Firstie Friday!

We have two more of our fantastic Firsties to meet today!

JRollow (Jessica)

How did you find the Cup and what motivated you to give the Cup a try? My friend Allegro133 showed it to me last term and may have talked me into looking at the class prompts. It looked like fun and I am a HUGE HP nerd so I decided to do a small class project every month so I could get sorted for this term. I had so much fun with the different prompt and the chats in the Great Hall that I ended up doing more than just one class a month!

What, in your own estimation, is your wackiest/most awesome project and why? It will probably have to the Occamy I made this term. He’s a half from scratch design, which I had never done before. And who doesn’t love some fuzzy bright purple wings?

What characteristics do you love most about the Tower so far? How do these things impact and change or encourage you? I love how nearly everyone is not just willing but ecstatic to jump in and, and to step in and help. All the mods in the different houses were really nice last year but the Tower just has this awesome vibe of “We are here, you got this” no matter what section of the Tower you are in. Because of this I am more comfortable branching out to try larger or more complicated projects or designs than I am with trying to talk myself into it on my own. Don’t get me wrong I have a great group of ladies IRL who would be just as empowering but there is something about being able to log in and having a near constant stream of “You are awesome and SOARs” regardless of time of day. That this is such a wide range of people with the very definitive goal of having fun and supporting each other in crafting and personal lives is remarkable and makes this more than just a game but an honest community I’m proud to have been welcomed into.

What is on your crafting bucket list? Brioche. Using my own handspun for a project. Finishing a blanket. Making a ‘for real’ sweater. Double knitting.

What is currently on your needles/hook? My OWL project: Euphoria Cardi, a class project Tabby Chic Cat Bed, a WIP I found after a long time lost, Pincha shawl and something else somewhere I’m sure…

brightd (Danielle)

How did you find the Cup and what motivated you to give the Cup a try? I first found out about the Cup through the KnitGirllls podcast because LaLa is in the Cup. I love Harry Potter and decided to check it out.

What, in your own estimation, is your wackiest/most awesome project and why? I am currently completing a sweater that I took from a baby sweater pattern and scaled it up to fit me. The math was more than slightly difficult.

What characteristics do you love most about the Tower so far? How do these things impact and change or encourage you? So far I love the Tower. Everyone is so willing to speak to each other, answer questions, and support each other. Even though I don’t always have access to Internet, knowing I can help support the group by working on my projects encourages me to keep a steady pace.

What is on your crafting bucket list? I would love to make a sweater for my husband and to get better at working with lace. Possibly learning how to work brioche.

What is currently on your needles/hook? Currently, I am working on a list of gift socks for my family.

Welcome to Ravenclaw! We look forward to seeing you SOAR!

Firstie Friday!

It's time to meet another one of our fabulous Firsties!

AnnaKnitter (Anna-Lena)

How did you find the Cup and what motivated you to give the Cup a try? I have heard of it in a podcast, but now I am pretty sure that it wasn’t this particular game. The podcaster talked about knitting something for her specific house and that was what I wanted. I like these kind of competitions and I love Harry Potter and that all the knitting Potter fans identify with their houses etc.

What, in your own estimation, is your wackiest/most awesome project and why? If you mean by wacky kind of crazy (sorry English isn’t my mother tongue) I only have a handknit poncho in hot pink. I really don’t know what I was thinking. XD My most awesome project for me is my Snowcloud cardigan because it was the first garment I have made for myself and I love it.

What characteristics do you love most about the Tower so far? How do these things impact and change or encourage you? I haven’t experienced that much yet but I love that the people are all so helpful! I haven’t read one negative comment so far and that is not self-evident for social media!

What is on your crafting bucket list? 
1) The Feathers in the Wind Cardigan by Locatelli 
2) Mittens (Never done before) 
3) More hats (Wasn’t often correct size when I knit them) 
4) Knitting presents throughout the year for all my loved ones for Christmas and birthdays

What is currently on your needles/hook? 
1) The Annulaire by Hillary Smith Callis 
2) Mittens 
3) Socks 
4) The Starting Point by Joji Locatelli 
5) One colored Brioche Hat 
6) Crochet Granny Stripe Blanket (long term project)

We're happy to have you in the Tower!

