The Kits, Part 2

I sent a kit to Daisymum, and she put up an awesome blog about it, here. (click that because its full of her squeeing and being cute in the hat i made)

But, I did take kit pictures, so I thought why not put them up? :)

My first ever stitch markers, two sets of five, knitted into a little swatch of handdyed (by me) sock yarn. 

 The goodies: the markers with some crochet fingerless gloves, a knitted hat (Turn A Square), and 2 skeins of Lace weight Forest Heather Knit Picks yarn. She loves shawls, so I'm hoping she can make a nice one with this.

 And the extras: I got loads of sweet stuff, since she's got a few little boys, I asked what they'd like, and went from there. I got her my favorite HP book (well, one of my favorites, its kind of a tie between POA and the last two), and found the other book (a non-HP canon Manual for New Wizards, totally cute!) by accident. I included a few postcards (you know, nice castle-type reminder of Hogwarts?), a notepad & some little playing cards, and a scented candle. I think that was all of it...

The Kits Arrived!

My time in HSKS 12 is complete, as my kit I sent has been received, and I just got my fab kit from Helena Lovegood (loverofallemo) today. I opened the box to find a basilisk (!!!) coiled in the top of it. Since I'm a Slytherin, of course I didn't panic, I just spoke to it in Parseltongue and told it not to be afraid, and of course everything went just fine. We're already like BFFs. :D

 

It seemed highly keen on protecting this striped package, which (duh) contained a journal, so of course it wanted to protect it! It seems even modern day versions of basilisks have an inexplicable desire to protect journals. This one (at least at this time) seems like a regular book and seems to contain no memories of any Dark Lords...

 After digging further down into the box, I realized the craft portion of the kit holds true to the HSKS tradition, she sent me a sock kit! Which is perfect, because I've never made socks before, and we're talking about doing an HSKS KAL after the new year, so now I'm ready! She also included a pattern for what looks like some beginner friendly socks that I'll definitely try, and a set of size 2 dpns. The yarn she got in a striking resemblance to Ron's family colors, so I think I'll have me some Muddle-Headed Socks in my future! So excited!

 Last but most certainly not least, all of the goodies. There's Goldfish (which I LOVE with an unhealthy obsession), a fruit tea sampler (that has some of my favorite teas in it so YAY!), Andes Mints (which ROCK), some yummy looking hot chocolate, pens to go with the journal & the DPNs previously mentioned.

A gloriously fantastic kit! And Helena Lovegood rocks! :)

(I'll post the kit I sent out in another post)

I'll See You All in 6 Weeks...

When I finally get over this!




If you don't recognize who that is singing, that's Darren Criss, from A Very Potter Musical. I'm totally obsessed with this clip now.

My Ability to Blog...

Sucks like woah.

I have just enough time to sneak in an update on my kit.

I'm fairly certain that I have all of the extras for my kit sitting here ready to go (I'm missing one thing that I know what it is, but I haven't bought it yet. I was hoping to have different options for it, so I will be getting it the lastest of minutes... :D )

The handmade items are slow moving, but are in progress, and will be ready to go when the kit is. I'm planning on swinging by the family blog in a few days when I have more time to post a photo update. 

Fall! It's here!

After an overwhelmingly hot summer (and really, spring while we're at it!) I never thought we'd ever see cooler weather. But somehow fall has managed to sneak up on us. It's cold enough outside right now (at 11:00 PM) to wear a sweater, which is awesome! I've been sleeping with the windows open at night, it's so amazingly awesome.

I'm moving right along with my slow kit progress. Something arrived in the mail yesterday for it, and something else is on its way. I also did some small shopping for it tonight. There are things! In a pile! (It's an exciting day, let me tell you. :D)

Always thinking...

I'm still in the planning stages of the package I'm sending out to daisymum this time. Of course, I can't really say any of that here, but I do have a plan! BWAHAHAHAHA!

Okay, just had to get that out of my system.

