I have been busy

Hello:

It's a bit after 11 am, and wow still foggy.  It seems like summer has ended early.  We had the warmest/least rainy summer in 2 generations.  The weatherman on KUOW keeps saying that we are going to have more nice days, but then... we get this fog.

It is the beginning of the Fall Term for the Harry Potter Knitting Crochet House Cup (HPKCHC) on Ravelry.  This happens every 4 months.  The "terms" are 3 months long with a month break in between.  You can turn in one finished WIP each month of the term, but all other points are for projects started and finished during the term.  This always makes the break month a bit of a stitching downer.  Or, a needed rest...

For detention (this month it is called "Leaky Cauldron"), I made a hat, the Turn a Square Hat by Jared Flood.

Other than "detention" - the finished WIP's, there are 5 different types of projects you can do for the game.

The class prompts are short term projects.  Every month, on the first day of the month.  Eight different class threads are opened with a bit of a story and a prompt for a project.  These prompts have different options, and always include all the possible crafts (knitting, crochet, spinning, dyeing). While at first they seem specific, they are very open and you can almost always figure out a way to "sell" a project you wanted to make to any class.  The projects must be completed, and by completed I mean completed - blocked and all ends woven in, and the turn in posted by the last day of the month.

This term, the classes are a bit different, at least for September.  We are exploring the shops in Diagon Alley.  So, rather than having Flying Class, we have a prompt for Quality Quidditch Supplies.  The prompt has to do with the balls used in playing Quidditch.  If you are learning about the Snitch, you might craft something to help catch or contain a snitch (for example, gloves/mitts/bags).  If you choose the Bludger option, since these are rather dangerous, you might craft something you are afraid of, something you have tried and failed at before, been nervous to start, or a new technique.  The last option for this class is the Quaffle.  Since these are the only non-magic balls used in quidditch, you must craft something a muggle might use to clean up messes.  This is an opportunity for people who love to craft washcloths, etc.

This type of game is so perfect for me.  There is a bit of role-playing, a bit of trivia and learning more about the Harry Potter world, a lot of Harry Potter, and a lot of crafting.

For Quality Quidditch Supplies, I made some fingerless mitts.  They fulfill option 1, and will help my son, Pookie, "catch snitches" at his school this fall.

Another class I have finished is Ollivander's Wand Shop.  You might remember from the books, that Mr. Ollivander is always saying that the wand chooses the wizard.  So for this class, there is only one prompt, "craft something that chose you - explain how it chose you."

I have been working on a new afghan square design, Twisted Rose, having it tested, and getting it ready to publish.  So, for this class, I made up one of my new squares in Gryffindor colors.  I haven't turned it in yet, but the write up will be something about the design being my own, and something I just can't get out of my head, and of course Gryffindor colors are a natural since being sorted into Gryffindor for the 4th term.

I have started a pair of socks.  These will be turned in for Flourish & Blotts.  This is the bookstore in Diagon Alley.  The prompt focuses on a book of hexes and jinxes, Curses and Counter-Curses: Bewitch your Friends and Befuddle your Enemies with the Latest Revenges: Hair Loss, Jelly-Legs, Tongue-Tying and much, much more. 

The prompts are to either craft something to protect your legs from the Jelly-Legs curse (socks/leg warmers) or to craft something really ugly and for bonus points, give it to someone.

I am doing option 1.  I am making Hidden Hearts by Jeannie Cartmel.  She is one of the featured designers for Sock Knitters Anonymous, SKA, this month.  I am using some beautiful SweetGeorgia Yarns Tough Love Sock in Boysenberry.  SolidSocks challenge for September is Purple, so these socks will fit that group, too.

I am finding these a bit of a slow go.  The pattern is not difficult, but it is not necessarily social knitting.  I brought them to Crossroads last Wed, and made very slow progress.  Then, I tried to knit them while watching Notre Dame lose to Michigan last night, and that was even worse.  The Doc does not like too much light on while watching TV, and these need a lot of light.  I ended up putting them down and working on my OWL, instead.

The long term projects in the House Cup are:  NEWTs, OWLs, and BROOMs.

NEWTs are meant to be a 4 month long project.  You have to have successfully completed 4 OWLs before you are "allowed" to do a NEWT.  I am currently on my fourth OWL.

The OWLs should take 6 - 8 weeks and involve 60 - 80 hours of crafting.  This is pretty subjective, as they want it to be your time, not what it would take an expert speed knitter, or spinner, etc.

For my other OWLs I made, 3 pairs of socks (History of Magic), an Afghan (Transfiguration), and two lace baby blankets (Charms).  For this OWL (Arithmancy), I am making another afghan, but not the entire thing.  The prompt is to make 12 of something.  You can make 12 hats.  They don't have to be the same pattern or yarn.  So I will make 12 12 in. afghan squares, and 10 6 in squares.  I need 20 of the 12 in squares to make a decent size afghan, so the other eight will be made for various classes or Quidditch.

So far I have completed two of the 12 in.:

Four 12 in Shell Stitch Granny Square Variations  by Pricilla Hewitt

The Harriett Square by Carolyn Christmas,

and, the Vintage Lace Square (6 in. square) by Carol Alexander.

As soon as I figure out how I want to arrange the squares for the afghan, I will start hooking them together.  That is my fail safe recipe for finishing an afghan quickly.  Hook as you go!

I haven't proposed a BROOM yet this term, but I plan on proposing 2 pair of socks.  I plan to make the socks anyway, for SKA, and possibly solid socks, so I might as well get BROOM points for my house.

The last way to win points, and submit projects for prizes, is through Quidditch.  Quidditch projects are usually short 1 week projects that span the three months.  This term, there is actually one long three month Quidditch Game, and 4 short games.  I will talk about the long game later, but the first short game is a one week Get to Know Your New Nimbus challenge.  Since the Nimbus 2000 was the top-of-the-line broom when it was released, this challenge is to craft something using top-of-the-line materials.  This means top of the line TO YOU.  If you only have acrylic, and always use acrylic, you just have to say why acrylic is top of the line (wears well, washable, no allergies, etc.)

For this challenge, I made a hat in Malabrigo Worsted.  I had started this hat during Mal March, but never got much past the cast on.  I frogged it, went down a needle size to size 4 (I am such a lose knitter!), and it knit up in 2 days.

The pattern is Roscoe Village Hat by Breean Elyse Miller.

I plan to make a pair of matching fingerless mitts using something of the same stitch patterns, and give both to Moogie as a Have Fun in New York gift.

Whew!  that was a lot of explaining.  I really need to get back to my socks.

Peace,
f1bercat
shaping the planet on a HP high

Almost 1 pm and look, there is the sun.  It will be a beautiful day, after all.