Hat Hat Hat! Gryffindor ROCKED this Challenge!

So sorry it took me so long to get around to posting; we lost power with a big storm, and I've been frantically scrambling to catch up since!

Anyhow, I'm sure everyone knows how awesomely we did, but just in case, here's a recap of Gryffindor achievements.  :D

• We earned a total of 2,243 points for the Hat Hat Hat Team.
• TheKnittedJuggler earned the most points for Gryff, with 405 points all by herself, and no injuries!
• A total of 64 baby hats and 109 adult hats were made.
• All those hats added up to 8,551.7 yards!  (That's 4.86 miles, and well over the 5k line!)
• Mauri earned an excellence award!
• Also, lupingirl and adevinelife scored the overall 1st and 2nd Place Most Productive Hatter bonuses!  (Within our team, TKJ scored 3rd place!)

Whew!  What an amazing job, team!  LOVE YOU ALL!

A quick note from WoolenHorse:

Hello everyone I just wanted to say that everyone loves to make hats which often leaves charities short of the other items they dearly need so yes lets keep those heads warm also support the wonderful TangledMom campaign but please think about making some different items too. I am posting as I keep coming over more and more charities that make this point!

(The Ravenclaw in me would like to pause for a moment and acknowledge a fine example of a run-on sentence!  ;P)

Now, that being said, well, we have another CHALLENGE!  And yes, it is a HAT challenge!  Within Gryffindor House, Mauri has challenged us to A) match the number of adult hats (109) and baby hats (64) made by our HHH Team during the challenge, or B) match the yardage used by the HHH Team!  So, if you want to take WoolenHorse's words to heart, go for the Yardage Matching Challenge!  If you are still obsessed with HATS, though, go ahead and help us with the Hat Matching Challenge!  As always, post questions either in the Challenge thread, or in the regular Team Gryffindor Quidditch Thread.

We did rocking awesome, Gryffs!  My next post will be a list of free patterns, both crochet and knit, suitable for various charity knitting, and different ideas for charities to donate to.  If you have a suggestion, please PM me on Ravelry!

This is FlyKytten, Quidditch Reporter, signing off!  Until next time, GRYFFINDOR ROAR!

January DADA Suggestions

This month we are trying to protect against hexes.  Since hexes are often not so nice spells there aren't very many specific hexes that we know of to try to protect ourselves against them.

While the class prompt specifically suggests trying to resist the Twitchy Ears Hex and the Toenail Growing Hex, there are a couple of others you could choose from.

Twitchy Ears Hex:
Pick any hat or head covering that also covers your ears, and you can protect yourself.

Toenail Growing Hex:
Any socks or slippers could fit here.  If you make mini socks, remember to make a pair.  The pair doesn't have to match, but there must be 2 socks.  Unless it is a stocking and you sell the story that it is for Mad Eye Moody to protect his one real foot from the Toenail Growing Hex.

Other Hexes:
Bat Bogey Hex - A scarf or cowl would work perfectly here, just as long as your nose is covered.
Hurling Hex - Thought to be the hex used by Quirrel to throw Harry off his broomstick, gloves that would help you hold on to things would fit quite nicely.

DADA is a Wildcard class for January for the Chocolate Frogs.

The last week of the month!!! pgs 170-211

I've gotten carried away working on classes, how about you? sorry about the lateness of this CRR... lets get started!

CS shared some photos to substitute  for the photos she and Sparty forgot to take at their meet up. Penny is doing awesome on her mid month status report. Stuartsmom shared some wonderful wonderful advice and info about panic attacks. Here's some more mid month updates: Stacy's update, Ajrox92, TG15, Mauri, and Stitchy. GG came over and shared some links to wrist stretches. TKJ brought cake for RG's birthday. TKJ also got her spot back. Congrats again! CS got new hair, pretty pink. I can't tell if this is funny or scary.  I guess it's kinda both. NK's getting ready for the Hat Hat HAT challenge in quidditch. Pretty handspun! CS is learning to hula hoop. Fabgrandma's first homework. DD finished some pants.Covington's asking for a favor. A totally unofficial tally of hats. Oh pretty fiber and buttons galore. JJ's got some great squares for Quiddy.
RayOLR has a Quiddy update for you to read. CS has updated us on her  OWL. So has RG. Here we go Steelers!  I really have no preference but I live in Steeler Country so I must add that in. (I must it's in the contract!) We all agree with FF, please don't volunteer us to make things WITHOUT talking with us first. I like Aikaterini's rules.  Siriusly you've got some cute little piggys. More Cake! (this one I want to see in person) A77 is looking for her brain, she'd like it returned rather quickly. CLMNJ got a new functional piece of wall art. (at least that's what it'd be at my house!) Please go vote in this poll. CK cracks me up! She's just as funny in RL people! Looking for a Quiddy project? Another progress report from TG15 (looking good) she also shared a wonderful children's knitting book. (it's now on my amazon wishlist) WH shared a link for the book. Look DD's got a cute little baby bump! Kate1138 got a roaring lion badge! AWESOME!!! remember this,  if you want to nominate someone. Penny's just updated us with her last week progress. AKK! only one week left. Oh pretty gryffie roving spun! Ajrox is halfway done with her flying. please keep Fuzzie and the baby ferret in your thoughts. Does anyone feel the need to stock up on the kitchen cotton? I could use some help placing a project in a class.
And that catches you up.
I hear a snow plow and it's past my bedtime. I'll chat with you all later!

HERBOLOGY JAN.2011

Wow, can you believe it is already into the second week of the New Year.

Hope everyone had a wonderful month off and is ready to jump back into our lovely little Hogwarts school.

This month in Herbology, our Professors have asked us to go out in the cold, dark world of Hogwarts and find some colorful fungi.

