it sit on the back burner for a couple of weeks. It was just before Spring Sorting and even though I had already been in a couple of groups that had a similar structure, it just seemed too much. Looking back now, of course, I wish I'd just joined. But strem3kids finally broke down my resolve! *laughs*

What, in your own estimation, is your wackiest/most awesome project and why? Recently I joined a group on Ravelry that celebrates and discusses knitting and crocheting both improvisationally and in stranded work. I can't help but look at some of the works of art those crafters have produced, and then look at my own. I'm quite conservative by that yardstick! That being said, much of my knitting goes to charity. I'm disappointed by the lack of wacky and bravery in my projects list, but I am very proud of a blanket I'm making from strips for a local battered women's shelter. There's a lot of personal history behind this project, but I can tell you that when you enter a shelter with nothing but the clothes on your back, sometimes something made by hand, for you, can make all the difference in the world. So I plan on making as many of these blankets as I can until my stash is gone or my fingers drop off, whichever comes first!

What characteristics do you love most about the Tower so far? How do these things impact and change or encourage you? The Tower is a rarely-still, always supportive, always diverse and changing place. Crafters being the awesome folk they are, I'm sure the other Houses are just as cool and fun. But what makes me feel at home in the Tower...I'm not sure exactly how to describe it. The Tower just feels like home. The Tower and my fellow 'Claws have already inspired me to reach higher, to craft beyond what I've done, and broaden my horizons.

What is on your crafting bucket list? I've dabbled in stranded work, a couple of pairs of socks with Fair Isle strips, but I want to do more. The trick for me though is not to go whole-hog and jump into a massive project, but rather take a logical next step. A hat next maybe, or a scarf. I'd like to build my crochet skills as well, and move past my chaining and double crochet repertoire. There's a couple of cardigans I think I'd like to tackle next year, maybe for an OWL. I'm a blanket enthusiast (being from Northern Ontario where our winters get COLD!), and so there are a couple I have my eye on. A Log Cabin blanket and the Frank Lloyd Wright enthusiast in me would like an Oak Park Blanket one day too.

What is currently on your needles/hook? Many things! *laughs* I have squares for my OWL project, which is a modular baby blanket made up of two different types of owls interspersed between moss stitch squares. I have three socks in various stages, strips for my shelter blanket I mentioned before, a rather large throw being made from the awesome Hudson meets Sochi pattern (found on Rav), and a pair of mitts sitting in time out intended for a friend in Wales. I'll never be known as a monogamous knitter, but I will have had great fun!

Welcome to the Tower. We're happy to have you!

From the Desk of the Head of House: Shiny Things, Round 2

It's that time again!

Time to show off some more of the turn-ins that have been distracting me!

This time, it's the non-Ravelry crafts that have caught my attention.  Some don't know this, but I enjoy doing a wide variety of different crafts beyond knitting, crocheting, dyeing, and spinning.  And I usually use one craft to procrastinate working on another... it's a bit of a problem.  I'm also always on the lookout for something new to learn, to my husband's dismay ;)

Here is the video for this round's recipients!

Included are projects from bigsnakes, brineydeep, chrisfixedkitty, coukkii, fregn88, gojenn, llim, lookout (this is actually a project also featured in last round, huzzah!), masschroeder, meshamarie, morningwynd, nightgigjo, purplepigwidgeon, shanbonan, specialkknits, suzannemm, twillow, and wendebular.

There aren't as many opportunities to do a non-Ravelry craft for a turn-in, so I always enjoy seeing what other things people make.

We also have a few special topic threads dedicated to various non-Rav crafts like tatting, sewing, and papercrafting, painting, and drawing, so if you are interested in learning be sure to check those out :)

Take care!

Advanced Studies Update!

The first month of term has nearly come to a close, so I think that makes it time to look back at how our Advanced Studies students are doing!

First off, our intrepid NEWTers! We have 11 of them this term, and three of them have turned in their 50% checkpoints so far: our wonderful Head Girl gwenschweitzer, kvaustin, and LeahandtheDragon!

Gwen has finished a beautiful Wonder Woman wrap:

As well as making great progress on another beautiful shawl:

kvaustin has completed a really lovely dress:

She has also knitted what may look like the start of a blanket, but is actually the hem of what will surely end up being a really spectacular vest!

LeahandtheDragon has done a whole bunch of fiber prep and spun many fiber samples!

I think my favorite part is all this lovely wool dyed with natural dyeing techniques, which I can't wait to see spun up!

We haven't reached any checkpoints yet for OWLs, but here are a few examples of progress made from our 94 OWL students, pulled from our Advanced Studies thread:

wendebular has reached 20% of a beautiful grey sweater!