One thing that's fun for this particular kit is this is the first time that I've ever built a kit during the holiday season, and the stores are starting to get all sorts of neat little things that just scream KIT! So it's going to be hard to pick and choose. 

And I'm pretty sure I have the handmade items narrowed down, I just have to finalize it and get to crafting! Bwahahaha!

(I've really got to stop doing that)

HSKS12 Homework, Week 3

I don't always do my homework, but this one seems fun. And I like fun! :D

It's word association, so I take this list of words and put the first word that comes to mind with each one. Easy enough, right? My responses are in italics. Enjoy!

1. Pumpkin bread
2. Owl post
3. Leaf let (leaflets, ha ha!)
4. Weasley's rock! (Of course they do!)
5. Quaffle's hurt
6. Hallow mystery
7. Mad (ness)
8. Dragon scary
9. Crystal ball
10. Trees fall
11. Hermione friend
12. Hogwarts amazing
13. Burrow home
14. Dobby sweet
15. Horcrux scary!
16. Ministry disturbed
17. Magic everything
18. Sirius sadness
19. Apple snack
20. Juice box
21. Candle wax
22. Ghost Nick
23. Snake Snape
24. Wand Oak
25. Invisibility Cloak
26. Tent Quidditch World Cup! (that was so fun!)
27. Spell book
28. Umbridge ack!
29. Dursely ack! ack!
30. Prophet, Daily

The About Me & Wishlist Post, HSKS12

The Crafty Things:

Craft: I both knit and crochet. I've also started taking up Kool-Aid dyeing this year.

Fiber: I have no wool allergies, but prefer to avoid the itchier wools, and haven't ever really gotten around too many other animal fibers, like angora or mohair, etc, for fear of allergies. My favorite is merino wool, because it's generally pretty soft and fluffy. :)  I'm also not into felting at all.

Brand: I'm pretty easy. I like everything from the pretty cheap-o stuff (I love Wool Ease and Patons Classic Wool, for example) to Kureyon and so on. I also recently discovered I have a love affair with Moda Dea's Tweedle Dee. Some yarns I've really been wanting to try are Cascade 220 Wool, Mission Falls Wool (I love their cotton!), anything by Koigu (because they look so gorgeous!), and Fisherman's Wool by Lion Brand. I'm open to lots of yarn options, and of course, I love Knit Picks! Who doesn't?

Weight: I love the bulky, chunky yarns. But I love all yarn!

Color:  I really love greens and purples. I tend to like the darker parts of the spectrum in both those colors (sage, olive green, etc) but like the lighter ones too. I'm also pretty fond of burnt-orange, brown, and blue (like medium blue). There aren't many colors I don't like, except pink. Hogwarts colors wise, I'm a true Slytherin at heart. :)

Needles: I always want needles! I'm not picky regarding metal versus wooden, etc. My Needles Library on Rav's up to date. I have KP Zephyr circs that I'm always looking to add tips for, so far I've got size 6 & 15 tips, and a 24' and a 47' cable. So I could use more tips in any size!. I also have your standard non-removeable circulars in other sizes and like those just fine too! Other than that, as you can see, my small needle area's pretty lacking. I prefer circs to dpns (magic loop all the way!) and anything I might receive would be awesome. :) Also, I would love to try a crochet hook bigger than a Q. I think they make an S. :)

Types of Patterns: I'm pretty easy to please. I've never tried socks, and I got my first tiny socks pattern (the one by Wychwoodlady) in a previous kit. I enjoy making amigurumi, scarves, gloves, hats, you name it! :) My books library on Rav is up to date as well. I also have a Pay tag in my favorites of things I heart, and a bunch of books on my Amazon list (at the bottom). If you go the book route, used is 100% encouraged!

