Catching Up with Our NEWT-lings

Evening everyone! I sent out questions two weeks ago to all those I've been following for OWLs and NEWTs. I had planned on giving the NEWT update last week and the OWL this week, but my eyes were not cooperating last week (stupid allergies). So instead this week I'll be featuring our NEWT students answers and next week we'll look at the OWL students. Then hopefully finish up the last two weeks of term with turn-ins! So let's get started!
I asked each student the following three questions:
1. What have you learned so far in doing this NEWT?
2. How is your progress coming?
3. Any surprises, good or bad, so far?
And here are the answers I got:
Volkat:
1. I have learned that you can never underestimate the power of quidditch, or the desire to Knit All The Things. I knew my October was going to be crazy busy, and had planned to have more than the required 50% complete by the end of September. However I was distracted by too many shiny things, and this didn’t happen. NEWTs really require you to focus.

2. Progress-wise, I’m behind! And I don’t think I have any hope of meeting my 75% by the 31st. I still think I can finish by the end of term; there’s just too much RL going on this week to fit in much knitting.

3. Surprises. Hm. Well, my first cat sock is too small, so I’m saving that project for last along with the needed maths. I’ll need to reknit the first one in an attempt to have a functional matching pair. That was the only big unexpected thing to come up. I’m trying to do the mitts two-at-a-time (I’ve not tried this before) to make up time…which really doesn’t make sense, but it’s the way I feel about it. If that goes well, I may attempt the sock rematch that way in November.

Stitchywitchy:
1. What have I learned so far? Do a m1 even if it say kfb. I’ve got “holes” where I kfb in the body shaping (which I’ve never done before) and they bother me. I’m going to go back when I’m done and see if I can tack them shut.

2. Progress is on track! I should be able to make my 75% this month! woohoo!! I’ve got piece #3 done for the HoM portion, and my sweater is nearing it’s 75% mark, too!

3. Surprises….just the fact that I LOVE this sweater more than I thought I would! I found my KP ends and new 60” cable, so I am actually able to try it on, and it fits!!!

djmeurer:
1. Expect that in a 4 month time period real life will come up. Time turners are useful for getting everything accomplished. Misplacing your pattern greatly hinders progress.
As far as techniques go this has been a NEWT of firsts. I knit my 1st fair isle sweater and steeked it. I spun with superwash wool and nylon for the 1st time. I spun my 1st cabled yarn

2. The 1st 2 months were great, I got to 50% about a week early and was very happy with how things were turning out. Then I had some real life things hit: both positive and negative, some expected some surprises. I know fully expect that I can hit the 75% mark on time by finishing all of my spinning. However, I don’t know if the last sweater is going to happen or not.

3. I was really shocked how the yarn I spun for Luna came out. I had dyed the fiber with very bright colors and some white spaces and was very surprised at how much those blended into pailer colors. Holding the first skein of yarn up to the remaining fiber, it was almost hard to believe they were from the same hank. I am now knitting socks from that yarn for my BROOM and am finding that it knits up in a way that looks like Luna to me. So I think that this was happy surprise.

Cindiknits:
1. I’ve learned a lot! I’m using a new-to-me charting program to chart the socks and fingerless gloves I’m designing for one part of my NEWT (how sad is it that I can’t remember if it’s Ancient Runes or Astronomy. Divination?), so I’m learning that as I go. I’ve also discovered that I love designing patterns! These first 2 are just socks and gloves, but I’ve got lots of ideas for other things swimming around in my head. I’m designing 2 patterns for my Order of the Phoenix mission, too, and hope to have all 4 done by the end of term. Then I plan to stalk the Ravelry pattern pages obsessively to see if anyone wants to knit them, or at least put them in their queue.

2. I’m pretty much right on schedule. Both patterns have been test-knit by my awesome friend Amy and I just need to incorporate her feedback and they’ll be ready to publish. They’ll be free Ravelry downloads, and I really hope people like them :-). I’m also cruising along on the Charms portion of my NEWT, which is a Shetland lace shawl. It’s the only thing on my knitting to-do list today, so I should get a whack of rows done today. My Order of the Phoenix mission is calling to me, though, so I may have to switch between projects. I have a hard time knitting one thing for long stretches of time.

3. I’m surprised at how easy it is to make mistakes when designing. What seems obvious and straightforward in my head doesn’t always turn out that way once I try to get it written up. And I’ve been happily surprised at how interactive the design process can be. Getting feedback from friends, having people I like test knit my ideas, etc. is so much fun!

Jajigirl:
1. I’m learning that although I love knitting lace charting it so it comes out exactly how my brain sees it is not as easy. The lace panel in my knee sock gave me fits and will need adjustments before publication. The lace for my first hat was much simpler and will not need modification for publication.

2. I am not as far along as I want to be right now. I’d say I’m at the 60% mark. I need to be at 75% by the end of the month. I’ve been very distracted knitting socks this month. They are great socks, just not part of my NEWT. I’d say they are a field trip into the wilds of knitting instead of staying in my dorm to study.

