Geek of the Week -- Malala Yousafzai

Our Geek this week is famous not for being an educator, but for fighting for the right to be educated.

Malala Yousafzai is a Pakistani student who has become a leading advocate  for educational rights for girls and women.  She first rose to prominence at the age of 11 when she wrote a blog for  BBC Urdu describing daily life under the Taliban. Despite the fact that girls' schools had been closed and her family displaced by the fighting, she continued to study and speak out for the right of girls to be educated. 

Eventually the girls' schools were reopened, but Malala and her father persisted in their advocacy for educational access for girls. Their work won them much acclaim -- she was awarded Pakistan's first National Youth Peace Prize and other awards -- but it also earned them enemies in the Taliban. They received death threats, but when her father suggested they move or discontinue their campaigns for human rights, Malala refused.

The Taliban tried to make good on their threats in October, 2012. The then 15-year-old Malala was shot in the head on the way home from an exam. Though gravely wounded, she eventually recovered and continued to campaign on behalf of educational and womens' rights. She is the youngest person the be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize (which she shared with Indian children's rights advocate Kailash Satyarthi) and has received numerous other awards for her work.

For her determination to get an education, even at the risk of her life, and her continuing campaign to guarantee all children everywhere the right to an education, Malala Yousafzai is a most worthy Ravenclaw Geek of the Week. 

Learn more about Malala Yousafzai:

http://www.biographyonline.net/women/malala.html
http://www.biography.com/people/malala-yousafzai-21362253#after-the-attack
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-23241937

Photo credit: By DFID - UK Department for International Development - Malala Yousafzai: Education for girls, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=44577822

Firstie (and Transfer!) Friday

We're back for another Firstie Friday! 

Cauterize (Steph)

How did you find the Cup and what motivated you to give the Cup a try? I always knew about it from forum posts on Ravelry, but a couple of my teammates in Sock Madness (Team Engoon Edelweiss! Whoo!) last year were raving about it and encouraged us to join… They are JeepGeek and Lenoregie… I think they’re both in Hufflepuff.

What, in your own estimation, is your wackiest/most awesome project and why? Most wacky - My Involute poncho (it’s almost done) the construction is CRAZY and BRILLIANT and who thinks up a poncho pattern based on a gear? Most awesome is my Kingdom of Gold gloves that are featured on the project page!

What characteristics do you love most about the Tower so far? How do these things impact and change or encourage you?  I like all the side things that I didn’t know about! Convocation! Ravenclaw Mail! The Lineages! I also very much appreciate all the hard work and cleverness of Ravenclaw members, such as the blog, the spreadsheet, the Class Tetris help, and my Big Eagle Omeletsmom.

What is on your crafting bucket list? Finish a sweater for myself. Double Knitting. Steeking. Amigurami.

What is currently on your needles? Azel Pullover, Don’t Tread on My Toes, Benjamin

freemiki  (Miki)

How did you find the Cup and what motivated you to give the Cup a try? I actually joined in January 2011 but never signed up for sorting. When I came back to Ravelry after being away for a few years, i decided to give it a try. Definitely one of my better decisions.

What, in your own estimation, is your wackiest/most awesome project and why? i’m knitting something right now that incorporates cassette tapes from the 80’s.

What characteristics do you love most about the Tower so far? How do these things impact and change or encourage you? i’m really loving the Candle Requests. There’s a lot of beautiful energy being given. I was crabby for a minute the other day over a ruined manicure. Just one minute in the candle thread reminded me of what is really important.

What is on your crafting bucket list? steeks (eek!), 2 color brioche, knitting all the crazy patterns in Lynne Barr’s book ReversibleKnitting. HelpfulKitten has been trying to get me knitting sweaters, so that’s in my future. Oh, and I want to learn to chart for illusion and double knitting. someday.

What is currently on your needles? My 2 OWL projects and Scowl by Xandy Peters

Weekly Showcase Wednesday - on a Thursday (at least in some parts of the world)!

