Crochet Sock Madness!!

Well Quidditch has another competition going on this week, the crochet sock challenge! And yet again Gryffindor showed our broom speed by being the first to turn in,

Quidditch Captain MindySue got first place over all and won 49 points.
Next Gryffindor was autumnleaf77 taking 6th place and 44 points.

Then came stitchywitchy with a 9th place finish and 41 points.

Then AnnaMarya finished up in 16th place earning 34 points.

And in 23rd place getting Gryffindor and 27 points is clmnj58. I love the sleeping dog in the background, reminds me of my house.

Right behind her in 24th place with 26 points is kimanneberly

So far the Gryffindor's have had a fabulous showing, and I bet everything else to cross the finish line will be just as great.
ROAR ROAR GRYFFINDOR!!

March Care of Magical Creatures

It's been a little while since we've had Care of Magical Creatures as one of our classes, so we need to remember to handle the creatures properly.  Especially because we are studying the acromantula.  The most famous of these huge spiders is Aragog, one of Hagrid's many pets.

Since it's too dangerous to deal with these creatures directly, our professor has wisely advised us to focus on their webs, which are strong, but also beautiful.  The only directions we have been given are to make something lacey or make it from silk (or a silk blend).  You do not have to do both, but there is a chance bonus points may be given if you do.

With such a wide open class, it might be difficult to narrow it down to single project to make.  The rulings have come up in the class thread so far have been that if you use a silk blend yarn it must be at least 50% silk for it to count.  The definintion of lace that has been used in this class has been - "Does it have holes in it? Yarnovers? Is it kinda lacey-lookin’? It’s lace! Do it!" from class TA dnatheory.

That's still a wide open interpretation of lace.  Some projects that have been turned in include market bags and dishcloths.  My personal recommendation is that if you choose to make a shawl or a larger project (scarves included) is to use a worsted weight yarn and larger needles (I like a 10 1/2 in this particular case).  There are pages upon pages of ideas for lace items, giving you infinite possibilities.  If you feel overwhelmed, feel free to ask for help!

March DADA Ideas

DADA is the most personal class this month since the Professor is continuing the series of looking at DADA of the past.  This time we are looking at Gilderoy Lockhart and learning from his greatest mistake - he did not respect others, and as the result of a backfiring spell has permanently lost his memory.

Your task this month is to take a memory (good, bad, or otherwise) and craft something that represents that memory.  It has been ruled that if the project is for someone else, a memory about them or a time spent together is also permissable.

From the professors class description:
 Explain your memory as much as you’re comfortable with. (For painful memories that you don’t want to share with the group, please feel free to PM me.) Bonus points for making me laugh or cry, or telling a really good story. No House Color points, because this should be about you, not about house pride

March Charms Ideas

In Charms we are studying the Banishing Charm - the reverse of a Summoning Charm.

The practical application of this spell will be to banish those pesky WIPs that you have laying around.  It has been ruled that even if a project has been turned in for partial points in another House Cup class, it can be used again this month in Charms.  But if you declared a project in any Detention thread, then unfortunately it can't be used.  If you don't have a WIP that can be used, what about taking the most ancient yarn in your stash and finding that perfect project for it.

Don't forget to take before and after pictures of your WIPs, or it won't count.

If you don't have anything in your WIP basket to finish and don't have yarn that's been sitting around for ages, you can create a project inspired by Professor Flitwick himself.  Maybe a feather to practice the Hover Charm on?  A detailed look of the common spells taught by Professor Flitwick while he was the Charms Professor can be found here.

Of course, if you have additional questions, feel free to ask here, in the common room, the class thread, or PM the professor.

March History of Magic Ideas

The focus of History of Magic this month is to study the First Order of the Phoenix as formed by Dumbledore in response to Voldemort gathering his Death Eaters.

Our task is to knit, crochet, or spin a project inspired by a member of the First Order.  A full list can be found here.  At the bottom of the page is the handy dandy table which will clearly identify if someone was a member of the First or Second Order, or both.  Professor Angiejude has made some changes and exceptions to this list, so make certain to keep an eye on the thread to see her rulings.

It has been ruled that if a member of the Orders House while at Hogwarts is not clear, you can not assign them a house to make a project work.  Though there has been discussion regarding members of the First Order who may not have been in the photograph Moody showed Harry.  If you have any doubts, ask in the class thread or message the Professor or TAs.

This leaves us knowing that Dumbledore, Lily, and the Mauraders were in Gryffindor, and Snape was in Slytherin. We also happen to know the form each of these peoples Patronuses took, giving more idea possibilities.

 

For those inspired by the Prewett brothers, they can be treated like Fred and George as inseparable, or you could be inspired by one or the other.

Or what about Snape and/or Lily?  They both grew up in Spinner's End, which would be a perfect reason to spin up some yarn.

Think about defining characteristics about the member you have picked.  Their hair color, their eye color, where they grew up, where they lived later in life.  Your point of inspiration doesn't have to come from the books - the movies are considered just as cannon in the House Cup.

From the class description:
For your homework:
Research the First Order of the Phoenix, knit, crochet and/ or spin an object inspired by one of its members.
Items inspired by members of the second order exclusively will NOT be accepted.
NO SEWING PROJECTS ARE ACCEPTED THIS MONTH.
You must provide a little info or biography about your member of choice and why this object was inspired by him/ her.
Harry Potter DOES NOT count as a member of the First Order.

Bonus points:
Be creative. Good stories. Impressive objects.
No baby/ furbaby points this month. This was a terrible war in which many wizards fell.
Pay your respects and honor them.

A New World Record?

For anyone who missed it (and I don't know how you could) Mauri finished an ENTIRE PAIR OF COLOR WORK SOCKS in 24 hours and 22 minutes, (thanks Alexist for the math on that one) for our Quidditch team. She won us 64 points for her amazing work and the admiration of basically everyone in the cup. I think we'll all agree if she knits nothing else this month we're ok with that. (Just kidding, do some classes!)
Here's the finished product:

If you're interested in more information here's her project page: Exhibition Socks.
And I think i speak for everyone in the house when i say
ROAR ROAR GRYFFINDOR!!