SaskiaBr has 30% of a really gorgeous Find Your Fade!

lsgarner is also working on a Find Your Fade!

bookwormdjibouti has started what is clearly going to be a really gorgeous Celestarium!

BarnOwl has two hats and part of a scarf finished!

Order of the Phoenix Missions have only been going a few days, but I have found a couple of brave Order Agents who shared their progress so far in their dorms:

Firstie qtinki has finished the first of her eight hats!

keres has started this beautiful cabled wrap!

So all in all, it looks like Ravenclaw is being its usual impressive self in Advanced Studies this term. It makes me want to push on and get my own OWL past the 7% it's been sitting at for a week. Keep up the good work, everyone!

Quitdditch Match 2 Preview!

Quidditch Match 2 starts at midnight POT at the beginning of September 28 and ends October 17

It is very exciting to see a charity-based prompt in Quidditch!  Charity crafting has been part of Quidditch from the very early days of the House Cup but has not been emphasized for a few terms.  We are very glad to see it making a comeback;  Cuppers will be spreading lots of warmth and snuggliness around to those who need it.

Summary: Craft something for charity, or something to protect someone else - 3 week timeframe - YES yardage bonus - YES awesomeness bonus - YES non-rav crafts (but not yardage bonus) - 25 base points

• This match has the same excellent choice of strategies as the last one - either Short & Sweet - or Go For the Yardage!

• Even a very small project - as long as it fulfills the prompt requirements - will earn 25 lovely shiny points. This is such a good deal that we should all plan to play in this match.

• It’s also a great place for a bigger project. Earn those same excellent 25 base points, plus yardage bonus (same formula as used in classes). For those who like to make big things for charity - or multiple small things - this match is made for you.

• In deciding which strategy to pursue, remember that the match starts in September and ends in October. If you start something big in September and don’t finish in time for the October 17 deadline, you will not be able to turn it in for an October class, but only for detention. That would not be such a tragedy, but it is something to bear in mind.

• Non-rav option!! No yardage bonus here, but 25 points for a non-rav craft is excellent!! Just remember to fit the prompt.

Awesomeness bonus available for all of the above!!!

Come visit your friendly Ravenclaw Quidditch Team thread for more details, lots of cheers and encouragement, and help to earn points while helping others.  See you on the pitch!

Thank you Captain greenheron for that preview of Match 2!

What's Happening This Week -- September 25 - October 1

Fall Term Theme

Detention -- Turn in by Midnight POT 9/25 for Badge!

Horcrux Seminar Class Blitz! -- Turn in a project 9/25 to participate

Headmistress Challenge --  Situation bettering due by midnight POT 9/26

Quidditch Match 2 --  9/28 - 10/17

September Classes -- ALL CLASSES DUE BY MIDNIGHT POT 9/30. Contact HoH Bacs if you need to be excused!

NEWTs -- 50% due by midnight POT 9/30

Class Tetris Photo Contest  -- Due by Midnight POT 9/30

September Great Hall Badges --  Through 9/30

Headmistress Challenge #2 -- Physical Bettering 9/30 - 10/10

October Classes -- link to come!

OWLs -- 50% accepted beginning 10/1

Prefects’ Challenge

Order of the Phoenix -- Agents out for Missions

Great Hall Hallows and Horcruxes Challenge -- Through 11/30

House Unity Blanket Fort Activity  -- Ravenclaw Portal

Remembrall Sign ups

        

Last Week in the Common Room: Swans are Mean!

Generic vs brand name drugs, hot dog buns vs rolls, pain au chocolat vs chocolate croissants, crafting baby stuff: acrylic vs superwash wool and autumn vs fall ...

Secrets to avoiding sore fingers and not poking your fingers with sharp needles.

Archery and axe throwing

Swans are mean! Moms are mean!

Are hot dogs sandwiches?

(Animal) Livers kill

Drugs made from pregnant mare urine and fish sperm

Cross stitch black holes opening up in the common room!!

Salty and sweet creations

Sentient tomatoes and cars that are too smart for their own good.

Creative and … not so creative pet names and pet baby pictures!

Spinning wheels made out of a treadle sewing machine

Fun Stats in the Tower: AS Proposal Edition!

This week saw the deadline for OWL proposals as well as the end of the BROOM submission period, so this is a great time to have a look at how the numbers shook out!

Here are the number of BROOMs approved per prompt:

The numbers vary a lot! Alastor Moody and the Department of Magical Education tied for fewest at 12 each, while Shell Cottage was clearly the favorite this time at a whopping 97! Hopefully Chief knitandfiber can lead all of her many agents home safely!

