HSKS 6

I want to wish Cassandra Puddlemere a belated Happy Birthday wish.
I hope that the nargles didn't hide her Birthday gifts.

House Quiz

1. What potion has the strange side effects of excessive singing and nose-tweaking?

2. What ingredient can be used to counteract the effect of the above side effects?

3. How much can you get for Acromantula venom?

4. What is the most powerful love potion in the world?

5. What antidote does Harry use to help Ron when he is poisoned by Madam Rosmerta's finest mead?

6. How does Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes' Owl Order Service get their potions past the security at Hogwarts to their customers?

7. What did Draco Malfoy make in Potions class when Professor Slughorn assigned them to make something amusing?

8. What spells will not work in an area affected by Instant Darkness Powder?

9. What are the ingredients for the Draught of Living Death?

10. How much will unicorn tail hair fetch?

Extra Credit

Answering the following questions are extra credit and will earn you an additional ticket in the drawing for the prize.

1. Do you prefer to knit or crochet?

2. What is your favorite weight yarn to knit/crochet with?

3. What fiber contents do you most like to knit/crochet with? What fiber contents do you dislike knitting/crocheting with?

4. How many complete pair of socks have you knit/crochet?

5. What is your favorite item to knit/crochet?

6. What is your favorite treat?

7. Do you drink coffee, tea, or both?

8. Do you have an online wish list? If so, where?

9. How many Ravelry groups are you in?

10. Is there any special item you have been really wanting, but can't find in your local area?

    
    

    Answers should be posted to your personal blogs by Saturday, October 4th
    at 11:59 p.m. PST.  
    
    Good Luck 'Claws! 
    Have fun with it!

Calling all Gryffs - homework assignment arriving by Owl (email). Have fun - assignments are due at end of week, per info/instructions in the Owl.

Please send a return Owl with any questions or requests for hints. I'm quite looking forward to some of the responses.

1. Are you a sock knitter?What are your foot measurements?
   
2. Do you have a yarn winder and/or a swift?
   
3. Where/how to you keep you needles/hooks?
   
4. Do you collect anything?
   
5. What is your favorite type of music? Are you MP3 ready?
   
6. Do you like sweets? What are your favorites?
   
7. What is your living situation like? Any pets? Children?
8. Do you have an online wish list (Amazon, Etsy, Loopy Ewe, etc.)? Please include links for your swap pal.
9. Favorite Harry Potter movie character?
   

Please post your answers by midnight Saturday!

Hello, all!
It is time to announce the House Points as they stand after the first round of Quidditch. Because of the 50 pt. participation bonus a few of the houses went over 100%.

No houses need be discouraged, however! One week of missed posts or a different house finding the Snitch can turn things around. Constant Vigilance!!

Well this is a Harry Potter themed swap, so it's time to get your Harry Potter dork on ;)  This quiz is due Thursday midnight.  Clidonia Acromantula, our resident barista, will be providing the prize - the winner's choice of 1lb of Stabucks coffee, a box of tea, a box of chai or a box of pods.  (For more info try Clidonia).

Other houses can take the Quiz, but only Hufflepuffs will be entered into the drawing.

The Quiz...
1 Which is your favorite book in the series (and why)?

2 If you were taking Owls, which class would you get an E in?  Would you get any Ts?

3 Who is your favorite character (or characters) in the Harry Potter series?

4 If you had to pick 1 character for a roomate, who would you pick and why?  Who'd be your least-favorite to have as a roomate?

During last term I suffered from the dreaded "Missing In Action" owl. Thanks to Deputy Headmistress Wisteria Lovegood and Penelope of Flitwick, I received an Angel package today.


HERE is my post with all of the pictures. Thanks Wisty and Penelope!

When you've found the Snitch post a comment to this post.

One Note: I mentioned that the Snitch will never be hidden in the comments section of anyone's blog. All bets are off concerning clues, however.

First one to the finish line wins!!! Good Luck!!!

Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.
Author:
Helen Keller

Brooms to the ready! Roar Roar Gryffendor! Grandma

Are you ready for some Quidditch troops? Brooms at the ready... Let's head out onto the pitch with our Pride held high!!

