More HPKCHC Madness

I've really been enjoying the Harry Potter Knitting Crochet House Cup. Not just for the comraderie or the great project prompts, but for the chance to practice my creative writing skills.

My House gave a challenge to knit or crochet Alot. Since I'm such a grammar nerd and love making absurd toys, I couldn't resist.

I had in mind to free-form (utter FAIL when I tried to create a repeatable pattern) with a button for a snaggletooth. As I was looking through my button box, I was inspired by some of the shapes, and thought this could be a great submission for Transfigurations (the prompt being to turn a beetle to a button and use in a pattern).

As I was beginning to submit and look at the prompt again, I realized that my vision probably wouldn't meet the standards of the class. My thinking is that a flaw can be reworked a feature.

I submitted the following:

Professor, I think I made a mistake.

I did find a button beetle:



And I did manage to transform it into a button for my project:



But the transformation kept going ... it turned itself into a tooth!



Before I knew it I had a lot ... or rather Alot on my hands!



Oh, Professor, I know Ravenclaw is doing an Alot-Along, but this is ridiculous! I can't seem to undo it!

I guess I just have [slightlyfoxed's Alot on my plate](/projects/slightlyfoxed/alot-on-my-plate). ::sob::

Harry Potter Knitting Crochet House Cup

I've been participating in the Fall term for this group on Ravelry. So much fun! I've been sorted into Ravenclaw (which is as it should be) and submitted my first assignment.

The instructions were: What would you wear to rob a magical bank? This option is for those who would really like to go all out and get highly imaginative, because, as we all know, it takes more than a mask to rob a magical bank.

My entry was a pirate hat with the following explanation:



You may remember the memoirs of the famous Wizarding pirate, Captain Arturo Ponzerelli, who wrote that in the Wizarding World, the most ineffectual (not to mention inelegant) form of robbery involved brute force. More effective is charm, charisma, good dental hygeine, and the correct hat.

Captain Ponzerelli said there is no excuse not to look one’s best when engaging in anything from the complex caper to casual piracy. He especially advocated the use of a hat that draws the power of the pyramid, a gold coin (because riches attract riches), and a well-placed feather in case a hasty retreat is required.

Captain Ponzerelli was only captured once (by an admiral who was terribly hard of hearing, if I am correct). But the trial quickly turned into an exuberant drinking party, and Ponzerelli left completely aquitted, pocketfuls of gold, and a goose.

Captain Ponzerelli is said to have retired on land given to him by an Ethiopian Prince. If the hat is cocked just right, one may hear the jingling of coins …


My entry received not only credit, but the Star of Isis badge from my House Mother.



Now to finish my project for Potions.

Birthday Yarns

The Child's third birthday is this Sunday. Since she's all about the horses, I decided to try another twee pattern.



The Child has also asked specifically for a zebra. A black and white one. (Although I suggested all kinds of variations.)



And because you can't have a birthday without a cake.



It has also been suggested that a child's birthday is the mother's too. I also needed some socks for her Gymboree party with a horse theme. So Storied Yarns Party Ponies colorway became Mama Unicorn socks.



Giddy up, my Baby Unicorn!

Bug for Baking

Last week, one of my respected colleagues retired. Since she was known for her baking, I wanted to honor her by baking as well.



I dipped into Nigella's Chocolate Cake Hall of Fame in her book Feast for this honey chocolate cake complete with marzipan bees. I was pleased with the result--very whimsical and delicious too. The combo of brown sugar and honey made a very woodsy cake, while the glaze of honey and confectioner's sugar practically needed to come with its own insulin shot.

I have now done four out of the fourteen cakes in the Hall of Fame, each with varying results. Baking all the cakes listed used to be a lifetime goal, although one is topped with coconut, one of the few foods I can't stand. Mentioning this led to a giant Facebook debate as to whether one should bother baking something one does not intend to eat. In general, I would say no, except I would have to do it to be completist. An ongoing debate, indeed.

This weekend, I baked some basic butter cookies with my daughter.



She wanted to do some "cowboy cookies," but I also had her pick out some other cookie cutters, which accounts for the numbers. She insisted on green colored frosting and went nuts on the sprinkles.

For the record, I don't have the Zen of Baking with Children down quite yet. I know that it's a process--slowing down, allowing mess and mistakes. Where I got the most frustrated was when she kept jumping down from the stool and messing around with stuff on the floor, which meant washing hands again and again until I simply sent her off to play.

Knitting/Reading Crossover: Zombies

I think I've mentioned how no one sees that these have to do with zombies. But with the black and white plus red and bruise colors, not to mention bits of my skin peeking through the dropped stitches, how can you not?

As for the reading experience, I wrote a little bit about it here. It was fun to have zombies on the brain and try to keep both projects neck in neck with each other. I'm going to try a similar concept again with YA dystopian novels, but I think I have to get some holiday projects started first.

I finished the zombie socks, but I want to do a proper post when I've finished the reading. Now my attention has turned to ponies.

My daughter's 3rd birthday is coming up, and I've given in to the birthday party pressure. We've booked a party at Gymboree; it's semi-educational, inside away from heat and rain, and no more expensive than anything else. And since adults *must* wear socks for cleanliness purposes, I *must* knit myself a pair.



The yarn is from Storied Yarns Percy Jackson and the Olympians Monsters collection, Party Ponies colorway. (Okay, the Party Ponies were centaurs, not unicorns, but no one cares.) I chose a spiral pattern evocative of unicorn horns.

I'm also crocheting her a pony for her actual birthday. I had started doing a fat unicorn from a toy book I own, but I hated the shape of it. This one will be much cuter.

Hooray for Hats

In the process of cleaning out my closet this past year, I edited my hat collection. As a result, however, I found that I don't have much appropriate for warmer weather (including, alas, a black hat for the inevitable funeral that comes more frequently than I'd like). So I whipped up a couple in cotton and cotton/nylon blend.

Related: one of my friends from work has decided to do a Hurricane Hat for each hurricane that forms in the Atlantic this hurricane season. I'm going to follow her progress with great interest, and maybe even cast on one of my own.