Package arrived!

It was very cold here this morning (-25 Celsius) when a poor, icicle-laden owl landed on my doorstep. Poor Artimus! It seems he was delayed by Customs...in Quebec. I'm not sure how that happened--the fastest route to my place would be via Toronto--perhaps he got some bad directions? Poor owl. We're going to keep him here for a few days so he can defrost, and bundle him up well before we send him back.

Dorian was super excited about the package. He couldn't wait to break into it!

The first thing I found was a letter from Canada Customs. :S

I don't think anything was damaged or missing from the package, though.

Here is how it looked:

I was pretty excited when I found out that Antonio was going to be my swap partner. He has an uncle who dyes yarn (and is pretty good at it, as you'll see!) My package came with two skeins of yarn: one, from his uncle's Paca Peds, dyed an unbelievable variegated blue, and the other, a one of a kind semi-solid blue worsted weight from Lorna's Lace. I'm not sure what I like more: the yarns or the felted bag they came with!

Almost as cool as the yarn are the local items he picked out for me:

Mmm...I can taste the wings now!! (And the wing sauce is milk-free, so my poor allergic sister will be able to indulge with me.)

I also got two sets of Knit Picks Harmony needles; one for a hat and one for a scarf. There was also chocolates (yum!) and a sweater stone

Thank you so much, Antonio! You're the best!

Getting ready!

I placed a big order with Knit Picks last Thursday. One of the dangers
with Knit Picks for me is that if the order is being shipped to
Canada, the shipping is a flat rate after the first $20 you spend. So
once you've spent that $20, you might as well order as much as you
can, because it's going to cost the same to get it here. (Note: this
is very, very unusual for American companies shipping to Canada; Knit
Picks also charges you an extra 10% and takes care of all taxes and
duties at the border, so there's no risk of terrible "surprise"
charges when the package arrives.) I picked up some needles for my
spoilee, a bag kit for a friend in my guild, and thirteen (!) balls of
the Swish Worsted in Lemongrass Heather to make my mom a Rogue
sweater. The order arrived in a great big box today, much to my
surprise. It only took a week to get here, which is awesome.

So with the needles in place, I only have a few loose ends to collect
up, and I'm hoping to be able to ship my package out to the lovely
Enna later this week. Huzzah!

Giving thanks

Like any good Canadian, I know that Thanksgiving really comes in
October, but I very firmly believe that there is never a bad time to
give thanks and to be thankful.

I am thankful for my partner/soon-to-be husband. I am thankful that
we've been able to grow our relationship through good times and bad,
and that in just over ten months we will exchange wedding vows in
front of our friends and family.

I am thankful for my family. My parents celebrated their 32nd wedding
anniversary this week, and I am thankful for their love and the
positive example they have set for me. I'm thankful for my sisters,
who I can count among my best friends.

I am thankful for the cat, even though right now he loves his dad more
than he loves me. And even though he keeps unravelling WIP socks.

I am thankful for my house and my car, and my job, which allows me to
have these things. I am thankful to be doing something that I love.

I am thankful for Ravelry, which has allowed me to meet so many people
and to learn so many new things.

I am thankful to have a swap partner from outside of Canada, because I
can send her lots of things that would be mundane to other Canadians,
but might be exotic and fun to someone else. Today, I picked up two
chocolate bars from a Canadian chain of chocolate stores, and I really
hope that she likes them.

Updates

First things first: I believe Winnie has visited Al Mamzar, in Dubai,
and Cairo, in Egypt. I hope she doesn't accidentally set off any of
the curses on the old pyramid.

Now that that's out of the way, I can report in on the knitting front.
I finished my second February Lady Sweater, or, as I've taken to
calling it, the Infernal Sweater. I love this sweater--it looks
beautiful, it's flattering on lots of people--but man oh man is it a
snooze to knit. Sure, that's good in the sense that it's easy. My
knitting group was doing an informal KAL for the sweater this summer,
and I'm the only one who has finished so far. (Granted, I had a two
month vacation this summer, in which I had little to do other than
knit.) I can definitely see why so many other people have gotten
bogged down knitting it--if it weren't for the fact that this second
sweater is a gift for my sister, I probably would've given up. (Or
shoved it in a drawer in my craft room, never to be seen again.)

My next few projects are going to be my handmade item for my partner,
and a Swallowtail Shawl for my grandmother. I also want to get
started on making some tiny ornament sweaters to give to people for
Christmas. If I start early, I won't have to cram them into the wee
hours of Christmas Eve, right?!

