HP Craftalong ~Fall Semester 2012~ *CLOSED*

[jennieingram]

Hi debzie.  Welcome to the Craftalong!  Everyone is welcome to participate in the HPC as much or as little as they wish.  As noodle-bug says the first page has all the details about the Craftalong.  You are welcome to create crafts for any, all, or none of the classes, challenges, or detentions, as your heart desires.  There is a "header" posted in the first post of this thread, that shows how you should go about posting a project here, as well as idea prompts for every Hogwarts class, and if you scroll down a bit, you'll see other fun things like OWLs, Detentions, and Witch of the Week awards for extra-awesome craftiness.  Please feel free to PM either myself (Deputy Headmistress), or our fearless leader pinkleo, at any time if you have questions.  There are also Heads of House for Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw & Slytherin who would be happy to help you find your way around.  Cheers & welcome! 

[Kit the Brave]

Welcome, Audania1 and debzie!

Noodle-bug, I don't know anything about knitting on looms, so I don't have an idea about the color change issue, but I think the socks look great!.

[Abbeeroad]

Love your socks, noodle-bug!!

Awesome new badges, jillybeans. I still love mine!! 

OWL update:

I've got some fabric soaking in my onion skin dye! I used some rice vinegar (all I had) as a mordant. We'll see how it works. It smells a lot like Easter egg dying in here!



There wasn't enough dye concentrate to do enough fabric for a scarf, so I'm not sure what I'll do with my dyed fabric, I'm thinking headband instead of scarf, but we'll see. I'm not opening it until tomorrow.  I don't think the string is really providing any resist, but with the smaller-scale I had to do some improvising on the shibori part. We'll see how it looks tomorrow!

[pinkleo]

...In unrelated comments: Pinkleo is on fire with those hats! Look at her go!

Alrighty, not only does pinkleo never sleep but she also has eight arms.

  sadly, I had to take a break and concentrate on my Advanced Studies.  Only one more round to go!!!

@pinkleo, those hats are adorable and amazingly numerous! My husband used to take donations to Pine Ridge every winter. He loved the beautiful country and getting to know the people. I know they will really appreciate the hats.

oping to visit there one day.  And knowing that the hats are going to those who need them warms my heart.


Okay, I'm way behind in posting because my life got crazy busy, but now I'm back in my happy groove.
Now to catching up....

@patty: LOVE your Gemino spellwork!  I must make some of these I Spy Ornaments this year.  :::adds to lengthy crafty to-do list:::  Your Detention puzzle is fantastic; I'm in love with all the animal pieces.

@Roke: Your Bluebell Flames are clever and comforting, and I adore your beetle button bracelet.

@Naantje: Agreed!! Tea Cozies truly are worth their weight in gold!

@Abbee: Vamp Cookies!!!!  LOVE!  And good job keeping up with your Advanced Studies; I am really excited to see the final results.  Fantastic Fleece Socks!!! I know they are very appreciated!

@pottermouth: Totoro!!  Just absolutely ADORABLE!!!

@Melissaurus: Way to Go on being WotW!

@Eiseldora: fab tees!

@Ant Bee: I forget to take pics all the time.  Of course I accept your Nov. Quidditch proposal, and for being an active SPEW member.

@andCuriouser: Welcome to Hogwarts!  We are always happy to have more students with our ranks, and I know  Hufflepuffs are thrilled to have you in their house.  (We here at the HPC believe the Sorting Hat would take your house wishes into consideration and honor the house one truly feels they belong.)  And I couldn't agree more; sharing our crafting pics & tips & joy is at least half the fun (I think with the HPC it is more than half because we also get to share HP love too!)  Now to your wondrous crafty magic.... Amazing replica of the Rumplestiltskin dagger & such tiny detail!  And I'm in absolute love with the voodoo doll charm!  WOW!  I can't wait to see more of your work!

@Kit: Adore the cowl & LOVE the colors & stripes!

@noodle-bug: SOCKS!!!  There is something magical about a pair of handmade socks!  And I know matching a pair of striped socks is a tricky spell with self-striping skeins.

@jillybeans: YAY NEW ROBES! Thank you!   I'm lovin' the mandrake one!

@Audania1: Welcome to Hogwarts!  Now is a perfect time to jump in so that you will be all in the loop when the Winter Semester starts.  I think I can still hear the cheers in the Tower as they gain another Ravenclaw student.  Have fun!

