HSKS4 SignUp

Yes, I'm going to cheat a little because there are ladies staying awake on the East Coast who've already celebrated the coming of the New Year and are now waiting for the HSKS4 information to be revealed! I still have an hour to go to ring in the New Year, but I doubt that there are over 100 of you waiting to sign up for this swap at the stroke of midnight. So, on to the information . . .

The Form:
This time the sign-up will be handled strictly through email because the forms have not been very reliable for me. So, to lessen my stress over the next couple of days during the flurry of sign-ups this is what I need from you:

Email Subject Line:
Please type your Potter name in the email subject line. This makes it easy for me to go back and reference your sign-up information when I need to.

Copy and Paste:
Copy and paste the information below into your email and add your answers to the questionnaire. The questionnaire will be sent to your spoiling partner along with all of your contact information.

HSKS4 Signup Form

First Name:
Last Name:
Potter Name:
Street Address:
City:
State:
Zip:
Country:

Primary Email:

Secret Email:

Personal Website Address:

Character's web address (if applicable):

Hogwarts Year (Is this your first HSKS?):


Questionnaire
1. What Hogwarts house have you been sorted into?

2. List your favorite double-point needle brands, including size and length. Or would you prefer circulars?

3. Would you like to try a new brand needle? If so, which brand? Size? Length?

4. If you are a RAVENCLAW, do you prefer the colors in the film or the book? Do you have a strong preference?
5. Do you have any allergies?

6. Do you smoke?

7. Do you have cats?

8. Are you willing to send internationally?

9. If Angel’s are needed would you be willing to donate a package?

10. We’ll be playing games. Can you donate a prize? An example would be a skein or hank of yarn, any knitting accessory, or something Harry Potter themed.

Email this information to me at hogwartssockkitswap AT Yahoo DOT com and get ready for some fun!!!

Secret Potter Posting

Be sure that when you post in the comments you select 'Nickname.' If you don't use Nickname then your linked name will lead readers and possibly your swap partner back to your site, and thus to your true identity.

Countdown to Sign ups

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Secret Communication - Is it possible?

Everyone who signs up to join the swap on Tuesday will need have an anonymous email account. It is VERY important that when you fill out the contact information you do not put your real name in there. Use your Potter name so that when the recipient receives your email it will say the correct name.

There are many free options for anonymous email users. You can visit any of these sites and sign up for a secret email account ahead of time. Here are a few:

Yahoo Mail

Gmail

Hotmail

Hushmail

Swappers will need to communicate with the pal that they are sending to as well as the one that is sending to them via the secret account. This is how you will pass the questionnaires between yourselves. Just remember not to sign your real name to the end of your emails.

Yes, you still need to have a blog because we'll be playing Quidditch. The only people that will be able to visit your blogs during the games are the prefects and myself, so we'll know whether or not you are participating.

Picture Upload Tutorial

TypePad Instructions

Uploading the correct logo will earn your House 5 points!!! This is the logo that needs to be displayed on your blog -

To upload a picture to Blogger follow these steps:

Step 1-
After signing into Blogger click on 'Layout'. If you are on your blog and signed in you choose 'Customize' first and then 'Layout'.

Step 2-
Click on 'Add Page Element'
Step 3-
Choose 'Picture' Add to Blog

Step 4-
Upload a picture that you've saved to your computer right into your blog!

Be sure to click OFF on the 'Shrink to fit' option or it will make your picture look all wonky.

Mailing Requirements

For those in the U.S. you will be required to purchase either a Certificate of Mailing or Certified Mail receipt when you send your package off. I suggest the Certified Mail only because it provides both proof of mailing and allows you to track your package to make sure that it gets to it's destination. If you purchase the Certified Mail option you will need to email me the tracking number, which I will add to your individual database entry that I keep.