I want to wish all my team mates good luck
with finding the snitch in the morning.
GO GRYFFINDOR ROAR!!!!!!!

Hello, everyone!! Official Snitch release time is Saturday, September 27, between the hours of

The html that you are copying and pasting is messing with the tables of this blog. If you know html and can fix it, then by all means continue to post the quizzes, but if you don't I am kindly asking that you do not post this particular quiz on the HSKS blog, but instead post them on your own individual blogs. All further Testriffic quizzes posted on this blog will be deleted. Thank you!!

Trivia and pictures must be posted to your blog before the Snitch is release in order to receive House points. The Snitch will be released on Saturday. Time is still to be determined.

1. At the beginning of the book, Cornelius Fudge is talking to the Muggle Prime Minister. Which member of the Order of the Phoenix has recently been found dead?
a. Hestia Jones
b. Elphais Doge
c. Emmeline Vance
d. Dedalus Diggle

2. What animal does Bellatrix Lestrange kill when she and her sister, Narcissa, are going to see Professor Snape?
a. Owl
b. Fox
c. Rabbit
d. Cat

3. What time does Professor Dumbledore collect Harry from Privet Drive?
a. Midnight
b. 11 p.m.
c. Noon
d. 11 a.m.

4. What did Professor Sluhorn transform into when he was trying to hide from Harry and Professor Dumbledore?
a. An armchair
b. A bed
c. A table
d. A wardrobe

5. What grade did Harry get for Herbology?
a. E – Exceeds Expectation
b. P – Poor
c. O – Outstanding
d. A – Acceptable

6. Herbert Chorley, the Prime Minister’s Junior Minster, has been entertaining the public by impersonating which animal?
a. A hen
b. A duck
c. A lion
d. A squirrel

7. What is Professor Sprout’s first name?
a. Pimmy
b. Pomony
c. Pommy
d. Pomona

8. What is Dumbledore’s idea of ‘a few words’?
a. nitwit, odder, blubber rand tweak
b. nitwit, odder, bubblegum and tweak
c. nitwit, oddment, bubblegum and tweak
d. nitwit, oddment, blubber and tweak

9. Who is Marcus Belby’s famous uncle?
a. Bertie
b. Damocles
c. Tiberius
d. Savage

10. What is Snape’s mother’s name?
a. Helana Prince
b. Eileen Prince
c. Lily Prince
d. Elizabeth Prine

Here, at Hogwarts, we play three games of Quidditch each term.

The Trivia & Pictures
Tomorrow - Wednesday - the trivia will be posted on this blog at 7 a.m. Pacific Standard Time. The trivia consist of 10 questions, plus 5 pictures that you must go on a scavenger hunt for and post them to your blogs. You are also welcome to hyperlink them in your post. No linkage or pictures means no points - keep that in mind. All trivia and pictures MUST be posted before the Snitch is released. Once the Snitch is found the game ends and there is no future opportunity to earn points for your House.

Trivia is worth 20 points per person and the pictures are worthy 5 points.

What will happen when the Snitch is released?
I will post a clue on this blog when the Snitch has been released. The clue will be in the form of a riddle that you must figure out in order to find the Snitch.

What is the Snitch?
The Snitch will be an image of the Snitch and it will be posted on someone's blog or website. It will never be posted in the comments section of a blog.

What time will the Snitch be released?
This round the Snitch will be released on Saturday. What time? I should be able to tell you that by the end of the day Wednesday.

What Patronus Charm would you create?

Sea Otter You would create an Otter Patronus just like Hermione. Your personality must be intelligent, determined, thoughtful, and graceful.

How do you compare? Take this test! | Tests from Testriffic

How Randomly Cute Is Your Personality?

Underwear Cute Your personality proves to be so randomly cute that you'd wear underwear on your head just because you can. Let's just hope there clean...

How do you compare? Take this test! | Tests from Testriffic

How Randomly Cute Is Your Personality?

Odd Cute Your just a bit odd, but its still cute. I would totally give you a hug.. but I don't trust strangers.

How do you compare? Take this test! | Tests from Testriffic

What Patronus Charm would you create?

