O.W.L.

Hello:

I am on break this month.  Of course, this week is Spring Break up here for our schools, and my Godkids are on their Spring Break, too.  But, I am on break for the Harry Potter Knitting/Crochet House Cup.

The Cup is organized into 3 month Terms, with a Break month in between each Term.  I made so much stuff (still need to add up and post my yardage) last Term, that I really need this month off to relax.  Of course, I am still stitching.  Even with my visitors, I am finding time to knit and crochet. 

I have been working on charity baby hats, and on the 3 blankets I have in progress, but mainly, I am deciding on what will be my proposal for my next O.W.L. (Ordinary Wizarding Level Exam).  The Cup is full of opportunities for projects that must be completed in one month (regular class assignments), and even shorter projects (Quidditch), but there are also challenges to make items that take more than one month.  These are called Advanced Studies.  There are three types of Advanced Studies projects:  Order of the Phoenix Missions (should take 6 - 8 weeks), OWLs (should take 3 months), and NEWTs (Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Test) which are a combination of 2 OWLs and take 4 months.  There are eight different possible OWLs and if you finish them all, you are given the designation of OWL Mistress.    So far, I have completed 4: 

My first term (Fall 2012), I completed a History of Magic OWL.  I knit 3 pairs of socks, each sock representing a different famous witch or wizard.

 Coupling Socks to represent Professor McGonagall:

Bubbling Socks to represent Lily Potter:

And Snape's Stockings to represent... Snape.

The next term, Winter 2013, I completed a Transfiguration OWL.  The challenge was to "disappear" a huge amount of yarn, and I hooked an afghan.  It used over 3000 yds of yarn.

For Spring 2013, I used the OWL to hook two baby blankets for a baby shower that June.  This subject was Charms.  The challenge was to crochet 2 items in lace patterns using a minimum of 600 yds. each.

One of the things I love about the Cup in general, and the OWLs in particular, is that it pushes me to FINISH stuff.  When I have a real life deadline, like a birthday, or a baby shower, I always try to make the gifts part of a class or my OWL for that term.

I made another afghan for my Fall 2013 OWL.  That subject was Arithmancy, and the challenge was to make multiples of the same type of item.

For last term, Winter 2013, I did a NEWT instead of an OWL.  You have to have completed 4 OWLs to be eligible for a NEWT, and the NEWT has to include a subject you have already completed.  So, I did  DADA (Defense Against the Dark Arts) where I conquered the Cruciatus Curse by knitting two pieces that used mostly stockinette and garter stitch - very horrible stitches for me

and Transfiguration, where I disappeared a ton of yarn:

So this is all a big lead up to the OWL choice for this next Term, Spring 2014.  I want to use the OWL to push myself to make something I have been wanting to make and just never seem to get around to starting.  I am thinking of making Christmas Ornaments and Snowflakes. 

I have been wanting to make the ornaments from 55 Christmas Balls to Knit by Arne and Carlos.  I even checked the book out from the library two years ago, and knit 0.  Also, every year, I look at these beautiful crocheted snowflakes, and think, I'm going to make some for my kids.  And I make 0.  I test hooked a snowflake last night,  called Christmas in Paris by Deborah Atkinson.  Each arm is supposed to look like the Eiffle Tower.

There are so many beautiful snowflake patterns on Ravelry for free, and what's more, I'm sure that as I start making them, I will start designing my own.  Same thing for the Ornaments.  There is an option for Care of Magical Creatures where you Hatch an Egg or a Clutch of Eggs and craft items that are inspired  by the creature(s) you hatched.  So, I'm thinking that I will hatch a Frost Dragon, or some type of similar creature and the snowflakes and ornaments will represent the time of year, and perhaps the breath of the creature.  I just need to figure out how many is a reasonable amount of each to make. I have to remember that I will be knitting socks for both Sock Madness AND Tour de Sock during this term.  The socks will be turned in as class assignments and also most likely for my Order of the Phoenix Mission.  I want to be able to finish the OWL successfully.

This should be the push to get these done WAY before Christmas.  I am getting excited.

Peace,
f1bercat
shaping the planet with the Eiffle Tower in mercerized cotton.