Thursday, May 2, 2013

School Bells Chime

Here we are at the start of Spring 2013 term!  My name is ThatTessGirl, and I'll be updating you throughout the term on the different classes and the awesome progress of your fellow Hufflepuffs.

Have you all go your knitting needles polished, sharpened, cast on yet?  If not, then what are you waiting for?  Classes are up and homework has been assigned.  Are you guys up for the challenges head?

Wow, there are some fun, exciting and yes, challenging classes this term.  But I know we Hufflepuffs are ready!  A full description of each class can be found on the main discussion board of the House Cup, as well as The Pantry in The Den.  There are lots of great links there to help you get organized and jump started.

If you are feeling a little stuck, head over to the HECK discussion in The Den as well.  Don’t be shy about heading on over and joining in the discussions.  There are tons of great topics on what projects will fit with each assignment, along with suggestions and ideas. 

But I thought I’d post a quick down and dirty of the assignments to get us thinking:

Transfiguration
Practice your conjuring with the Floris Hippurus spell: Conjure a fish or flower. Craft a fish or flower, or something with a fish or flower motif. Non-Ravelry crafts may be accepted on a case-by-case basis.

Potions
Craft something related to a potential use of The Draught of Living Death and/or Wiggenweld potion. Spin the bonds of sleep, knit a lacy shroud for a sleeping victim, crochet something that reminds you of the Muggle Sleeping Beauty story. Or take a more practical turn: how would you use these potions to thwart (or assist!) the dark wizards of the First Wizarding war? Craft a representation of your plan!

The Draught of Living Death is a complicated potion. Study the recipe and craft something that represents one or more ingredient, potion stage, instruction, and/or piece of equipment. Spin counterclockwise, craft something lilac, weave a complicated, time-consuming pattern, crochet lace that reminds you of Valerian flowers, knit with beads that remind you of chopped Sopophorous bean.

Non-Ravelry crafts may be accepted for this class with prior approval.

History of Magic
Option 1: Insane bravery. Show us how brave you are! Make something epically huge or epically tiny, or intricate and complex.

Option 2: Cadogan’s pony. Craft something using your second-choice materials. Maybe it’s a fiber you don’t usually like to use, or yarn you acquired long ago when your tastes were different or as a gift that didn’t quite suit you, or a type of dye that you’ve struggled with.

Option 3: Second try. Take another run at a project that failed in the past. Start the project over again, changing something to make it more successful.

Herbology
Option 1: Explore bast fibers such as hemp. Bast fibers come from the inner bark of many types of plants, such as this list here. If you know of a bast fiber you wish to work with that is not on this list, simply ask the professors, providing proof of the fiber’s origin. You may work in any Ravelry craft with fiber composed at least 50% from one or more bast fibers.

Option 2: Craft using the noble art of macrame. This will be the one exception to the Rav-crafts-only rule for this class. Some sample patterns may be found here.

Divination
Option 1: Craft something which may be used for or represent a future career.

Option 2: Show us something that you can be a bit fanatical about. Are you always knitting socks, crafting everything in the colours of your favourite Quidditch team or do you tend towards using owls or snitches as decoration?

Option 3: Your natal chart doesn’t just show the inevitable, it shows aspects of your character that you need to challenge in order to lead a better life. Challenge an intolerance. Is there a certain yarn, colour or technique that you avoid like the plague but which might hold you back in your crafting?

Non Rav Crafts allowed if pre-approved, see post 1 for details.


Defense Against the Dark Arts
Option 1: Practise conjuring your corporeal Patronus and craft something that evokes it.
 
Option 2: Craft something you could hang on a hook. Please note that when we say hang, that’s what we mean. No balancing things on hooks for this class, please.

Charms
Option 1: Knit/crochet/weave
Craft something you wouldn’t normally make, completely out of your comfort zone whether it be a project type or the actual method of crafting or something you don’t normally make or work with because of its difficulty, i.e., you don’t like to use bulky yarn or you don’t normally work with cables.

Option 2: Spinners, spindle and wheel
Spin some yarn out of a fiber you normally do not work with or in a color you don’t normally gravitate towards or spin in a technique you don’t normally use, i.e., long draw as opposed to your normal go-to of worsted spin or Turkish spindle as opposed to drop spindle.

Option 3 Dyers
Dye some yarn or fiber with a type of dye that you don’t normally use or in a color that you don’t normally gravitate towards.

Care of Magical Creatures
Summary: Craft something to keep a werewolf in check or to soothe the werewolf so he retains his human sanity OR explore the duality of the werewolf by crafting something with a dual purpose or comprised of TWO different things. The key for this option is TWO. And the number shall be TWO. TWO. Dos. Zwei. Deux. (And that exhausts the languages in which Professor frick can count.)

Lot’s of great options here folks.  As for me, I’m working on my Herbology, DADA and Care of Magical Creatures Homework now!

Be sure to label all your homework assignments with the official submission heading:

Name:
House:
Option: (if more than one option exists)
OPTIONAL Yardage:
OPTIONAL Project Page:

Now get busy! And I’ll check back in next week to report on our progress

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