February at Hogwarts

Happy Monday!  Let's wrap up the past month with the last of the badges I was awarded:

First, there's Flying Class, where I had to make a project faster than the last time I made it.  I submitted a hat (as I'd just made a similar hat and had worked all the kinks out of the pattern):

For Savannah, my honorary niece.

And the badge:

Then there was the Leaky Cauldron challenge (part of the pub crawl), which you've already seen (the Herbology cozy made for Tom).  The badge for completing that:

We've also been encouraged to post in the Common Rooms' threads and ask questions about being a sorted student at Hogwarts.  I chose to post in Hufflepuff, and earned this badge:

Next, I realized that I didn't share the badges earned from Zonko's Joke Shop during Hogsmeade weekend!  

For telling the following joke (one of my father's classics, badly retold):

There once was a lobster named Boris. He was a great musician, and was regularly engaged to play at his friend Sam the clam’s under the sea nightclub. One unfortunate day, however, he ran afoul of a lobster trap and…well, in the end he went to Heaven.

Once there, St. Peter took a look at Boris’ resume and discovered his love of music. Thus inspired, he gave Boris his very own lobster-friendly harp. Boris loved his harp, but he didn’t feel the same thrill as when he used to be in the spotlight, playing to all the boppin’ angelfish and sea urchins at the nightclub.

St. Peter noticed Boris’ downcast mood, and after due consideration, he told Boris that he’d allow him to go back and visit the disco for one night. Utterly thrilled, Boris grabbed his harp and hopped a raindrop to the ocean. That last night he spent at Sam the clam’s club was the liveliest performance the lobster had ever done! He played like no fish had ever seen, and received standing ovation after standing ovation.

At last, however, Boris had to say goodbye to Sam and the patrons of the club. He climbed a sunbeam and soon found himself back in Heaven. St. Peter went to see how the little lobster was doing, but suddenly he gasped!

“Boris…where’s your harp?” St. Peter asked.

Boris thought long and hard. “Well…I guess…I left my harp in Sam Clam’s Disco.”

Badum-tsh!

I earned this badge:

And then for captioning this picture:

What if the Hokey Pokey really IS what it's all about?

I got this badge:

Finally, I found out that Not Quite First Years could participate in the Hufflepuff Treasure Hunt/Quest/Thing!  There was a badge for each of the seven individual quests, plus an eighth for completing all of them!  There wasn't any actual crafting involved; it was mostly links, posting elsewhere, and in general meeting other Hufflepuffs.

Badges:

 

 

 

And the one I was really after:

Thanks for sticking with me!  In the next post I'll wrap up my first month as a cadet in Starfleet, and then we can get into all kinds of crafting trouble in March!

Craft on, fellow Potterheads!

Expecto Patronum!

There were several different locations to visit and challenges to tackle during Hogsmeade Weekend.  As I mentioned yesterday, my friend Piglottie (who had graciously volunteered her time at the Hogsmeade Owl Post Office) had summoned me to see the challenges in one of the Slytherin locations.

The challenge was to take a Patronus test and craft your patronus.  (Yes, this is Harry Potter lore.)

I chose to ignore the test results, as the pattern I needed to test was for a different animal.  I bought the pattern on Etsy several months ago and had never had the chance to try it out.

Finished project:

This is the precursor to the "Wolfie" I will be making

for an art trade with Axl_Rosie, a popular Mindcrack artist.

Still, I felt something was missing...and I had a small bit of red yarn left from some other project, so:

Now he reminds me of Hobbes on a winter excursion with Calvin.

This is Deevius's Facebook Art Trade this year!  I'm so happy he turned out all right!

Despite a few kerfoffles with my understanding the pattern, I love this designer quite a bit.  My favorite feature of this plushie was that instead of having to sew each individual limb on, you crocheted through the tops of the limbs (pinching them together flat) as you made the body parts.

That removes so much guesswork for me!  I am terrible at sewing things on symmetrically.

Oh, and of course the badge I earned was:

That pretty much wraps up my Hogsmeade weekend activities and badges!

Oh!  With the exception of solving Arthur Weasley's treasure hunt:

Phew!  Keeping up with all these projects is getting crazy!

Now, I wasn't able to find a place to submit this for the House Cup challenge, but as it turns out, the Starfleet Fiber Arts Corps had the perfect prompt:

Medical Mission:  Craft something comforting.

It worked out well, and I received full credit!  I was able to complete all of my Starfleet missions in February, but March is gonna be even nuttier!

If I don't see you, have a great weekend and craft on!

Another Cozy

To finish up my time in The Three Broomsticks, the last craft was the "Libations Day" craft.  While I thought about doing a coaster or other drink-related pattern, I was quite fascinated with the heart on the slippers I'd made for "Love Day".

I think if I work with my technique a little more, then graph crochet might not be so far out of my reach as I thought.

Anyway, I threw together a can/bottle cozy, using the heart graph from the slippers:

 

Front and back; someday I'll actually make a cozy wide enough.

This craft didn't get turned in for a class (I was pretty much done with class assignments at this point), but I earned two badges nonetheless:

Let's be honest; I was really after this one.

This almost concludes the crafts from Hogsmeade Weekend...but a fellow NQFY Piglottie summoned me to the Magical Menagerie thread, where there were plushie challenges.

I knew I couldn't possibly do them all...but I did have the perfect opportunity (and pattern!) to do one.

Stay tuned, and craft on!

