Final Quidditch Post

Well it's the final week of Quidditch Around the World: HSKS9... where did the time go to? It seems like we just signed up a couple of weeks ago. I really enjoyed participating in Shuntbumps this time around. It was a really great selection of patterns, they were challenging and the competition was pretty fierce.

My owl Artimus is winging his way up to Canada with my package for Stuart Cauldwell. Those international flight seem to take so long, even though the distance between us is not a great amount. I'm looking forward to seeing what Stuart thinks of the package I put together.

Well  that's all for now. It's getting late, but I wanted to be sure to post tonight.

Artimus Heads North

My kit is all boxed up and ready to go. I will be going to the Owl Post with Artimus tomorrow to arrange his flight out to Canada. The Owl Post will give him protective enchantments against the severe cold weather we've been having. He will definitely be needing that. Fortunately he'll be able to rest up once he arrives at Stuart Cauldwell's before returning.

How Bout Dat!

It seemed like it would never end. Rowena and I were the finalists in the Knitting League of Shuntbumps and neither of us was making progress on our final project. After trudging through the last few rows, the unending I-cord strap, the seaming together and last but not least finding buttons that worked...  I finally finished it!

Hope Mom likes it because it is going to be her Christmas gift.

Make It Work!

Uncle Vincenzio has been involved in a swap of his own that her just received his package for. It was the Sock Kit Swap on Ravelry, where they had to make a pair of socks for their partner as well as put together a sock kit. This package came in last week. Lots of red wrapping paper in that box!

The kit included 3 hanks of Koigu sock yarn! And a "Men Who Knit" coffee mug! Along with the sock pattern was Nancy Bush's "Knitting Vintage Socks" which I had just borrowed from the Knitting Guild's library and was thinking of getting for myself.

The highlight of the kit was the black canvas bag from Mood Designer Fabric! I literally squealed when I saw it! It is a huge bag and it will make a great project bag!

What A Week!

Last weekend I was in Chicago and South West Michigan for the Men's Mid-West Knitting Retreat. There were 14 of us all together and it was a great time!

I think we are quite the handsome group of gentlemen knitters! :-)  I will be posting more pictures from the retreat. I just downloaded them from my camera but have not had a chance to go through them.

While at the retreat we went to several fiber related places; Lorna's Laces, Marr Haven Fibers, Briar Rose Fibers and the Circle R Alpaca Ranch. Got to see a lot and bought some fibery goodness. I even picked up a couple things to send to my spoilee, Stuart Cauldwell. But I'm not going to say what. :-)

Today I taught another Sock Yarn Dyeing Class fro the Knitting Guild of Greater Buffalo. It was a smaller group this time but everyone was really into it. We saw some great colors created today. A fun time was had by all.

MMWKR

Well I am almost packed for the Men's Mid-West Knitting Retreat. My flight is Thursday morning at 7:41. So I need to finish packing and get to bed because I'll be up early. My flight arrives at 8:35, so it should be 9:30 or 10:00 am by the time I get to the bed and breakfast that I'll be staying at on Thursday. We have some things planned in Chicago for the day, then we leave Friday morning for the Circle Pines where we will be staying until Sunday.

I've packed a few projects to work on while I'm there: my top-down henley that I'm making for myself, pair of socks for myself, pair of socks for dad, Queen Anne's Lace shawl, my Shuntbumps finals project and I dug out some wool for a hat. LOL! Wonder if that will be enough...

Speaking of the Shuntbumps Finals... Oiy! What a project for the final round! It is a great pattern and an awesome cabled bag, but it is slow going. It used worsted weight wool on US2 needles! So it is a tight gauge, to give a firm fabric. It does not knit up quickly. Both Rowena and I are going slow on it. I also want to get it right, without any mistakes. This is going to be Mom's Christmas present.

Well, gotta finish packing my suitcase, get the laptop packed up, and print out anything I need to bring with me tomorrow. Don't want to have to do that stuff while rushing in the morning. We will have internet access at the Center, so I'll try to post when I can over the weekend.

Where's Winnie...?

No idea what-so-ever... seriously.

On other news... Uncle Vincenzio and I are going on another Wizards Knitting Retreat. This time it will be in the Mid-West of the States. We'll be heading off next week to Chicago to meet up with a group of 14 other wizards for a 3 day retreat. We arrive in Chicago on Thursday and will be meeting everyone at one of the Local Wool Shops called Loopy Yarns. Later that day we are scheduled for a tour of Lorna's Laces.

