Advanced Studies S13: Order Missions, Part 5

We've got much more Hufflepuffley goodness to show off today, so let's take a look at some more projects for the Order of the Phoenix!

craftyshanna went back in time to do some colorful spinning for the Order:

HOLLYGOOD made this beautiful shawl for her Central Command mission:

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MediaPeruana honored Hermione Granger with this lovely cardigan:

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We had lots of operatives volunteer for undercover missions at concerts. First up is MsOyster with this beautiful poncho::

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Next Myrtle2911 made this gorgeous shawl:

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Finally, quiltyone learned how to knit continental to make these groovy blanket squares:

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Beautiful work, Badgers! I hope everyone is getting ready for next term - Hufflepuff produced a lot of great Advanced Studies projects last term, and we can do it again! Huzzah!

Advanced Studies S13: Order Missions, Part 4

We have lots more beautiful 'Puff projects to show off today!

kirsts made these colorful blanket squares in tribute to another great Badger, Nymphadora Tonks:

Marushka expanded the Order network with this lovely shawl:

kazpatch danced her way through a recruitment mission while wearing this beautiful shawl:

nwheatley knit this fantastic pair of socks to aid in her security mission:

RavenLuna made a beautiful and colorful shawl to pay tribute to the beautiful and colorful Tonks:

Luckynumbers worked for Central Command and finished her work with this gorgeous shawl:

and Vampiratknits paid tribute to fallen hero Arabella Figg with a beautiful shawlette and socks:

Beautiful work, Badgers! I hope everyone is feeling inspired to try out an Order mission or OWL in the coming term. I know I am! Check back throughout August to see the wonderful projects that Hufflepuff Order operatives completed!

Advanced Studies S13: Order Missions, Part 3

We've got some amazing work to show off today, so let's check in with more members of the Order of the Phoenix!

Clotho showed off some beautiful socks and some excellent turn-out in honor of Albus Dumbledore:

 Next, vspringer  knit some lacy legwarmers to help her recruit agents from the '80s:

Beautiful work, Badgers! Keep checking in to the HuffleBlog throughout August to see projects from the rest of the Hufflepuff representatives of the Order of the Phoenix!

Advanced Studies S13: Order Missions, Part 2

Today we're continuing our Break Month celebration of every Badger who completed a mission for the Order of the Phoenix. We have some really impressive work to show off today!

jen2291 spun her Time-Turner to go undercover at a concert. To blend in with the Muggles, she wore this shawl and carried some reusable totes:

Our fabulous HoH JMN was another undercover operative. She wore this Color Affection shawl for her work for the Order:

Finally, Lady Dragonsinger crocheted an amazing 400 granny squares for the Linus Connection as part of her charitable work for the Advance Guard:

We certainly have some talented and generous students in Hufflepuff! Great job, Order operatives!

We'll keep showing you all of the beautiful projects that the Badgers completed for the Order of the Phoenix throughout August. Huzzah Hufflepuff!

Advanced Studies S13: Order Missions, Part 1

Hufflepuff started strong when the Order of the Phoenix thread opened up for submissions! Here are photos of a few of our badgertastic completed missions.

lea67000 was the first member of the Order to post her completed mission. Here she is modeling her Dr. Who scarf that she used to spy on the Death Eaters:

PprmntMochaMama crocheted this shawl to go undercover at a Buggles concert:

 

and LarcYarn made this sweater to recruit Barbarella into the Order:

Beautiful work, Badgers! We'll continue to highlight the fabulous work of our brave Order operatives throughout August. We hope you find inspiration among the wonderful projects to try your hand at an Order mission next term!

Firstie Fridays: BADGES!!

Happy Friday, Badgers! I hope everyone has been celebrating a lot since last Firstie Friday.

Today I’d like to talk about something very near and dear to my heart: badges. I may love badges even more than I love points, and I lurve points. So let's get straight to the...

FIRSTIE TIP OF THE WEEK: Collect badges!

Badges are collectible bits of love.

Badges are wonderful for many reasons:

·         you can wear them for your robes and let everyone know how amazing you are;

·         you can make project pages for them to see just how super-amazing you can be in a month or in a term or over Hogsmeade Weekend;

·         you can be mega-amazing like kaypendragon of Ravenclaw and do this; or

·         you can come up with something even more über-amazing than that to collect and display your achievements!

If you do that last one, please share your idea with us in the comments!