Firstie Friday!: January Stats Edition

We're almost halfway through month two of the term so it's time to share a bit about how our Firsties handled their first Sorted month as 'Claws. Here are some stats showing our fabulous Firsties' performance for the month of January.

Our First Years were wonderfully prolific their first month, with a whopping 79 class submissions between the 19 of them. The three most popular classes were Art History, Herbology and Muggle Studies which each had 12 submissions. 

Besides classes, January also contained the first two Quidditch matches and the first Deputy Headmistress challenge of the term. 12 Firsties participated in Match 1, while 11 scored a goal in Match 2. 14 Firsties continued their commitment to lifelong learning by completing the first round of the DHMC.

Special kudos to the four Firsties who submitted something to all 8 classes, Detention, Quiddy Match 1 and 2 and DHMC Round 1. Congrats to greektome, JRollow, SVCatto and woolyeyes for this fantastic feat.


Just a few of the gorgeous projects submitted by Firsties in January...

February is a very busy and short month with two more Quidditch matches, 2 more rounds of DHMC and OWL 50% submissions, so there's a pretty good chance there will be plenty more excitement from our current crop of Firsties. 

Stay tuned to this column for more updates on our SOARing little Eagles!

Firstie Friday!

It's time to meet another one of our fantastic Firsties!

SierraSkiing (Kelsey)

How did you find the Cup and what motivated you to give the Cup a try? I was randomly browsing Ravelry groups and saw that there was a brigade of Potter fans in this group! I wanted to see what the community was like and connect to other nerdy crafters.

What, in your own estimation, is your wackiest/most awesome project and why? My most awesome project so far is my Quest for Yarnia scarf! As someone who has only been knitting for three years, doing a double-knit fingering-weight scarf was a little crazy. It took me ages to finish, and I’m somehow planning on doing another one for an OWL.

What characteristics do you love most about the Tower so far? How do these things impact and change or encourage you? So far, I love the community of the Firstie dorm! Everyone is navigating the crazy fun complexity of the Cup together, and I appreciate the support of my fellow firsties, our Mama Eagle, and my Big Eagle. The TV show recommendations have also flown fast and furious!

What is on your crafting bucket list? Someday I’d love to make a fancy colorwork sweater, although I don’t have a pattern in mind yet!

What is currently on your needles/hook? I’m currently working on finishing a vest for my mom, an RPG hat to go with my RPG scarf, and a cardigan for me, with this pattern. https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/ginnys-cardigan

Welcome to Ravenclaw! We're happy you're here!

Firstie Friday!

It's time to meet two more of our fabulous Firsties!

Woolyeyes (Kathy)

How did you find the Cup and what motivated you to give the Cup a try? I had heard about the Cup years ago and wanted to give it a try, but hadn’t. This past summer I attended a retreat with Puffygriffinclaw and we spoke about the Cup and I knew I wanted to join in!

What, in your own estimation, is your wackiest/most awesome project and why? I think my Diamondback Socks were pretty awesome. I’ve found some real challenges doing sock competitions like Tour-de-Sock and Sock Madness.

What characteristics do you love most about the Tower so far? How do these things impact and change or encourage you? The biggest change in my crafting so far is that I am focused on having a finished object in a certain time period. It has kept me from casting on so many things I otherwise would have. The time periods are reasonable, I’m not knitting a sweater for a class, but making reasonably sized projects and some smaller ones for the classes and saving my bigger ones for the OWL and BROOM categories.

What is on your crafting bucket list? Double knitting.