The OWL numbers are a bit hard to gather at this point as proposals only closed yesterday and there are a few left pending, but this is the best count I could manage of OWL subject proposals so far:

Unsurprisingly the new OWL-Mistresses-Only Alchemy option is lowest, with only eight taking that subject, but the rest have a reasonably even distribution, from 20 Divination OWLs to 42 Muggle Studies OWLs!

I thought it might be interesting to break these out a bit more, and see how many Ravenclaw proposals there were in each subject:

Much less even, this way! We're really going for it in Ancient Runes this term and we have just one lonely Defense Against the Dark Arts OWL proposal. We're rooting for you, Fregn88!

No matter what Advanced Studies you proposed, or if you chose to skip them this time around, it looks like there's going to be a lot of fabulous projects coming out of Ravenclaw this term. Now that we've got the proposals in, it's time to get the crafting done!

Firstie Friday

We interrupt your regularly scheduled Firstie bios with a Firstie Quidditch Match 1 update.

We had 8 sporty Firsties score a goal this match, including qtinki who was the first Ravenclaw goal on the pitch with her Occamy nest. This was quickly followed by Mootzee with her Ravenclaw colored ditty bag, Lynn4MK with a Billywig net and 5 Bobbins with her Red Cap net.

The next round of goals included a unicorn colored shawl from lvs2read, a Golden Snidget nest by Taleweaver, a pair of bracers from Cerridwen28 and Mooseloon with her double knit occamy bait.

Our Firsties did a great job representing Ravenclaw on the pitch, and are already excited and planning their participation in Match 2.

SOAR, Firsties, SOAR!

From the Desk of the Head of House: Situation Bettering

It seems almost like our HeadMistress and I are on a similar wavelength this term.  Anisa recently announced her challenge and it appears that this term the focus is on bettering things.  There will come a timeframe for focus on bettering ourselves, but the current challenge is to better a situation.

For many people, this is involving things like cleaning a particular area of their house or yard.  With the crazy weather systems that have come through parts of the world, many other people are working to better the situation in their community as well as trying to help improve things in distant locations.

I have already encouraged us to make sure we meet our own basic needs, and I would like to also encourage everyone to take part in the HeadMistress Challenge.  The world is a sometimes a bit of a mess, but we can work to at least help improve the situation in a variety of ways.  Some suggestions are to help clean up an area of your town or city, donate to a local shelter or hospital, or volunteer with a charitable organization.  

If that is stretching yourself a bit too far right now, then focus on making your own situation a little better.  Clean around your favourite place to sit, do a bit of dusting (being careful if you have a dust allergy), maybe plant some seasonally appropriate plants.  Those of us in the northern hemisphere are getting ready to head into the season where we stay indoors more, so having our spaces cleaned up to start off will help us.  Those in the southern hemisphere are getting ready to warm up, so cleaning up from the season of more indoor time can help rejuvenate their space.

It may be hard work, but in the long run it is beneficial to our own mental and physical health to also take care of our situation and environment.  Thank you to Anisa for the gentle nudge in that direction.

Take Care

Prefects' Challenge Update!

Our Prefects have come up with another exciting challenge for us to play along with this term! Is there something you have on your crafting bucket list for this term? Then this challenge is perfect for you--we're riding the Bucket List Underground Express! Each time you turn in a project that fulfills something on your bucket list, remember to mark an X in the appropriate spot on this spreadsheet to help us pick up speed! Every X (as well as other behind-the-scenes math) helps us gather money that will help us get to the next stop.

What kinds of things qualify as bucket list items? Anything you have as a personal goal will do! Whether this is simply securing Sorting priority or making that house cozy you always wanted, nothing is too big or small. Personally I've marked two so far; my OWL proposal for tackling a fun new technique (though the real bucket list goal might be managing to do a whole pattern repeat without having to tink; I haven't managed that one yet!) and my BROOM for making sweaters for my niece. So far I have been a terrible knitting aunt, but I plan to fix that!

Last week we managed to get enough Galleons together to get to the first stop, The Burrow.

On Monday we made it to Shaftesbury Avenue, where Harry, Ron, and Hermione fled to when Death Eaters attacked Bill and Fleur's wedding.

Where to next? We'll only find out when we get enough money for the next stop, so keep crafting and hitting those personal goals! And don't forget, there's a Prefects' Challenge class blitz for the Horcrux Seminar on the 25th. We're celebrating teamwork by turning in things that we never would have done without the influence of another member of the House Cup, and an earburn to that person is worth bonus!

