Babblings from the Broomsticks

Good morning, my Hogwarts fellows! Another gorgeous just-shy-of-Autumn day is in order. I hope you're all getting your pumpkins and costumes ready for October - it's just around the corner.

This week, our lovely and very prompt Ravenclaw HoH, Isisonearth, was kind enough to offer me a drop of time for a few quick questions.

The Books

Which character in Harry Potter do you relate to most?

There are two, Luna Lovegood and Narcissa Malfoy.

I’m a believer like Luna. I like to see the world as possibilities and mysteries. Why things happen matters less to me than that they do. I’m also very honest and really respect the blunt way she has with the truth. And of course I share her sense of whimsy.

I see myself a lot in Narcissa too. I’m not a brave person by nature but I’m very fierce when it comes to family, most particularly my son. I can really relate to her not getting particularly involved in all that Death Eater stuff but not wanting to make waves either. Then in the end she is brave enough to defy the Dark Lord himself to protect her loved ones. I’ve talked about it before but I see Narcissa as the dark lady of a triad of good mother’s in Rowling’s work (Along with Lily who forever remains the valiant young mother & Molly the maternal goddess with her brood of children and enough love for any strays that come her way.)

If there were one object from the Harry Potter universe that you could pull into real life, what would it be?

Can I say my wand? I’d love to be able to do magic. Change rats into teacups and that sort of thing.

When I ask you what your favorite scene is in the series, what’s the first one that comes to mind?

My very favorite is when Molly duels Bellatrix. Underestimated, middle aged mothers REPRESENT! Seriously it was amazing to see the earth mother figure of the book kick some ass. I love that there was so much more to Molly than the loving, dotty sort of way she is portrayed in the early books.

The Basics

How did you first become involved with the House Cup?

A few days after I joined Ravelry I was trolling for interesting looking groups and signups for Winter term were under way. I peeked into the Ravenclaw Tower and met some wonderful people. I remember being so worried about the sorting. I was really nervous I’d end up with my second choice and not bond with them. I ended up a Ravenclaw but in hindsight I would have been a very happy Snake too.

What is your favorite part of the House Cup?

Being surprised and delighted. There are always projects that just blow me away with their creativity, beauty or ambition. I think having a prompt to work from brings out a special sort of creativity that just thinking “well what should I make” doesn’t.

Do you have any advice to hand out to the new students here at Hogwarts?

Think outside the box. I’m a pretty new knitter and some of my best projects (for bonus points, prize thread, general squeeeing…) have been just oddball stuff. Sometimes people get the impression that you need to do elaborate socks or Estonian lace shawls to get recognition. Not true…something out of the ordinary or with a wonderful story can be magic!

The Knitty Gritty

Do you knit, crochet, spin? Any other hidden talents?

I mainly knit and am just now learning to spin, which I LOVE!

As for what else I do, I’m an artist by nature. I create like breathing…often a flurry of detritus (doodles, thought pictures, what ifs…). Before knitting I was primarily doing a combination of painting and cut paper collage. I still have a WIP wooden box on my worktable that I should finish one day and sketches for a painting. Right now fiber is consuming most of my creative energy.

Why did you first pick up your knitting needles (or craft of choice)?
Like many people I learned a litter garter stitch from my Grandma when I was little but never pursued it.

Last October a friend who wanted to learn to knit socks asked if I wanted to take a knitting class while our boys were in school. I thought what the heck. Funny thing is she just dabbles and I’m the convert.

Of all of your self-made projects, which one brings you the most pride?

The New World Imps that I did for my Arithmancy OWL. They weren’t much of a challenge really but they have so much individual personality. They also brought a lot of amusement to other people. About half of them live in other homes spreading joy around the country.
For technical skill I’d say the Augery Socks. They are finished and to the best of my knowledge mistake free which is saying a lot. They were a real stretch for me so I was proud of how well they turned out.

Is there a craft or technique you’d like to try that you haven’t gotten to yet?

I’m working on colorwork this term. Tensioning it is tricky for me. Eventually I’d like to learn crochet too just to say I can. That is still somewhere in the future at this point.