What is currently on your needles/hook? Selbu Socks and trying to get my Sunset Highway started!

theScarlettPuffin (Adrienne)

How did you find the Cup and what motivated you to give the Cup a try? I learned about the Cup via Reddit - someone mentioned it on the knitting sub, so I came to check it out. I decided to join because it sounded like a good way to give some structure to my knitting plans. I’d been struggling with knitting block for most of the last half of 2017, finishing only two projects in about 7 months, but starting probably a dozen. I immediately felt at home looking through the Tower, and knew this would be a good place to find motivation and encouragement.

What, in your own estimation, is your wackiest/most awesome project and why? I made Morticia by Boo Knits, and I think it’s the most impressive thing I’ve done that I’m happy with. I also made Gelato by Chantal Belisle, which felt like a feat of knitting, but I’m unhappy with the finished sweater and will eventually frog it and reuse the yarn, so I’m more reluctant to show that one off.

What characteristics do you love most about the Tower so far? How do these things impact and change or encourage you? I love the community of the Tower. Everything from the mentor pairing to the candle post to the dorms where people talk about whatever takes the Cup from a game I do online with strangers to something I feel I part of. I adore how nerdy everyone is in various ways.

What is on your crafting bucket list? I want to make more clothing and items for my home, like blankets and storage baskets. I’m learning stranded knitting and am excited to delve further into that. At some point this term I’m hoping to make a wedding gift for my brother and future sister-in-law.

What is currently on your needles/hook? Too many things, I have a WIP problem! I’m trying to focus on finishing a couple of shawls and a blanket, but I also have three garments in process and some winter accessories that were supposed to be Christmas gifts I never felt motivated to finish…

Welcome to the Tower. We look forward to seeing you SOAR!

Firstie Friday!

We have two more bios this week for our fabulous Firsties!

MotherofFlagons (Sarah)

How did you find the Cup and what motivated you to give the Cup a try? I taught myself how to knit about 14 years ago after my daughter was born. She got more mobile though, and just as she was getting more manageable and starting school I had my son. As such I have not knit in about 13 years. A lot has changed since then! Since I’ve realized that I DO have the time and means to knit again now, I’ve been busy absorbing the humongous Internet knitting culture that has sprung up since then! The House Cup is a typical example of something that seemed completely daunting at first but really is totally manageable once you get used to it.

What, in your own estimation, is your wackiest/most awesome project and why? I’m proudest of the fingerless mitts pattern I came up with ages ago. I now regret my use of Lamb’s Pride yarn, but I gave a few as gifts back then and everyone loved how they fit. I totes forgot the pattern though. 

What characteristics do you love most about the Tower so far? How do these things impact and change or encourage you? I love how nice everyone is in the Tower. I’m still hoping to thoroughly click with someone! I really appreciate how the mods take care to answer nearly every post and make everyone feel important. I’m new to Rav and generally shy at first, so it really helps to have some reassurance that I belong here.

What is on your crafting bucket list? I have a Fade shawl on my bucket list…I don’t have a perfect colorway yet. And I want to do a lot more with colorwork in general.

What is currently on your needles/hook? I am married to my Zorzal shawl at the moment. Just this evening, I took a picture of it and noticed a hole. In garter stitch, what the heck!!! It was seven or eight rows down, but I tried to fix it. Unfortunately, I dropped an adjacent stitch in error before I dropped the right one. Fixing that mistake ended up making it quite confusing to fix the original mistake, and now it looks a bit wonky in that vicinity. It’s only a small area, and I’m not ripping back 350 or so live stitches to fix a boo-boo eight or so rows down!

WordLily (Hannah)

How did you find the Cup and what motivated you to give the Cup a try? I’ve been aware of the Cup for a number of years but I was intimidated. Last term, early on, I became aware of a couple closer Rav friends who were members, and when they both encouraged me to participate as a NQFY to check it out, I joined the group. When I got the PM from Hagrid, I took a little deeper look around, and decided to actually play. So I submitted a few classes, both that month and the next. I put my name down to be Sorted, not really expecting to be. And here we are!