3. My biggest surprise is I’m needing far less yarn than I imagined I would to complete my projects. This is both good and bad. Good because it is always GREAT to have more yarn. Bad because that means I’ve over estimated my yardage for my benchmarks and I’m needing to knit more…knit faster…knit more…knit faster…

GazeboGal:
1. That I’m still not fond of colorwork, no matter how much I like the result.
Also, that over enough repetitions of the geometric patterns of traditional Fair Isle, I can memorize it and not have to stare at the pattern the whole time.

2. Thank goodness I have weekly goals. I may be behind on them, but not too far. I made my September 50% goal, and I’m pushing very hard to reach that October 75%. Also, I’m very pleased that I named my benchmarks in terms of “grams of yarn” instead of locking myself in to a particular sequence. Things have happened that I couldn’t have predicted, and the flexibility is what’s kept me on track.

3. I hadn’t worked with sport weight yarn much at all before - I hadn’t realized how close it is to fingering. I wish that I had been brave enough to re-calculate and get this as worsted yarn and simply have larger, fewer motifs. A nearly-fingering weight sweater? This is… difficult.

Not a surprise, so much, but… I get very excited about making progress because of the support and cheers from House Cuppers. I know that I can post a progress picture and get words of encouragement, and that helps me a lot.

I suggest to all the NEWT students that they check out the NEWT thread of the OWL-a-long group - it’s nice having our own hangout! http://www.ravelry.com/discuss/hpkchc-owl-a-long/1782978

Mauri:
1. Technique-wise, I’ve learned how to apply i-cord to a non-edge portion of a knitted item, along with making sure there are no terrible holes between my glove fingers. I’ve also learned that a good designer can make a difficult pattern a joy to knit…and vice versa. I’ve learned to live with a mistake in my knitting, because 1) nobody else can see it and 2) I’ll cry if I have to rip those frakking socks back again.
Also, planning is great, but it’s hard to know what you’ll want to knit two months in the future.

2. I think I’m progressing well. I’m on track for 75% by the end of October at least, though I want to get a little ahead because November is looking to be busy. Luckily, the socks I’m working on now are going faster than expected, so maybe I’ll have a chance to pull ahead. So far I’ve completed two pairs of socks, a pair of gloves, a cowl, a cowl, and some slippers. Except for the slippers, they’re all from fingering weight. Not doing that again, I’m craving bulky yarn.

3. Designers will sometimes give you a free pattern if you find a mistake in their design? Finding those mistakes was a surprise - I thought I was losing my mind and had to go through the direction with a handful of raisins (a raisin per stitch) several times before I convinced myself that there was a mistake.

jedimag16:
1. That I am a worse procrastinator than I first thought! I had a lot of other projects going on in August, so I wasn’t able to focus on my NEWT as much as I wanted to and it really set me behind. I’ve also learned that when you are doing a lot of crocheting with black yarn you need a really really good source of light. I just invested in an OTT Lite for our living room, and I think it might just save my NEWT. This NEWT (plus the past few failed OWLs) have also reinforced that sometimes I’m way too ambitious for my own good.

2. Slowly. I’m probably right at about 40% now, so I have a long way to go to catch up. Two dragons (out of 7) are completely done, with 3 others in progress. If I’m lucky I’ll still make my 75% and 100% marks, but it’s not a sure thing just yet.

3. Not really - but I still have a long way to go so there still might be surprises down the road.

Thanks everyone for your quick and thoughtful answers. I know you all have been doing great work and I'm looking forward to the final results from each of you! Check back in next week to see the answers from our OWL students!

OWL Updates!

Good Evening Everyone! Sorry for missing last week and being so late in the day this week, I've been having issues with one of my eyes and it makes computer time short, but hopefully by next week it will be better! And now to the OWL and NEWT updates:
Dawntreader7 has submitted her OWL 50% and it's looking lovely!

And Mauri showed us an update on her skew sock:

That's all I've got picture wise for tonight. I just sent everyone who had said I could follow them a PM with 3 questions for you! Feel free to answer when you have time with as short or long of answers as you would like. I'm going to answer them for my own stalled OWL right now!

1. What have you learned so far in doing this OWL?
I have learned that I am a very, very slow cable-er and that I really should mark my place in charts.
2. How is your progress coming?
It's stalled a bit because I had too much going on the beginning of this month and couldn't work on it much, and then when I tried to pick it back up this past weekend I couldn't figure out where I left off in the chart. Although for a little while I thought I had it, only to realize 3 rows later that I wasn't in the right place and had to rip back. I haven't had the heart to pick it back up. 50% will not be happening on time so I'm losing hope I will get it completed.
3. Any surprises, good or bad, so far?
I'm loving how it's turning out so I'm going to finish it no matter what. I am surprised that I couldn't remember where I left off, and that I can't figure out where I am supposed to be!

See everyone next week!

More 50% Progress!

Good Evening Everyone! Are you ready to see some more 50% progress made on OWLs and NEWTs? I know I am so let's get right to it!

Knittingnearsided has turned in her 50% on her DADA OWL jumper!

It's looking great to me!

