Quidditch: Interview with IceJewel

First of all, would you introduce yourself? 
My first name is Krystal. I am a stay at home, homeschooling mama of four noisy but amazing children--2 girls ages 10 and 8, and 2 boys who are 5 and 3. I have been blessed with the most wonderful husband; he works mostly from home as a customer service agent for a realty company and is currently in school for computer IT-type stuff.
I am currently a B1 in HPKCHC; most of that time has been spent with Gryffindor though I did do half a term as a ‘Claw. I have been knitting since Dec. 2008, and have since branched out into spinning and dyeing. I used to read, scrapbook, write and dabble in photography…all of which I keep meaning to get back to…someday.
Let’s see…I am active in my church, and currently using Weight Watchers and researching what I can about healthy living.

Can you tell us a little about the Quidditch challenges for this term?
I have been really impressed with how creative and yet open the prompts are this term! Even this current one--Sun Shades Challenge 1--you know, I thought it was going to be really difficult to fit stuff into, but upon further review it’s actually very flexible.
As far as the events going forward: both the next event and the last one in March are paired/team events. So if you haven’t found a partner and/or a team yet, start looking right away--not everyone participates and you don’t want to be the last one on the field without a spot!

Can you tell us what you’ve got planned for your entries?
For challenge 2, I just finished a preemie hat to donate with some others to a local NICU unit. It actually turned out very small, so I hope they can use it! (oops!)
I still need a partner for Game 2, and if I can find someone willing to take me on for a felted or double-knit potholder, that would be awesome. Otherwise I’ll probably do whatever my partner has in mind. (See what happens when you wait til the last minute?! I think all the good potholder-ers are gone. ;)
Challenge 3 will likely be either blanket squares or hexipuffs, and for Game 4 I’m teaming up with the 3 other captains: Starrynightsky, AuntTallulah and MariaCrafts to make baby charity hats. SO…while I will be earning us charity points, they’ll all be earning them too! Y’all will just have to help get us extra points so we can stay ahead!

What’s the best Quidditch project you’ve seen so far?
Okay, so I hesitate to call something the “best” because so many of the projects have been awesome. But one of the things I like about Quidditch is how many super cute little stuffies get turned in for it, usually with really creative stories. Just scrolling through recently, one really caught my eye (probably because he’s my favorite color): Fantasium’s Odysseus the Octopus. I think she did a really great job on him, and I love her photograph styling and story!

Why Quidditch?
Honestly, I wasn’t expecting to be chosen for Quidditch Captain! I applied for Prefect, thinking that would be a step outside my comfort zone. My goal for this term was to get involved more on the Seventh Floor, and to try to just be around more. So when I was approached about Quidditch, I was both surprised and quite nervous. I’ve never really been the cheerleader type, nor did I typically participate a lot in Quidditch in the past--usually just if a prompt grabbed me or it didn’t seem too confusing. I’m not even really fond of sports in general!
So this role was not even really on my radar. It has been an amazing ride, though! I have certainly achieved my goal, becoming way more involved than ever before. I have discovered things about myself I never knew, and risen to meet challenges I never would have thought I could handle. I have seen my fellow Lions pull together and work towards a single goal, and we have had incredible success so far this term. I am thrilled to be your Captain, and honored that you all would respond, step up and work so hard to make this our term!

Care to share anything else?
YES! I would like to say that I have an amazing team, for which I am truly grateful. I would not have had a clue about what to do if it wasn’t for the help of former Quidditch Captains jrf1977 and HermioneWeasley, who’s also our fabulous Keeper this term, and way better at cheering you all on than I am.
Our Beaters, LindseyLuz and pinkleo have been awesome badge-making machines, working to make you all beautiful rewards. I have asked a lot of them and they have really stepped up to help out. I am also looking forward to seeing what our Seeker, Aikaterini, comes up with for our end of term presentation! I’m sure it will be awesome, as all of our Gryffie projects to date have been fantastic!
And of course if we didn’t have Chasers, there would be no team. So a huge THANK YOU! to everyone who has turned in Quidditch projects for Gryffindor this term--we couldn’t do it without you. :)