Winnie's Anagram

I'm going out on a limb and saying that the final anagram for the game is messed up. I think one of the Cs has to be a U. The answer would then be, "Stolen Quidditch World Cup trophy."

If I'm wrong, then I have no clue what the answer is!

Winnie Clue

My guess for this week is Bethlehem, but I'm really not sure. The clue could also be interpreted to mean the North Pole. Confusing!

New Where's Winnie Clues

Finally we have more clues from our headmistress!

My guesses for this week are -

1. Rome, Italy

2. Transylvania, Romania

My Awesome Kit!

Yesterday evening I arrived home to find my HSKS package sitting on my doorstep. What a fabulous package it was! Victoria Pettigrew of the Montrose Magpies really outdid herself and put together an AMAZING kit for me!

I couldn't believe how much stuff she managed to jam into the box. Look at how tiny she had to write on the card to explain it all!



I'm going to go through and show everything she sent in little groups first, then a big picture of everything together at the end.

Here in the first group is a copy of And Only to Deceive, one of Victoria's favorite books. I asked for book recommendations on my wish list, so this is perfect! I also got a bag of minty M&Ms, and I think I showed remarkable restraint by not ripping into them until after I took my pictures! The purple box there is a fancy type of tea that I have never tried before (it looks very good) and in the yellow box are some honey scented Japanese bath salts. Some of my goodies were packed in the super cute owl tin on the left.



The next group shows some amazingly cute Japanese goodies. I don't know how Victoria knew this, because I didn't think to write it down anywhere, but I love stuff like this! I was just walking around the Japan pavilion at Epcot in Disney World yesterday and I commented to my husband about how much I loved everything in the gift shop. It was quite a surprise to come home and open a box full of kawaii goodies!

I got three cute little key covers, two packs of animal erasers, a little hand towel with owls on it, some bird stationary and some Eiffel Tower magnetic clips. It's all so cute I can't stand it!


The next group shows some crafting goodies. Victoria printed out the Fawkes sock pattern for me and sent me a beautiful skein of sock yarn. I got two sets of metal dpns and a new cable needle too. She also included some hand made stitch markers (which are SO pretty and perfect) and a tiny little tote bag with a sheep on it. The hand crafted items she sent were lovely. The purse there is the Isabeau purse, a pattern I've had in my favorites for a long time. She also sent me a template and some fabric so I can line it. This will be the perfect accessory to use on a night out once I get it finished.


Here's a better look at the yarn she sent (since we ALL love yarn photos). It's a really pretty mix of blues and grays. Those are two of my favorite colors and I love how they show up in the yarn. It's called Fame Trend from Marks & Kattens and it's a 75% superwash wool and 25% polyamid blend. I can't wait to try it out!


Last but not least is the beautiful cowl she knitted for me. It's the Noble Cowl pattern and she even included a pretty pin! It's wonderfully soft and smooshy and I love it!


Here's all the items together. It's a huge haul! Thank you so much Victoria, for putting together an amazing kit for me. I love every single part of it.

What I'm thankful for

Us Wanderers have a special assignment this week. With Thanksgiving approaching, our captain has asked us to blog about what we're thankful for.

For me, this is an easy task. I am thankful that my husband and I were able to move out of my mother's house and into our own place this year. Privacy is a wonderful thing!

I'm also thankful that I have found such wonderful friends through Ravelry. It has been a mixed year for me, with lots of ups and downs. Belonging to such a caring and generous community has been a lifesaver at times.

More Winnie Clues

There are two more locations to guess this week!

1. Dubai, a state in the United Arab Emirates

2. Giza, in Egypt

Tease

I'm been sitting and knitting diligently on projects for my spoilee for the past week. Here's a little preview of what I have so far:


What could it be? :)

More Clues from Winnie

Here are my guesses for this week's clues from the headmistress!

1. Mexico City, Mexico

2. Chichen Itza, Mexico? I can find plenty of stuff about old courts, but nothing about kites. Of course, I can find things about kites in other locations, but nothing about courts. Frustrating!

3. Olinda, Brazil

These are getting harder and harder to find.

Where's Winnie Now?

Well, it looks like Winnie landed in a boring place this week. Imagine, a town with no shops or pubs! She could only be in Appleby, North Lincolnshire, England - home of the Appleby Arrows!

New Clues from the Headmistress!