The month of January flew by!  And Ravenclaws certainly had a lot of projects to turn in during the last few days of the month.  So much for a Wednesday showcase--I finally finished looking at class submissions and it's almost Friday!

There were so many wonderful projects made by 'Claws this month, and it was hard to choose, but here are the winners of the Golden Pickle Award, given to the projects that really stood out for me!

krw1243 made a delightful and colorful mini-quilt for Ancient Runes and knit a fabulous sweater for Flying:

Jayannell knit a beautiful lacy shawl for Ancient Runes and wove a fantastic scarf for Transfiguration:

kaypendragon did some Japanese water marbling to make a set of lovely art cards for Ancient Runes and crocheted a pair of pretty lacy doilies for Herbology:

softnshiny wove a stunning scarf for Ancient Runes, using gorgeous yarn she spun for DADA:

fricknfrack made an awesome little sewn booklet for Ancient Runes and knit a spectacular solar system shawl for Divination:

scrappinrobyn made some wonderful baby cards for Charms:

s2five crocheted a magnificent lacy shawl for Charms:

caranam needlefelted another fabulous picture for Charms:

freemiki knit a charming Totoro hat for Charms:

electronjam knit a cute little snowman for Charms:

CacaoGoddess made a clever snowflake decoration for Charms (I love those embroidered snowflakes!):

hnick designed and knit a beautiful pair of socks for DADA:

LeahandtheDragon designed and knit a fantastic lacy shawl for DADA:

knittingvortex designed and knit a marvelous shawl for DADA:

frithuswith did some incredible weaving for DADA:

Momtoaaandm designed and knit a lovely cowl for DADA and crocheted an adorable hippo for Outdoor Survival:

CathyCake designed and knit a gorgeous lacy shawl for DADA:

winemakerssister again spun stunning skeins of yarn, for Flying and for Herbology:

secrettrail knit a wonderful pair of colorwork mittens for Flying and a delightful stuffed fox for Outdoor Survival:

Auora knit a fabulous colorwork hat for Flying:

pickyknitter75 crocheted an exquisite lacy doily for Flying:

DrusillaWormwood knit a beautiful pair of colorwork socks for Herbology:

ShannaMarie knit a lovely lacy hat for Herbology:

KnitWit685 made a charming little gnome for Outdoor Survival:

Hypercycloid wove a marvelous scarf for Outdoor Survival:

zisch304 made a cute bunny egg cozy for Outdoor Survival:

greenheron knit an awesome cabled hat for Quidditch:

The Mallet of Sanity was having a field day this month trying to chase people down for their crazy class plans.  And there were a whole bunch of people who successfully outran it to earn the Pickle of Sanity Badge!

amylin knit a baby blanket using an incredible 1256 yards of yarn for Ancient Runes!

aquariae knit a lacy shawl using an amazing 1000 yards of yarn for Ancient Runes!

cjsquiggle knit a baby blanket using an unbelievable 1117 yards of yarn for Ancient Runes!

cn32 spectacularly made two separate blankets, one using 2660 yards and the other using 2560 yards of yarn, for Charms and Flying!

winemakerssister turned in nine hats and a scarf, totaling an astonishing 1692 yards of yarn, for Charms!

dami13 knit a vest using an impressive 1200 yards of yarn for Charms!

3secondfish crocheted a blanket using an inconceivable 2091 yards of yarn for DADA!

This week there were also some projects that gave me a good laugh and thus have earned the Darth Pickle Badge!

caranam made me giggle with her brain-eating slug as Quidditch helmet:

kneedleart amused with an impressive amount of "research" in testing out various prototypes of her Quidditch headgear (maybe this should have earned a science badge?):

Well, there you have it!  Congratulations to all the badge winners and congrats to everyone for completing the first month of the term!  I look forward to seeing what you have in store for February!!!