Snacks: I love Dark Chocolate (but I like my chocolate without nuts in it!). I also love mint, so anything with Dark Chocolate + Mint = Win. I don't like peanut butter mixed with chocolate. I also like Wonka stuff like Gobstoppers, Runts, Nerds, etc... all that bad for you candy, and Sour Patch kids and those neon sour worms...yum....I also like coffee (just about anything coffee or coffee flavored), love the little instant mix "coffee" drinks (like lattes and such) hot chocolate (yum!) and tea (any kind of tea, but i especially like fruit related teas!)

Other Small Things I like:

1. Big Buttons for cowls or scarves. Like quarter sized or bigger, and as wild and crazy as you please!
2. Soak Wash! I love the stuff, I've only tried a few samples that Soak sent me, but so far I love every scent and would love to have some more! I don't have a local yarn shop to get it at. Even little samples would be more than awesome!
3. Little notebooks for note taking, I can't ever get enough of those!
4. Tiny lotions or liquid bath soaps, things like Bath & Body Works, Burts Bees, etc. I love Cucumber Melon and Pomegranate anything. :) 
5. Lip balms, because I can't ever get enough of that stuff either

Allergies:  Wools are fine, but I might possibly have allergies to other animal fibers like mohair, etc, so I tend to avoid those in large percentages. (though I think a small % blend would be fine). Cigarettes, though unless someone smokes right into my package I'd probably be okay. Puppies. Which makes me really sad, but pet hair tends to make me sneeze. I love puppies, and kitties, but their hair dislikes me. I have no scent allergies of any sort, or food allergies except the pepper family. So don't mail me pepper and we'll be all right.

Wishlists: Knit Picks   Amazon (this is a Univeral list and includes stuff from Etsy. My Etsy faves are a trainwreck!)

Welcome to HSKS 12! YAY!

Our first Homework assignment this week is a lovely game of Get to Know You (I heart these!)

1. Someone with the same craft as you. My lovely swap pal from HSKS 10 Poppy from the HHH crochets. :)
2. Someone who was born in the same month as you. My housemate Nicky was not only born in the same month as me, but ON THE SAME DAY! BOOYAH!
3. Someone from a different country. Delantrophy from HHH is from Japan!
4. A new HSKS Family member. Schmutzerella's totally new, and a Ron with me! Go Gingers!
5. Someone who has been in 3 or more HSKS swaps. Clara from the Draco clan has been in 6 HSKS swaps!
6. Someone who has a bigger stash than you! TOTMMK (The.One.That.Makes.My.Kit), or Helena from the HHB,  has a stash twice the size of mine! (but in my defense, mine's not all online!
7. Someone who both knits and crochets. Caradoc from the HHB can both knit and crochet!
8. Someone who has the same favorite color as you. Minerva from the HHH likes green. Me too! :)
9. Someone who has the same favorite season/holiday as you. Vevina from the HHB likes fall too!
10. Someone who has the same favorite fiber as you. um, everyone? i heart yarn!

Sign Ups Complete!

I signed up! Excited! The kits this time are centered around the Horcruxes, and you choose one of the 7 to be your kit theme. My choices were a HP Horcrux kit, a Riddle's Diary Horcrux Kit, and the Locket Horcrux kit. I didn't have an order really, but those are definitely my favorite three. I can't wait to see what someone does with them, and what I get to choose from to make my kit! Excited!

Going Abroad!

Its almost time to get back on the train, only this term I'm not going back to Hogwarts! I'm taking part in a Study Abroad program, where instead of spending the term at Hogwarts I'll be living with a host family. Apparently several other students will be living with me, so I'm pretty excited to see how this experience goes. I'm a bit nervous, but largely excited! Applications go in tomorrow! I can't wait to see which family chooses me!

Kit = Win!

So, in a course of Epic Fail, I've taken forever to get my pics up! Many sorries to Wisty, who deserved a much quicker response time to show off her awesomeness.

This is what the box looked like when I opened it. 

I sorted out everything and started opening it up, and found all sorts of goodies!

Camp-related sweets, including an interesting S'mores muffin mix!