Jajigirl got to 50% on her NEWT last week, and can I just say: WOW! I am so impressed with what she's created, my favorite thing is the Hermione Cowl, which I'm hoping I will get to test knit for her! The pattern looks lovely, and since I have the same yarn I can't wait to see how mine will turn out!

Volkat also got to 50% on her NEWT and it also is looking amazing! I can't tell you how much fun it is to get to look through all these great projects!

I'm uber impressed by everything, but I'm partial to the shawl since it's in some of my favorite colors!

While stitchywitchy was a day short on getting her 50% in, I still am loving the cables on her hat:

That's all I've got for this evening! Keep up the great work everyone and I'll see you next week!

Get those OWL Proposal in! And some NEWT Updates!

Happy Thursday Everyone! This is your reminder that the month ends tomorrow, so all classes and OWL proposals must be in by midnight PST tomorrow (Friday, Sept. 30th). Also I still have no Hufflepuff's with OWLs to follow. So if you are a 'Puff and wouldn't mind being featured (I swear it will be easy) please send me a PM on Rav!
Since it's almost the end of the month I thought I'd check back in on the NEWT students that we took a look at the first week of the month! Here's who I've got (that told me I was welcome to follow their progress) and everyone who did agree, I am really going to send you all a PM with a quick question or two, RL has just been nuts! Without further ado, some NEWT 50% pictures
Miss GazeboGal's Foxy Projects:

I'm loving all the foxes! They all look lovely.
Miss Mauri's Lovely Work:

Every time I see her work I want to make everything she does! It's all awesome.
Miss Cindiknits with work in my favorite colors:

I can't wait to see how that shawl turns out (and I might need that pattern for the mitts).
And last up this evening, Miss djmeurer and her wonderful progress:

The sweater is adorable, and everyone should head on over to the NEWT thread to check out all the rest of the 50% progress that's been turned in! Everyone is doing a fabulous job!

Have a great last day of the month everyone!

Happy First Day of Term!

Good evening everyone! I hope everyone has had a fantastic first day of term and that we're all getting over our excitement about shinny new classes and common rooms and settling down for some crafting!
I'm spartyliblover, 5th year Gryffindor and I'll be covering Advanced Studies this term on the blog every Thursday. If you'd like and are willing to be followed and answer some questions as you work on your NEWT or OWL this term, let me know! I would love to have at least one person from each house that is doing an advanced studies project and follow their progress through the term. I might even post some of my progress each week to try and help myself get my OWL done (like right now I really need to finish this silly swatch so I can do my proposal and get started on it!)
There have already been tons of great OWL proposals today, but today I thought I'd give a shout out to all the NEWT-lings as they have been hard at work for the last month already!
From Hufflepuff there are 4 brave souls taking on NEWTs: 
Cindiknits doing Charms and Astronomy with a shawl and designing socks and fingerless mitts!
Fluttervale doing Herbology and Transfiguration with two afghans!
JMN doing Muggle Studies and Divination with a pair of wrist warmers and designing Neville's Sweater (swoon, I'm super excited about this and hope she'll be willing to show things off with the Blog this term)!
TheAlexKlein doing Astronomy and Muggle Studies designing socks, a hat, vest, mittens, sweater and slippers! 
From Slytherin there are 7 brave souls:
Bidibid doing Astronomy and Charms designing a star chart beaded stole!
Eurekas doing Ancient Runes and Divination doing three shawls, a hat, pair of socks and spinning!
Kims doing Muggle Studies and Transfiguration making four sweaters!
GirlyWithATwist doing Charms and Divination with a lovely lace table topper!
Needlesnswiffers doing Charms and Astronomy with a very large circular shawl!
Peanutzmom doing Arithmancy and Transfiguration
PEby doing Arithmancy and DADA studying squares making blankets!
From Ravenclaw there are 3 brave souls:
GazeboGal doing Potions and CoMC  making a fox set of hat, mittens, sweater, scarf and socks!
Kountingsheep doing Arithmancy and Potions with a blanket!
Volkat doing Potions and Ancient Runes by spinning, a shawl, three stockings, socks and fingerless gloves!
From Gryffindor there are 8 brave souls:
ChristineA doing Charms and Ancient Runes doing spinning and a shawl!
clmnj58 doing Muggle Studies and Herbology with a cardigan and a pullover!DJMeurer doing HoM and Ancient Runes with spinning, two sweaters and a pair of mittens!
Jajigirl doing Divination and HoM designing two pairs of socks, two hats, a cowl and mitts for her cardio knitting book (I am also very excited about this NEWT and hopes Jaji will let me follow her progress too)!
Jedimeg16 doing Astronomy and CoMC designing Toothless, and making a shawl, gauntletts, spinning, a scarf and a snow dragon!
Lupingirl doing Muggle Studies and Herbology with two sweaters!


Stitchywitchy doing HoM and Muggle Studies doing a sweater, hat, two pairs of mitts and a cowl!
Mauri doing Muggle Studies and CoMC doing three pairs of socks, two pairs of gloves, cowl, slippers, shawl and hat!


I hope I got everyone and got all the projects right! If any of you are willing to let me follow your course of study this term as you all embark on these truly amazing projects, please let me know! They all are inspiring and I can't wait to see how they turn out.