Charms

Continuing in the Hogsmeade weekend badge obtainment, I set about working on the "Love Day" craft.  I also knew that I hadn't yet turned in a project for Charms, where the prompt was:

Craft something that can be used to entrance someone. Must include some purple.

The servers at the Three Broomsticks had suggested some patterns that might qualify for a Love craft, and I took them up on it:

Free pattern by Kinga Erden; must have Ravelry account.

My post:

Her cheeks and the tip of her nose red from being outside during the Hogsmeade weekend, VelvetKey hurries into the Charms classroom with a wide, satisfied smile on her face. Clearly she has been enjoying the festivities of the weekend and looks to be ready to get back to the Three Broomsticks as soon as she’s dropped off her homework.

Professors, it’s been an amazing weekend at Hogsmeade, listening to the different romantic stories and jokes, as well as seeing the magical creatures and enjoying butterbeer. You may have heard of the Love Day challenge, even! The staff at the Three Broomsticks had suggested this lovely pattern to me, and I couldn’t resist putting a littlest bit of an enchanting charm on these slippers, to keep the wearer’s feet as warm as their heart on Valentine’s Day!

Thank you for your time, professors! Happy Hogsmeade!

Just so you know: these are the plushiest slippers I've ever made.  The front post crochet stitches make an extra sqwooshy layer inside that is so springy it's like walking on a cloud.

These slippers are for sale in my Etsy store!

Here are the badges I earned for turning in my Charms homework:

And as an added bonus, the grading professor Loneilteaches awarded me my very own Time Lord:

Mmm!  Eye candy indeed!

We're winding down on the February Hogwarts homework; just a few more classes to go, plus the extra awards for activities participated in!

Craft on, Potterheads and Whovians!

Ollivander's Wand Pattern

This weekend is Hogsmeade Weekend at the Harry Potter Knitting and Crochet House Cup group on Ravelry!

One of the places to visit is Ollivander's Wand shop.  There are badges available for taking the wand quiz on Pottermore, crafting your own wand from an Instructable...and of course, making your wand out of yarn!

Well.

I may have decided to make my own pattern for a wand.  Here's the finished product:

Forgive the quality; the lighting in my house is awful at night.

Disclaimer:  This pattern is untested, highly improvised, and utilizes amigurumi techniques.  Caution and common sense is advised!

Ollivander's Wand

Supplies

• chopstick, wooden skewer (anything that could be the core structure of a wand)
• small amount of worsted weight yarn in desired brown color
• 3.75mm (F) hook, 5.00mm (H) hook
• yarn needle
• handful of stuffing
• a dash of magic!

Instructions

This pattern is amigurumi (meaning continuous rounds, not joined rounds) and worked in two parts: the handle and the shaft.

(It's also my very first amigurumi pattern and I made the wand as I wrote this pattern.)

Handle     (Begin with F hook.)

Rnd 1:  Sc 6 into magic ring OR ch 2 and sc 6 into first ch. (6)

Rnd 2:  Sc around. (6)

Rnd 3:  Sc 2 in each st. (12)

Rnd 4:  FLO sl st in each st (12)

Note:  You will be working in back loop in the next round; when you begin Rnd. 4 you might want to put a stitch marker in the back loop to help you easily identify it for Rnd. 5.

Rnd 5:  Sc in BLO (in the unused back loop from the sc's in Rnd 3). (12)

Note:  Begin to stuff bottom of handle lightly; enough of a cushion for your chopstick to sit on.

Rnd 6:  *Decrease in BLO, sc in next 2.  Repeat from * twice. (9)

Rnd 7-17:  Sc around to form the grip of the handle (9).

Note:  Continue with rounds until grip is long enough for you.

Rnd 18-20:  Sl st in FLO.  (9)  Cut yarn, but do not weave in end yet.

Note:  Time to stuff!  Insert the chopstick into the handle.  Take small amounts of stuffing and pat them into strips (or roll them).  With the handle of your F-hook, tamp the stuffing strips down evenly, winding them around the core, until you are satisfied. 

Weave in the end with your yarn needle.

Shaft     (Begin with F hook.)

Note:  Leave an 8" long tail at your slip knot.

Rnd 1:  Sc 4 into magic ring OR ch 4 and join to first ch with a sl st.  Sc 4 in the loop you just made.

Note:  Do not tighten the magic ring or the loop closed!  This will slip over the end of the chopstick and sit right on top of the handle.

Rnd 2-22:  Sc around in each stitch.  

Note: Continue until shaft is long enough to cover the rest of the chopstick.

Rnd 3:  Sc2tog, sl st.  Cut yarn and sew open end into whatever point is desired.  FO and weave in end.

Using tail from Rnd 1, sew shaft to handle.  Weave in end.

Optional Vine Detail for Handle  (Begin with H hook.)

Ch a 6-8" chain, with a 10-12" tail.  Cut  yarn and knot.  Place one end at base of handle and wrap around in desired pattern.  Use yarn needle and the 10-12" tail to tack the vine into place as desired.  FO and weave in all ends.

Expelliarmus!

Please make any suggestions to me about this pattern; it's free and you may share it as such.  Per copyright, however, please do not sell these as "Harry Potter" wands or anything.  Let's not get me in to trouble!  Give them as gifts, and if people ask, tell them where you found the pattern!

Here are the badges I earned for my wand:

My results from Pottermore:

Length: 13 3/4 inches 
Wood: Hornbeam 
Core: Unicorn 
Flexibility: Surprisingly swishy

For making my wand of yarn!

And for laughing at my own cleverness in achieving

another written pattern (almost) on my own!