Getting over the Voldemorts

Ugh. Just my luck that on the eve of my Quidditch career, I should
come down with a virus. It's a Muggle sickness, naturally, so it
can't be treated by normal Magical means: I actually had to go to a
Muggle walk in clinic and speak to a Muggle doctor. She told me that I
have an "unnamed viral infection", so we have been calling it the
Voldemort virus. It's likely to be H1N1 or the seasonal flu. Either
way I have been feeling like junk for the last little bit.

But, I am on my way back to health, and once I kick this lingering
cough I'll be back on a broom in no time.

I've been doing a little bit of knitting to stay occupied while I
recuperate. I have a February Lady Sweater for my sister that just
needs a couple of sleeves (which may take a while since I am B-O-R-E-D
of working on it). I also cast on my first pair of socks in almost
five months--the Fascine Braid Socks. Now that the weather is getting
cooler, I'm noticing that my storebought socks just don't cut it.

I'm hoping to make some big progress on my kit tomorrow.

Training Up

What a busy week with training! My broom has been acting a bit dodgy
lately--I think the brake is wearing out--and I may well have to buy
a new one before the season really gets under way. Thankfully the
signing bonus should take some of the sting out of that major
purchase. Any ideas on brooms I could look into?

I've been enjoying reading about our former Headmistress's antics on
the main blog. Right now I believe she is at Lanarch Castle, New
Zealand. I'm quite envious of that--I've always wanted to go to New
Zealand, but I don't fancy the trip to get there. That's a long time
to be on a broom. If she has a chance, she should see if she can find
some possum yarn--it's quite soft and warm.

Where's Winnie?

Right now, Winnie is at the Ministry of Magic in London. I wonder what
she's doing there?

Homework #1

1. Elanor Cadogan is also a knitter
2. Pandora Phelps is not only born in the same month, but on the same day!
3. My partner, Enna Kirts, lives in a different country. I'm excited to send her things from Canada.
4. Poppy Plout is new!
5. My old friend Cassandra Grubbly-Plank has been in several!
6. Wisteria Lovegood has a big stash!
7. Megaera Black can do both. She's quite talented.
8. Antonio dela Weasley loves blue, just like me.

I spent most of today wandering around and getting to know people. There were lots of familiar faces, so it was nice to touch base with the people I knew at Hogwarts. There were also a few new faces--we've got a few particularly keen players in Portree.

A long hiatus

It has been a while, but I'm very pleased to be back here to blog. Remember how I used to be rubbish at Quidditch? Well, a few spare inches and some strategically placed muscle (to say nothing of a really top rate broom) and I am suddenly in the game. I've just made Pride of Portree, much to my mum's delight, and I can't believe how many familiar faces from my old Hogwarts days there are.

The league is big on cooperation between teams, so we're supposed to put together packages for our competition. I have a feeling my knitting skills will come in handy there. I've been assigned Enna Kirts from the Magpies. I don't know her well, but she is friends with Eugene, my old roommate from Hogwarts.

I'll be getting a kit from Antonio dela Weasley over in Appleby. Apparently I ought to write up a wishlist of some sort and some information about myself to help him get to know me, so here goes.

I like blues, greens, and purples best, but really anything that isn't yellow or orange is okay by me.

I knit best with wood or bamboo needles. My mains are a set of Knit Picks Harmony Options, but I've had good experiences with the Zephyrs as well. When I knit socks I use Magic Loop--cables of 40" or longer prefered.

I like pretty much all weights of yarn (except cobweb--I'm not that much of a masochist) although I'm starting to realize that I like sock yarn a lot more than I like actually knitting socks.

I knit just about everything. I've done a couple of sweaters in the last few months, and I've got lots of babies to knit for in the next little bit. I also like to knit scarves, hats, mitts, shawls, and socks. I also love bags and purses, especially felted bags and project bags. There's just something about putting a project in its own bag that appeals to me.

I prefer natural fibres (wool, alpaca, silk, etc.) but I also believe in using a fibre appropriate to the project.

I live in a pretty cold part of the world (it's snowed already, though I was thankfully able to cast a meteological spell that prevented the snow from sticking around) so I prefer full mittens/gloves to fingerless ones, and I prefer mittens to gloves as well.

I drink lots of tea (anything but jasmine green tea) and hot chocolate, but I've yet to turn to the dark side that is coffee. I prefer salty/savoury snacks on the whole, but my sweet tooth loves dark chocolate, toffee, peanut butter, Skittles, and stale gummy candies. (They're chewier when they're stale, and they really are better that way.)

My favourite part of a swap package is always the homemade item, and I love it when my partner includes something from where they are.

I will turn 28 during this swap.