Stag You would create a Stag Patronus just like Harry Potter does. Your personality must be brave, heroic, focused, and passionate.

How do you compare? Take this test! | Tests from Testriffic

The winner of the first Hufflepuff house quiz is...

Since everyone posted their questionnaires early I picked a name for another House Prize.  

(See, it pays to do your homework ;)


Don't forget, today is picture day!  Post a photo of yourself or a digital representation to your blog.  I'm looking forward to seeing everyone's portaits :)

Crocheted Hat Pattern
Divine Hat

Knit Hat Bracket Pattern

Utopia Hat

Knit Sock Bracket Pattern

Campfire Socks

PDF Versions of the Knit Hat and Knit Sock have been e-mailed to all of you. There is no PDF version of the crocheted hat.

Best of luck everyone!

Okay ladies and gentlemen ... The signups for the dueling club are officially closed. We have a total of 38 participants this round: 26 will be crafting hats and 12 will be knitting socks.

So, with wands at the ready … Here is what each of your duels will require:

The crocheted hat will require a skein (less than 200 yards) of worsted weight yarn. You will also be using a K (6.5 mm) hook as well as an I (5.5 mm) hook. The recommended gauge is 3 dc (with the K hook) is equal to one inch. Tools include a yarn needle (for tucking in ends).

The knit hat will require a skein (less than 200 yards) of worsted weight yarn. You will also be using US 8 (5mm) knitting needles – a 16” circular and DPNs. Tools include a cable needle and yarn needle (for tucking in the ends). There is no gauge listed, per se, so you will have to wait and look at the pattern to determine how to resize the hat to fit your partner (i.e. do more or less pattern repeats, if necessary).

The sock knitters will require 1 – 2 skeins (between 250 to 500 yards) of DK (8 ply) sock yarn. The amount of yarn required depends on the size of the sock you will be knitting. They recommend one skein for the women’s sizes and small or medium men’s sizes but two skeins (or one plus a contrasting color) for the larger men’s sizes. You will also be using US 4 double pointed needles (or size needed for gauge) and they recommend a US 4 - 12” circular needle, but it is optional and the whole sock can be worked with the DPNs. You will also need a yarn needle and stitch markers. The recommended gauge is 6 sts in stockinette = 1” (after blocking) and 8 rows = 1” (after blocking).

You will have to contact your partner to get their mailing address, sizing information and color preferences. I will e-mail everyone the bracket along with a list of participants and their e-mail addresses so that you can do so. Keep in mind that this is also meant to be a stash busting event so please don’t feel like you have to go out and purchase new yarn to participate. Feel free to use yarns from your stash, as long as they are the correct weight for the pattern.

The patterns will be posted on the HSKS6 blog THIS Sunday, September 21st at 10:00 AM CST and the dueling will begin!

We have had a fantastic turnout for the duel club so far and I’m very excited to get the dueling started! Therefore, I will only be accepting applications through tomorrow (Friday, September 19^th) at noon CST.

The bracket will be sent (via e-mail and with a link posted on the blog) on Friday evening and I will also post the specifications for round 1 at that time.

The pattern for round 1 will be posted on the HSKS6 blog at 10:00 AM CST on Sunday, September 21st and the dueling will begin!

So if any of you are deciding whether or not to join us, please do! For more information, please see the following blog post.

This will be the first time that we're doing this :) Picture day will be on Monday, September 22nd.

So, what do you do? You will need to either post a real picture of yourself OR, if you really don't have a picture of yourself to post you can post a meez.

Many of the students have gotten back into the swing of things and the newer students are learning what Hogwarts is all about. Amazingly HSKS 6 has seen the highest enrollment of male students! This is a good thing :)

The Beginning of the Year Term went off without a hitch! The party lasted well over three hours and some of the best dishes were shared in the potluck style feast. Of little concern is a particular stash of Firewhiskey and Butterbeer. Hopefully, though, we won't have any students forced to go through any rehabilitative classes because of their dependence on such beverages.

Tour of the Grounds Mishap
A few of the first years fell into the lake and got a first hand introduction to the merpeople in the village in the lake. We found out that Guinifer LaFleur could not swim!! Lucky Henry Longstaff had a solution. What do you think that was??

