Specky has arrived!

Specky arrived this afternoon with a parcel and he wedged himself through the window to deliver it! My youngest son helped retrieve the package and we have watered and fed Specky and he's resting now with Fle before heading back to Lizzie.

This is what I saw when I opened the kit and I knew right away it was game themed! Oh, MY what fun it was to individually unwrap each item. It was Christmas to me with excitement and oohs and aahhs from both myself and my son!

Here is what the kit contained. From back left corner, clockwise to front left corner: A Harry Potter tin with 6 dice and a small packet for playing Yahtzee (I really like playing by myself, even though it's not a solitaire game) and it was packaged perfectly for traveling!; pick up sticks; knitting sticks (so I decided I have pick up sticks to play AND pick up sticks to knit! lol); fabric rear view mirror dice; Harry Potter Diagon Alley game cards (I can't wait to play! I love these because they cannot be found here at all); jelly beans and hot chocolate; handmade dice stitch markers (SO cute!); purple No Tickle (hee-hee) wool (absolutely PERFECT for me in more ways than one ... color and no itch!) and thread to reinforce the heels and toes of future socks; a magnetic travel chess game; wooden solitaire game; and LAST, but CERTAINLY not least ... PASS THE PIGS! How cute are they???????!!!!! (I love this game!)

Close up of the very beautiful and soft yarn and stitch markers.

My son and I decided they needed to have names. I have lovingly named them Lizzie and Emma, the Pigworthy twins! I SO love these! Thank you, Lizzie, from the bottom of my heart!

Hogwarts Stitch Markers

My husband so graciously bought me a couple packages of Shrinky Dink "paper" to be used in our printer. I finally decided what I wanted to make and came up with these designs. Two Hogwarts' crests, a crest for each of the houses as well as Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. I miscalculated my first few sheets, so I have several of the bigger "charms" ready for zipper pulls and key chains.

HLBoE - Divination extra credit

This is a little bag I have constructed for my daughter to use for dance class, specifically ballet class. She can carry her ballet shoes and her bun materials.


This project was made for divination class as a prediction my daughter will become the professional ballerina she so desires to be. The material used on the outside has ballet terms written on it, and the inside lining are pretty pink flowers. Pink is her favorite color.

Scottish Shortbread and Kit Progress

This morning I made Scottish Shortbread. I love the smell it has left in our home. My sister made some for me for Christmas a year or so ago and I've really been wanting to make some since. I didn't have her recipe, so I used one I found in my Betty Crocker cookbook. I had to add a whole lot more butter to it and it still was very crumbly. I'm not totally sure how it's going to come out.

On a good note, I finished my handmade item for Emma Wigworthy (Ann Kingstone) yesterday and I'm very pleased with the final product. I was not, however, pleased with the pattern as the person who wrote it didn't do her math very well and I was short on materials and had to fudge it a bit. I did make corrections to my copy of the pattern, though, and want to try to make this again for someone else. It's a great idea, just needed some fine tuning.

I also want to make one more item for Emma's kit before sending it out. Need to do a bit of digging, first, though, to make sure I have the right house!

WINGO - BINGO! (x4)

W5 - Neila - Since HSKS3
I4 - Ann Kingstone - UK
N3 - SeverusSnape (Quietus) - Snape, of course!
G2 - SmileyNetta (Hermione) - 1 brother and 2 sisters
O1 - Angel101580 - Spanish

I actually have 2 WINGOs!!

N1 - Selana (she said lots and lots of destinations)
N2 - DanniBeez
N3 - SeverusSnape/Quietus - Snape (of course!)
N4 - Kauraqt/Puppy - Chocolate
N5 - AJKane - trumpet and piano

And another!

I1 - Tpau - Sprout Lake, Jewish sleepaway camp
I2 - Loomatic - none pictured (not sure how to get specifics)
I3 - Dragonsinger - dragons, wolves, thimbles, HP
I4 - Ann Kingstone - UK
I5 - Wychwoodlady - many places

And yet another!

