Hellooooooooo, Summer Camp!!!

I am so very, very excited to come back to camp! My only lament is its short 6 weeks duration. LOL I really love this group of people and am so happy to have them in my life. :) This time around I get to spoil Miss Lizzie Wychwood!!!! I have wanted to spoil her (and Emma Wigworthy!) for quite some time now, and I am beyond ecstatic that it's finally happening! :D When I found out who I was sending to, I could hardly sit still for excitement, and had to immediately reach for a pen and paper to jot down the ideas that were spilling out of my brain! I've already made some purchases, and with one simple interaction with her (via electronic owl), I already have the kit in its entirety planned out! Now if only the things I have ordered would get here quickly...

Siobhan's Interrogation ;)

For the sake and sanity of my summer camp spoiler, Siobhan, I figured I'd go ahead and fill out this little questionnaire she wrote up! :)

Knit or crochet or both? Both! :) I've been crocheting for 14 years and knitting for about 3 years

Brands you would like to try but don't have easy access to: Thankfully, with the Internet, I can get most things, it's just a matter of time and finding a seller that will ship to an APO address...I love Boye hooks (ick on Susan Bates! lol) and my Knit Picks Harmonies...I'd like some hooks that help my speed, though, for dueling purposes ;) and as to yarn, I've heard the tales of both Cascade and Malabrigo, but have yet to try either

Favorite fibers/least favorite fibers I love the Knit Picks combos of 75% Pima Cotton/25% acrylic and 60% Pima Cotton/40% Modal (hmmm, must be the Pima cotton...), but love the warmth of wools (there is one kind of highland wool that I react to, but I can't recall what kind...note that it's only a highland kind, though...not sure what the difference is!) But really, my biggest part of preference is that it be machine washable. As to least favorite fiber, I'd love to not use 100% acrylic ever again (except in the case of kid items)! LOL

Favorite colors/least favorite colors I love blue! Blue, blue, blue, blue! I also like greens and purples. (Makes sense, right? I mean, they do have blue in them!) I used to abhor reds and browns, but I like them pretty well, now. About the only color I dislike is pink. Pink = ew. lol

Yarn weight preferences Most things I make fall into the sport-worsted weight category. Knitting socks is okay, but I'm really not all that into it, lol I prefer to make hats and scarves. :)

Favorite projects LOL It seems I should read ahead...LOL I make hats and scarves the most, I think...a lot of accessory stuff. (Probably in part because they're quick and easy to make, and when I make things simply for the sake of crafting, I know my BFF will take any accessories! LOL)

Favorite gadgets Ummm....like crafting gadgets?...stitchmarkers and row counters. Gadgets in general? My iPod. (I'm pretty much a music fiend.)

Favorite designers I tend to really like both Rheatheylia and Priscilla Hewitt's crochet designs, and I simply adore all of Ann Kingstone's designs, though I'm not sure if I'm quite ambitious enough to try them all! (I'm actually quite backlogged on that goal...)

Salty or Sweet or...? Both, but usually sweet over salty.

Tea or Coffee or...? TEA! Coffee = EW! lol

Allergies animal dander (cats are the worst for me, but I also react to dogs, rabbits, ferrets, horses...pretty much any 4-legged animal with hair! LOL), seasonal stuff, hay, dust, mold, and Dr. Pepper

Other things you like, i.e., buttons, pens, fabric, stitchmarkers, etc. I love pens and journals (I love to write!), but rarely get the chance to use them...I've got more than I can use! I also like bags. Not like purses, but the messenger bag style. Also, stitchmarkers and earrings. :)

Currently Craving beer battered mushrooms from Gunther Toody's...though those wouldn't ship well. LOL My favorite candy is black licorice flavors (Lizzie introduced me to the combination of black licorice and currant! YUM!!!!!!!!), though I do love chocolate candy bars, as well (most especially snickers and butterfinger)

Where you might have wish lists (Loopy Ewe, Amazon, Etsy) My wish lists are linked in my side bar :)

Measurements (feet for socks, wrists, head circumference) Hmmm...I'll have to get back to you on that, once I've found my tape measure...

Whatever else you'd like to share! I spend a lot of time on the computer and on the Internet...that, crafting, reading and music are what I like most, hobby-wise. :) I've got 2 little poltergeists, one that's starting school this fall, and they tend to be...rough...with things. But they already love books, too! :D

Owl alert!

Oh yay!!!! I had a special delivery owl show up today. I was informed by Siobhan and Wisty that I get to be the camp counselor for the Black Lake Bungalow for summer camp this year! I am so very excited! I already have ideas running around through my mind about how to decorate the cabin (and naturally, we'll need cabin colors and the like...) and kit ideas and trying to schedule in a few visits to Azurina down at the lake! :D This is going to be great fun!!!

Charming Hermione

Lately, I've been holed up in the manor with the poltergeists. Normally, that sort of thing is dictated by weather or health (we generally stay indoors if it's raining, as there's really no place on base for the boys to play indoors, and if any of the three of us are feeling under the weather, I just don't even try. lol) But today I managed to venture forth and get some things done, one of which included stopping by the owlery...and I'm so glad that I did! I got the handmade portion of my kit! And I love, love, love it!!!!!!!!!!!! It seems as though Rowan tossed in a pair of spectrespecs for me, very appropriate for a character that needed help with the open mind aspect. :) (I can't say I'm not unlike Miss Granger in that aspect...)

How do you think they look on me? :D

And the other part of the handmade item? It's the best thing EVAR!!!! I looooooooooooooooooooove it!!!!! In all the years of getting jewelry, I've never before had a charm bracelet. (And I've been heavily hinting to my husband that I've wanted one for some time...) Rowan is clearly accomplished in Occlumency! I put it on right away and was sad that I couldn't get a decent picture while wearing it, because that meant I had to take it back of. I may not be too adept at Divination, but I don't see myself removing it much, if at all. :)

The charms (from left to right) are: a spider (for Aragog...I don't generally like spiders, but I love htat it's on the bracelet!), a crown (for Ron, as "Weasley is our King"), a cat (for Crookshanks, of course!), an owl (for Hedwig, and by proxy, Harry), an eagle (for Ravenclaw!) and a Pegasus (for Care of Magical Creatures, since a Hippogryph for Buckbeak evaded her searches). I am so in love with this bracelet!!! THANK YOU, Rowan!!!!

YIPPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!

It's here! It's here! It's here!!!!! I finally made it to the owlery today (which is where Persephone has to fly into and out of, since we're stationed overseas and all), and wouldn't you know it, there was an owl waiting for me!!! (Well, 3, actually...the other two were from my mom and Knit Picks...but only one really matters...) ;)

Rowan, I love my kit!!! And I'm excited that there's more to come! :D

The first thing I saw when I opened this box was this gorgeous Ravenclaw hued tin!

I'm not sure what I'll use it for yet, but I have no doubt in my mind that I will find a use for it, and it will be well-loved in whatever capacity it's cast into. :D

Inside the tin were a lot of fun Ravenclaw-y and Hermione-ish things!

There was a pattern that matches the Hermione Hat I made myself for my trip to England last year, complete with pretty grey wool and a pair of needles that I had been coveting the style of way back when I went to Loops in Tulsa with Pren! (How on earth did she know?!)

There are some cute little pins (very Ron/Hermione-centric!):

There were also a couple of cute ceramic owls that will also be serving an as-of-yet undetermined purpose:

There was also a cute little frog (who I think shall be named "Ron"...or maybe "Won-Won"...I'm not sure yet...LOL):

And here's everything all together!!!

Thank you so much, Rowan Dragonsinger! I love it! And I'm excited to see what comes in Part II... :D