Muggle Studies

Continuing the theme of Mugglemania, this month also brings us Muggle Studies, and their hypnotic device, known as the TeeVee. Most Muggle homes contain this device -- some have as many as 7! Indeed, Muggles are so obsessed with these contraptions, they even have them in their eating establishments, issuing out a cacaphony of sounds while they eat. It must be like getting attacked by Screamers all day long!.
In order to better understand what the possible reasons for this obsession might be, our professors wish us to find a Muggle TeeVee and watch a single 'episode' of any 'program' available. Then we are to interpret what we see as either a knit or crochet project.


So how to do this? 
You could draw inspiration from something that you see the characters wearing on the show, the names of the characters, the type of things you think exemplify the characters/show/plot. The world is pretty much your oyster on this one. A story is going to count for a lot. Remember, the operative word here is TV show; no Sunday night replays of old movies. Has to be something that was originally designed for the boob-tube.
For further inspiration, check out www.imdb.com , Youtube, or Google Images. Also, don't forget to check if your favourite show has any Ravelry groups dedicated to it -- they may already have the perfect pattern for you!



Bonus points: Both DevonC and Anna92 have fallen under the spell of several Muggle programs. If you manage to create a work inspired by one of their favourites, they have promised to reward you  with a bonus. Our professor, DevonC, seems to be inspired particularly by the works of a Muggle named Joss Whedon. He is responsible for several Muggle shows, namely Firefly, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and Tru Calling. I suspect it is the first one on the list the prof is really enamored with. Here's a possible run down of projects you could make and tie into the show:

Firefly: firefly-jayne-hat
jayne-cobb-hat-brooch
jayne-cobb-hat-5 Crocheted
washs-sweater
big-damn-Serenity-washcloth
browncoat-logo-illusion-chart
serenity-ship
river-tam-vest
leaf-on-the-wind-wash-cloth
simon-tam-2
hands-of-blue

Transfiguration October 2010

It's the month of October, folks, and you know what that means-- the Muggle holiday of Hallowe'en is nearly upon us. For people that don't believe magic exists, they are startlingly in love with the effects of transfiguration hexes and cross-species switches. So, this month in Transfiguration, we are honouring both the Muggle festival of Hallowe'en, and Nymphadora Tonks, a Metamorphmagus of high skill.

This month, your assignment, if you choose to complete it, is to create a costume that helps disguise you, your child/friend/live animal familiar, so as to be able to move freely on Hallowe'en night amidst the partying Muggles.
Now, this means that whatever you decide to ape (even if it's not an ape), has to be visible in some manner on your upper torso/head/legs. Nothing that gets hidden by pants/under shirts here. So sorry, but those awesome pirate socks Jajigirl did last month won't be eligible. You gotta see it to be it.

So, costumes....Here's a bunch to start you off right. Knit or crochet only for this class. As always, these are the free options; you may have greater inspiration with the application of a few Knuts, Galleons or Sickles to the Ravatron.

Adults
  viking-hat
brain-slug
hallowig
masquerade-mask
spock
pirate-patch
wonder-woman-set
safari-sniffers
marge-simpson-hair
the-lion-king-of-texas
devilish
tricorn-hat-pattern
marleys-ghost
handy-spider-webs
hogwarts-scarf
witchs-hat-pattern
bokaclava - devil
bear-head
bellydance-fringe-belt
desperate-housefrau
ducky-slippers crocheted adult
knitted-elvis-wig
hip-house-scarf
hogwarts-house-tie
Children/Teens
costume-hat---cat-version
skeleton sweater
childs-lamb-costume
Crocheted knight costume
fuzzy-buzzy-bee-costume
childs-crochet-bunny-costume
chainmaille---the-good-kind-2
knitted-chainmail-hauberk-for-a-young-knight
woodland-fairy-wings
felted-birthday-crown
childs-fireman-hat
ogre-my-ogre 
the-old-ball-and-chain
Babies
felted-baby-yoda-hat
baby-yoda-sweater
bunny-beanie
pumpkin-hat-2
the-legend-of-baby-link
frog-suit-with-hood
star-trek-junior
Animal Familiars
  halloween-dog- Skull coat
crochet-bumble-bee-pet-costume
crochet-witch-pet-costume
to-humiliate-the-dog
candy-corn-pet-sweater
king-of-the-beasts-lion-dog-sweater

