More Beads

Woo-hoo! I finished all the earrings for the bridal party! (And then found out that one of them doesn't have pierced ears...ROFL) I also went on to make the bride's necklace, and bracelets that match for the bride and the entire bridal party! :D (What can I say? I get carried away....)

Beads, beads, beads, beads, beads...I'm not sure what it is about it, but I've been more excited about beading than yarn crafts! Craziness!!! Anyway, I must scurry off to work on Emma's kit some more!

Word Association Game!

1. Pumpkin PIE!!!!!!!!! (Mmmmmmmmmmmmm............)
2. Owl treats
3. Leaf Ericson (I know, I know....not the same spelling...LOL)
4. Weasley twins
5. Quaffle waffle
6. Hallow cheeks
7. Mad Eye
8. Dragon eggs
9. Crystal ...actually, the first thing that came to mind with this was "The Dark Crystal"...LOL
10. Trees Elves
11. Hermione Bagnold
12. Hogwarts  Hogwarts, Hoggy, Warty Hogwarts....
13. Burrow  den
14. Dobby murdered house elf :(
15. Horcrux ring
16. Ministry of Magic
17. Magic powers
18. Sirius Black
19. Apple juice
20. Juice orange
21. Candle scented
22. Ghost spooooooky (You have to make that ghostly "oooOOOOooo" in your head when you read that...LOL)
23. Snake sneaky
24. Wand expelliarmus!
25. Invisibility cloak
    
26. Tent backyard camping
27. Spell....ing Bee
28. Umbridge Um from Umbridge (Alice in Wonderland reference...lol)
29. Dursely "You great prune!"
30. Prophet newspaper

Jump Start!

Whew! I don't want to leave this week's blogging until the last minute, like I have been prone to do lately, and watching our schedules fill up as fast as they have...it's better to do this now while I have a spare moment!!!

Emma's kit is coming along beautifully, and thanks to some inter-family brainstorming (Thanks, Perenelle!!!), I think my kit will meet the well-rounded expectations I had from the start! Now if only I could find the time to do it all....LOL

My bestest-best friend in the whole wide world is getting married!!!!!!!!!! ::SQUEEEEEEEEEEE:: She got engaged about a week ago, and since then, my brain has been swimming with wedding thoughts. I reallyreallyreally wish I was closer to her, geographically, so that I could truly perform my Maid (Matron?) of Honor duties! Instead, I'm watching from afar (very far!), and coordinating and gifting what I can through the Muggle Internet. It has come in quite handy! I did tell her she had to have something handmade from me for her big day, and that she could choose what it is (she's not really a shawl person, lol, though I may end up making her one of Emma's designs; To Have and To Hold). She decided she wanted me to make her some earrings and maybe a matching necklace. And here's what I came up with for her earrings! (This picture was deliberately taken with direct afternoon/evening sunlight, to show that the darker beads are not black, as they can appear, but rather red...):

I haven't started on the necklace yet, as I need to go get more beads, but I have started matching (though simpler) earrings for the bridesmaids! (Hence why I ran out of beads...LOL)

I've got 1 and a half pairs of those done, and once I get what I need (hopefully tomorrow!), I'll be able to finish the other 1 and a half bridesmaids earrings and my earrings (which will pretty much be the same as the other bridesmaid's, but with an extra strand of the smaller beads on each earring, just to make it a teensy bit different). Once those are done (and I'm absolutely out of rubber backs for hook earrings! YIKES!), I'll be able to move on to her necklace. I'm also thinking of simple pendants for the bridesmaids and maybe bracelets, too...if the craft store has enough of what I need! LOL Here's to hoping! Now I need to go work on some of my household spells, as they seem to be sticking less and less often (I must need more practice!), now that the poltergeists are in bed!

What a Week!

Wow! I don't think I can even put in the thought and effort into the blogging prompt this week. It seems that this "bad week bug" has been hitting all of the families this swap! As for me, the poltergeists have been up to their usual antics, regardless of the fact that I now only have one during the day time! Mr. Bagnold was rear-ended last night on his drive home. (Just another reason to not rely on Muggle technology...) The other night I had absolutely no access to the Muggle Internet for hours (which caused a little panic on my end!), and we've been passing the cold around our house. :( I'm finally feeling better, as it seems the younger poltergeist is. The older poltergeist still has a bit of a cough, and Mr. Bagnold appears to be just now coming down with the symptoms.

