Where am I? -- Bribot09

This week we have the first in our series of travelogues from Tower Members -- Where am I Wednesdays. Our first traveler is our Portrait Artist, Bribot09.

Greetings from Philly!

This Ravenclaw took a week off from Hogwarts to participate in the 2016 USA Curling Arena National Tournament, hosted in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was a great week full of being a tourist and good curling! It was my second time in Philadelphia - the last time I was here I was eight and got lost crossing the street during a Fourth of July parade. This trip included… not getting lost! :D

Yes, I curl. Yes, it’s the sport with the ice, the sweeping, the yelling, and the rocks. Everybody throws and everybody sweeps ...and I’m totally hooked! I learned to curl in 2008 when I was living in Sweden at the Göteborg Curling Club. When I moved back to California I had no idea there was curling there until I saw an advert at the rink where I played hockey. Since 2012 I’ve picked the sport back up and it’s become an obsession equal to crafting. What do I love most? The sounds! The rocks grinding on the ice and the friction of the brooms when sweeping are my favorites, of course the satisfactory thwack of granite on granite is nice too. :)

Powered by ice cream and Rocky Balboa (one of my teammates has us listen to Eye of the Tiger and the Final Countdown while we’re stretching before every game), we went undefeated through the week to take home a repeat gold! More importantly our skip (team Captain) promised us Italian Ice from Rita’s if we won, so that was extra motivation to win. It’s a little embarrassing to be recognized by employees at an ice cream place on the other side of the country, but completely worth the shame. The trip also included a visit to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, that we ran up a la Rocky with “mouth trumpets” before visiting the exhibits.

Being an ice sport, curling provides plenty of inspiration for knitting! Curling has a legacy of epic sweaters and a woman I met was wearing a gorgeous sweater that she let me photograph to inspire a future knitted object. One day I’ll have a curling sweater as soon as I get over my fear of making them! For now I’ll just stick with my mitts.

During one of our long breaks, we visited Independence National Historical Park and Valley Forge National Historical Park, which satisfied my inner Parkie and was a first time visit for my teammates (see the over smiles at right). There I met a ranger I used to work with on Alcatraz - it’s always nice to see some of home when travelling!






Thanks for letting me share my summer holiday with you all - hope to see more Ravenclaws abroad!

(Team Walsh after our gold medal victory!)

Monday Showcase! (Oops, I think it's already Tuesday...)

The month of May is nearing a close, and Ravenclaws have been working hard on all their class work over the past two weeks.  Some 'Claws seem to be still ensconced in last term's science theme; I found a lot of experimentation going on around the House Cup since our last showcase!  But before we get to the science, let's first celebrate the awesome projects turned in over the past two weeks...

The Golden Pickle Award goes to all the standout projects turned in by Ravenclaws around the House Cup!


celizabethlill knit a lovely lacy poncho in Corvus black for Astronomy:

Bacs tried her hand at splatter painting to make these cool tree paintings for Astronomy:

Momtoaaandm showed off her skills at tatting to make several delicate stars and a bird for Astronomy:

Jayannell knit a beautiful shawl for Charms:

caranam played with precious metal clay to make some fabulous necklaces for DADA and earrings for Herbology:

Sumiregusa crocheted a stunning flower necklace for DADA:

Red sewed two delightful bags for Herbology:

rosimoto spun a gorgeous skein of laceweight for History of Magic:

priscillasewmad dyed a spectacular gray gradient for Potions:

ShannaMarie knit a fantastic lace shawl for Potions:

Sonnenblumenimp knit a marvelous pair of lacy socks for Potions:

As I mentioned before, there was an awful lot of experimentation going on over the past two weeks, mostly in the area of dyeing...

The Electric Pickle Badge goes to those projects that involve science or experimentation!


TwistedSticherFGE tried her hand at dyeing a gradient (twice!) for Astronomy and also experimented with dyeing with red onion skins for Muggle Studies:

FeoragRuadh tried out dyeing with rosehip tea for Herbology:

kaypendragon tested the differences between tea and coffee as dyes for Muggle Studies:

fricknfrack did an epic dyeing experiment using Jell-O for Potions:

And in the non-dyeing category, GirlyWithATwist used a very clever one-inside-the-other method of knitting two socks at the same time for Quidditch:

There was also a project over the past two weeks that made me giggle!

The Darth Pickle Badge is awarded to projects and turn-in posts that trigger laughter from your Head of House!


wendebular made the most spectacularly hilarious pair of baby booties for Muggle Studies (the photo staging is pretty funny as well):

And of course, it wouldn't be Ravenclaw without a little madness...

The Pickle of Sanity Badge goes to those endeavors that taunt the Mallet of Sanity and WIN!


CathyCake crocheted an incredible 1130 yards of blanket squares, all in shades of green, for Charms:

llim made not one, not two, not even just three... but EIGHT mini llamas for her students, complete with blankets matching school colors:

That's it for this week's badge winners!  Congratulations to everyone!  Keep up the incredible work and stay tuned to see what other awesome projects Ravenclaw students will produce in the coming weeks!

Last Week in the Common Room: Guest poster edition

This week's post brought to you by omeletsmom.


Cardboard boats and their construction were discussed.

A certain Prefect tried to entice a stubborn baby to make her appearance using walking and ballpark food.

A droopy cat and an extremely rotund cat made a welcome reappearance.

Monsters made an appearance in the bedroom of a certain gherkin.  Our Head of House is, as usual, both an inspiration and a warning to us. These statements may or may not be related.

Blanket fort party!

Several methods of dealing with unwanted critters were considered.

A stubborn baby finally made her appearance!

The merits of various Muggle communication devices were debated.

Cabybara Island!

To sock or not to sock -- Sock Madness is upon us.

Gilderoy Lockhart or Magic Tree House -- can you tell?

Apparently, one CAN knit ramen noodles.

Desks, conventional, adjustable, and standing were described, dissed, and debated.

Cobweb weight wedding shawls and veils are exciting and a little bit scary!

Crafting tools make fine accessories.

Several suggestions for how to secretly identify crafters in the wild were proposed.