In my Muggle life, I teach English literature and writing at a university. I have a cat and I'm getting married next October. I'm currently watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer for the first time and intend to move on to The Tudors after that. When I'm not reading for work, I read historical fiction, graphic novels, science fiction, and fantasy--but really, I will read anything.

That's about all I can think to write about myself for now! I'll have to post my homework tomorrow once I've had a chance to read some more blogs.

My kit!

I wasn't home yesterday because I got special permission to leave Hogwarts for the night and travel home to see my parents. My mother has spent the last two weeks in South America working as a Healer in rural Muggle communities, and she came home yesterday, which was also my parents' wedding anniversary. My father had bought us front row tickets to see the Weird Sisters, so of course everyone was very excited (and very, very tired today). They played for three hours, and we stood and danced the whole time.

And, as such things tend to go, I arrived back at Ravenclaw Tower to find that Nate, Megaera Black's owl, had come by with my parcel. Naturally, Dorian was quite excited about this visitor (and quite indignant that I'd left him home alone overnight). I'm not sure what he and Nate got up to but there were both feathers and fur on the floor around my bed. I had an early Transfiguration class, but I couldn't wait to open my package--and what an awesome surprise it was:



Believe it or not, she fit all of that into one box. I had said that I wanted a surprise kit, and that's definitely what I got. It was a combo of a Dye kit and a Sock kit. I got some beautiful KnitPicks Imagination Sock yarn in Pixie Dust (which actually looks a lot more Ravenclaw-y than I would have guessed.) I, er, bought myself some of the Imagination when I was getting things for CGP's kit, and just started knitting with it last week. It's lovely yarn. (I bought the "Wicked Witch" colourway, and I'm making the Bellatrix socks out of it. Appropriate, no?) Meg also sent me two skeins of the Bare superwash sock yarn one skein of Bare superwash, and one skein of Bare Merino Silk (which explains why I kept thinking, "This one feels different for some reason!") and dye in Sapphire Blue and Silver.




The bag she sent was also really cool:



There were also lots of really neat accessories: A mini sock keychain in Ravenclaw colours, a set of magnets for chart reading (which I need, because I am USELESS at that), a Ravenclaw keychain, a Care of Magical Creatures magnet, some Bunny Butt Apothecary hand stuff (an etailer I've heard loads about but haven't tried yet!), a Ravenclaw tie crest, some delicious looking chocolate rock candy, 2.75mm KP Harmony needles, a yummy bar of cherry-scented soap, and a really neat pendant shaped like a Scrabble tile with a tiny piece of the story on it (It's one of the Hedwig parts, which is SO cool). She managed to fit most of this into a little wooden chest.




In the midst of all that awesome, the stitch markers stood out:


(I love owls.)

To go along with my yarn and dye, I also received a copy of The Yarn Lover's Guide to Hand Dyeing. I've had it recommended to me several times by friends as one of the best books for dye beginners, and I'm really excited to read it. When I opened the book, there was one last surprise--a copy of Kate Gilbert's Bird In the Hand mitten pattern. I've been ogling this pattern for months now, and I actually bought the yarn to make a pair for my mom for Christmas on the weekend. What an awesome surprise.

Thank you so much to Megaera and Maylee! This was an awesome surprise kit, and I can't wait to get knitting and dyeing!

spinning 'round and 'round...

For once I am all caught up on my homework (take that, transfiguration!), so I got to actually do something fun last night. I'd almost forgotten what that feels like, especially after our crushing defeat at the hands of Hufflepuff in the weekend Quidditch match. Very sad, really.

Anyhow, one of the school's old students came back yesterday to visit, and she brought so much stuffh with her. I think the Headmistress had told her about how many of us were interested in magical fibre arts, so she packed up all kinds of little samples of different fibres for us to feel. She had quivit, alpaca, different sheep, silk, llama, angora, mohair...all kinds of stuff. It was so neat to feel.

Then she gave each of us a little batt of wool, a piece of yarn, and a simple drop spindle, and we got to practice spinning our own yarn. It was really tricky--mine has a little bit too much twist. It was a lot of fun, though.

She had her spinning wheel there, too, but I didn't want to try it. I am desperately afraid that I will love spinning, and I just don't have time (or money) for it right now. Plus I want to save something for later, you know?