So shiny. So very, very shiny.

Before you can show off your badges, though, you have to earn them. Where can you find badges to earn in the Den? I’m glad you asked! Here’s a list of some of the places I know you can find Hufflepuff badges. This is not an exhaustive list by any means, so if I left something off, let me know!

·         Quidditch Locker Room

·         IHU thread 

·         Order of the Phoenix advisory thread

·         OWL advisory threads

·         Huffletainment Center

·         HECK

Badges are also extremely fun to make, so I’m going to give you one just for reading this post. That’s right – you get a super secret special badge!

Thanks for reading, Badgers! Congratulations on your Firstie Fridays badge! Now go check out the awesome threads I linked to above and get yourself some more badges. Huzzah!

Huzzah Hufflepuff!

Hufflepuff is off to an awesome term with 4 NEWTers, 62, OWLers, and 31 OotP projects (so far).

A big shout out to those who have submitted OWLs

History of Magic

cmajalisa - Option 2

tricotjo - Option 2

Skrewkat - Option 3

krazykt82000 - Option 3

neptunesmoon - Option 3

Timless1 - Option 2

Trapeze12 - Option 3

Marushka - Option 2

KristiRose - Option 2

Clotho - Option 2

texaninalaska - Option 2

Arithmancy

LumosKP - Option 2

TexasRachel - Option 2

Ancient Runes

Cowgirlknitz - Option 1

marrow5 - Option 2

Potions

gatigermom - Option 1

FlyKytten  - Option 1

midwestAliceAnn - Option 1

JMN - Option 1

TinyStitcher - Option 1

Mamalion - Option 1

Charms

vtgal - Option 1

starrynightsky  - Option 1

Dottydori - Option 2

kimanneberly - Option 1

DragonflysArt - Option 1

broknmachin14 - Option 1

Astronomy

clmnj58 - Option 2

Shawn - Option 2

Jenstc2003 - Option 2

Transfiguration

RedNu - Option 4

DADA

baxgirl - Option 3

PprmntMochaMama - Option 3

fluttervale - Option 4

lleavid - Option 3

lucamama - Option 3

WomblingStar - Option 3

Sandy62 - Option 3

Poofybirdy - Option 3

CoMC

lea67000 - Option 2

Marifly - Option 2

torsparkles - Option 4

Pollywoggers - Option 2

LarcYarn - Option 2

Jessiasott - Option 2

CraftyShanna - Option 3

kayhey - Option 3

banklady6 - Option 2

Yarnvista - Option 2

Muggle Studies

Twirlymom - Option 1

maineknitter1975 -  Option 1

Herbology

finasc  - Option 1

ChellBelle- Option 3B

SuperM - Option 2

mermaidboo- Option 2

BlueSocksUK - Option 1

Divination

nwheatley - Option 3

brighteyesjessy - Option 1

OWL proposals are accepted through May 31st.

Order of the Phoenix B.R.O.O.M.s are now being accepted through May 19th.

If you’re interested in doing either but don’t know what to do, how to submit the proposal, or have any other question, come over to the AS planning thread or the OWL threads,Pigwidgeon and Hedwig or Dumbledore’s Army!

Don’t forget, this term we are traveling about! NEWTers are visiting Tea Rooms around the world, but there is something else in store for OWLers and OotPs! Even if you don’t  want to be earburned, be sure to keep and eye on the AS threads to see where we’ll be and to pick up your Special Edition Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Bean Badges!!

Coming next week -- shout outs for the OotP students and something more than just lists!

The Hufflepuff Way

During the April break month the Puffs were busy deciding what it meant to be a Hufflepuff and craft like a Hufflepuff. What came of it was "How to Play the 'Hufflepuff Way'." Normally Fridays here will be reserved for Firstie Fridays with JessiaSott but we thought an overview of the Hufflepuff Way would be great for both new and old housemates.

The full list of "How to Play the 'Hufflepuff Way'" can be found here including an awesome slideshow made by our wonderful ChellBelle. I decided to pick out some that are great for beginning of term and to keep in mind throughout your time in the House Cup and compile them into this list below.