Neila's handmade item was a basket made from Popsicle sticks! How creative! And she even lined it! Also shown here with it is an awesome turtle measuring tape: (and all sorts of junk on my side table, oops!)

The craft item for my kit was an adorable little froggie! She included yarn to make him too! And a S'mores card game! (which makes me giggle just thinking about such a thing!)

A very awesome kit! Thanks again Wisty!

Camp's almost over!

Well, my kit was sent off yesterday, now its just waiting on Andromeda to get it. Oh, I hope she likes it! I had a lot of fun putting it together, and working on how to make everything fit under the fun little idea I had. I got my kit a few days ago, but I STILL haven't gotten around to putting the pictures up. That's on Monday's agenda for sure! I just can't believe camp's already over, I barely feel like it's started.

Wow! Where did the time go?!?

I need Hermione's time turner, camp seems like it's been so short! I'm having a great time, but I haven't really been doing a great job journaling about it. Sorry.

I've got everything for my kit except the handmade item, so I just need to work on that this week and I'll be all set. I'm excited and curious about what Neila's making me for the kit she's sending me, that'll be a fun surprise when that time arrives!

Anyway, I'm hoping to check back soon with my camp game this week (I haven't been doing those...oops!)

Later!

Wotcher! It's Wingo!

For all of you Wingo lovers out there, here's some relevant things about me.

•  I could be considered new to HSKS, last kit was my first. 
• While living in Spain, I did several trips from Segovia where I lived, to Madrid, via train.
• Hablo español. Je peux parle un peu francais aussi (but I can't remember the alt codes to make the c!) (that says I speak Spanish and a little French!)
• I'm pretty sure that I've seen every Potter film in theaters. I definitely own all of the movies.
• I have several siblings. A brother and a twin sister, a half-brother who's 18 months old, and several step-siblings if they count.
• I have practically nothing in my Ravelry queue.
• I collect shot glasses, but I don't drink out of them.  It's supposed to be only from places I've been, but the occasional person gives them to me as gifts, and well, it's not nice to say no...
• I lived in a city with a castle! I've also been here, and here, and here. Spain likes its castles. 
• I played Quidditch last term twice for Hufflepuff.
• I'm a July baby!

Haven't even been at camp a week yet...

and I've already gotten sucked into trouble. You know, peer pressure, wanting people to like you...blah blah blah.

Anyway, somehow, I've gotten sucked into a TP'ing adventure that might have involved the Forbidden Forest Treehouse. And all of the toilet paper in the nearest bathhouse. Maybe...

I'm left wondering why I went along with TPing the cabin that has the most of my friends in it, but hey...what can you do? It's peer pressure, right?!?!

Get to Know Me;)

So, camp's started, and our first little "assignment" is to post some things about ourselves. This makes it easier for our spoilers to make kits that fit our personalities. We were given a bit of a helper list, so I'm going off of that somewhat.

