Descent into Madness

June 1, 2010 at 6:11 pm (Uncategorized)

The events which I am about to chronicle will further explain my post from yesterday.

Be warned. It’s nerdy.

And don’t forget to blame Toni Pilcher. (Among other things, she asked the Dreaded Question I alluded to in my previous post.)

It started in the middle of winter semester at BYU. My adorable little sister wanted me to knit her a scarf. Not just any scarf: a scarf in Ravenclaw colors that she could wear when she dresses up as Luna for Halloween and the Harry Potter premiere. (This was back before Harry Potter got moved back. Emily was furious that Eclipse delayed the release. She’s a good kid 🙂 )

I did what any good sister would do: I pulled out my color cards for yarn, let her choose which hues she liked, and got online in search of a good scarf pattern.

This is where it all went downhill.

I get all my patterns and project ideas from a website called ravelry.com. I’ve described it before as a facebook for knitters and crocheters. It’s a great place to network, find resources, and relax with people who share your passion for the fiber arts. If any place had a good scarf pattern, it would be rav.

My search was not in vain. I did indeed find a pattern. . . . and a whole lot more.

You see, when knitting, I don’t just see a pattern and start on it. I like to look at photos of finished objects that people have made from the same pattern. In the process of doing this for my sister’s scarf, I discovered something interesting of the avatars of many of the knitters: they all sported the anagram HPKCHC.

I was curious, so I did some research. Apparently, HPKCHC stands for Harry Potter Knitting and Crochet House Cup. Every four months, a group of knitters and crocheters on rav create their own House Cup. Everyone gets sorted, everyone can play Quidditch, and everyone can participate in classes, including the arduous OWL projects (which take three months instead of one). Every month, there are six different classes: the five core wizarding classes and one extra.

Sadly, I discovered the HPKCHC halfway through the last term, so I had to wait a month and a half to get sorted. Soon after colelge graduation, however, I received my OWL! I had been sorted into the noble house of Ravenclaw.

A month has passed. I completed all six of my classes and a third of my OWL, but not without some mishaps. For example, I almost exploded the microwave dying a bookscarf for my sister.

I didn't burn the microwave, Will's friends did that making popcorn. I did, however, cause the blue puddle.

Other endeavors were just as dangerous. While doing my Potions “homework,” I knocked my “telescope” into my “cauldron” and created a terrifying creature:

AUGH!

Thankfully, a good friend rescued me from it and has it in custody now.

Despite those mishaps, though, I’m excited for a new term in the HPKCHC! Wish me luck, and see you around rav!

~nightrae