• Don't feel bad about anything you've made and let that keep you from turning it in.
• Turn in your partial projects! And then turn in a finished item for Detention in a subsequent month
• Have a plan but not be married to it
• Comparisons can make you crazy. Do what you love, at a pace that feels right for you
• Ask for help! We can help you find a class to turn your project in.
• If you are feeling overwhelmed, don't end up in the vanishing cabinet! Let JMN our Head of House know and you can be excused from your requirements without losing sorting priority or feeling bad
• Not everyone is cut out to do an OWL or a Mission. There are plenty of other ways to play and have fun.
• Try a story with your class turn ins. Even just a sentence or two.
• Read the class prompts. Really, really read them.
• Check back after awhile on classes since questions are asked and things get clarified more
• Always put that yardage in, even on a partial. You can do a best estimate if you don't have a scale
• The Pantry is also a good place to get the info for classes with a link to the classes
• Do some research on the key term(s) in the prompt, even if it's just a few minutes with Google or the Harry Potter Wiki
• The secret with photos is to always take them in a good natural light
• Don't be hard on yourself. It's okay to just make a dishcloth if that is what you want to make!
• Participate in threads and chat when you can - it's FUN! We have some really cool people with some pretty fabulous talent in this house...but when you don't have time to chat - DON'T feel badly!
• Know who you are and what your goals are and be true to yourself
• Have fun!

So if you're feeling stressed at any point come back here or to the page in the Den and remember what it is to craft "The Hufflepuff Way"

You might belong in Hufflepuff,
Where they are just and loyal,
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true,
And unafraid of toil

Advanced Studies

Hello, everyone, and welcome to Spring Term, 2013! I'm starrynightsky and I'm the Advanced Studies Ace Reporter!

Advanced Studies

1. News from the OWL front.

Hogwarts staff have made some changes to simplify OWLs! From yarnvista’s post:

>Supplies photos are only going to need to show the yarn. The three things you do need to make sure you include are a photo of your yarn or fiber, a photo of your swatch, and a link to the pattern you are using,

>Say goodbye to the change deadline! Only those changes that alter the substance of your OWL need to be negotiated with your Examiner. A new pattern or changing to short sleeves rather than long are examples of changes that need an examiner’s approval. Adding more yarn to finish a project or changing the 2x2 ribbing to a hemmed edge are not.

>After much thought and deliberation, we are pleased to announce that we will be maintaining the current OWL and NEWT expectations but changing the OWL and NEWT points to reflect our refined points scheme as follows: OWLs will be worth 200 points total; NEWTs will be worth 450 points total

You can read the entire post here

http://www.ravelry.com/discuss/hp-knitting-crochet-house-cup/2556740/1-25#1

Are you still undecided about what to do for an OWL? How about checking past OWLs to see what others have done for the prompts. Check out the OWL Hall of Fame to see the gorgeous finished projects from previous terms. It’s here

http://www.ravelry.com/discuss/hp-knitting-crochet-house-cup/922382/1-25

FlyKitten, Crazy Potions Recipe Girl, will be posting awe-inspiring ideas for Potions OWLs. Coming soon to a blog near you!

2. Advanced Studies hangouts, for all your crafting and traveling needs.

New for this term, places to hangout, discuss your proposal, ask questions, post pictures, kick back for some fun and refreshment, and pick up your Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Bean Badges! More about this next week!

3. Oh, yeah, one more thing -- Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Bean Badges is proud to sponsor Hufflepuff Advanced Studies this term! We are pleased to announce there will be special Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Bean Badges created with Advanced Studies in mind!

4. Last, but never least, NEWT students.

Hufflepuff has 4 brave NEWT students this term

Luckynumbers; her NEWT is Ancient runes, option 1 and DADA, option 3: the Null hypothesis scarf, a non-repeating double knit scarf done in fingering weight. Here is the latest picture.

kirsts and her project Arithmancy Option 2 (Multiples)/DADA Option 3 (Repel the Cruciatus Curse)  75 mitred garter stitch blanket squares in 10 different colors

Hydra-star Ancient Ruins Option 1, Muggle Studies Option 1 a sweater and pair of socks, both intricately charted. Here's the yarn she's using.

stashalert Muggle Studies, Option 1-Disguise; and DADA, Option 3-Repel the Cruciatus Curse by doing Tracery Teal’s Kimono of Many Colors  This is her proposal!

Also, a Hufflepuff tip of the hat to our own minsue who is traveling abroad in Gryffindor this term. She is doing Arithmancy option 3 and Muggle Studies option 2 -- spinning and making a complex adult 

 ensemble.

GO NEWTers!!!!!