What, in your own estimation, is your wackiest/most awesome project and why? I think my wackiest/most awesome project is probably my Bamboo Headboard. Why? It’s entirely one of a kind; it uses all different kinds of yarn, much of it reclaimed but also collected over many years in pursuit of such a project; I had the idea and I brought it to fruition, even though it took more than a year; and it’s at least as great as I imagined it would be; I finished it more than 3 years ago and I still use it and love it.

What characteristics do you love most about the Tower so far? How do these things impact and change or encourage you? I love the Tetris threads! And the spreadsheets! And the AS thread! And my dorm, and my Big Eagle! I love that it’s basically impossible for me to be adrift and lost if I don’t want to be, and that if I want to push myself, there’s plenty of encouragement for that, too. I’m hopeful that these things will help me reach new heights of epic-ness in my crafting, rather than settling for mediocrity that leaves me unsatisfied with myself.

What is on your crafting bucket list? Off the top of my head: 
• Persian Dreams 
• A Kieran Foley wrap or a few 
• A fully stranded sweater 
• A handspun (hand-dyed?) sweater

What is currently on your needles/hook? 
• Levenwick in Donegal Tweed 

• Simple Skyp Socks for my dad in Cascade Longwood Sport Stripe
• Coal Creek Trail in Clara Yarn Shetland 2.0

I also have some wool millends I dyed spinning up as a 2-ply gradient on my CPW, and some Spunky Eclectic yak/merino on my Jenkins Delight spindle.

Another big welcome to the Tower. We're happy to have you!

Firstie Friday!

It’s time for our first set of bios for our fantastic Firsties of the Winter 2018 term. This week, we’ll be getting to know two of our new Tower-mates. 

SVCatto (Margaret)

How did you find the Cup and what motivated you to give the Cup a try? I was looking at the Finished Projects for a pattern (I think it was one of the Yarnia patterns) and saw an OWL badge as the Ravatar and said to myself, “What?!” So I went and looked and read about all the OWLs and said to myself, “Wow, points and badges and credit for something I’m doing anyway!”

What, in your own estimation, is your wackiest/most awesome project and why? What about the project that drove me the most nuts? The Siamese Cat which a friend asked me to make. Too many odd seams, especially for a person who strongly prefers modular/seamless anything. My personal favorite of the projects I’ve kept for myself is a pair of simple gloves made from scraps of leftover sock yarns. 

What characteristics do you love most about the Tower so far? How do these things impact and change or encourage you? I like seeing everyone else’s projects, although the number of lifetimes I’m going to have to live in order to make everything I’d like to knit looks like doubling per term. 

What is on your crafting bucket list? A large shawl in a traditional Shetland pattern. I bought the yarn in Lerwick and need to decide whether precisely the right pattern is somewhere out there or whether I can succeed in combining traditional stitch patterns to create my own design. It may be a while before I get there. In the meantime, I’m itching to try one or more of the Yarnia Quest patterns. 

What is currently on your needles/hook? The first of three pairs of socks for my HoM OWL, and a child’s hat for For the Children of Pine Ridge which I will turn in for Divination.

Allegro133 (Heather)

How did you find the Cup and what motivated you to give the Cup a try? I saw a really cool project and the person who made it had an OWL badge in the project. That made me curious what the badge was all about and the project made want to make awesome stuff like it. That’s how I found The Cup and why I checked it out.

What, in your own estimation, is your wackiest/most awesome project and why? My favorite project is an Amigurumi dragon, probably because I used novelty yarn. My craziest project is this blanket I signed up to test knit: Beastie Celtic Blanket and I don’t think I would have had the courage to do it if I hadn’t joined The Cup. 

What characteristics do you love most about the Tower so far? How do these things impact and change or encourage you? My favorite thing about the Tower is the chance to have a reason to interact with other crafters and get help and encouragement. Also, Wendebular is a fantastic Mama Eagle. So far, the group has encouraged me to learn double knitting. Not bad for the first two weeks, right!? 

What is on your crafting bucket list? I want to make human-sized socks. I also have a few ambitious knits in my queue that I want to do as future OWLs, like Tay Tartan Cardigan. 