Common Room Recap pg pg 188 - 219

DeannaJ shares some blueberry coffee and coffee cake with us! and I had to rip back more rows in mohair!!! lisakbye has an earworm, can you cure her? and won the random friday prize! PennyIA lets us know she's ready for another food fight! and gives Harry some goodies.. and she shared a photo of her sweater! The Potter sillybands craze continues! and Madeleine shows off her loots. CrochetByClare shares a Sheldon Cooper video. Galena and her husband fenced over their wedding cake.. no really! She has pics to prove it!

lupingirl got a wonderful surprise gift from her fellow Gryffindor students! and announces winners in the Triwizard Tournament and a reminder about the Ravenclaw tower party.Vertigo1414 has caught multiplitis. derricksdoll decided to be me for DADA and shared an awesome photo! I bet you can't even tell us a part now! and look at this awesome rug she made! won't that be fabulous in her new kitchen?!

naturallyknitty made an ipod cozy for herbology. Voldemort made me crap my pants song!! earworm infection guaranteed... proceed at your own risk! Mauri lets us know that Hermione has some pretty awesome projects queued! StarKnits is asking if there is interest in her steeking argyle vest? CrochetByClare got a speeding ticket... but I think he was really just trying to get her address from her drivers license cause shes a hottie! and she shared a new project! and a photo of a somewhat suggestive crochet pattern!! Gryffindor's are really chatty and Siriusly has a chart to prove it! jedimeg16 brings us lion cookies!

StarKnits shared a photo of her death socks! and turns them in! and the group, if you're interested is the Death by Socks on Yahoo and I believe they have a ravelry group too? I kicked off a CherrySprinkle ravatar contest and though we had many, many awesome entries, I picked 2 winners! Hermione shared her first and second NQFY projects! and we celebrated her birthday! talk like a pirate day was upon us! and Stargirl09 shares a funny thread with us.. and should you be lost on the translations, this link should help you!

Jajigirl shares an awesome photo of her new hair color! and a photo of her adorable puppies along with a progress photo of her pirate socks! stacylovesyarn has been busy working on some really beautiful stockings! and a photo of her lovely yarn haul. I finally managed to get a somewhat decent photo of my deer hat. The mallet of sanity comes out! darahmartin woke up to find a surprise made by her son.. fuzziekit finished a dust bunny! and had a horrible first date! OneKnittyChick shares a photo of herself in a tabloid!

lisakbye shares a recipe for a southwest skillet!! TheKnittedJuggler has her first official date! and a photo of a beautiful colorful bird. DeannaJ is looking for a coconut bra! and jedimeg16 suggests this pattern. What kind of vampire knitter are you? There's been a lot of American Girl doll talk, follow this strand to read some of it :) referencegoddess shares a photo of her christmas socking. JaclynBailey needs some love and she shares a photo of her baby. spartyliblover shares photos of hummingbird banding.. jedimeg16 shares the sillyband package contents with us. FlyKytten has started spinning!

September Charms Suggestions

With just two days left this month, you might be thinking "How in the world can I get something done for another class?"

If you haven't completed Charms yet, there are several quick and easy projects that you can make.

What about a baby hat?  Even if you don't have a little one in your home at the moment you can gift it to a friend or possibly donate it to a local hospital to put on a newborn.

What about fingerless gloves?  They give your hands protection while giving you freedom to use your fingers.

Maybe a finger mustache to disguise yourself while breaking into Gringotts?

The sky is still the limit!  You can do it!

Hey you!!!

Have you seen there's a scavenger hunt going on? go check it out!

Common Room Recap pg 147 - 188

I know why you're really here.. it's to see the hotties that have invaded our common room right? well look no further! err well no, I mean, continue reading the post, but for your hunk-fix this is the paragraph you want to pay attention to. Neville is growing up into quite a nice looking young man. Oliver Wood too! Goodness Draco, I barely recognized you! Ron & Ginny make an appearance too, my Ginny you have grown into a beautiful woman! There will always be Gerard in a hottie post! Jack, Zac, & Rob pop in too and a bonus hottie. Daniel came to the party as well as Aragorn came in twice! David & Boromir too!!