Ms. Wartbobble just posted some more clues to her whereabouts this morning! Without further adieu, here are my guess:

I think the first location is Larnach Castle in Dunedin, New Zealand.

I think the second location is Stanstead, Quebec. I'm not sure of this one - it wasn't very easy to find based on information available online! I'm not very well traveled so I have to rely on my Google skills to discover these locations. Quick fact: almost EVERY town in Canada is famous for maple syrup.

A Letter from Winnie!

It looks like our Headmistress stopped in London at the Ministry of Magic this week. She mentioned something about trying to clear up a misunderstanding about underage wizards and apparation. It's all nonsense if you ask me. Ms. Wartbobble could never be involved in anything against the wizarding laws!

I wonder where she'll be off to next week. I hope her secret mission is going well!

First Blog Assignment!

Well, Quidditch is officially underway and I am already behind. I'm squeaking in under the wire here with my first assignment. At least it isn't late!

Someone with the same craft as you (either those listed above or another one).

Andromeda Finch-Fletchly (knitting)

Someone who was born in the same month.

Celestina Pettigrew (June)

Someone from a different country.

Megaera Black (Canada)

A new HSKS Quidditch player.

Ginny Lockheart

A player who has been in 3 or more HSKS swaps.

Antonio dela Weasley

A player who has a bigger stash than you! (And if your stash is the biggest, proudly say so!)

Fleur Sweeting

A player who both knits and crochets.

Hermione Bagnold

Someone who has the same favorite color as you.

Ambyr Phoenixfyre (purple)

Andromeda Finch-Fletchly has a ton of beautiful projects, but I especially like her Mystic Light Shawl. The orange and yellow yarn she used is stunning.

Celestina Pettigrew has quite a talent for making toys. Her amigurumi owl is almost too cute to be real.

Megaera Black is currently working on an Ishbel in the most beautiful yarn. It's got purples and blues in it AND it's silk. You can't do much better than that. I can't wait to see it when she's finished!

Ginny Lockheart doesn't have many projects listed on Ravelry yet, but she does have a wonderful pair of Ravenclaw ankle socks up. They look really comfy! I'm excited to see what else she works on in the future.

Antonio dela Weasley, who I dearly miss from summer camp, has tons of wonderful projects completed. His Queen Anne's Lace is especially beautiful. I have made one of these myself in hot pink. His more demure choice of white looks very classy and elegant. It's fun to see a pattern I have completed done in a different way.

Fleur Sweeting completed a Rosalie Bay scarf that is incredibly gorgeous! This is one of those projects where everything came together in a happy way. The colors in the yarn pooled beautifully into the pattern.

Hermione Bagnold is quite the creative crafter. She crocheted some very cute embellishments onto a pair of regular old flip flops, taking them from plain to pretty!

Ambyr Phoenixfyre crocheted some really cool candy corn treat bags for her kids' Halloween party. What a good mom, huh?

Whew! I think that's it. I had a lot of fun poking around everyone's projects and commenting on some of my favorite things. We have quite the talented bunch of players this season!

Game On!

I'm excited to announce that I've just made the Wigtown Wanderers quidditch team! I can't wait to don my gear and get out on the field. This promises to be a fun and challenging quidditch season, with players from all over the world participating. I can't wait to find out more about my teammates and get started.

All I can say is, game on! Go Wanderers!!!

My Kit is Here!

Well, my kit arrived yesterday and WOW! Lavender Ollivander really outdid herself and put together an amazing package for me!

Look at all those packages to unwrap! I was careful to take everything out of the box gently so I could preserve the wrappings and open all the contents slowly. I was good and read the little card first. It informed me that I was looking at a Defense Against the Dark Arts Kit!

I unwrapped the little presents and squealed over every single thing I saw. I got some gummy peach rings (my FAVORITE candy), 2 crochet magazines, a fancy wooden crochet hook (with a beautiful handle!), a little sweater keychain (handmade by women in Vietnam), a yarn cutter pendent, a shirt that says "Harry Otter" from the Oregon Zoo (too funny!), a luggage tag with my muggle initial on it and two beautiful skeins of yarn. The first skein is Malabrigo sock in Abril. I LOVE Malabrigo worsted and I am very glad to be able to try the sock yarn. It has all of my favorite colors in it - purples, pinks and blues. I couldn't have picked out a better yarn for me myself. The second is a cotton/rayon mix from Newton Country Yarns. It's gray cotton with a multicolor bit of rayon going through it. I love gray against any color, and this is unique and beautiful!