What is currently on your needles/hook? The test knit blanket is the main thing I’m currently working on. I also have Dragonfly Stole planned as my mission for this term.

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

Firstie Friday: Winter 2018 First Stats Edition

We’re just over 10 days into the Winter 2018 term, and things are looking busy and exciting for our current crop of Firsties. While adjusting to a new House and being newly Sorted, our Firsties have been taking the Castle by storm, turning in several classes, jumping into Advanced Studies and leaving their mark on the Quidditch Pitch and the DHMC.

Here's some stats to see how our fabulous First Years are doing so far:

Number of OWL Proposals Submitted: 9

Number of BROOMs Submitted: 7

Number of Attempted PhOWLs: 7

Number of Classes Submitted to date: 26

Flight of the First Recipients: 13

Number of Detention Projects Submitted: 5

Number of Quidditch Projects Submitted: 12

Number of DHMC Projects Submitted: 10


Way to go, Firsties! We love to watch you SOAR!

Firstie Friday!

It’s the first Friday of a new term so it’s time to welcome our new batch of fabulous First Year students to The Tower!

Each of our fantastic Firsties will be featured in more detail as the term continues with photos of some of their projects and some info on why they are a perfect fit for Ravenclaw. But first, here's a quick intro to our huge class of 19 wonderful new Firsties!

Allegro133

AnikoCs

AnnaKnitter

brightd

CathyCJ

CrimsonKitten

greektome

JRollow

kalaah

LidHub

MotherofFlagons

MyMomMadeThat

SierraSkiing

SVCatto

TheCharmofIt

theScarletPuffin

Vintageinstitches

woolyeyes

WordLily


We are thrilled to have all of you here with us, and look forward to seeing you SOAR!

Firstie Friday: Fall 2017 Final Update

It's time for the final Firstie Friday update for the Fall 2017 term. We have some final stats and accomplishments to share for the outgoing Firstie class.

Class Participation

Here's a few charts showing overall class participation per month and turn-ins by class per month.

These turn-ins included 5Bobbins submitting something for all 8 classes and Detention in September, and KauaiD turning in 8 classes in November. 

We also had one Firstie turn in something for every single class this term including Detention all three months. A resounding way to go to qtinki for this outstanding and difficult accomplishment!

Recognition

We had a few Firsties who had some pretty outstanding accomplishments for their first term.

Completionist - There were four Firsties who earned the much sought-after and difficult to accomplish Completionist badge. Congrats to Lynn4MK, mooseloon, Mootzee and qtinki for this achievement.

Trophy Nominations - Lynn4MK and 5Bobbins received nominations for September class work, Lynn4MK received a second nomination in October and Mootzee was nominated for her work in November.

Mad Science Nominations - A special recognition in the Tower, Mad Scientist awards go to those 'Claws who have shown an inquisitive, experimenting nature. Two Firsties received nominations from fellow 'Claws for outstanding work; 5Bobbins for the gorgeous baby blanket she graphed herself and crocheted for her son and Mootzee for her beautiful crocheted scarf showing her Ravenclaw pride.

Our phenomenal Fall 2017 Firsties have worked hard this term, accomplished some amazing things and done themselves and The Tower proud. We have loved having them and look forward to many more terms of their participation in the House.

Firstie Friday: AS Update!

Now that the term has ended, it's time to report on our fantastic Firsties that attempted Advanced Studies their first Sorted term. We had four fearless Firsties submit projects.

Missions Managed!

Taleweaver completed a cozy, comfy Snuggle for her local SPCA. This thick blanket will serve to comfort a dog waiting for their fur-ever home.

Lynn4MK submitted a gorgeous blue partial cowl for her Mission. It's positively beautiful in its' partial state, and will be exquisite when finished.

Outstanding OWLs!

Masschroeder earned her Arithmancy OWL with 4 pairs of gift socks including a charming pair of Hufflepuff striped socks and three pairs of beautifully textured footwear.

Mooseloon completed her Herbology OWL with a gorgeous sweater made from New Zealand wool to match a sweater made for a friend. 