Quidditch

1. Who was Tom Riddle Sr.'s girlfriend before Merope gave him the love potion?
a. Eleanor
b. Cecilia
c. Sally
d. Mandy

2. What does Luna say floated into Harry's ear when he was in the train car that supposedly caused him to lose focus?
a. Demiguise
b. Jobberknoll
c. Wrackspurt
d. Runespoor

3. How much do the primary Apparition lessons cost?
a. 10 galleons
b. 8 galleons
c. 15 galleons
d. 12 galleons

4. What is Professor Merrythought's first name?
a. Eileen
b. Galatea
c. Carol
d. Jocelyn

5. What Hogwarts club was Eileen Prince captain of?
a. Charms Club
b. Gobstones Club
c. The Slug Club
d. Occlumency Club

6. Who is head of the Goblin Liaison office?
a. Ambrosius Flume
b. Dirk Cresswell
c. Ciceron Harkiss
d. Barnabas Cuffe

7. Mrs. Weasley offers Fleur a goblin-made tiara for the wedding with Bill. What family member is currently in possession of the tiara?
a. Aunt Muriel
b. Aunt Ethel
c. Aunt Edna
d. Aunt Thelma

8. How many points does Snape take from Gryffindor for Harry's late arrival and muggle attire?
a. 30
b. 70
c. 50
d. 90

9. When Profressory Slughorn first meets Hermione, he asks her whether she is related to Hector Dagworth-Granger. What society did Dgworth-Granger found?
a. The Most Extraordinary Society of Charms
d. The Most Extraordinary Society of Herbology
c. The Most Extraordinary Society of the Defense Against the Dark Arts
d. The Most Extraordinary Society of Potioneers

10. Which of these describes Golpalott's Third Law?
a. The antidote for blended poison will be equal to less than the sum of the antidotes for each of the separate components
b. The antidote for a blended poison will be equal to less than the product of the antidotes for each of the separate compenents
c. The antidote for a blended poison will be equal to more than the product of the antidotes for each of the separate compenents
d. The antidote for a blended poison will be equal to more than the sum of the antidotes for each of the separtea components

ravenclaw quiz

1- Astrid Cloverleaf
2- Cassandra Grubbly Plank
3- Enna Kirts
4- Selena Starfire
5- Henry Longstaff
6- Ceciley Fortescue
7- Mona Ravenscroft
8- Argentia Pascal
9- Prendolyn Wilcox
10- Lizzie Wychwood
11- Ursula Longbottom
12- Rowena Weasley
13- Aurora Curlyfur
14- Lily May Clearwater
15- Megaera Black (except she's a puppy)

Bonus1- Hermione Bagnold/Smileynetta
Bonus2- 37 (which is less than half, by my count)

Birthday Madness and Kit Completion

Thank you to everyone for all of the birthday wishes, and especially to my splendiforous partner Megaera Black, who surprised me with a generous and awesome gift: a gift card for my favourite bath and body store, Lush. I'm so excited for that, especially since they now have all of their holiday products available.

The birthday itself was pretty uneventful. Dorian got the day off to a less-than-spectacular start by vomiting copiously all over my brand new duvet at half past five in the morning. He is six months old now, and I somehow managed to book his appointment for the Big Snip for the morning of my birthday. He wasn't allowed to have any food after 8 p.m. the night before, and I think that in his hunger he started nibbling on the one plant Eugene and I have here in the room, which caused him to be sick.

Everyone down at Care of Magical Creatures just loved him, though, and one of the first years almost refused to let me take him back to Ravenclaw Tower. He was Very Angry with me for the rest of the day, and hid in his pet carrier while making a point of snuggling up close to Eugene whenever I was around.

I did receive a ball winder and a swift as gifts as well, so now I am all set to get started on my holiday knitting.

alpaca, alpaca, alpaca

The strangest thing of all happened this week: Eugene and I were actually alone in the common room together, so we chatted about knitting and literature. It was marvellous. I also had an opportunity to do something for extra credit - a field trip to an alpaca farm.

Here's something you should know: I love alpacas. I love their fleece, I love the weird humming noises that they make, and I love the way they look. They just have very sweet eyes, I think. The trip to the farm was a lot of fun, and I only broke my self-imposed yarn diet a little--but then, I don't think diets should count for local yarn.


Two alpacas frolicking.


The two guard llamas.


An alpaca named Raven, who loves humans and human contact, and was described by her owner as being like "a giant dog."


Including laying down on the floor like this.


Some of the white alpacas.


This one kept looking right at me! I think he wants to be my friend.

House Quiz!

