16 January 2012

Snowflake Monday

Grays Peak Snowflake

I began this flake in about June of last year but got bored with it and never finished. Until New Year's Day. One of my resolutions was to finish up all my abandoned snowflake patterns. Mission accomplished!

I discovered a great way to finish up snowflakes that don't have the umph I need to keep going. Start over in an exciting and inspiring color. Voila!

My prototype was being worked in gray as a Gray's Peak Snowflake and as a companion snowflake for the Torreys Peak Snowflake. Blue and white do so much more for this snowflake, I thought I'd go back to the drawing board for Grays. But when I worked up a third (and fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh) flake in gray, this time with sparkles, I fell in love with the color all over again.

Grays Peak and Torreys Peak

Grays Peak is just across the easy saddle from Torreys Peak. At 14,278 feet, it is the highest summit of the Front Range, which runs north/south from Casper, Wyoming, to Pueblo, Colorado. The Front Range was so named because it's generally the first mountain range you see when traveling west from the Great Plains. The Front Range provides a somewhat mild climate along the Colorado metro area from Colorado Springs to Fort Collins by blocking and holding some prevailing storms, which also makes winter recreation very popular in the higher elevations.

Grays Peak also is the highest point along the Continental Divide. The Lizard is enamored with a mountain bike race that travels the Continental Divide from the Canadian border to the Mexican border. He wants to participate in the totally self-supported three- to four-week race one day, but his wife says no.

Grays Peak was named by botanist Charles Parry, the first white man to climb the peak, to honor his botanist colleague and teacher Asa Gray. Asa was one of botanist John Torrey's pupils. Asa relinquished his doctorate of medicine to pursue botany, and he did not see the mountain named after him until 11 years after Charles ascended it. Asa traveled west to collect plant samples for Harvard twice, and both times he climbed the mountain named after him.

The Asa Gray Award is the highest honor given living botanists by the American Society of Plant Taxonomists. Asa Gray is considered the most important American botanist of the 19th century. Last year, the US Postal Service designated a first class postage stamp to honor him.

You may do whatever you'd like with snowflakes you make from this pattern, but you may not sell or republish the pattern. Thanks, and enjoy!

Grays Peak Snowflakes

Beaded Grays Peak Snowflake

Grays Peak Snowflakes

Grays Peak Snowflake

Finished Size: 5.5 inches from point to point
Materials: Size 10 crochet thread, size 8 crochet hook, empty pizza box, wax paper or plastic wrap, cellophane tape, water soluble school glue or desired stiffener, water, glitter, small container for glue/water mixture, paintbrush, stick pins that won't be used later for sewing, clear thread or fishing line

Grays Peak Snowflake Instructions

Make magic ring. (This magic ring will need to be big and stay fairly large after tightening.)

Round 1: In ring work *1 sc, 1 hdc, 1 dc, ch 3, sl st in top of dc, 1 hdc; repeat from * around five times; sl st in starting sc. Pull magic circle tight, but leave opening big enough to allow stitches inside it to lay flat.

Round 2: Ch 18 (counts as 1 dc and ch 15), *1 dc in next sc, ch 15; repeat from * around 3 times; 1 dc in next sc; ch 10,1 dtr in 3rd ch of starting ch 18 (ch 10 and dtr count as final ch 15 sp).
If you're not reading this pattern on Snowcatcher, you're not reading the designer's blog. Please go here to see the original.

Round 3: 1 sc around post of dtr just made, 1 hdc around same post, 1 dc around same post, *in next loop work 1 dc, 1 hdc, 12 sc, 1 hdc, 1 dc; repeat from * around 4 times; in next loop work 1 dc, 1 hdc, 11 sc; sl st in starting sc.

Round 4: *Ch 2, 1 dc in next dc, 1 dc in next dc, ch 2, sk next hdc, sl st in next sc, 1 sc in each of next 2 sc, 2 sc in each of next 2 sc, 1 sc in each of next 2 sc, 2 sc in each of next 2 sc, 1 sc in each of next 2 sc, sl st in next sc, sk next hdc; repeat from * around 5 times, omitting last sl st of final repeat. Do not join.

Round 5: *Ch 3, sk next dc, 2 dc in next dc, ch 3, sl st in next sc, ch 5, sk next 5 sc, 3 dc in next sc, ch 2, 3 dc in next sc, ch 5, sk next 5 sc, sl st in next sc; repeat from * around 5 times.