I few of the students have been seen with Canary Creams! I hope that does not get out of hand like it did 2 terms ago.

Hello, all!

It is time to announce the early House Points! I will also give a little explanation on how I add the points.

Specific activities in HSKS are worth numerical points. One of the early House Point incentives was to post the HSKS logo in the sidebar of your blog by Friday, September 12th. Each person that had the logo posted earned 5 House Points. I take all the points possible and divide them against the actual points in order to get a percentage. So, say there are 23 Gryffindors. The possible number of points that they can earn for the Early Points activity was 115. If only 20 of them participated in the activity then would receive 100 points. So, 100 divided by 115 will give me a participation percentage of 87%. All scores are accumulative.

Right now I rely heavily on the Head Girls to keep track of the scores and log them on a special sheet that I have created. At any time, however, sporadically for no reason and should I deem it necessary, I will go student by student to validate the scores to make sure that they are correct. So, if you ever see a drastic change in your House scores that would be the reason why.

Take Heed!!! Just because your House may run behind throughout the entire swap it does not mean that you should give up. In HSKS 2 Hufflepuff ran behind almost the entire swap, but because they found the Snitch in the third round they came from behind and won the House Cup. Overall, your House needs you to participate - that is mainly what this swap is about. So, sit back, have fun and make some long lasting friends :)

Hello fellow Hufflepuffs. I've volunteered to put together our house quizzes. Here is the first one, it is due by Sunday at midnight. I'm looking forward to get to know a little about everyone. Clio T.

I have been receiving a lot of inquiries about when our new DADA Professor would be arriving. He is now here at Hogwarts and I have been helping him get comfortable and acquainted with the school. I would like to introduce Professor Lucious..er..Lucius Whitmarsh.

Professor Whitmarsh comes to us after spending a term at Durmstrang. He was very disillusioned to find that at Durmstrang they were actually teaching the Dark Arts and, after seeing the results, he decided he wanted to teach young minds how to defend against those forces. I will tell you that he is very accomplished in working magic with his wand.

If you are interested in meeting with Professor Whitmarch, please see me as I am handling his appointment calendar.

Good Morning Hogwarts Students! I’m Agatha Vablatsky and I will be acting as the dueling club coordinator for this term.

For new students, here is an explanation of how the dueling club will work:

Essentially, all participants will be organized into brackets where everyone will be paired up with one person. The pattern will be released, and the first person to receive a hat or sock in the mail from their opponent will be dead. The person who is left standing will advance to the next round and will be paired with the winner from another pairing within the bracket. In the end, there will be one person standing from each bracket and they will be dubbed the dueling winner.

There will be a bracket for hat knitters and a bracket for sock knitters. You do not have to be a fast knitter to participate, but you should be able to finish a hat within 5 days and a pair socks in 1 1/2 to 2 weeks at minimum. In the HSKS5 dueling club, many of the hat knitters finished their hats within 1 – 2 days after the pattern was released. Similarly, the fastest sock knitters can usually complete a pair of socks in about 2 days although many took between 3 – 5 days to complete a pair of socks.

Keep in mind that sometimes it comes down to a race of the owls, with the post office being the deciding factor. Completing a project a day or two before your dueling partner doesn't mean anything if your post office decides to mail your package out a day late.

As far as shipping requirements, overnight mail is NOT allowed. It must go Priority. We recommend mailing your projects with delivery confirmation because if projects are received on the same day, the delivery confirmation will let us know when it was delivered. This will help us to alleviate any possible disputes as to who killed whom first.

New for this round of the swap is the inclusion of crocheters! In the beginning rounds of the competition, you will have the option to knit or crochet within your bracket. I’ll pair knitters with knitters and crocheters with crocheters within the hat or sock bracket. However, please note that the final round will be knitting ONLY, so you must be able to knit to participate.

More than anything, this is just a fun project. Don't NOT join just because you think you are a slow knitter.

Interested? If you would like to join, e-mail me at hsksduelclub at gmail dot com with the following information:

Potter Name
Bracket: Hat or Sock
Craft: Crochet or Knit

If you have further questions about the dueling club, please comment to this post and I will answer them in the comments so that others may get their questions answered too.