What security question does Mr. Weasley ask Mrs. Weasley before he enters the Burrow? What is the answer? What is Arthur's nickname for Molly when they're alone? Mollywobbles

What two names does Mrs. Cole call Dumbledore when she takes him to see Tom Riddle at the orphanage?
Mr. Dumberton and Dunderbore

What is the name of Ginny's Pygmy Puff?
Arnold

What three D's are needed for apparating?
Destination, Determination, Deliberation

What spell did Harry perform when he was attacked by Dementors?
Expecto Patronum - the Patronus charm

Who did an arrow salute at Dumbledore's funeral?
The centaurs were saluting Dumbledore

What did Dumbledore set on fire to prove to Tom Riddle that he was a wizard?
A wardrobe

What Christmas present did Kreacher give Harry?
Maggots (ugh ugh ugh)

What is on top of the Weasleys' Christmas tree?
A garden gnome disguised as an angel

What was the most popular item at Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes?
Nosebleed Nougat (and I quite agree--much nicer than vomiting)

Why did Harry threaten to kick Ron off the Griffindor Quidditch team?
For being a jerk to the others on the team

What happens if you break an Unbreakable Vow?
You die.

Who did Hermoine go to Slughorn's party with?
Cormac McLaggen

Who is Mrs. Weasley's favorite singer?
Celestina Warbeck

Who are the only two people who know the full contents of the prophecy made about Harry and Lord Voldemort?
Harry and Dumbledore

Quidditch

1. What animal does the portrait in the Muggle Prime Minster’s office resemble?
a. Rat
b. Frog
c. Cat
d. Lion

2. What drink does Romilda Vane try to give Harry?
a. Gillywater
b. Butterbeer
c. Pumpkin Juice
d. Elf-Made Wine

3. What is the name of the person who heads the Holyhead Harpies?
a. Gwenog Smith
b. Gwenog Jones
c. Glen Jones
d. Glen Smith

4. How many ‘Exceeds Expectation’ grades does Harry receive in his O.W.L’s?
a. 6
b. 3
c. 5
d. 4

5. What is Professor Sughorn’s favorite candy?
a. Cockroach Clusters
b. Sherbet Lemon
c. Acid Pops
d. Crystallized Pineapple

6. What tattoo is Harry reported to have on his chest?
a. Mermaid
b. Blast Ended Skrewt
c. Hippogriff
d. Unicorn

7. What color robes do the staff at the Weasley’s shop wear?
a. Buttercup
b. Magenta
c. Royal Blue
d. Aqua

8. What is the man outside Flourish and Blotts selling?
a. Amulets
b. Cloaks
c. Wands
d. Hats

9. How much is the skull, which Hermione enquires about at Borgin and Burkes, worth?
a. 9 Galleons
b. 18 Galleons
c. 16 Galleons
d. 12 Galleons

10. What are Professor Slughorn’s initials?
a. H.F.G.
b. H.E.F.
c. H.A.L.
d. H.K.D.


Extra Super Awesome Ravenclaw Bonus Round:

package preparations and a plethora of post-class ponderings

I have received package one of four that are due to arrive by owl over the next week or so. There is a very small part of me that still gets quite excited whenever I see the owls soaring down the street. (Especially when I know that these packages will be full of yarny goodness.)

Once all of this comes in, I'll have all of the pieces of my package, and it will simply be a matter of assembling everything together.

Someone once told me that the further you went at Hogwarts, the harder the work got, and I have to say that they really weren't kidding about that. I cannot believe the amount of homework we've been given this year. I've hardly had any time for knitting in the last week or so--thankfully sock projects are good for small knitting. On the other hand, I have learned how to transfigure tea cups, and I can solve (some) quadratic equations in Arithmancy...it's just a pity that there's not more time for the things I enjoy, like spending time in the Common Room, or getting Eugene to teach me new things.

phototastic!

1. Alfred with textbook, 2. Alfred with pygmy puffs, 3. Alfred with raven's feather, 4. Alfred with engagement ring, 5. Alfred with Horcrux (Riddle diary), 6. Alfred with broom (and Dorian), 7. Alfred with butterbeer, 8. Alfred with muggle artifact, 9. Alfred wearing house socks

Created with fd's Flickr Toys.

Things I should explain:
1) Dorian was very hurt that I did not use him as my originality marker so he ate a couple of pygmy puffs and kept trying to horn in on the pictures
2) The engagement ring was given to me by my boyfriend about a week after we started dating four years ago. He was the ticket booth attendant at a historic site, and i was one of the costumed people outside, so he made it out of office supplies.
3) Alfred is the sock monkey incarnation of my boyfriend. They both have one green eye and one brown eye. Alfred's mate's name is Alfrieda, and she has blue eyes like me.

Hogsmeade Weekend

Hurray! Our first Hogsmeade weekend is coming up, and I can't wait to get there. I've been making plans with Eugene to collect all of the things that we need for the scavenger hunt, so I think we will have to visit most of the stores in the village. Thankfully one of the things we need to photography is Butterbeer, so we won't have to cut short our time at the Three Broomsticks.