Round 6: *Ch 3, sk next dc, 1 [dc] in next dc, ch 3, 1 dc in 3rd ch from hook (dc picot made), ch 5, 1 sc in 5th ch from hook, ch 6, sl st in sc, ch 4, sl st in sc (tri-picot made), ch 3, 1 dc in 3rd ch from hook (dc picot made), working back in main body of snowflake 1 dc in same dc as [dc], ch 3, sl st in next sl st, ch 7, 3 dc in next ch 2 sp, ch 10, sl st in top of last dc just worked, 3 dc in same sp as previous 3 dc, ch 7, sl st in next sl st; repeat from * around 5 times; bind off. Weave in ends.

Finish: Tape wax paper or plastic wrap to top of empty pizza box. Pin snowflake to box on top of wax paper or plastic wrap.

Mix a few drops of water with a teaspoon of glue in small washable container, or use desired stiffener. Paint snowflake with glue mixture. Sprinkle lightly with glitter. Wash paintbrush and container thoroughly. Allow snowflake to dry at least 24 hours. Remove pins. Gently peel snowflake from wax paper or plastic wrap. Attach 10-inch clear thread to one spoke, weaving in end. Wrap fishing line around tree branch (or tape to ceiling or any overhead surface) and watch the snowflake twirl freely whenever you walk by! Snowflake also may be taped to window or tied to doorknob or cabinet handle.

Bighorn Sheep with Grays and Torreys Peak in the Background

22 comments :

  1. I simply fell in love with this one! Now I've got to find time to fit it in to the schedule! I really love it in the blue, it shows off the intricacy of the pattern perfectly. Great job!!

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    1. Thanks, Shirley! I really love it with sparkles!

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  2. Shirley beat me to it!! This is a great pattern, just when I think you can't outdo yourself you come up with one more better than ever pattern!

    The last couple days I have been making hearts with different colored crochet thread but my mind kept wandering to snowflakes! I think I am destined to share the finished creation from your patterns, be it via gifting or selling!! I need to replenish my supply of these pieces of art and love! Thanks again for all you do for us on your site!!

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    1. Thanks, Brenda! Nothing wrong with making hearts!!!

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  3. Wow, I'm so glad it was rescued from the WIP pile - this one is really great. Thanks for sharing!

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    1. Thanks, Marie! Who knew this one would be so popular!

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  4. I love the different colors you used for the snowflakes. Very pretty!!!

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    1. Thanks, Yulian. Once I got started, I just couldn't stop myself. :)

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  5. I really enjoyed making this one! I posted about it on Crochetville. It's not as nice as yours, but it's a start!

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    1. Thank you, everydayepiphanies! I think yours is gorgeous!

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  6. What a very beautiful snowflake. I especially like the blue variegated yarn. Is it hand dyed? (Which sounds like "What About Bob?" - "Is this corn hand-shucked?")

    Poor Lizard. Perhaps one day his wife will let him do that darn-fool - I mean challenging and rewarding - ride.

    As always, fascinating info and history. And I think Marigold will love the goat picture....

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    1. You made me laugh, Sue! Thank you! Yes, hand-dyed thread, and it runs a bit, but I still love the color.

      Bighorn sheep, it will be interesting to see what Marigold thinks...

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  7. Are those Bighorn sheep whose horns aren't - big that is? I love the hues in the Gray's Peak photo - sort of grays and blues that blend. A nice job of capturing that with the gray snowflakes I think, oh talented one! :)

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    1. Females. The guys have all the horns. Unless they crack them while they're head-banging. I was wondering what you'd think of my sheep!

      And you picked up on the Gray Grays!!!

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  8. It´s SO beautiful, great job.

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  9. That mountain goat photo is absolutely amazing. It's the last shaggy mountain goat that I've ever seen... so I'm wondering if I've IDed him wrong... In any case, I love that photo!

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    1. Thanks, KB. Those are bighorn. But I have seen some beautiful mountain goats on both Grays and Torreys...

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  10. Do you have instructions on how & where to place the beads?

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    1. I did not write out instructions for the beads, but it looks like I strung 24 beads before I began, worked 6 into the picot points on the first round, worked 6 into the joints between petals on the third round, and then the remaining 12 in the bottoms of all 12 points on the final round.

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    2. Thank you! It's absolutely beautiful! Thanks for sharing.

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