Has been awhile (again) since I posted...just can't seem to get the hang of this "posting regularly" thing :-)

Anyway....let's see....

Been doing lots of dog sitting for my 7 Jack Russels...scarily they don't stress me out so much anymore...I think I have been watching them so much lately that it just seems normal?!?! 

7 Jack Russells should never become a normal thing!!!

And then have also been doing lots of driving and teenager sitting for Izzy.  Her mom had surgery a couple of weeks ago to remove a brain aneurism so has been out of commission for a bit...and probably will be through Christmas as well.  But thank God, she is doing well and recovering quickly! 

So with all this work stuff, sadly I have not had all that much time for knitting or soap making.  I did participate in 3 swaps (HP Crafters, Reducio, and Washcloths & Soap Swap) and was even able to use one of the items I made for one of my swapees as a class in HPKCHP plus managed to finish my O.W.L. for this term as well.  The House Cup has ended for this term...and we will have a little break before the next term....hopefully I will be able to be more productive for this next term.

This is my HP Crafters Swap package that I recieved.

The first one is the entire package...the 2nd photo is a close up of all the knitted items...so cute!!

And this is a picture of the Reducio Swap #8 package that I recieved.

The swaps are great fun...I really enjoy participating in them.  Unfortunately, this round I was just way too stress and then was sick over Thanksgiving to fully enjoy it...but turned out ok.  And my spoilees seemed to enjoy their packages that I sent them...so all was not bad :-)

And the BESTEST NEWS is that I got a kitten for my birthday!!!!

This is Spencer (and Izzy) the Birthday Kitten!!!

My Tribute to Fall

My tribute to fall this year, has been working on this adorable scarecrow and these pumpkins.  Both projects which I turned in as homework assignments for the HPKCHC class assignments on Ravelry.  The scarecrow was for my Herbology assignment.  The assignment was as follows:

This month’s project revolves around the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Garden Pests (and helpers). A garden does not exist in a vacuum and a good herbologist has learned how to keep unwanted visitors away from their precious gurdyroot, puffapods, and screechsnap. KNOW YOUR ENEMY!!! Your task is to create something that identifies a garden pest, demonstrates a way to prevent pests, or aid you in getting rid of said pests. Your post should contain what pest/helper you’re after, why it’s a pest/helper, and how your project relates to it. And of course - PICS!

The pumpkins were for my Defense Against the Dark Arts (DADA) assignment, which was as follows:

Welcome to our first class on Necromancy!

In honor of Halloween this month, let’s focus on the connection points between the worlds of the living and the dead. To complete this month’s assignment, make something that is inspired by: 1) an historical figure that is now deceased 2) an undead creature (zombie, vampire, skeleton, ghost, etc.), or 3) both (now would be the time to make that Zombie Abe Lincoln) Bonus points, as always, for house colors or making me laugh.
Note: Projects may be inspired by a deceased historical figure or undead creature. They don’t have to be actual representations of them.

And since I had such a good time putting together the research for this project I have to include it here as well :-)

sandyvern, 2nd year Hufflepuff, turning in my assignment.

My assignment is based on The Great pumpkin , who is an unseen character in the Muggle comic strip Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz

The Great pumpkin is a holiday figure (comparable to Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny) that seems to exist only in the imagination of Linus van Pelt. Every year, Linus sits in a pumpkin patch (apparently the same one every year, though one year he and Snoopy were caught on a privately owned pumpkin patch, and perceived by the owner’s daughter as crazy) on Halloween night waiting for the Great Pumpkin to appear. Invariably, the Great Pumpkin fails to appear, and a humiliated but undefeated Linus vows to wait for him again the following Halloween.


According to Linus, on Halloween night, the Great Pumpkin rises out of the pumpkin patch he deems the most “sincere”. The Great Pumpkin then flies through the air to deliver toys to all the good little children in the world. Apparently, one can cause the Great Pumpkin to pass him or her by merely saying “if he comes”, as opposed to “when he comes”. This could mean that the Great Pumpkin is likely to pass by anyone who doubts his existence.

The Difference Between The Great pumpkin and Santa Claus
According to Linus, when writing to the Great Pumpkin , you don’t ask him to bring you anything specific: you wait for whatever he brings you. In this way, Linus states a difference between the Great Pumpkin and Santa Claus (children writing to Santa include in their letters lists of exactly what they want). Also, Linus states that Santa gives away toys because it’s his job and it’s expected of him, whereas the Great Pumpkin gives away toys because he feels he is fulfilling a moral obligation.

My research facts comes from Wikipedia, but my original inspiration was from my childhood memories of watching the animated special of It’s the Great Pumpkin , Charlie Brown every year during the Halloween season (way before you could buy copies of it on video or dvd to watch whenever you wanted)

Beautiful Fall!