What's Happening This Week -- 9/18 - 9/24

Fall Term Theme

September Classes

Prefects’ Challenge

Ravenclaw Mail Sign-ups -- ENDS MIDNIGHT POT 9/18

OWLs -- Proposals due by midnight POT 9/22

Order of the Phoenix -- Missions begin 9/24

Headmistress Challenge --  Situation bettering 9/16 - 9/26

NEWTs -- 50% due by 9/30

Class Tetris Photo Contest  -- Through 9/30

September Great Hall Badges --  Through 9/30

Great Hall Hallows and Horcruxes Challenge -- Through 11/30

House Unity Blanket Fort Activity  -- Ravenclaw Portal

Remembrall Sign ups

Last Week in the Common Room: Foals!

Root beer floats, ice cream, cake, jams and Thanksgiving food

Pillow fights and visitors!

Food education for this week: US pudding and cream pies

Foals and interns

Plying secrets, using weights on your yarn or not

gymnastics, gym class, school dress codes, health/nutrition, first aid, computer classes, class size and rank and soap boxes

Wizarding Weekend! What would you wear to the Ball?

Pet fur as condiments for food

Popular names, names and words that sound the same

The end of Cassini's mission

Electric cars and mass transit failings

It's Study Time! Fountain Pens & Shawls

Today, we're visiting two of the Specialist Study threads in a little more depth.


Order of the Fountain Pen

No tour through the Tower Specialist Study threads would be complete without first visiting the Order of the Fountain Pen. This unique thread is home to all lovers of fountain pens and includes discussions on pen brands, inks, handwriting practice and even some enabler alerts for great fountain pen related deals. If you've ever been curious about using fountain pens, are wanting a good recommendation for pen or ink for yourself or a fountain pen loving friend, or just want to learn more about fountain pens in general, the diehard group of fans in this Specialist Study are an excellent resource. This is also the only group of its kind in the House Cup, so this thread gets plenty of visitors from across the Castle.

Prof Trelawney's Shawl Closet

This newly resurrected Specialist Study focuses on all things shawl-related. Whether it be knit or crochet, large or small, you can find plenty of discussion about these perennial favorite projects. With posts tagged by project name, it's easy to find others who have made or are working on the same shawl pattern. There are also mini shawl-a-longs, shawl project planning and much sharing of gorgeous finished projects. Whether you're a diehard shawl maker or looking to get started, this Specialist Study is your destination in the Tower.

I hope you're enjoying this peek into our Tower Specialist Studies. I'll be back soon with a look into more of these special interest threads.

Firstie Friday!

It's time for our next Firstie Friday installment, and it's our first interview of the term.

Lynn4MK (Lynn)

How did you find the Cup and what motivated you to give the Cup a try? I had heard some RL friends talking about it for quite a while, but always felt I didn’t have the time to get involved in something new. But in April this year, my hours were cut at my Muggle job so I am only working part time. So when I heard my friends talking about it again at a retreat at the end of April, I decided it was finally time to check it out. It was love at first sight!

What, in your own estimation, is your wackiest/most awesome project and why? I’m not a very wacky crafter (yet?), but I think my most awesome project would be the Waves and Brambles shawl. I entered in4 the New York State Fair in 2016. It was the first time I had entered items in the fair, and it won first place and Best in Division, as well as a special award & gift certificate from a local yarn shop. Talk about beginner’s luck!

Another awesome project I participated in was crocheting squares for a community art project to honor Harriet Tubman. The banner we made hung on the Schweinfurth Art Center in Auburn, New York. It was part of the Love Across the USA project started by crochet artist Olek. Her plan is to do a community art project like this to honor a woman activist in every state of the USA. I highly recommend everyone participate if it comes to their area. You don’t even need to know how to crochet; they will teach you what you need to know and give you an easy square to make. 
Facebook page about the project: https://www.facebook.com/loveacrosstheusa/
Olek’s web site: http://oleknyc.com/
There are photos of the Harriet Tubman banner on Olek’s site here: http://oleknyc.com/current.php/harriet-tubman

What characteristics do you love most about the Tower so far? How do these things impact and change or encourage you? I love the chatty and upbeat atmosphere. So many people have health problems, yet the support everyone gives each other is truly inspirational. I love all the Specialist Studies. They have made me want to get back into sewing and weaving, and after visiting The Blank Canvas, I decided to take a basic drawing class which starts September 14. The competitive spirit encourages me to finish my projects, which has often been a struggle for me.