WoolenHorse likes her hotties on the more full side so Seth and Sean made an appearance and dragged Elijah along too! and then she shared an image of her ideal man or men? OneKnittyChick tells us that she knows Seth's gf and he really is a great guy, he doesn't just play one on tv! Vertigo1414 has directed us to a hottie site and asks for help fitting a project into classes when fosterson joins us! and talks of his awesomeness. stuartsmom shares where she found that awesome gryffie yarn. JaclynBailey found out she's going to be moving and there is a welcome party going on in Colorado! and talks baby wearing with a photo of her favorite carrier made from her husbands army uniform shirt and shares a photo of fosterson! Gosh, he's making a lot of appearance in this recap... are we sure he's a Slytherin? and she got a surprise from Spartyliblover in her mailbox!

darahmartin is looking for craft fair opinions.. Angiejude has 60% of her OWL done! and reminds us that the Gryffindor Swap is on! and celebrates Mexican independence bicentennial day with some of her favorite foods along with a recipe! she also started a citron and is looking for ideas on how to make it work for classes. Siriusly shared a link for all of us spinners to a 4oz fiber challenge group with lots of patterns! lupingirl talks the possibility of a meet up! I'm willing to host a Grand Rapids, MI spin/get-together! and shared a photo of my arithmancy homework. I found a way to make an OWL out of that sweater after all! and shared a super dorky photo of my deer hat! vanessamn might be the next Gryffindor to find love? Mauri reminds us that the chocolate cards have a hint thread here. First year BEGreen introduces herself! Don't be shy BEGreen, jump right on in!

spartyliblover shares a photo of those awesome needles I was coveting that StarKnits had! and the info is that you can buy them at Hobby Lobby! stitchywitchy shared a photo of her adorable mouse, I never thought I would actually say that about a mouse! and Charlie. FantasyFlyte asks for good thoughts and wishes for her parents due to possible job difficulties and she posted some delicious Gryffindor color yummies! and shes got new pretties! and tells us of Luna Lovegood's life after Hogwarts. TheKnittedJuggler expands a little on her TJ situation and she finds out he thinks shes cute! and he's now her boyfriend!

stacylovesyarn offers frick the mallet of sanity. jedimeg16 is pondering her patronus, she says none of her results really fit her. she's found a yoda bottle cozy for you star wars lovers out there with babies! and shared a photo of herself in her costume for anime central. Covington shares a founding fathers quiz and she made the cheer-leading team! Congrats!!! fuzzybritches shares a photo of a baby bib she made. AmyPC had a devastating accident to her OWL project involving a child and some scissors.. I gave her some advice on repairing but I think she has decided to start over.

clmnj58 is wondering where the 1/2 way point is on her fall/winter shawl.. anyone doing it along with her care to help her out? Jajigirl has an adorable little puppy!! FlyKytten pops in to introduce herself and ask for some spinning help and I was glad to link her to some instructional videos! and she's looking for info on a cute guy! Jensta79 shared a photo of her beautiful shawl!!!

puffygriffinclaw shared a photo of her oy dressed as Dobby, who made his big brother jealous because all the girls gave him the attention, who could blame them? look how adorable he is! Tonks makes an appearance in our common room, no wait, thats referencegoddess! and Madam Hooch! no, that's puffygriffinclaw! Gosh, you ladies had me convinced! vanessamn jumps on board in her Gryffindor garb too! puffygriffinclaw an StarKnits have won gifts! lupingirl shares her thoughts on the disagree button. I really think frick is Marry Poppins.. can you believe that mess she cleaned up? but came home to terrible news :( and the funeral details for hamster.

Knit Picks is having a sale! swifts $50 and 40% off books! and noonee is looking to re-home her swift, PM her if interested. fuzziekit posted 2 awesome projects! autumnleaf77 shared a chocolate pudding recipe, it's vegan and I am going to have to try it!! alexist is looking for natural/food safe ways to get gryffingor colors. StarKnits shared her red attempts.. and its soooo pretty! Quidditch at muggle schools!!!! and Harry Potter has joined Hogwarts! autumnleaf77 greets him with a chocolate frog that I am going to have to make myself! Luna Lovegood also popped in to say hello.