I have been meaning to add a post mentioning how beautiful it has been this fall!  I keep finding myself saying "oh, how pretty!" while driving around during the day.  I can't imagine living in an area where the leaves don't change in the fall.  Fall is my favorite time of year.  All seasons have there moments when things are so pretty...but for me I think fall is the best.  And this year in particular, I think the colors have been great.  I spend lots of time driving around...whethter it is going to different houses to take care of animals or driving around my friend's daughter, who I usually take to school and pick her up, as well as take her to the barn.  So I spend lots of time in the car.  And I am sure Isobel is tired of hearing me say, "oh, how pretty!"  Even on rainy days (which we have had plenty of) the colors are so vibrant....lots of reds, yellows and oranges...and even pink!  Yesterday, while driving to the barn, on a couple of the little back roads that we go on, there were these bushes (have no idea what they are) but about 4 or 5' high and quite a lot of them (at least on one particular road) that I couldn't help notice the pinkness of both sides of the road....so pretty! :-) 

I love to drive on little roads where the tree branches over hang the road so that it feels like you are driving in a tunnel of color....always makes me smile.  And to be fair, I enjoy it just as much in the spring time...after a long winter of bare tree branches, when the leaves start coming out and filling in...it is a tunnel of green-ness and shade.  And then there are the trees that are in the process of turning...where some of the leaves are still green and some are turning yellow and some orange...such pretty blending of the colors.  You can't help but think that God is such a wonderful artist with all these colors around :-)

As usual, it has been awhile since I last posted.  That doesn't necessarily mean I have nothing to post about...just means I have no discipline and can't seem to get myself to post :-)

Anyway...let's see...I have been busy dog sitting...I think I mentioned last post that I was dog sitting for a customer/friend who has 7 Jack Russells.  And that actually took a good portion of my time this month...I think I dog sat for her just under 2 weeks (YIKES!!!) and even sat for them again just yesterday.  Thankfully it was just for the day.  Sadly, I have spent so much time with them that I almost think it isn't that crazy anymore (ALMOST).  They are all very cute...and all have very distinct personalities...and are just all very funny most of the time.  Course, then there is the obnoxious barking at the door everytime they want to go out and I am quickly reminded of the insanity!

I have also been knitting (of course)...been working on a baby sweater for a friend of mine that just had her second baby boy.  And got it in my head to make a scarecrow for one of the HP classes on Ravelry....which I have finally put together yesterday.  He isn't quite done, I have few finishing touches to add...but he is really cute!!  Also made a couple of pumpkins that I will probably use for a class as well.  I would probably get more accomplished if I didn't have so many projects going at once...but I get easily distracted and can't help starting another project before I finish others.

Ok....well....headed to the park for a walk....enjoying the fall weather....will finish later....

Again...it's been awhile....

Let's see...what have I been up to...

Another month of classes has finished at HPKCHC and I ended up turning in more projects than I thought I would at the beginning of the semester.

This kitten washcloth I turned in for my Herbology assignment. 

For knitters and crocheters: Your yarn must be 50% or more from plant origin, ie. bamboo, cotton, hemp, corn. Post must contain brand and fiber content, picture of finished object, and a description of what it was like to work with and how it affects the project. Points awarded based on complexity of project, wit, originality, and evilness. (Trying to bring the evilness into Herbology. Not as easy as it seems, folks, short of having everyone knit with Devil’s Snare…)

This was also part of my package to my swapee in a "Handmade Washcloth and Soap Swap" as well.

This hat was dual purpose.  It was originally for a knit-a-long (KAL) for the Harry Potter Crafters group on Ravlery   It is 'The Practical Animal Crackers Hat' pattern, which is based on Ron Weasley’s hat from the Animal Cracker scene in the Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban movie, knit to be more practical for winter wear.  With my choice of colors.  But as luck would have it the assignment for Potion was:

Pepperup Potion - Cures the common cold. You can identify someone who has recently taken this potion by the distinctive steam coming out of their ears for several hours after drinking it. But demand has been heavier than usual this year, and supplies of Pepperup Potion are short. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Knit, crochet, or sew something to keep somebody warm.

And since I will be wearing this in an attempt to stay warm this winter while walking dogs...it fit as my Potions class assignment as well :-)

Let's not forget about these adorable reducio socks, which I used as my Defenese Against the Dark Arts (DADA) assignment....which was "What I Fought on my Summer Holidays"

There was also turning in 33% of my Arithmancy O.W.L. project.  Which I will have to post later as the finished objects will be part of my Yule gifts to friends and family.  So...overall was another productive month at HPKCHC.  I will update later about this month's assignments...and post pics of my great Reducio Swap package....

And of course, it hasn't been all knitting, all the time...there has been lots of pet sitting...the 7 Jack Russells tend to take up much of my time (which I actually need to go and check on as we speak/type)...and to outing to The Big E (always great fun!)...but alas...I hear the russells calling.....

 

I am so bad at this blogging thang....