Thank you so much Lavender. I love everything in this kit. You are amazing! Now I'm off to replace the huge pair of scissors I carry in my project bag with my nifty little pendent. How did you know I needed one of those??

It's nearly over!

I can't believe camp is basically over! I had so much fun in this round of the swap. The games were great and the people I met were even greater. I'm still looking forward to getting my kit in the mail!

It's been posted over on the HSKS blog that the next round of the swap will be Quidditch themed. I'm definitely excited to see how that will work! I hope to see all of my Manticore friends in the new round.

Working on my Ice Queen

Without a camp game to post in my blog and my kit already sent to Hermione and received, I'm at a loss for what to post in here this week! I guess I could always talk about my knitting, huh? I have been working on an Ice Queen for the past two days, and I'm pleased to say that it's going well after a false start.

You know when you're knitting on circular needles and the pattern says "join for knitting in the round being careful not to twist the stitches"? Well, guess what? I twisted the stitches. Isn't that the dumbest mistake to make? There's no fixing it either - you have to start everything over!

Luckily, I didn't get too far into the project before I realized what I had done and frogged it. I'm using Rowan Kidsilk Haze for this cowl, so having to do this could have been a disaster, but the yarn unraveled very nicely for me. Everything is going well now.

What are your stupid crafting mistakes?

Moved!

It has been a busy week for me! Not only have I been having a blast at camp, I've moved house too! I'm very happy to be out on my own with my husband, but unpacking sure is a LOT of work. Looking at all the boxes I have to unpack and all the furniture I still have to build feels overwhelming. I haven't knit anything in days!

Back to the boxes . . .

Summer camp Game #6

This week's game is a guessing game! We have to guess which 6 potions our Headmistress has in her trunk. She is giving out clues along the way to help us. I will be recording my answers here as clues are dropped.

1. Draught of Peace
2. Mandrake Restorative Draught
3. Babbling Beverage
4. Murtlap Essence

And for the total guesses:

5. Felix Felicis
6. Amortentia
7. Veritaserum

Summer Camp Game #5 - Part 1 and 2

Here are my answers for this week's game:

1. Animagus

2. Daily Prophet


3. Bowtruckle

4. Extendable Ear

5. Radish Earrings

6. Forbidden Forest

7. Golden Cherub


8. Thestral

9. High Inquisitor

10. Educational Decree

First Place!

Hey, our cabin won first place in Game #3! Go Manticores!

Summer Game #3

This week's game is all about boggarts and the Riddikulus spell. First we have to post a picture of what our boggart is. There were pictures of several common fears to choose from, but my biggest fear wasn't one of them. Thus, I had to go out and find a picture myself.

I was VERY creeped out looking at picture upon picture of these nasty, dirty little things! However, for the sake of camp, I persevered. Behold my biggest fear:

Ugh! Cockroaches!

Whenever I run into a boggart in this form I cry out, "Riddikulus!" and . . .

I get to enjoy a highly choreographed fight sequence between a ketchup packet roach and a french fry spider. Exciting, hilarious and delicious!

Summer Camp Games Week #2 Part 2

It turns out that there was a cool second part to this week's anagram game. We were given a list of numbers corresponding to some of the letters in our last activity. Finding these marked letters and putting them in order gave us a quote from Chamber of Secrets. We then had to figure out who said the quote.

The quote was, "When in doubt, go to the library."

Of course, the person who said it was Ron Weasley. He was talking about Hermione of course, and not himself. :)

Summer Camp Games #2

This week we had a fun anagram game to play! I just love word games, so this was right up my alley. Here are my answers:

1. Chamber of Secrets
2. Harry Potter
3. Ron Weasley
4. Hermione Granger
5. Gryffindor
6. Dark Arts
7. Gilderoy Lockhart
8. Chamber of Secrets
9. house elf
10. Harry Potter
11. Moaning Myrtle
12. Harry Potter
13. Ron Weasley
14. Harry Potter
15. Voldemort
16. horcrux
17. Ron Weasley
18. Ginny Weasley
19. Gilderoy Lockhart
20. Prisoner of Azkaban

My Truths Revealed!

Here are the answers to last week's 3 Truths and A Lie game. Three of my cabin mates guessed correctly! What a perceptive group!

1. When I was in elementary school, I won a district spelling bee.

True! It was third grade and I won on the word "delegate."