Friday morning we will be traveling by muggle automobiles to the Circle Pines Center, where we will be staying until Sunday. Saturday we have a field trip scheduled to Briar Rose Fibers, where we will get to tour their actual studio space. We're also be going to the Circle R Alpaca Ranch. That night we are having a Harry Potter movie night and PJ Party.

Sunday, after lunch, we head back to Chicago, where Uncle Vincenzio and I will be staying overnight and heading back home Monday afternoon.

This, That, and the Other Thing...

Believe it or not, I don't purposely wait until the end of the week to do my weekly blog posting, it just always seems to work out that way. My goal for next week is to blog before Saturday evening.

Where in the world is Winnie... I seriously have no idea! My brain does not know how to wrap itself around these cryptic clues that she posts. Somehow my mates are coming up with the answers, but I have no idea how they are getting there. So based on popular belief, Winnie was at Queerditch Marsh and Appleby Village.

As for other things going on... Uncle Vincnezio has been involved in a swap of his own. He is just finishing up the Sock Kit Swap 2 and will be sending off an owl on Monday. His swap partner is in New York City and works in a theater as a dresser. UncleVincenzio knit up a pair of Gridiron Socks that were designed by Anne Hanson. They came out smashingly well and he will most likely be making another pair for himself. He's also put together a sock kit with patterns, hand-dyed sock yarn, needles and lots of assorted goodies. Now that Uncle V has finished his swap we can concentrate on my swap package for Stuart.

Some more exciting news is that Uncle Vincenzio and I will be traveling to the American Mid-West
 for the Men's Mid-West Knitting Retreat. We'll be traveling to Chicago and staying there for a night. The next day the group will be traveling to a camp retreat in Delton, MI where we will be staying for 3 days. Then we will spend another night in Chicago before returning home. It should be a very fun and exciting time.

Where's Winnie...

Wonder if I'm going to earn a special commendation for doing these assignments at the last minute each week?

I'm going with the general consensus of Dunedin, New Zealand and Stanstead, Quebec Canada. Makes as much sense as anything else.

I think next week I'll do this earlier... or maybe not...

Quidditch Assignment

Yoiks! Nothing like waiting until it's down to the wire toget this done. But I just finished my Shuntbump competition a few minutes ago. Been a busy week and a busy Saturday. So here goes:

1. Someone with the same craft as you:
Emma Gorodok is a knitter and she hand dyes.
2. Someone who was born in the same month:
Minerva Wood and I are both May babies 
3. Someone from a different country: 
 Eugene Nigeno is from the Netherlands 
4. A new HSKS Quidditch player:
Saraid Swiftrunner is a firstie
5. A player who has been in 3 or more HSKS swaps:
Wisterias Lovegood gets around... I mean has been around! LOL! She was my spoilee for my first swap, HSKS4
6. A player who has a bigger stash than you! 
 Megaera Black has 236 yarns stashed! Even if I had all my yarn in my Ravelry stash I don't think it would be that much!It would be a lot though!
7. A player who both knits and crochets:
Madame Ferula McGonagal
8. Someone who has the same favorite color as you:
Siobhan Mooney and I both like greens and blues

Favorites and Wish List

This will be a work in progress as I think of things or see things I would like. My Ravelry queue also gives you a good idea of the things I like.

Favorite Colors: Blue, Green, Grey, Brown. Prefer deep, darker colors, bright colors are okay.
Favorite Scents: Cinnamon,Vanilla
Favorite Yarn Brands: Brown Sheep, Cascade 220, Berroco Ultra Alpaca
Favorite Yarn Types: Lace Weight, Sock Yarn, Wool, Merino, Alpaca. Not a big fan of cotton, especially for sock yarns
Favorite Snacks: Dark Chocolate, Anything Peanut Butter or Cinnamon
Favorite Needles: KnitPicks Harmony, Addi Turbo, Inox, ChiaoGoo


Bits of Info On Me:
I'm a knitter. I do not crochet
No Allergies
Coffee drinker, I like roasted blends, house blends, cinnamon flavored. Not a big fan of fruit flavored coffees.
I like making socks, lace, pattern stitch
Don't like dangly, beaded stitch markers

Wish List:
KnitSpot/Anne Hanson Patterns
Good men's patterns
(more to come as I think on this)

HSKS9 - Quidditch Around The World

Time for another round of HSKS and this time we are doing Quidditch. After try-outs I was assigned to the Appleby Arrows, so I've started my first training assignment by incorporating the colors of the Arrows around here. Still have more to do for this assignment, but will finish that up later today.

