Thursday, May 31, 2012

Last Day to Propose an OWL!


A quick note to remind you that today is the last day of May and you know what that means!  It is the last day to submit an OWL proposal.  Never fear, there is still time for you to propose it and knit/crochet or spin it.  If your classes are all in hand for May and you've snuggled up with your Slytherin cousin, why not take a gander at the OWL offerings and suggest one.  You will need all of the supplies, a swatch and a short description along with your photos and project page links. 

TTFN - MsOyster, Your Advanced Studies Reporter.  

Up next:  OWL project proposals

Saturday, May 26, 2012

Firstie Friday: Reverse Engineering & Making Things Work



Hello, fellow 'Puffs!Today, I'd like to honor PprmntMochaMama, PMM, and her Owl-Standing Purse, which she reverse engineered from the Crochet Owl Purse. PMM's is pictured on the left above, while zoom yummy's is on the right. 

PMM linked her project to zoom yummy's though she didn't actually use the pattern, just drew her inspiration from it. She decided to use more traditional owl coloring, the belly is Aran Flex by RHSS, while the remainder of the body is RHSS's Fiesta in Brown, She used white for the eyes, with brown pupils, and a yellow beak. 

After extensive swatching and experimentation, PMM decided on a granny square style strap with one round of brown Fiesta yarn around the foundation chain, which was milk chocolate brown. The strap is long enough to enable the owl to hang at her hip opposite the shoulder the strap is draped across.

The making things work part of today's title comes into play when PMM began working on the face. The craft of crochet was not giving her the desired effect, so she switched it up to knit the base of the face and continue with crocheted rounds for the eyes. She used the differences between the looks of stockinette and garter stitch to put in "fold marks." She steam blocked the bag, and yet was still not finished.

Surprise! Surprise! What else is left to do? Why, she had to line the bag, making it useful for smaller items as well as things too big to fall through the stitches. She chose a pretty calico with orange and yellow flowers and hand sewed it in place, as the next pic shows. 


Oh, and, she started this project on the first day of term and finished it the next! Talk about being fast! Wowzers!



Friday, May 25, 2012

Early Activities Update

The Activities Prefect's Mom is visiting this weekend, so we're getting the Activity Update a bit early.  I'm sure you don't mind right?
If you were playing hostess to family this week, here's what you might have missed around the den:

Spinners: Spinning in public!  A crafting allnighter plan!  Purple!  Alpaca/Silk!  Samoyed Fur!
 
Library: Discovered on the shelves this week: Maze Runner series by J. Dashner; The Lady of the Rivers by Philippa Gregory and the Maisie Dobbs series.  Stay tuned for an exciting Summer Reading announcement nest week!
 
Tv/Movie: JillyMac finished a Kirsten-Dunst-inspired-Elizabethtown-hat!
 
Cleaners: Accomplishments!  New Strategies! Slacking off! Ambassador Programs!  Potty Training!  It's been a busy week for the Cleaners!
 
Sock-along: Reminder: There be Badges Here!  Lots of Dobby Socks for the Quidditch Challenge!  And some Dumbledore Sized socks for classes and advanced studies!
 
games:  The gamers are playing Hogwarts Word Association.  Jump in and start playing with us!  Percy!  Ron!  Scabbers!

Monday, May 21, 2012

A Firstie's View - Time Flies!

Wow, it seems like just the other day we were starting term and now we're about done with the first month.  Many of us seem to be getting the hang of finding our classes and our homework projects are being turned in more easily now.

I think one of the hardest things for a Firstie to figure out is balance.  We want to make all the things but we might not necessarily have all the time to do it. Some are only making "take along" items so they can stop and add a few rows at any given moment.  Some are focusing on power crafting in the early mornings or evenings.  Some even fall somewhere in the middle... like me.  I seemed to have gravitated towards medium sized things and power crafting.

In the end, it doesn't matter if you turn in one homework or every single class available - what matters is did you have fun? Did you make something beautiful? If you can manage both, then you're working well beyond your House Cup years.  Good luck to all the Firsties and well done on your first term!