2. I have never been to a hospital as a patient.

False! This one was the lie. When I was in the first grade I broke my arm trying to walk along the edge of my bed like it was a tightrope. I needed surgery to reset it because it healed incorrectly. I was in the hospital for two days. Luckily, I haven't been in a hospital since.

3. I started dating my husband when we were in high school.

True! We became boyfriend and girlfriend in the 10th grade. We stayed together all through high school and college and we just got married this past December.

4. I spent three years getting a degree at the University of Florida, but I never once went to a football game or even watched one on TV.

True! I got my degree in only three years and managed to avoid football the whole time. That's practically a crime at UF, but I've never liked sports.

Gryphon, Rowena and Emma all guess correctly. Good job guys!

Making My Kit

Well, camp has been a little quiet lately. The second round of games won't be up until next week and my cabin mates must be working hard on their kits because they haven't been around as much. I know that I'm working hard to make sure my spoilee Hermione Bagnold gets a wonderful kit!

Today my focus has been shifted a little bit from camp by the duties of real life. As the only knitter in my family, I am obligated to make any baby items that need making when a pregnancy is announced. My mom owled me this morning to request that I make a hat for a baby boy her friend is expecting. Off to my stash of blue yarn I go! I think I will go sit down by the lake, take in the scenery and knit a few rows of it.

I hope everyone else is having as much fun at camp as I am!

Week #1: New to Camp Activities

Part 1: "What's in your trunk?"

Bridget brought . . .

1. Boa Constrictor
2. Barbershop quartet
3. Brains
4. Breath mints
5. Brocolli
6. Balls of yarn
7. Bears (both teddy and gummy)
8. Bombs (stink, cherry and dung)
9. Bumblebees
10. Boggart

As you can see, I must take special care to ensure that my trunk never falls into the wrong hands. I would hate to see what would happen if the barbershop quartet managed to escape.

Don't feel sorry for them, they know what they did.

Part 2: WINGO! Wizard's Bingo

W2: A Ravenclaw that is not in my cabin: Luna Starlette of the Erumpent Cabin
I2: Has more than one sibling (how many?): Lizzie Wychwood with four siblings - one twin sister and 3 brothers.
N2: Is new to HSKS: Gryphon the Great
G2: Has more items in their Rav. queue than you: Rowena Weasley with 100 items. I only have 41.
O2: Dyes their own yarn: Olive Bumblebirch

Part 3: Get to know your Spoiler and Spoilee

My spoiler, Lavender Ollivander, crocheted a lovely Sweet Pea Prayer Shawl that I favorited and commented on. It's gorgeous!

My spoilee, Hermione Bagnold, knit a Dark Mark Illusion Scarf that I also favorited and commented on. She used illusion knitting and it came out very well! It looks particularly Slytherin, which is why I like it.

3 Truths And A Lie

Today we have our very first camp activity! It's a fun little game called "Three Truths and A Lie." I have listed four things about myself below. Can my cabin-mates pick out the one that isn't true?

1. When I was in elementary school, I won a district spelling bee.

2. I have never been to a hospital as a patient.

3. I started dating my husband when we were in high school.

4. I spent three years getting a degree at the University of Florida, but I never once went to a football game or even watched one on TV.

Good luck guessing!

Settling In

Well, I've only just arrived at camp and I'm very happy with how things stand so far. Upon arriving at a rustic-looking establishment in the heart of the woods I was given my cabin assignment: The Manticore cabin. How amazing is that? Out of all the cabins, it's the one named after the fiercest and bloodiest animal! Of course Bridget the Bloodthirsty belongs in the place named after an animal with the head of a man, the body of a lion and the tail of a scorpion! I've heard that a sting from a manticore brings about instant death. Cool.

My kind of monster!

I have been introduced to my cabinmates and they all seem like cool people so far. At least none of them have run afoul my formiddable Slytherin temper as of yet. Our counselor is Antonio dela Weasley and he has been quite helpful in getting all of us regular campers settled in. I was a little bit nervous about being a first timer to camp, but I was quickly assured that the more experienced campers in my cabin would be there to help me out. There is at least one other first time camper in my cabin too - Gryphon the Great. He is much younger than I am, but from what I can tell so far he is probably more mature.

Well, I'm off to finish unpacking, wander around the forest a bit, talk to other campers and of course, knit by the lake and relax! I can't wait until the 15th when camp will start in earnest.