Certificate of Mailing provides evidence of mailing and must be purchased at time of mailing. It’s available for First-Class Mail, Priority Mail, Parcel Post, Bound Printed Matter, and Media Mail. For an additional fee, a certificate of mailing may be combined with parcel airlift service (PAL) or special handling. Items with a certificate of mailing must be presented to a retail employee at a Post Office or to a rural carrier.

Fee in addition to postage—$1.05

Certified Mail provides proof of mailing at the time of mailing and date and time of delivery or attempted delivery. A delivery record is maintained by the USPS. Certified mail is available with First-Class Mail and Priority Mail. For an additional fee, Certified Mail may be combined with restricted delivery or return receipt.

Fee in addition to postage—$2.65

Flat Rate Boxes
Hopefully many of you know about this option, which the postal service provides. Flat Rate boxes!! Whatever you can fit into this box will only cost you $8.95 to ship, plus your Certified Mail or Certificate of Mailing fees. The joy of it is that you can get the boxes from the postal service for free. You can either order them online or visit your local postal site and request them in person.

Swap Details

These are the basics . . .

You will be swapping a sock kit which will which should total an approximate $30 to $40 and include these items:

1. A handmade (by you!) kit bag in your pals House colors- this can either be knitted, crocheted or sewn, but you must MAKE the bag!

2. Sock yarn in your pals house colors

3. A pair of new knitting needles

4. A set of stitch markers in your pals house colors - handmade or purchased

5. A sock pattern

6. 3rd and 4th years will include a small knitted item with their kit - House bookmark, cozy, or cell phone case for example. All in House colors, of course.

You may feel free to add whatever little items that you choose to make your package special for your pal.

Musts: For this swap you must have a blog hosted anywhere (It does not have to be a Blogspot blog - my personal blog is a WordPress blog), and you must post in your blog at least once a week. This is so that your partner will have peace of mind that you'll be around for the duration of the swap. You also have to acknowledge in a blog post when you've received your package from your swap partner within 3 days of receiving it.

Before signing up for the swap you must be sorted into one of Hogwarts four houses: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw or Slytherin. Please look to the sidebar for links to the Sorting Hat.

Prefects
I will need four people to volunteer as prefects. I'll need one for each House and your role is to simply act as the House Cheerleader. Visit blogs and answer questions that swap members may have. If a particular House has more than 25 members I'll need another prefect.

Quidditch
There will be three rounds of Quidditch during this swap. Quidditch consists of a trivia challenge, picture scavenger hunt, and a hunt for the Golden Snitch.

How to Join
Sign ups will be closed after the swap reaches 100 participants or by January 18th 11th. Please fill out the form below (The form will be available on January 1st). Afterwards you'll be brought back to this site. If you would like to have a international pal, please say so in the comments section, otherwise you will be matched with someone within your home country or very close to it :)

This IS a secret swap. So you will need to obtain an anonymous email address.

If you do not see your name listed in the side bar at least two days after you sign up, please email me to see what is going on at bordeaux700 AT yahoo DOT com.

More details about the swap to follow . . .

Before the 4 year begins . . . .

There are always before term preparations, and year four is no different than any other. Students, please remember to sort yourselves before the year begins.

4th Year Sorting Rules ~

1st and 2nd years must remain in their current House. If you are returning for your second year at Hogwarts Sock Kit Swap then you must stick to the House that you were sorted into during your first year.

3rd and 4th years may sort themselves into a different House then the one they were in during previous years.

Secret Swap ~
For the first time HSKS will be a secret pal swap! With new circumstances new rules will apply. Only one will be mentioned now - you must use the name generator in order to determine what your HSKS name will be for the duration of HSKS4.

January Sign-ups

Hello, everyone!
This is our place holder for the HSKS 4 swap that will begin in January. Feel free to bookmark this site. I'll get some linking graphics up in a week or so.

Here's the tentative schedule for sign-ups:

January 1 ~ Sign-ups will begin

January 18 ~ Sign-ups will close

January 23 ~ Swap partner info. sent out

Have a great holiday season and we'll see you back here in January!!