Astronomy
It's funny how I love to torture my roommate's cat,
all in the name of crafting. Free Ravelry pattern here!
Charms
One of four themed kitties!
So the real life story behind this is that my Firstie Friends over in the MJJ Stash Club decided to organize a Happy Harry Birthday Swap, slated for Harry Potter's birthday. I was given Ahanson08 to spoil, and she's been ever so generous to me (sent me yarn she SPUN HERSELF, as well as fiber to help me try more spinning on my own) so I knew I had to make her package extra-special!
Well, Angela (Ahanson08) has been in Gryffindor the past three terms, and was hoping to move to Ravenclaw but couldn't get in this term. Since I didn't know which house she favors in Harry Potter, I decided a complete set of kitties was in order! Stay tuned for the others!
Defense Against the Dark Arts
Commission for the lady I gave the purple jellyfish to last month!
Herbology
Oh so studious!
Part of the Happee Harry swap.
History of Magic
Pattern available for purchase on Ravelry.
Also available for order from my store.
Magical Literature
Also available for order from my store.
Potions
Spun on my drop spindle, while I was at Shadowmoor!
and of course,
Detention
Pattern can be purchased on Ravelry here.
Made for Guardian's Hatting Ceremony, in Shadowmoor:
So, if I didn't tell you the story of Guardian...let me do a synopsis now (yes this is Shadowmoor LARP stuff).
(For reference: LARP = Live Action Roleplay. Translation? An interactive game where you assume a persona (or many personas) in order to fight monsters, complete quests, occasionally save the world, and have fun. More information about Shadowmoor here.)
I came to Shadowmoor (started playing) in May 612 (2012), and I was completely new to everything. I arrived in town by the worst possible method: resurrecting. What I remembered was very little; but I had Midori with me. We had been journeying together, and at least she knew her way around, as she had been a trader among the nearby towns and villages most of her life.
She had a special relationship with the guildmaster from the Mages' Guild, Rax. Although he didn't know me, he accepted me as Midori's friend and allowed us to stay in the guild building. My first night on land was difficult; as a Sampan, I had been born, raised, and lived my entire life aboard my father's ship in the Shengdong fleet. I'd been on land a few times, but never very long.
I missed the rocking of the waves; the lull of the water's embrace and the quiet noise of the wavelets against the hull. I sat up the first night, swaying to and fro in my bed as if to persuade myself to sleep. Guardian was the one who sat up with me.
He is the mithral golem that guards the Mages' Guild. He loves hats, and he is considered a full guild member, as he is fully sentient. Though he rarely speaks, he watches over all of us as a silent sentinel...and I considered him the very first friend I made in Shadowmoor. I went on to crochet him a very large and oversized Thor-like hat that he has worn ever since.
So, when I heard that this past November (615, or 2015) that Guardian had been killed defending the Mages' Guild when the harbingers hit Shadowmoor, I was devastated. I hadn't been at the November event (too cold with no cuddle buddy), so I discovered his absence in March of the following year, when the game resumed. So, I made it my personal mission to see if there was any way Guardian could be repaired.
My mission led me all over; I went to Higara, the island of the Gray Elves to speak with Janus and Titanus about him. I had heard that Guardian's soul might have once belonged to a Gray Elf, so perhaps his soul might have journeyed back to his homeland. Janus assured me that the Gray Elves were not Guardian's creators, but they would reserve a place of honor for him in a peaceful garden dedicated to Shadowmoor allies.
While touched by his sentiment, I was resolute that this was not the end of things. I had to seek out Guardian's original creator: Caillie.
What happened then was a golden golem showing up at the Mages' Guild one afternoon, with all sorts of passwords and instructions. What came of that little adventure (Rax, Tao, Lucky, Audrick, and Fizz all went, too) was that Caillie's golem workshop could restore Guardian to us, but it wouldn't be until the following gather (in May).
I stepped forward and volunteered to remain with Guardian; to sit with him and to be there when he awoke, just as he had been there my very first night when I was afraid of everyone and everything and world was new to me. And while in the workshop, the little golem army kept me supplied with everything...including yarn! I decided to crochet Guardian a brand new hat while I waited.
Thus, at the May 616 (2016) event with Fizz as the Official Hat Master (she is a gnome; hats are a thing they do), we held the Grand Hatting of Guardian and celebrated his return! We had cookies and punch and it was a great time of relaxation and fellowship. Fizz had made hats mandatory, so many had brought hats with them, and Fizz, Lucky, and Scylla had folded hats from tissue paper for those that didn't have them. I was nominated at the last second (as in, during the ceremony) as the Official Hat Master's Hat-Passer, and presented Fizz with Guardian's new fedora, which he now wears instead! (We might need to get him a little hat rack...)
I visit Guardian every gather (the first gather he was back I think I even ended up sleeping in the circle beside him while waiting for the rest of the guild to come back; we had all scattered into the woods at one point, and it took us a couple of hours to regroup) now that I stay in the Infirmary and it's such a reassurance to have him back!
And that concludes the story...
Craft on!