What is on your crafting bucket list? I would like to use up a big portion of my yarn and fiber stash and get it down to a manageable size. I would also like to knit some sweaters with my handspun, and fill my sock drawer with handknit socks. I also want to make more items for local charities.

What is currently on your needles/hook? I always have a pair of plain vanilla socks on my needles! They’re so portable and good for social knitting. I am working on my first crochet cardigan for my OWL. I also have two “Cast-on-apalooza” projects that I want to get finished by the end of the year (the Homin shawl and the Pine Bough cowl). And I have a couple long-term projects, a Tunisian crochet scarf and a handspun nap blanket. There are some other WIPs waiting in the wings, but they probably won’t get done until next year.

(Cast-on-apalooza is a fun thing some local Gryffindor friends started, where we cast on a new project every week during January. The projects don’t ever have to be finished and there are no prizes involved. It’s just a fun way to start the new year.)

We're happy you decided to join us in the Tower!

From the Desk of the Head of House: Shiny Things, Round 1

Woohoo!

In previous terms, the Head of House has had the opportunity to give out badges or awards for a variety of reasons.  Most recently, PickleMommy awarded a variety of Pickle Awards for things like all around excellent projects that caught her attention, projects or turn-ins that made her laugh, and pointing out that some people really do push themselves quite an immense amount and spend all of their time running from the Mallet of Sanity.

One of the things that got brought up in a few places when it was announced that I would be taking over as Head of House was what sort of awards I would choose to give out.  I put thought into it, because I didn't want to just do the same thing PickleMommy did, and I also wanted to take the chance to recognize some of the projects that don't get as much attention.

So I am introducing for my first award Bacs' Shiny Distractions!

This award's focus is going to change each round, and will seem completely random to most people.  One round the focus may be on amigurumi, the next could be projects that are purple.  There's no telling what it will be because what is catching my attention changes regularly.

This first round is blankets (and blanket motifs), dishcloths, and scrubbies.  I have recently been working on a blanket for my middle son, and my OWL's main project is a queen size blanket.  Dishcloths and scrubbies are projects that I have turned to in the past when I needed something quick and easy that didn't require too much thinking for me to do.  Usually it's because I have an Advanced Studies project that is taking up my attenion, but a couple years ago I completely lost all sense and made 150 crocheted washcloths for a NEWT.

So here are the blankets, motifs, dishcloths, and scrubbies that I found last night while going through all of the class threads (no non-class turn-ins included because I decided to focus this time on the ones that secure someone's Sorting priority)

Included are turn-ins from 3trees, bchapman1017, bigsnakes, cauterize, dixiehellcat, feoragruadh, freemiki, gojenn, gwennian, kadiddly, keres, knit4beer, knitsnhikes, ladyjhia, lavenderblueskies, lookout, lsgarner, lvs2read, lynn4mk, missjanejetson, mooseloon, mootzee, morningwynd, neetsey, omeletsmom, picklemommy, quietdissident, saskiabr, shannamarie, snippybits, softnshiny, specialkknits, suzannemm, taleweaver, tatsrus, tindratieren, tshaya, and xamonster.  

Many others have gotten at least one class in this month.  Don't forget that to maintain Sorting Priority you need to turn in at least a partial class by the end of the month, every month.  If you are unable to turn-in at least a partial class, please make sure to contact me via private message on Ravelry to ask about getting an excuse recorded.

Now I need to go work on getting my own Sorting Priority taken care of ;)

Take care!

Quidditch Match 1 - Mid-Match Update!

Let's Go, Ravenclaw Chasers!

Quidditch Match 1 is off to a roaring start as Gryffindor has surged into the lead.  The other Houses are very close, with Ravenclaw trailing the pack in fourth place -- though I am totally sure that many of the diligent Chasers of Ravenclaw are working on high yardage projects that won't be finished until later in the match.

There is still plenty of time to score!  This match stays open until midnight POT at the close of Sunday, September 17.  The assignment: craft something you would need to survive in the countryside, or something to tame or restrain a magical creature.  Here are our best strategy tips:

Short and sweet:  22 base points!  Crank out a quick scrubby or hexipuff and take those points to Gringotts.

Go for the yardage:  this is a Ravenclaw specialty.  Take those 22 base points and add yardage bonus (same formula as used in classes). Beautiful!

Awesomeness bonus also applies, so put some thought into a creative photo and story.

Non-rav crafts accepted!

If using the magical creature option, be sure to research here.  The referees will want to be sure that you did not fall asleep in CoMC class!

Visit the Ravenclaw Quidditch Team thread for details, help, encouragement, and cheers!

SOAR EAGLES!  Do it for Mother Rowena!

Thank you greenheron for that update!