@debzie: WELCOME TO HOGWARTS!  We would love to have you join us.  As noodle-bug stated, YOU JUST DID!   Just jump on in; we are a very supportive group who adore crafty goodness and all thing HP.  I do suggest reading the first page posts; they are full on HPC details.  And never hesitate in asking questions; you can do that by posting right in this thread or PMing me or any other staff member.  I can't wait to see your crafty magic!


WHEW! I was way behind!  I feel so much better now that I'm caught up.  Now off to finish my OWL!  Happy Crafting Everyone!

[noodle-bug]

matching a pair of striped socks is a tricky spell with self-striping skeins.

as long as I wasn't doing something really stupid that made them up-matchy, that's ok
In other news: I finished all the patches on my OWL project! oh.em.gee! I just have to edge it now, which I will hopefully get a chance to do some weekend in the not too distant future. Although i do want to do a crochet border, I have to say my little practice bits have not been going well so \i will just do something simple for now and maybe come back to do a fancy edging once the wool-work is up to standard - I don't want to spoil the whole thing with bad finishing

[jennieingram]

Note from the Deputy Headmistress....

After testing it out last "round", and finding it to work out well, I've decided to make Witch of the Week a bi-weekly event.  That means there will not be one announced today, but next week we will be choosing a WotW from all the crafts posted for the entire two week span. 

I just want everyone to know that this is in no way because there are not enough awesome crafts to choose from!  (In fact the amount of awesome you guys turn out in a single week is staggering!  ) It is simply that just like all of you, your Headmistresses are dealing with the upcoming holidays, family demands, real-life jobs, HPC responsibilities and Craftster swap organizing duties.  It can be a lot to handle! 

If anyone has any concerns, please don't hesitate to bring them up either here, or via PM.  Also, if you see a project that you are just amazed by, feel free to send me a owl letting me know you think that project should be considered for a WotW!

[Abbeeroad]

My OWL is complete, but I think probably only worthy of a T! 

OWL Subject & Option (if available): Alchemy, Option 1
House: Gryffindor
Project Name: WAS Sunflower Scarf, NOW Onion Skin Headband
Project Page Link (if available): N/A
Brief Description: (how it fits the requirements, pattern/techniques used, any fun tips, etc.)

No sunflowers, not enough concentrate, not enough fabric dyed, headband too small. Pretty much everywhere I could go wrong with this project, I did. Except! The dye DID work. So there's that at least.

Here's the finished fabric:



I actually did get some resist with the string and the wrapping created a gradient-type effect, but really I only got strong color in the outer most layer.

When I cut up my fabric to make a headband, I only had a couple pieces I deemed "usable."



This really wasn't enough fabric to make a large enough headband, but I decided to try anyway. Well, the finished product is pretty small. The only suitable model I could find in my house was this stuffed monkey we got at the boardwalk last year.

Project Picture:



All in all, it was a fun learning experience, and I'll definitely try dyeing this way again!

[noodle-bug]

I think the dyed fabric looks great, I love the sort of gradient mottled effect - it reminds me of a dress I saw on display at the V&A a few years ago.

Is the headband big enough to fit a teen or even a kid? I'm sure it would be very appreciated!

[Abbeeroad]

Thanks noodle-bug

It's actually too small for a kid too. It would fit an American Girl sized doll perfectly though. Anyone know any little girls with unruly haired dolls?

[Audania1]

Class/Challenge/House Pride: Charms
House: Ravenclaw
Project Name: Keeping little hands warm!
Project Page Link (if available): no link, but based off of Butterick 5265
Brief Description: so now that Northern California has decided that it is, indeed, Autumn it has now gotten pretty flippin' cold in the morning! Monday through Friday I take both of my kiddos to my oldest's school for Kindergarten and she has to be there by 7.50 am. Not only is that early, but it is really really cold. So, to put a smile on my youngests face since she can't go to K with her older sister, i made her a hand muff based off of the one from the above pattern. I did alter it a bit, though. I made it much smaller, for starters, and also changed the wrist ribbon (so it can hang on your wrist when not in use) to a neck strap. Less likely for the kiddo to drop it that way.   And it worked! She loves carrying it with her even when she's not outside. And, its so cute, she wants to sleep with it since it's so soft.

Side note: I also made one for my older daughter, but with a different neck strap. She loves hers too