Knitters Unite!

Besides photography, another hobby of mine is knitting. I've had a ravelry.com account for years but only within the past couple of weeks have I put it to good use. Prior to a couple weeks ago, all I really used it for was to search for patterns. But now, a whole new world has been opened. My dear friend I mentioned in my post a week ago introduced me to the Harry Potter Knitting and Crocheting House Cup (HPKCHC) group on Ravelry. I found out about it just in time to be sorted. Even though pottermore.com sorted me into Gryffindor, I requested to be sorted into Ravenclaw. You see, the houses in HPKCHC don't follow canon exactly. I did some research on the different houses and for several reasons decided I would probably fit in best in Ravenclaw. That thought process could be it's own blog post that few would even find interesting so I'll just leave it at that.

So in this whole new world, there are "classes" you can take. I'm still learning about all this house cup stuff so the best way I can describe a class is for each of the classes in magic, there is a challenge. You pick a pattern that meets that challenge and then make it. The minimum requirement is to complete one class a month and there isn't a yardage minimum. So really, all I have to do is knit a dish cloth once a month. But where's the fun in that? :)

I've had so much fun working on my WIPs (works in progress) to get then very nearly finished so I can turn them in for points in detention. (Who knew I'd ever see detention as a good thing?) Other than when I go on a knitting frenzy to complete projects for Christmas gifts in the long car rides to see family, I've never been so knitting productive. I've also had a lot of fun selecting what projects I want to work on for the spring term, organizing my queue, and calculating and ordering the yarn I'll need. And the more I explore Hogwarts and the Ravenclaw Tower, the more features I discover on Ravelery I had no clue existed.

But the best part is I've discovered a whole bunch of people who not only enjoy knitting and crocheting as much as, if not more than, I do, but I've discovered these people have a lot of the same interests as me including my love of Doctor Who, RadioLab, Firefly, Settlers of Catan, and Jane Austen. I'm so excited.

And so, if you enjoy knitting or crocheting and also enjoy social network websites, I'd recommend starting a Ravelry account and checking out the HPKCHC group. Even though the Spring Term 2012 sorting has completed (a term is 3 months), you can still participate as a NQFY (not quite first year). The only difference between a NQFY and someone who's been sorted is you don't earn points for a house. Participating as a NQFY would also provide opportunity to fully explore all the houses so you can decide where you want to try to be sorted for the next term.

I'd like to end this blog post with a couple of the HPKCHC Ravenclaw mottos. One in particular seems appropriate considering my post a week ago:

Craft Smarter, Not Harder! 

Fail Spectacularly!