• Craft:  I both knit and crochet. I also am learning to dye. So far, I've only tried kool-aid dyeing, which I love. So, any kind of blank dye-able yarn is a pretty big win for me. I don't really have lots of time to do these, but I also enjoy collages, scrapbooking, things involving beads, and am pretty interested in learning to make little fabric plushie animals.
• Fiber: I have no wool allergies, but prefer to avoid the itchier wools, and haven't ever really gotten around too many other animal fibers, like angora or mohair, etc, for fear of allergies. My favorite is merino wool, because it's generally pretty soft and fluffy. :)  I'm also not into felting at all.
• Brand: I'm pretty easy. I like everything from the pretty cheap-o stuff (I love Wool Ease and Patons Classic Wool, for example) to Kureyon and so on. I also recently discovered I have a love affair with Moda Dea's Tweedle Dee. Some yarns I've really been wanting to try are Cascade 220 Wool, Mission Falls Wool (I love their cotton!), anything by Koigu (because they look so gorgeous!), and Fisherman's Wool by Lion Brand. I'm open to lots of yarn options, and of course, I love Knit Picks! 
• Color: I really love greens and purples. I tend to like the darker parts of the spectrum in both those colors (sage, olive green, etc) but like the lighter ones too. I'm also pretty fond of burnt-orange, brown, and blue (like medium blue). There aren't many colors I don't like, except pink. Hogwarts colors wise, I'm a true Slytherin at heart. :)
• Weight: I play in the House Cup, and my OWL this term involves both my first lace knitting, and my first shawl, done in fingering weight, so I'm incredibly ready to be done with smaller yarn for a while! I love love love bulky & chunky yarns. Worsted's good too, of course! :)
• Needles: I'm not picky regarding metal versus wooden, etc. My Needles Library on Rav's up to date. I have KP Zephyr circs that I'm always looking to add tips for, so far I've got size 6 & 15 tips, and a 24' and a 47' cable. I could really use tips in the size 4 area, and in the 8-10 area as well. I also have your standard non-removeable circulars in other sizes and like those just fine too! Other than that, as you can see, my small needle area's pretty lacking. I prefer circs to dpns (magic loop all the way!) and anything I might receive would be awesome. :) Also, I would love to try a crochet hook bigger than a Q. I think they make an S. :)
• Types of Patterns: I'm pretty easy to please. I've never tried socks, and I just got my first tiny socks pattern (the one by Wychwoodlady) in my last kit. I enjoy making amigurumi, scarves, gloves, hats, you name it! :) My books library on Rav is up to date as well.
• Snacks: I love Dark Chocolate (but I like my chocolate without nuts in it!). I also love mint, so anything with Dark Chocolate + Mint = Win. I don't like peanut butter mixed with chocolate. I also like Wonka stuff like Gobstoppers, Runts, Nerds, etc... all that bad for you candy, and Sour Patch kids and those neon sour worms...yum....I also like coffee (just about anything coffee or coffee flavored), love the little instant mix "coffee" drinks (like lattes and such) hot chocolate (yum!) and tea (any kind of tea, but i especially like fruit related teas!)
• Other Small Things I like:

1. Big Buttons for cowls or scarves. Like quarter sized or bigger, and as wild and crazy as you please!
2. Soak Wash! I love the stuff, I've only tried a few samples that Soak sent me, but so far I love every scent and would love to have some more! I don't have a local yarn shop to get it at. Even little samples would be more than awesome!
3. Little notebooks for note taking, I can't ever get enough of those!
4. Tiny lotions or liquid bath soaps, things like Bath & Body Works, Burts Bees, etc. I love Cucumber Melon and Pomegranate anything. :) 
5. Lip balms, because I can't ever get enough of that stuff

• Allergies:  Wools are fine, but possibly other animal fibers like mohair, etc, so I tend to avoid those in large percentages. (though I think a small % blend would be fine). Cigarettes, though unless someone smokes right into my package I'd probably be okay. Puppies. Which makes me really sad, but pet hair tends to make me sneeze. I love puppies, and kitties, but their hair dislikes me. I have no scent allergies of any sort, or food allergies except the pepper family. So don't mail me pepper and we'll be all right. :)
• Wishlists: Knit Picks   Amazon I need to update both, but they're largely right. When in doubt, if it's on the list and it's not in my Ravelry database it's good to go! :)

Summer Camp's Almost Here!

I'm excited! The cabins are really small, there's only 5 of us in ours, and I'm really looking forward to getting to know my cabinmates better. And, AND, the person I built a kit for this past swap, Poppy Plout, is in my cabin too! Exciting! So I already know someone! :)

I blog later to talk about kits, I've got to go pack! Camp starts soon and I haven't even started packing yet! Eep!

New Blog!

Well, I decided to finally bite the bullet and get a new blog, especially for the HSKS swaps. During 10, I used my main blog, but now that I find myself already getting geeky about summer camp, I thought I might as well just go for it.