In order to protect the Ministry, we have to keep up appearances of following all these Muggle laws and regulations, so the other day, I got to go to the Muggle dentist for a teeth cleaning and a consultation on another matter. Everything is starting up to prepare to move to Germany! I'm very excited to be going, but I am really not a fan of the paperwork and everything that leads up to the actual move. LOL I'm going to have to put an undetectable expanding charm on my yarn tote so that I can keep enough crafty stuff on hand to keep me occupied while we're living in the temporary lodging on base, through our drive up to our new station, and until we have all our things shipped to us!

I've been very busy with working on Emma Wigworthy's kit, too! The creative juices took a little bit of time to get going, but now that they are starting, I'm getting some more substantial ideas. :) In fact, I should go over to the family blog and share over there....

First assignment of the term!!!

1. Someone with the same craft as you. Siobhan Mooney (RavID: CelticMommy) crochets :D
2. Someone who was born in the same month as you.Winifred Hornswaggle (RavID: angel101580) is also an October baby
3. Someone from a different country.Saraid Swiftrunner (RavID: Swiftrunner) is Canadian :)
4. A new HSKS Family member.Caradoc Brocklehurst (RavID: Cayden) is a 1st year (Welcome to HSKS, Caradoc!!!)
5. Someone who has been in 3 or more HSKS swaps. Emma Wigworthy (RavID: AnnKingstone...used to be spinningmaid...) has been around HSKS longer than I have (and I've participated in 6 rounds prior to this one)!
6. Someone who has a bigger stash than you! it would appear that Fleur Sweeting (RavID: misslucy) has the largest stash in the swap!
7. Someone who both knits and crochets. a certain Miss Clara Clovenhoof (RavID: ajkane) does both
8. Someone who has the same favorite color as you.Perenelle Tejedora (RavID: sylvo) shares the favorite color of blue with me! :D
9. Someone who has the same favorite season/holiday as you.Cassandra Grubbly-Plank (RavID: kristo) and I both love Christmas time! :D
10. Someone who has the same favorite fiber as you. Acromantula (RavID: daisymum) is a fellow alpaca lover :D :D :D

Maybe I'm just weird, but I love these beginning-of-the-term questionnaires and information tidbits! (Maybe because it helps in stalking?...Or maybe just because I'm just that nosy and social!) Anyway, here are my answers to these questions, so that others can "use" me. ;D

1. I knit, crochet, play with beads, cross-stitch...pretty much any crafty thing I can get my hands on!
2. My birthday is October 17th!
3. I am American, so don't let my posts about living in Italy (and soon, Germany!) fool you! ;)
4. Nope, I'm not new!
5. This is the 7th HSKS for me! I love it here!!!
6. I have a whole 75 yarns listed in my stash on Ravelry
7. I've been crocheting for roughly 14 years and knitting for about 2 and a half
8. BLUUUUUUUUUUUE!!!!!! I love blue!!!! (though those purples and greens aren't bad, either...) ;)
9. My favorite holiday season is CHRISTMAS! I love everything about it! (Well, everything POSITIVE about it, anyhow...LOL)
10. My favorite fiber of all time has got to be alpaca. I lurve alpaca and alpaca blends...like right now, I'm playing with some Knit Pick's Andean Silk...YUM!!!!!!!! I also am really a fan of 100% cottons. :)

Getting Ready...

It's almost time for another round of HSKS!!! HOORAY!!! I'm so excited! The portkey appeared today, and I'm all signed up and ready to go! It looks like we've got some old faces back that we've not seen around for a while (studying abroad, maybe?) as well as some fun new people! :D Sadly, though, we won't be returning to Hogwarts. I do miss Ravenclaw Tower! But it's okay, because being a part of a family and doing some Horcrux hunting sounds like fun, too! :D


The older poltergeist started school today, and we're preparing for the Ministry of Magic to transfer Mr. Bagnold to Germany, so not only will I be Horcrux hunting, but we'll be magically moving the Bagnold Manor, as well! So much going on! Here's to another successful round of Potter swapping! :D ::raises butterbeer::