Congratulations to our amazing First Years for their fabulous accomplishments!

Firstie Friday: Fall '17 Final Quidditch and HMC Stats

Our fearsome Firsties are finishing the end of the Fall 2017 term as strongly as they started, and have continued their participation in Cup extracurriculars with enthusiasm. Here are some stats for the final 2 matches of Quidditch and the last round of Headmistress Challenge. 

Quidditch
Both Match 3 and Match 4 have been completed since our last extracurricular update, and our Firsties had consistent participation with 5 relaxing goals scored in Match 3 and 6 lucky goals in Match 4.

Here's just a few of the beautiful projects turned in over the course of these 2 matches.

Headmistress Challenge

The last round of the HMC saw 5 Firsties focusing on bettering something in their lives, benefiting themselves and the House by earning those extra points.


Final Stats
Congratulations to the intrepid First Years who chose to go the distance and complete all Quidditch matches and rounds of the HMC this term. Five Firstie Quidditch chasers managed to score a goal in all 4 rounds, while four Firsties completed all 4 rounds of the HMC, earning points for each and a bonus for participating in them all.


Our Firsties have had a great term with plenty of lovely projects being completed. It's wonderful to know that they've enjoyed participating in these Cup extracurriculars as it truly makes this game just a little bit more fun.

SOAR on, Little Eagles!

Firstie Friday

We have another fabulous Firstie to meet today!

5Bobbins (Jenna)

How did you find the Cup and what motivated you to give the Cup a try?: I randomly stumbled onto the Cup after finding badges on another Cupper's profile page, so I looked it up and applied for sorting, not expecting to get in but as luck would have it I was accepted :) I’d tried CALs before and I loved the community encouragement, and motivation for finishing projects, as I notoriously start things but don’t finish. I posted a little story in the Candle thread about other ulterior motives as well :)

What, in your own estimation, is your wackiest/most awesome project and why?, So far the biggest project I’ve ever attempted was Sweet Potato 3’s Cal, but I think the Broom I’ve chosen, making my own charts from a clip art and converting them into a blanket, will be my most challenging yet as I also intend to pair it with some painted canvases of the same theme.

What characteristics do you love most about the Tower so far? How do these things impact and change or encourage you? The first thing I do every morning is hop onto the forums and catch up on any messages or posts in my dorm. It's great knowing that if I do have a question, there is someone there I can ask, not too far away in spirit :)

What is on your crafting bucket list? Must! Do! All! The! Things! I intend to hand in a project for every class and challenge I come across as I’m super excited to be a part of the HPKCHC!

What is currently on your needles/hook? I’m just finishing up a collection of items I intend to submit for the remainder of my classes this term, and I will be working on my Broom. I got myself a copy of the Harry Potter Audio books so I can listen to them while I work on my charts on the computer :)

Firstie Friday!

We have another fabulous Firstie to meet this week!

lvs2read (Meg)

How did you find the Cup and what motivated you to give the Cup a try? I participated in the Cup as a NQFY for the first time in the spring of 2015, but I didn’t get Sorted. This spring term, I played as a NQFY and I became a Sorted Ravenclaw!

What, in your own estimation, is your wackiest/most awesome project and why? I knit a pair of matching stuffed dinosaurs for my cousins. They were a lot of fun, but people asked a lot of questions about what I was knitting! 
  

What characteristics do you love most about the Tower so far? How do these things impact and change or encourage you? I love how inquisitive and interested everyone is in the Tower, and I love how helpful people can be. There are so many different kinds of people and everyone brings something different to the table. Plus, I love Class Tetris and the AS thread!

What is on your crafting bucket list? There isn’t much I haven’t done in the knitting world, but I would love to learn to spin and I would love to make myself a sweater.

What is currently on your needles/hook? My current projects are parts of my OWL and OOTP mission. I’m working on a pair of vanilla socks (in America’s Team, go Cowboys!) and the very beginnings of a Kallara. 
  

We're happy you chose to join us in Ravenclaw!