End of Summer Camp

We are in the final week of Hogwarts Summer Camp HSKS8. It seems like just a week or so ago that I was in online staff meeting, planning with the other counselors and getting our cabins set up. Where did the time go? HSKS9 is going to be a Quidditch themed swap, which sounds like it could be a whole lot of fun. I may need to sit this next one out though. Once I get everything set up and approved for my Workforce NY training, I'll be starting that and will need to dedicate a whole lot of time to completing that. I'm hoping to know my schedule and have everything in place by the time sign ups start, so I won't make my decision until then.

This weekend I taught my Sock Yarn Dyeing Class at one of the local yarn shops. There were 9 ladies in the class, who were all pretty excited about learning. It was a good mix of people and a good class size. I was able to spend much more one-on-one with each of them compared to last fall when I had a class of 20.

We has a very tasty pasta salad for lunch, made by the shop owner's husband, along with a loaf of homemade bread. I had a glass of white wine with lunch, so I was much more socially lubricated for the 2nd half of the class. Everyone had a great time and I'm looking forward to seeing knit up results from those who took the class.

That's all for now....

Owl From Luna Starlette

It seems like I'm running late at posting everything these days. Well a couple of days ago an owl delivered a package for me from Luna Starlette.
It was filled with all sorts of goodies and kit supplies.
There was some Swish DK from Knit Picks, which I have not tried yet. Along with a Knit Picks gift certificate, you can always use that. A tidy little Hufflepuff bag carries it all.
There was also a pattern for the "H Is For Hufflepuff" Fingerless Mitts. I need to practice my 2-Handed Fair Isle Knitting, so this will come in handy.There was a big bar of Dark Chocolate (my favorite), a pac of Soak Wool Wash, and a set of Suede Slipper Bottoms for Fiber Trends Felted Slippers. How did she know I love wearing those? :-)Last, but certainly not least is a one-of-a-kind Hufflepuff T-Shirt! Check out the back!
It appears that someone must have put a reducto charm on the t-shirt because it's rather on the snug side. I'm sure I wear a Large, I've always worn a large. I think Wisteria's prankster cousin Thistle may have way-laid this owl to pull another of her well known pranks. I'm sure Wisty would agree on that.

Thanks again Luna.

A Busy Week

Have had a lot going on this week and haven't been able to spend much time as Antonio. My kit has been sitting, waiting to be sent. I have one thing left to do, then just pictures, wrap it up and package it, then send it out. It will be on the top of my Friday To-Do-List.

I've also been busy with the Buffalo Knitting Guild. First, one of the LYS owners has me teaching sock yarn dyeing at her shop on the 22nd. So I need to get everything ready for that. My order of base yarn just came in yesterday, so I have to wind off skeins from the cone for the class to use. Have to double check my hand out materials to make sure I have enough of those.

I'm also working on the Guild newsletter, which is almost finished (can't wait for that to be done). Just need to fill one more page, then it goes to the printer. I'll also be teaching my sock yarn dyeing class in November for the guild.

I started a computer class this week to learn Microsoft Access. I'm looking to go to school for Web Design and Programming, so this is a good start and it's a free class through the Department of Labor. We have Friday off, then start again on Monday.

Knit and Crochet Show

Today I went to the market at the Knit & Crochet Show, put on by The Knitters Guild of America and the Crochet Guild Of America. I have to say that I was completely underwhelmed by the whole experience. The market floor was far from packed, while there was a good number of vendors, there was very little that called out "buy me" to me. Plus when I go to these things I don't want to spend my money on something I can get at any one of the local yarn stores. I did wind up getting 2 skeins of hand-painted sock yarn. I was able to resist the Buffalo Yarn at $75 per skein.

What disappointed me was that there seemed to be nothing else going on, other than the $95/3 hour classes. There were no demos, presentations, shows, nor was there a single bit of swag for attendees. I've gone to the Knitters Fair in Kitchener-Waterloo and had a much better time and felt I got more for my admission.

I did run into several members of the Buffalo Knitting Guild, as well as Joan DeBolt who taught our Spring Seminars. I also saw one of the guy I met at the Men's Spring Knitting Retreat.

SUMMER CAMP GAMES - Week #6

The Headmistress' Potions

1. Draught of Peace
2. Mandrake Draught
3. Babbling Beverage
4. Murtlap Essence
5. Felix Felicis
6. Sleekeazy's Hair Potion
7. Pepperup Potion

Sock Kit Swap - OOC

In addition to HSKS Summer Camp, I was also participating in the Sock Kit Swap 2 on Ravelry. This was the first swap I was ever in that I had to knit socks for someone else. Except for 3 pairs, every pair of socks I've made have been for myself. This was also the first time I wasn't making a pair of mens socks.