W2 - Sherry Harrison
I2 - Loomatic - none pictured
N2 - DanniBeez
G2 - Hermione - 1 brother, 2 sisters
O2 - Suenosdejmi - 5

WINGO - to help you along!

If you are looking for input on your WINGO, here are some things which might help you out :)

W1
W2 Yes, have seen every HP movie in the theater.
W3 Black Bear Patronus
W4
W5 Started HSKS in summer camp last year (HSKS8)

I1
I2 I dyed yarn two days ago, and am planning another skein today or tomorrow.
I3 Black bears, Tea cups, Disney Salt and Pepper shakers
I4 Live in US
I5

N1 Yes, from Baltimore to Philadelphia.
N2
N3 Yes, I have a wand and wizard hat! My wand is wooden. (Need more?)
N4 Chocolate, gummy bears
N5 I play piano, flute, handbells, and percussion (bells/bass drum), and glockenspiel.

G1 Sorry, I don't have a favorite brand of yarn. :(
G2 (I only have 1 sister)
G3 Yes ... Powys Castle ... to name one.
G4 Like in HSKS 10? Then, yes. In Muggle form, no.
G5 January

O1 Yes ... ASL, some French (been a LONG time, though)
O2 I have none in my queue. So everyone has more than I do!
O3 Yes, I do.
O4 Yes, we do.
O5 Yes, a tiny knitting dragon named G'Whymzy and my owl, Fle.

HSKS - Summer Camp - Kit Choices

I don't think I'm a finicky person or even slightly picky, but I am a bit OCD when it comes to putting things in a dishwasher a certain way or even folding my laundry.

However, these kits have thrown me for a loop. I couldn't decide which one I liked the best, and in all actuality, they all are first place in my book for various reasons. I like a little bit of something from each one.

To top it off, we could ONLY pick three, and in my little world, I would have listed them all. My spoilee can not go wrong with any choice.

However, to aid in kit assembly, I thought I'd add these tidbits into the workings of my brain and why I finally listed the ones I chose: Nature, Game, Craft.

Nature:
I find the outdoors peaceful, this is not to say it is my favorite place to be! I abhor bugs and insects and hot weather. I LOVE the autumn weather and what I call "sweater weather" and would be perfectly happy if each day was the same perfect autumn day. However, that being said, we all know that is not possible! I love to hear the pretty little birds singing around our house; to watch the bunnies as they hop around our yard; the chipmunks as they scurry (hopefully away from our eaves); the occasional dear that pops in to take a nibble on the tall grasses; and the pretty birds who visit our feeder during the colder months to gather seeds and whatever else we put out there. So, for a nature kit I have looked through things and come up with the following: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/little-acorn-project-bag ; http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/falling-leaves-socks-3 ; or http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/vignes-vineyard-dishcloth .

Game:
As a family we like to play games, both inside and outside. We we live in a fairly wet and chilly climate, we tend to play more indoor games. The kids and I LOVE Harry Potter and for the longest time were collecting HP trading cards for the trading card game (not motion picture cards). Sadly, they have stopped making them :( I also appreciate traveling games, something easily packed to take along on a ferry ride, or when waiting during dance classes, etc. Books are also a favorite past-time, so bookmarks are always needed. Here are a couple items I have found which I think are cute and would be fun: Pass The Pigs ; a dice bag ; sockology bookmark for sock pattern books ; piccola bookmark ... but then again ... anything fun is always good :)

Crafts:
Well, here we are, at the toughy. Crafts. I have done some beaded stitch markers and earrings and a couple bracelets; I've knit tiny socks and other tiny things; scrapbooked numerous photos; TAKE photos all the time; have done some paper crafting (not a lot). But, I have not tried needle felting or spinning. I am still in the learning phases of felting and not sure I'll ever catch on to spinning ... that's an expense I am not quite ready for and does not, to me, offer the instant gratification of a completed project. I have done decoupage and stamping. But, I always come back to my needles :) Perhaps crafts was not quite the kit I should have chosen ... and maybe that is why it is at the bottom of the list :)

Well, there you have it.