OWL Proposal Time starts May 1!

One of the fun challenging portions of the House Cup is sitting for an Ordinary Wizarding Level Examination, more commonly known as an O.W.L.   I successfully completed my first OWL during my first term.  Incredibly nervous well described my apprehension about submitting a project, but the love and support of Hufflepuff and all of the OWL mentors made the project so much fun!  A completed OWL is worth 150 points to Hufflepuff, including the 50 points awarded for successfully meeting the 50% mark.

If you've never attempted an OWL before it is hard to wrap your brain around it.   There is a simple guide, if the project takes two to three months to complete, propose it as an OWL.  If it takes a month or two to complete, sign up for a mission with the Order of the Phoenix*.  If it takes a month or less, it would be perfect for a class or do multiples and submit it for an OWL.  

 Here is a list of all of the OWL themes for you to select from.    The opportunities are endless!

The timeline for the submission of an OWL is key.  The OWL thread will open for projects on May 1 and close on May 31.  All OWLs must be approved by the OWL examiners before the student can begin working on them.  Swatching is essential!  The format is straightforward and was presented by the OWL examiners to guide you through the process:

Proposal Summary Template for Spring ‘12

Name: 
House (or NQFY / SoS): 
OWL and option: 
Project/Pattern(s): 
Sequence & Points of Consideration: 
Proposed 50% Mark: 
Photos of Supplies and Swatch:

Notes: 
OWL and option: Please include the both the option number and name

Project/Pattern(s): All proposals should include links to all pattern pages as well as to (if relevant) project pages.

Sequence & Points of Consideration: The examiners would like to request that students provide a summary of their crafting sequence and what they think will be some of the ‘interesting areas’ of their OWL. Please do feel free to write a full story and/or explanation of your proposal underneath the proposal summary as they are more than welcomed by the examiners.

Photos of supplies and/or Swatch

• Please ensure that you include a photo of all your supplies (yarn, needles, pattern, beads). Students may choose to purchase zippers and/or buttons at a later stage, however this information must be included in their proposal.
• Swatches are mandatory for all projects. For candidates attempting multiple-item OWLs, a swatch is required whenever there is a change of yarn/fiber, stitch pattern or needle size, up to a maximum of 5 swatches per proposal. For spinners, sampling is a good idea and we would strongly encourage you to include some element of sampling in your proposal.
• For each swatch, please include explanation of whether gauge was achieved, and if not, if you will be making adjustments to the pattern to accommodate for this.

Hexapuff ruling 
Early in January we made an annoucement regarding 102 being the minimum number of hexapuffs needed for an OWL. We wanted to ensure that all students were aware of this as it was announced after the commencement of term. 

Ravelry has a page that covers everything OWL that is extremely helpful.   This is also linked to this blog through the bar on the right had side......way over here  ------------------------------------------------->

If you'd like to have a fellow housemate look over your OWL proposal, please post it in the Den's advanced studies thread.   It is also a nice place to park your proposal so that when it is time to submit it, all you will need to do is copy and paste it.

I hope that you consider proposing an OWL this term.  It is a fun and rewarding experience!

TTFN - MsOyster, your Advanced Studies correspondent

*  We will talk about the Order of the Phoenix missions in our next blog entry.

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