Doesn't it look all cheery? I thought a nice summery feel would be good.

I'm going to be importing my posts from last swap over too, so it'll all be here in one place.

My HSKS Kits!!

So, my kit arrived from Germany as if it apparated! I wasn't expecting it until maybe the end of the week (if I got lucky) so to find it today was a great surprise! I opened it up to find I had a Ginny-inspired (as they're character themed) school supply kit! In my excitement to tear into it, I forgot to get a picture of it in the box, but this is what it looked like once I got it all out!

 Look at all of this stuff!!!

I couldn't even figure out where to start! There were so many packages, all labeled with their own little categories, even my boyfriend said it looked like they came out of a shop that way!

One of the first things I stopped to play with for a few minutes was this little guy, who is named Humphrey and politely asked if I'd like anyone hexed. (What a nice thing for him to ask, as if he knew me already!)

Then I got into the packages, and even though I tried to keep them separated as I opened them, I lost track of what some of them came out of. The little purple guy was the only class package in the first pile (shown below). He came  wrapped up in the Care of Magical Creatures package, and if Poppy hadn't of told  me to how to tame him, I never would've figured out to squeeze him!  (it's a measuring tape, and it's so adorable I can't stop playing with  it!)

The Gryffindor bag came filled with jelly beans, which somehow disappeared during this photoshoot, even though they're still sealed in my kitchen now, so I don't know what happened there. The "wand case" (needle roll) will be great for keeping all the knitting needles in order, and I've been needing one! The hat and matching cowl came wrapped up with a sweet note from "mom" that made me giggle.

"Genevra, here's a little something I made to keep you warm. Keep your nose clean. Love, Mom!" Oh Mom, she's so thoughtful!

The main handmade item for the kit was this adorable purse, inspired by Ginny's look at the Slug Club dinner party (Poppy said that's one of her favorite scenes, it's one of my favorite scenes too!!)

Next I jumped into some of the class packages, and I about fell over in the floor when I opened this one! A Murano glass quill! (I LOVE Murano Glass! And i'm pretty sure I didn't tell Poppy that AT ALL!) I barely brought myself to take it out of the package!  It also came with this cute little notebook magnet!

 Then I checked out the Quidditch training package, Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Herbology. Yum chocolate! And the tea smells AMAZING, I can't wait to try it! (it's elderberry/cherry) And the HP Q20 will be great for gearing up for Quidditch next season!

And these stitch markers, which I can't remember what package they came out of (might have been charms?) Harry and Ginny LOVE!

 And what everyone needs in a school kit, knitting supplies!

I think these were Potions and  Transfiguration (that makes sense in my head anyway!). I got some Knit Picks Bare in Fingering Weight (and a bunch of Koolaid to dye it with! SCORE!), some Knit Picks Shine Worsted (which I've never tried) PLUS a circular great for socks, a size 15 circular, and two awesome patterns! (Including one by a fellow swapper how cool!)

I made myself put away the Bare and not dye it IMMEDIATELY (like I wanted) because I've got to work on my HPKCHC knitting. But I wanted to. really. I'm going to plot it as motivation to knit faster!

This kit was amazing, so very well thought out and considerate, and luckily full of several things I needed! (the needle roll, the measuring tape, and of course, the needles!) Poppy's an amazing kit builder, and I feel totally lucky to have gotten spoiled by her. Poppy, THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!

**********************************************

AND, although it's nowhere near as cool as the one I just got (though my spoilee did seem to like it) here's the Lupin kit I built. I had fun trying to tie everything together, and I think I did all right for my first kit. :)

The "What I Like" Post

This is the Post of Things I like for the HSKS 10 swap. :)

Favorite Colors: Green and Purple are my absolute favorite colors. I love all shades of green, even the light and lime colors, but I prefer the darker colors. Same with Purple. I'm also fond of burnt-orange, browns, and blue (like medium blues...). Sky blue and burnt orange together makes my heart sing. :) Hogwarts color wise, even though I'm a Hufflepuff this term I'm pretty much a Slytherin at heart.