Sunday, May 20, 2012

Sunday Staff!


Welcome to Sunday Staff, where this week we are talking to hydra-star - the organizer of our give and take thread!
Tell us someting interesting about yourself. 
In the real world, I’m an animation student. I’m graduating this term and next year I’ll be in grad school!
What started you crafting? 
My Gran. I was in 5th grade when she gifted me with my first knitting book for Christmas and taught me. I’ve been hooked ever since.
What’s the most exciting thing you crafted last term? 
Probably my OoTP. A lovely (but very orange) sweater. :) 

If you were granted three wishes, what would you ask for?
Muffins, muffins, and more muffins. Oh, and maybe for us to win the cup this term!
We’re vacationing at your house this summer! Don’t panic, we’ll get hotel rooms but you have to entertain us. What local attraction are we going to go see? 
We’ll be going out for Chicago’s famous deep dish pizza and then we’ll probably go see second city. :D Yeah… It’s easy to come up with stuff when you live in a city as cool as Chicago.

Saturday, May 19, 2012

Activities Update!

I hope you've all started your Quidditch challenge projects!  In case you were too busy crafting to keep up with the Den activities, here's what you might have missed:

Spinners:  Lots of fiber talk here!  Stop in to hear about plying, Supported spindles, good patterns for homespun yarn, sale at Interweave, plying bracelet and a Blog feature!

Library: Books noticed on tables around the Library:
The Thirteenth Tale, House of Leaves, the Stephanie Plum series.

Tv/Movie: The Moviegoers have finished with Elizabethtown (but you can still collect the badge until the end of the month!) and the next movie weekend will feature Whale Rider!  Busy Tv buffs have also been chatting about Dr. Who, Torchwood, Agatha Christie and Sherlock!

games: A few of the Gamers were talking about Give me the Brain and other favorite games.  I also heard a rumor that there was a word association game starting up!

Cleaners: The Cleaning crew has been very chatty this week.  They talked about Myers Briggs personality types, little helpers, donating, long term shelving, and reminders!

Sock-along: SOCKS!




AND SOCKS FOR QUIDDICH!! 


Tuesday, May 15, 2012

It isn't too late to propose an Order Mission  



As we discussed earlier, the Hufflepuffs have joined together to Guard the Halls of Prophecy.    There are many missions that could be undertaken if being awake all night and wandering the halls in the cold doesn't inspire you.  
Successful completion of an Order Mission is worth 100 points for your House! If you reach the 25% mark you will receive 25 points in recognition of your work.

Key dates:


May 1-5 - Think over your willingness to take on a mission, given the jobs we are planning to do.
May 6 through 20 - Basic Requests for an Official Order Mission will be accepted. Mission Chiefs will reply that your BROOM needs adjustment or is acceptable as quickly as they can.
May 27 - Order Commander will say “Go!” You may begin crafting.
July 8 - Players may begin to hand in completed Missions!
July 22 - Last day to hand in completed Missions! Please note the date: July 22nd!

How do you post a BROOM?


Please begin your BROOM post with the information below. Your Mission Chief will contact you as soon as a secure means of communication can be established. Watch for surreptitious owls or faces in the fireplace. Your Mission Chief will need to inspect your BROOM and give the signal that all is well with your plan before your Mission begins.
Format for Basic Request for Order Operations Mission:
B.R.O.O.M. 
Name (RavID): 
House (or NQFY or SOS): 
Department: Mission (such as Central Command: Wombat Wrangling):
Plan: Within a story that goes along with the mission type, tell your Chief how you plan to fulfill the mission. Projects must take longer than one month to complete; ideally projects will take between 6 and 8 weeks. Remember that your owls can be intercepted so be cautious and only reveal details as necessary.

I hope you will join us in a Mission.  They are a lot of fun!

TTFN - MsOyster, Your Advanced Studies Reporter