The theme for the swap was "Favorites", so you could use your favorite pattern, favorite sock yarns, favorite colors. Of course we kept in contact with our swap partner to learn what their favorites were. It was a lot of fun and very different from the HSKS.

The package from my partner came in late on Saturday. We are last on our mail carrier's route, so we always get our mail late in the day. Plus I was out of the house whe nit was delivered and did not get home until early evening. Here are some pics of the kit I was sent.

The dark blue sack is a GoKnit Pouch that you can feed your yarn through and attach to a bag strap or belt so you can easily take your knitting with you.
She sent 2 KnitPicks Harmony Circular needles! Plus a Mini-Sock Blocker Key Chain, which is also a needle gauge.
A skein of hand-painted sock yarn from one of the local Portland dyers.
And the socks that she knit for me!
Here are the socks that I made her. I was very proud of the fact that the stripes matched on both socks. That never happens!

SUMMER CAMP GAMES - Week #5; Part 2

1. Animagus

2. Daily Prophet
4. Bowtruckle
5. Extendable Ears
5. Radish Earrings
6. Forbidden Forrest
7. Golden Cherub
8. Thestral
9. High Inquisitor
Dolores Umbridge and Uncle Vincenzio
10. Educational Degree

SUMMER CAMP GAMES - Week #5

PART 1

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

Part 2 is in the works...

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Tuesday night I was able to attend the Muggle opening of "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince." Uncle Vincenzio was able to get tickets for myself and my two best friends: Malibu Riddle and Johnny Malfoy. We arrived early and had time to stop in a nearby pub for a pint of Butterbeer before the show.

There were many Muggles dressed in Wizards attire, so we blended in perfectly. There was a moment when one young Muggle tried to grab Malibu's wand and many of them commented on how authentic our wizards attire and wands looked. If they only knew :-)

I will say that the Muggle who made this film did not stay true to the history of Harry Potter. He completed ignored my cousin William being attacked by Greyback and the attack on the Weasley family home did not happen until Bill and Fleur were married. Malibu explained that these Muggles tend to change stories around to make what they think will be a more appealing story.

By the time the show had let out it was quite late and it had been a long day. Although we were asked the strangest thing outside of the theatre. A young Muggle approached us asking if we had jumper cables and could give him a jump? I had no idea what he meant, but Johnny quickly responded, saying that we couldn't help him. I guess it has something to do with those Muggle automobiles. After he was out of site we each mounted our brooms to head home.

It was a long night but we had a really good time.

SUMMER CAMP GAMES - Week #3

I've never been fond of snakes. They are alright in a case, behind glass. But I don't want to hold one or have it crawling over me.
Riddikulus!
What walks down stairs, alone or in pairs, and makes a slinkity sound?
A spring, a spring, a marvelous thing! Everyone knows it's Slinky.
It's Slinky, it's Slinky. For fun it's a wonderful toy.
It's Slinky, it's Slinky. It's fun for a girl or a boy.
It's fun for a girl or a boy!

Wizards Vernal Equinox Knitting Retreat

During the break between HSKS7 and HSKS Summer Camp, I was able to attend the Wizards Vernal Equinox Knitting Retreat with Uncle Vincenzio. It was held at a lovely mountain resort in a Muggle area known as Greenwich, NY... with is 30 miles from Albany. The resort isn't on the Floo Network and our brooms could not hold everything we needed to bring with us, so we traveling in Uncle Vincenzio's Muggle automobile.

Uncle Vincenzio isn't used to traveling remote country roads, so there were times we thought we would never get there. But we did arrive and checked in just in time for dinner that first night.

Wizards from all over America and Canada traveled to this retreat. There was even a wizard who came all the way from Australia! There were 42 wizards total who attended. Here is a group photo of those in attendance.
We shared a cabin with 3 other wizards; Kyle, John and Chuck.
We worked on a group project where those of us attending knit or crocheted a 15" blanket square. At the retreat the squares were assembled into a blanket that was donated to the Easton Mountain Resort on behalf of the Wizards Knitting Retreat.

The attendees volunteered to teach workshops on specific knitting and crochet topics. Uncle Vincenzio taught Continental Knitting and the Magic Loop Technique. There were some great workshops and a whole lot of knitting and crocheting going on.
Of course there was spinning as well.
We even got some staff members to take up needles and learn the basics.
After a hard day of fiber related fun, there was also time for relaxing.
We also had a night of Show-N-Tell, where everyone showed off their creations.
We had a great time and will definitely be going back again next year!