Favorite Scents:

I have to be careful with scents, because lots of things make me sneeze. I can't wear any perfumes or body sprays, but I'm largely okay with lotions and such. See 'Little Things I Like' below. Also things like household scents are largely out, because my DBF also sneezes, and different things make us sneeze.

Favorite Yarn Brands:

I am largely unexperienced with yarn brands. I really covet some Koigu PPPM, because it's so freakin' pretty...I really like Mirasol Yarns, Knit Picks (love all KP but WOTA Bulky makes my heart sing, especially those handdyed colorways...yum!), and I recently fell in love with Moda Dea's Tweedle Dee (of course I did, they've discontinued it...) My regular stand by yarns are Patons Classic Wool Merino and Wool Ease. :)
 
Favorite Yarn Types:

I don't like yarns that scream 'felt me!', because they're usually rough and harsh. I like wools, but softer wools (or superwash wools are good too). Cottons are great with me, and I tend to enjoy blends: cotton blends, wool blends, etc. I'm on a super bulky yarn kick, love me some chunky chunky yarn! :) I don't have a lot of experience with sock yarn, so far I've been good enough to not buy it (because I've never made socks, lol!) I'm also working on collecting some bare colored wools that I can dye, because I'm experimenting with kool-aid dyeing!

Favorite Needles:

I'm just not picky about needles. Coming from a crochet background, a hook's a hook IMO. I'm realizing this is different with knitting, but I still haven't figured out my favorites. I've got a nice little variety, a pair of bamboo, some wooden needles, and a slew of metal needles. I did get a Knit Picks Zephyr (size 6 tips) circ for Christmas, which I love, and I'm always looking to collect more tip sizes, etc.

Favorite Snacks:

I love Dark Chocolate (but I like my chocolate without nuts in it!). I also love mint, so anything with Dark Chocolate + Mint = Win (like 3 Musketeers Mint, Andes Mints, or those Ghirardelli Dark Mint squares....*drools* I'm not overly fond of peanut butter mixed with chocolate. I also like Wonka stuff like Gobstoppers, Runts, Nerds, etc... all that bad for you candy, and Sour Patch kids and those neon sour worms...yum....I also like coffee (just about anything coffee or coffee flavored), hot chocolate (yum!) and tea (any kind of tea, but i especially like fruit related teas!)

Little Things I Like:

Tiny lotions or liquid bath soaps, things like Bath & Body Works, Burts Bees, etc. I love Cucumber Melon and Pomegranate anything. :)
Lip Balms, because I can't ever have enough of that stuff.
Koolaid for dyeing (shades of cherry, grape, and greens are my favorites)
Soak Wash! I've recently discovered how awesome it is! I don't have a favorite scent yet because I'm still trying little samples Soak sent me.
Stationary, particulary tiny little notebooks with hard covers on them.


Allergies: Don't mail me cigarettes or a puppy, and I'll be okay. Wait, please mail me a puppy. I'll sneeze, but it's a puppy!!!  Unless he smokes, then you can keep him. ;)

Wishlists:

KnitPicks
The Ultimate List  (will grow, and has Etsy and stuff on it too, since my Etsy favorites are a disaster zone!)

The Character Post

If the public at large didn't know, I'm a pretty geeky HP kid. I just can't help myself. I really enjoy thinking about the characters, about they represent in the books, how we see ourselves in them, etc. I was recently given the task of discussing who my favorites are, and why, so here we go.

When the HSKS said that the kits this term were character based, I found that pretty awesome.

We were given a list of characters, and told to choose our three favorites. I chose Ginny Weasley, Severus Snape, and Luna Lovegood. As much as I love him, I didn't choose Harry, I felt that was too easy. (but he rocks my socks off!) We were given some starter questions to help us brainstorm this, so I'm using a few of those, and also thinking about how each person would apply to a kit theme.