Gee...it has been days since I have posted something new....course I did mention at the beginning of this little adventure that I sucked at keeping a journal :-) 

I have actually been busy...so that is my good excuse...
I have been dog sitting for an old friend/customer (from when I worked at Sound View Stables)....and they have 7 Jack Russells?!?!?  Who has 7 Russells???  They are all very cute...just so loud and naughty!!!  (I keep meaning to get a picture of them...maybe I will get one later on today...)

Anyway...with them my days have been starting at 5:15 a.m....and then finishing when I go to bed at about 10 p.m.  And spending most of the day just being exhausted!  But I have managed to do some knitting and reading. 

I just finished (like 5 minutes ago) reading "The Time Traveler's Wife" by Audry Niffenegger.  Really good read.  I have wanted to see the movie...yet I always doubt that the movie will be as good as the book. 

I also just finished making some little items for my Reducio Sock Swap partner...the deadline for mailing packages is today...so I mailed mine yesterday (nothing like waiting for the last minute)

My swap partner is a Gryffindor...so I made a Reducio Sock in her house colors...as well as a mini house sweater.  They both came out adorable I must say :-)  And just added some chocolate (cause what gift is complete without chocolate??) and candy corn (cause it seemed appropriate for the season) and some soap samples (a good free advertising ploy)...and wrapped all of this up in red and yellow tissue paper to complete the Gryffindor theme.

And just because I was having so much fun making the little socks...I ended up making one in each of the 4 house colors.  Of course now that I included the Gryffindor one in my swap package I need to make another one so that I can have a complete set :-)  I also ended up using these for my Defense Against the Dark Arts assignment in the HPKCHP (on Ravelry).  The assignment was:

"What I Fought On My Summer Holidays” - It’s September! The month for the traditional back-to-school essay about what you did on your summer holidays. Explain and show an example of which spell you practiced, creepy creature you fought, or scary Death Eater plot you unraveled over the summer holidays. Extra points for house colors, making the prof laugh, or being especially awesome.

So on my holidays I spent time perfecting my Reducio (description: makes an enlarged object smaller. Counter-charm to Engorgio) spellwork, which can be rather fiddly and annoying to work with because it is so small.

And because I was feeling a little guilty for spending so much time on making things that are really not that useful...ya know cause I don't have any midgets or leprachauns in need of socks and sweaters...I thought I would try them on my dragon Harry Potter....

This would be Harry sporting the Hufflepuff and Gryffindor socks and looking rather pleased with himself....

Back from vacation...and had to make soap :-)

I was going through soapmaking withdrawals so today I was thinking about making soap all day....

I started the day though working...driving Isobel to school (Iz is not my own child but when someone asks we tell them that I am her 'barn mom' because I usually pick her up from school and take her to riding lessons) and then doing some pet sitting jobs that I had scheduled for today. But I was done with all that by about 10:00 a.m. so I had the rest of the day to do all the stuff that was waiting for me to do while I was away on vacation.

Most of the rest of the day ended up with finishing packaging up soap samples for the sampler program that I was asked to participate in last month.  I was able to finish packing them up and shipped them out today as well. 

These are the finished sampler packages.  My samples will be included in the October boxes...so they suggested that you could have a "Halloween" theme for your samples if you wanted.  I didn't find out about this program in time to make halloween type soaps...but I was able to find some halloween treat bags that worked well for packaging most of them.  Some are in clear bags just because I think they look nicer...and because I hadn't found the halloween bags until today.  Each sample bag contains a sample sized soap (about 2 -2.5 oz bars), a business card and a promotional postcard for free shipping on orders that are placed from this particular program.

I also finally packaged up and shipped out my swap package for a "Soap and Washcloth" swap that I signed up for on Ravely.  I had finished knitting my washcloth ages ago...and shopped for little other gifts to add to my project before I went on vacation...so I thought I would just bring it all along with me on vacation and finally get it mailed while I was away.  Course as I was packaging it all up and getting it ready to go to the post office...I realized I forgot to bring the SOAP...kind of one of the major parts of the whole thing!!!  DUH!!!  So it ended up going out today...

After all that was done.....I MADE SOAP :-)

For about 3 hours this afternoon I made 3 batches of soap.  (After packaging up all my samples I had room on my curing shelf for more soap).  I made 2 batches of pumpkin spice soap seeing how it feels like fall lately.  One batch put in small silicone pumpkin/jackolantern/leaf molds...they look festive.  And the other batch I did as a regular log mold that I will be able to slice up probably tomorrow.

The little molds did not gel...and the log mold and the top smaller log mold seem to be gelling...they are also the 2nd batch and I soaped a little warmer. 

Then I ended my soap making day with a big batch of my all time favorite, Oatmeal, Milk & Honey soap.

Overall...was a very productive day :-)

I think now I am going to either make dinner (not feeling motivated to actually do that...might end up being a cereal dinner night)...or work on either my Potions assignment for the HPKCHC (Harry Potter Knit/Crochet House Cup a group on Ravelry that I belong to...and that is lots of fun!!) or work on my O.W.L. project assignment also for the HPKCHC.  I will post pic of those projects another time...