I love homework!

Betcha never thought you'd hear anyone say that, huh?  But most people don't attend Hogwarts, and even fewer participate in the Harry Potter Knitting/Crochet House Cup (HPKCHC).

I've had so much fun working on 'homework' assignments that I looked up this morning surprised to find it was Friday already!

This little fellow is part of a Quidditch match.  We have a limited amount of time to craft a small item, the house with the most completed projects wins the match.

He's already been adopted by Steve, and his name is Goofball (GB for short).  You can see by his tail in this side view that he is not crocheted in one giant piece, but rather individual pieces sewn together.  This is a great example of typical amigurumi, or toys made of yarn.

I even made book scarves for Quidditch, and I snuck a peek at the pattern for the opposing team and made a Golden Snitch just because I thought he looked like fun.

 I also made an Aster-oid belt for Astronomy class (how could I not with a name like that?!), and a collection of gift bags for Muggle Studies.  The assignment for Muggle Studies was interesting... we were to find a piece of art we enjoyed, describe what we enjoyed about it and then craft something based on that piece.

I chose Monet's Water Lilies.  Each of his works based on his gardens in Givenchy was slightly different,  lighting, shading, color palette, and some you can tell are affected by the artist's mood.  (Angry Water Lilies?!)  I was amazed when looking up close that the images were created out of tiny blobs of paint.  Up close, the canvas was a bumpy, disorganized mess... but when you took a few steps back, the mess magically transformed into a soft beautiful landscape.

When an artist does several version of the same subject, it's called a 'study'.  I decided to do a 'study' in gift bags.  No kidding!  I used yarn that would represent Monet's tiny blobs of color, and used three color palettes, one matching my 1908 Monet example.  What do you think?

Last night while watching The Mentalist, I made a Red John tote.  This image strikes terror in my heart, juicy, delicious terror.  :oP  I wonder how many people will recognize what it means as I am out and about?

My pride for the week though is my Tinkerbell bag.  Our Defense Against the Dark Arts assignment related to mysterious creatures and vacations.  Sounds like Tinkerbell to me right?  Together with my dismay for missing a recent trip with friends, I thought this might be a way to tie into hopes for a future trip too.

It's made of nylon thread, olive green for the 'blade of grass' strap and citrus green with gold 'pixie dust' sparkle for the body.  I had to improvise this pattern because I had a very specific idea about the size and shape.  It's important while on vacation (especially in Pixie Hollow) for me to be 'hands free' - I do not want to have to keep track of an extra bag until souvenir day.

So, this sling is meant to carry my important items in such a way that they won't fly out while I'm upside down on California Screamin', but I can still find that Fastpass.  Can't I?  Darn it, where is it?  I know it's in here somewhere!

... and here are more photos in case you want to see!