Ginny Weasley

I chose Ginny as my top character, because there are just so many things I love about her. Despite the fact that she grew up with 6 brothers, she's a strong feminine character. Her spunky, snarky personality reminds me of myself. :) I love how deeply she cares for Harry, and I know part of why I love her is because he loves her, she's his Happy Ending. :)

I also know my love for her is somewhat impacted by how her character is played over in A Very Potter Musical (Act 1, Scene 6 anybody?)

So what would a Ginny Weasley kit look like? I imagine it'd have some sort of Gryffindor pride in it, or rather something Quidditch pride related. It'd be a bit girly, because she's got her girly girl moments. I think it'd have something warm and winterishly in it, possibly something Molly made her. Craft wise, I think the pattern in the kit would be either something thick and warm like Ginny would wear, or something adorably cute that she'd want to cuddle and love! And of course it'd have sweet goodies in it, because all the HP youth loved sweets!

Severus Snape

Oh Snape. How can I not love Snape? Before the omgWTF ending that was unveiled in Deathly Hallows, I loved Snape angst. Some of the funniest moments in the movies for me usually involved him smacking Harry and Ron around. He's the character you love to hate. When he did that bad thing he did at the end of HBP, I was heartbroken. You were too. Of course you were, we all were. I felt like I had been betrayed. Then, when we got the ending, and the department of backstory told us everything we needed to know, I was so emotionally overwhelmed.

I love Snape because everything he was boiled down to loyality and love. Everything he was, he was for Lily. He served Dumbledore for Lily. He protected Harry for Lily. He lived for Lily. BUT, he was so perfectly human, thus ultimately imperfect. Harry was still James' son, and he couldn't get past how he felt. So Harry got smacked around, abused, mistreated, belittled, and ultimately saved by Snape.

What would a Snape kit look like? Well, it would be imperfect and human like Snape, but how would that be physically manifested? (Don't mind my philosophical angst here...) Obviously, the Snape Kit would be gloriously Slytherinish in nature, with some Slytherin bling of some sort, lots of greeeeen, and possibly reflect Snape's love for Potions and DADA. Maybe the pattern would be incredibly complicated or a touch evil? I also want to say the kit would reflect his neverending love for Lily, but how would that be incorporated? (This just made me realize I want to learn to dye and make a Snape Loves Lily colorway! OMG!)

Luna Lovegood

I don't have a lot to say about Luna. She just makes me happy. She's a free-spirited, intelligent young lady who's not afraid to be herself, despite the fact that almost everyone finds her a freak because of it. She's quirky and unique, and fun. :)

She's one that I actually chose because of her application to a kit. A Luna Kit would be hysterical. It would have some incredibly odd piece of  jewelry in it, like her radish earrings, and the rest of the kit would be totally random just like Luna. :) Some fun and unique yarn (radically colored perhaps?), a really fun pattern, and neat accessories like sweets and such.

I hope all of this is useful to the One Who Sends Me Things (swapee? lol!), I've definitely enjoyed thinking about these characters and also how they apply to a Kit. It's been useful for me, now I just need to go see which characters the One I Send Things To chose. :)

Warning: Harry Potter Geekery Ahead!

I've joined the HSKS over on Ravelry! 

What does that mean? This means that for the next few months, my blog will become host to miss Genevra Dreamy, who is experiencing her first term at Hogwarts. The group is a swap group, so we send and receive a package by the end of the three month term, but along the way there's a lot of fun Hogwarts activities to get into! Like the HPKCHC, where I already practically live, there's homework and Quidditch! One of the main differences is that each participant picks a character name, and plays through that character during the term. So Genevra is mine, chosen because I ♥ Ginny (and Genevra is a cool Italian way to spell her name. :)) and Dreamy comes from my username, suenosdejmi. I'm pretty bad at coming up with things like that, and I've never done any character playing before, so this will be very new to me.