Option 1: Knit, crochet, weave, spin, or dye something that is evocative of fungi.
Mushroom crochet
Mushroom knit

Option 2: Knit, crochet, spin, weave, or dye something that will turn you into a fun guy/girl.
Fun guy patterns (Hats) (toys) (other)

This class only accepts HPKCHC approved projects. Also remember that creativity in project or story may earn you bonus points. Don’t forget to add your yardage for possible extra points.

I’ve heard that this is the Wildcard class for the Chocolate Frog cards this month.

whoops!!! it's that time again. pgs 132-169

Wow it's been like 30 or more pages. My computer needed a makeover/fixerup and I've been spending all my time re-downloading everything and now I'm restoring my files and it's taking FOREVER!!! ARUGH!!!
Sorry about that. Lets get on with the CRR!

Lupingirl shared a video of the backwards loop cast on. DerricksDoll is kicking butt with her classes this month! TKJ shares with us the update of her scarf... then some sadness go and lend a shoulder for her! Aikaterini has an interesting question for you to ponder and help her out. Have you seen this? The swappers were matched. PennyIA needs some advice for a sweater. What's your sign? How about mythbusters? Woolenhorse has a plan.  and stacy brings the mallet. She also has a monthy plan. FantasyFlyte has bought some awesome yarn. DD got new hairs! we've got another spinner. (be careful it's catching) Oh WH sharing some pretty art yarn she spun. JB's moving and needs some brainstorming for presents. CS!!! this is beautiful! now I want to sew and not knit. LKB is in on it too! Totally cool though. I need stories people! Then we started the 15th off with our Qrobes. FF is spinning some mighty pretty yarn. There's lots of cake. Fabric Cupcakes. Fun photos. Look LEGOS!!! totally cool and looks just like the game!!! Go vote.  SavvyKnits is all organized! I love it. Lupingirl got a guitar!!! It looks lovely. Sparty, those are some pretty bags. I love the yarn fabric. Movie night news. OMB isn't that the cutest baby and most wonderful dress?!? Go congratulate stuartsmom! Look at this pretty awesome blanket! FlyKitten is asking about interest in gryffie roving. More pretty roving. Spinning talk.  and Videos. Spoiler alert. Link. it's for the movie so don't read if you're going to be mad. There may be a house in Jedimeg's future. (crossing my fingers for her) There was a great meet up!
and that will catch you up for the most part!
Until next time...

Lace Your Flyer: Interview w/ NaturallyKnitty

Have you heard that lacing the flyer on your spinning wheel will let you spin a more delicate/finer single? I have never done this myself but I have seen various people try it in different spinning groups with varied results.. our own NaturallyKnitty did however! She spun her very first 3ply sock yarn! She ended up with 473 yards out of 5.2oz, appox. 16wpi. Look how delicious it is! Read all about it in our little sit and spin.



1.) Where did you first learn about lacing your flier?
I heard about it from Polcamilla in the Spinners End thread…“Yup. Lace that puppy up like a corset!” I was intrigued about spinning finer… i couldn’t quite get the thinness i wanted. Then in lion chat one day our lovely fiber enabler CherrySprinkle mentioned that she had seen a thread in a different group and linked me to it the next day. HERE is the post… and it’s how i figured out how to lace up my Kromski… It wouldn’t be as difficult on my Schacht because the flyer has hooks right across from each other and on the same side… but i’ve been favoring my Kromski lately!

2.) What made you decide to try it?
I decided to try it because i could never get my spinning fine enough to do a 3 ply sock yarn… I can spin fairly fine, but it was never super consistent. I thought, Why not?

3.) How did you do it?
I looked at the picture in that post and figured out how to lace it… and just went with it. I took out my Superwash merino roving in the colorway Butterbeer (from Younger Yarn, Pacasha’s etsy shop) and started! I was at my Grandmas house with no internet and visiting with Allena and her family… good times!

4.) Why did you choose this yarn to start with?
I wanted sock yarn… and had been wanting to spin up this roving for a while. These are not my normal colors but when i saw it i had to have it… So i thought it appropriate to use it for the first time lacing up the bobbin… first time spinning yummy butterbeer!

5.) Do you feel as if this method helped you achieve thinner, more consistent singles?
Yes!

6.) Did you encounter any trouble when using this spinning method or anything making your spinning more difficult?
Only remembering how to lace it up… i kept having to refer back to that post or the picture i took of my own lacing ;) Actually it let me pack on the fiber super tight too… not a bad thing but good. I always had bumps on my bobbins from changing hooks and with this method i found that there were less bumps and it was much tighter than my bobbins normally were.

7.) Would you recommend it for someone who naturally spins fine? and what about those who spin bulky?
I think so. I know there are those out there who can spin quite fine on their own… but it really helped me. and i don’t think that i ever spun bulky… so I think it helped me stay more consistent. I think it would also help those who spin bulky naturally too… At least it’s worth a try! for all interested!

8.) Will you be trying it again? Soon?
Yes i will. I’ll be using this technique for one of my OWLs. I’m spinning up some superwash in Gryffindor colors to represent harry for my HoM… and i plan on lacing up the bobbin and then doing an Nply to get fun stripes! I am going to try and not go as fine as i did with the Butterbeer roving though, i want a bit thicker and squishier sock. This Butterbeer yarn is a bit hard, maybe i over spun it a bit when plying it (my first true 3 ply) but i think it will make for hard wearing socks, so i’m ok with it!

Congratulations NaturallyKnitty! It sure is beautiful!! Thank you so much for sharing your experience with us and your delicious yarn!

House Pride Exibition!

Don Your Quidditch Robes and Head for the Pitch!

You heard me! Let's GO, GRYFFINDOR!

Grab a Robe, and come Cheer!