Common Room Recap pgs 82-147

Gryffindor has been very chatty of late! Lots of birthdays have kept the common room busy as well as some news of the recent changes (see note below).. OfAvalonia has turned in another class and is working on Charms! and then she tells us that she has completed all 8 classes! I'm beginning to doubt that she's human! StarKnits shared some really beautiful quilts she got from her grandmother and I continue to poke at her to get her swatches done! stitchywitchy reminded us that tattoos and MRI's have been proven safe thanks to the Mythbusters and shared a very cute turtle blanket! derricksdoll is on a roll with her amazing hats! and look how adorable these are! and shes looking for a Gryffie who makes lots of dish cloths.

a few hotties have stopped by our common room as of late! here, here, and here! stuartsmom reminds us that 9/19 is talk like a pirate day arrr! and she found some awesome gryffindor yarn on the cheap! where are all these yarn deals when I am looking?! Covington is looking for advice on her house unity project. TheKnitteduggler has met a boy! and gives us the deets! fuzzybritches has some adorable babies!! stacylovesyarn turned in an adorable house unity project! and brings her mallet of sanity out for stutchywithy, lupingirl asked for it to be at the ready, on me for time management freak out, and StarKnits for the lack of OWL swatching.

Jensta79 shared her amazing Ishbel shawl with us.. naturallyknitty shares 3 amazing projects, including some handspun for the Kromski Train project!! and the loot she scored at the fiber festival. CrochetByClare gets the party started! and shares some scans from her Japanese crochet books. Jajigirl gives us an update about the fall fitness challenge. Kate1138 brings an adorable lion cake! lol right after a fitness update, ack! spartyliblover shared some of her projects. cupcakes34 links us to all of ravelrys images! I spent far too much time there trying to figure them out! frick finished that amazing peace sign hat!

I finally figured out the thumb on my mittens and have finished one!.. well.. almost.. then shared some photos of my Bella's Mittens, telling everyone they knit up fast and easy! Galena reminds us how long we have until Christmas! ack! JaclynBailey won a KnitPick's pattern from the House Cup blog! eagallant also has an adorable little baby!!! and while we are on the adorable baby talk, look who CommaSplice posted! Covington found some really awesome yarn deals! and shared a monster daughter poem. nearly an entire page of harry potter jokes! referencegoddess posted some cute christmas socks, I am really in love with that yarn color!

trainergirl15 has suffered a loss in her family and she could probably use your support right about now. a forced reminder that Gryffindor students have gotten lost in my queue! enter it at your own risk! fosterson joined us wih his mallet of sanity! Angiejude shared an adorable pug photo! and another one here! look how adorable Pomo is! and then she shared her 'happy place' playlist.

I cannot remember who asked me about changing the needle brands for your OWL and the need to run it by the professor, so I hope you saw my question, I have lost your message :( however, the answer was as I suspected, not if the size and gauge are the same. Gryffindor word search! I've made it my life long vow to poke StarKnits into oblivion if she does not swatch and post BOTH of her OWLs...vanessamn gave me a new awesome word - Yumtastic! and thinks we should change the nike poster to just knit it! and so I did!! FantasyFlyte posted her first class! and finds the joys of swatching! CrochetByClare is showing some adorable puppy photos of puppies she might be getting! here and here.

Voldemort made me crap my pants! Thanks StarKnits! I'm never going to get this song out of my head! I'm up to my old tricks and manage to enable the entire house with sock yarn etsy sellers! and it worked on FantasyFlyte! CrochetByClare tries to motivate StarKnits to get her swatches done. I let everyone know that I am easily motivated by something shiny and then I give an example. lupingirl has posted a list of the Triwizard Champions. CrochetByClare shared her art project with us! clmnj58 would like to remind you to post your finished objects in the trophy room. SadieLou stopped by to give us a lovely lion cake! Anna92 reminds us that the Gryffindor swap thread closes on friday!

::giggle giggle::
frick is doing lace surgery, please go give her chocolate and some love! slmoses is looking for some pricing advice on her jewelery.stitchywitchy is asking for some advice on felted words. Ravenclaw is welcoming us to their fondue party in the tower in honor of recent events (see note below). A hamster has come to live with StarKnits and she finished 1 OWL swatch.. now time to poke her for the second OWL... CrochetByClare has a really cute plant cozy!



NOTE: There have been many posts left out about the changes occuring in the House Cup. Many of these were concerns, hugs, fears, sorrow, and questions.. I will direct your attention to the post that started the whole ordeal, and the post about the remaining staff and the changes ahead if you would like to read about it these are the official threads.

Changes
Summary of Events

Gryffinor would like to move forward from this point. Most of you have already caught up on these events, so I felt no need to rehash them here in the common room upate. If you would like to read those pages of what happened after the changes thread, please view from this page to about this page.

In the spirit of moving forward, I didn't leave anything important out of the update, but I didn't feel the need to force you to relive it either! :)