Agatha

For those in the U.S. you will be required to purchase a Certified Mail Receipt Delivery Confirmation when you send your package off. I suggest the Delivery Confirmation only because it provides both proof of mailing and allows you to track your package to make sure that it gets to it's destination. When you purchase the Delivery Confirmation option you will need to email me the tracking number, which I will add to your individual database entry that I keep.

Certified Mail Delivery Confirmation provides proof of mailing at the time of mailing and date and time of delivery or attempted delivery. A delivery record is maintained by the USPS. Delivery Confirmation is available with First-Class Mail and Priority Mail. For an additional fee, Delivery Confirmation may be combined with restricted delivery or return receipt.

Flat Rate Boxes
Hopefully many of you know about this option, which the postal service provides. Flat Rate boxes!! Whatever you can fit into this box will only cost you $9.95 to ship, plus your Certified Mail. The joy of it is that you can get the boxes from the postal service for free. You can either order them online or visit your local postal site and request them in person. There is also a larger box option at $12.95.


Come one, come all!! You are all invited to a Beginning of the Year Feast in the Great Hall on Tuesday, September 16th with the headmistress. Bring your favorite cup of tea or joe and join us for a chat.

Please post the answers to this questionnaire on your blog no later than Tuesday, September 16th. You will gain 5 House Points for posting it and filling it out on time.

Potter Name:

Rav ID:

I am allergic to:

Pets that I have:

My favorite yarn:

If you are a Ravenclaw, do you prefer the film colors or the book colors?

My favorite flavor:

My favorite holiday: Halloween, Thanksgiving or Christmas

I would like to receive a: (Sock kit, scarf kit or yarn dyeing kit)

List your favorite brand of needles or hooks, including size and length:

Is there a brand that you are dying to try?:

I've participated in HSKS: (How many times have you participated in HSKS swaps?)

Do you have a birthday during this swap? If so which day?

For anyone that stops by - Sign Ups Are Now Closed. We are not accepting anymore applications. The next swap will take place in either January or February of 2009. Be sure to join the Ravelry group to get updates.

When I looked back over the applications there were not that many that chose Dye Kit as an option, but I thought that it would still be a good idea to post some resources for those of you that have some questions.

Kit requirements are as listed below:

1. A handmade (by you!) item.

• Knit, Crochet or sewn bag, journal, or something else your partner will enjoy.
  

2. Yarn to compliment the theme of your kit in your pals house colors.

• Yarn for your pal to make a bag, scarf, hat or other item.
  

3. A pair of new knitting needle.

4. Knitting accessory.

• Stitch markers, row counters, or other knitting or crocheting accessory.
  

5. A knitting or crochet pattern for socks, scarf, or bag.

Dye Kit Requirement Specifications:

1. Dyeable yarn
2. Dye in spoilees House Colors - this could be as simple as Kool-Aid
3. Yarn Dyeing instructions
4. Knitting Accessory
5. A knitting or crocheting pattern

What is not required in a dye kit? Needles or a hand made item. Those things are not required, but they would be a nice addition.

Fall Season
The weather is turning a little cooler, so let us be creative in some of the handmade items that we include in our pals kits.

With every swap more and more people have stepped up and assisted me with running it. I'm so eternally grateful to so many of you - especially those that gave me suggestions after the first and second HSKS's.

I'd like to give a special thanks to Kristy Angus (kristo) for all her hard work in getting S.P.E.W. up and running during our Anniversary swap. The Society Promoting Excellent Wearables is an awesome addition to the swap.

And now, without further adieu . . .

Happy Birthday Ferula Finnigan!

Have some Butterbeer


And some birthday cake!

Hello, all!!

As a way to earn early House Points you can link the HSKS 6 logo in the sidebar of your blog.

The logo must be placed in your side bar and linked to either this blog or the main HSKS site. Preferably the main site, because it answers so many questions that someone might have concerning the swap. A former Professor here at Hogwarts posted a very nice tutorial on linking an image using a free image storage site such as Flickr. Please visit Miss Mandy's blog for more information. Each person will earn 5 House points for posting the image to their side bar by this Thursday, September 11th.