White Friday

Only one pot of Christmas cactus remains at my house after giving away almost all my plants back in 2023 to eliminate tripping hazards for my sweet husband. The final Christmas cactus, as well as my final hoya plant, were to be personally delivered to my mom in California the week after Thanksgiving last year. She'd never owned either species, and she loved the photos I sent, so I saved the last two for her. The Thanksgiving week snowstorm over our Colorado Rockies prevented us from road-tripping, and I was rewarded on Thanksgiving Day with beautiful red blossoms. When I converted White Friday photos to black and white, my red Christmas cactus rendered the perfect hue for my tenth annual White Friday blog post. (Wow!!! Ten years today!!!)

We received another five inches of snow the day before Thanksgiving last year, and I was able shoot 188 photos of mostly quickly melting snowflakes. Out of that batch, I got 88 halfway decent shots. I finished editing my photos at 1:30 a.m. White Friday 2024, so snowflake photos were my first official 2024 White Friday project.

When Lizard awoke, he decided he wanted a tortilla with cheese for breakfast instead of homemade waffles. White Friday again. I put a mixture of white Italian cheeses on a white tortilla, and second project of the day was soon doing a great disappering act. Lizard loved it!

My next White Friday project was the daily hip pain management course my insurance company provided a couple of weeks earlier. It was a free service provided to help me (and presumably all the company's clients) stay healthy. Most of the exercises they gave me were very easy, but anything that can take the jolt out of arthritis is worth a shot, right?

Finally, it was time to crochet. I kept wondering what WIP I could work on that might satisfy my White Friday yearnings. I could make a Christmas T-shirt or sweatshirt; I had three unused Ts and two unused sweatshirts hanging in my closet leftover from craft fair goals at least a decade ago. I could work on my Moda Blockheads project; it could certainly use any kind of attention. I could work on Hawaiian Punch. I could craft any of my Spoonflower panels into a mini or baby quilt; all the panels are white on the backside. If I used white thread, that would count, right? Ultimately, I chose to make a new snowflake for my Snowflake Monday blog post ten days away. (The following week was already done.)

I ended up using the pattern to make a couple of snowflake necklaces, too. I'd just found out exactly two weeks earlier to the day that my sister had been diagnosed with breast cancer. I had a pink glow stone, and covering it with sparkly thread provided by Sisters of the Snowflake founder Autumn gave me courage to go forward in faith on behalf of my sister.

We had a backyard visitor while I crocheted. Vanilla sky provided the perfect background for this particular photo.

We celebrated Thanksgiving with Lizard's mom a week late because of the big Thanksgiving snowstorm. This provided a second chance at more White Friday photos a week late. I count them because I could have gone shopping, or I could have gone for a haircut. Instead, for the first time in many years, I took snow and snowflake photos on the Grand Mesa!!!

No better way in the world to celebrate White Friday, in my opinion! Well, perhaps attending the brand new Grand Junction temple will make this year even more special. It wasn't yet open in 2024.

Grand Mesa snowflakes. Oh, my goodness! It was so cold, but the flakes were SO big! I can't wait to go back!

Tweet

Give Thanks

I try to be thankful every day. Even when things are challenging. I keep a joy journal. And I try to write down something for which I am thankful every single day. Sometimes I have to look for the blessings. When I look, I can find them! Everywhere!!!

I am grateful for flowers still blossoming on my porch last Friday!!!

I am grateful for flowers still blossoming in my backyard last Friday!!!

I am thankful to have access to excellent health care for both me and Lizard. I'm grateful we are allowed to make payments on the services not covered by insurance. I'm grateful for the grant we received to pay for the medication that is giving Lizard back a piece of his life.

I am grateful my internet provider was able to get my modem up and running again last week.

I am thankful every single day for reliable transportation.

I am so thankful we were able to see the northern lights again and that Lizard was able to tolerate me shooting them for an hour and a half.

Tweet

Wordless Wednesday

Tweet

Gratitude

Life has changed so much. It's easy sometimes to get discouraged by all the things I've lost in the last few years. But I keep trying to remember all the things for which I'm thankful. I lose count!

Today, I am grateful so many of my harvested green tomatoes turned orange and red after our first freeze of the season.

I am grateful the bunny has not been able to get back in our house.

I am grateful the bunny is still alive and apparently healthy.

I am so grateful Lizard never gives up, even when things are incredibly hard.

Tweet

Snowflake Monday

I am so grateful for all my snowflake photos! Even the incomplete and soft-focus images can be so darned inspiring!

To be completely honest, this flake makes me want to do another digital snowflake temperature quilt!!!

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!

Finished Size: 8 inches from point to point
Materials: Size 10 crochet thread, size 7 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

Thanksgiving Snowflake Instructions

Make magic ring.

Round 1: Ch 2 (counts as 1 dc), 11 dc in ring; sl st in 2nd ch of starting ch 2. Pull magic circle tight.

Round 2: Ch 2 (counts as 1 dc), [3 dc in next dc, 1 dc in next dc] 5 times; 3 dc in next dc, sl st in 2nd ch of starting ch 2.

Round 3: Ch 1 ( counts as 1 sc), 1 sc in next dc, [in next dc work (2 sc, ch 2, sl st in sc just made (picot made), 1 sc), 1 sc in each of next 3 dc] 6 times, omitting last 2 sc of final repeat; sl st in starting ch.
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 4: Ch 15 (counts as 1 dc and [ch 13), sk over next 6 sc and picot, bpdc (back post double crochet) around next (middle side) sc] 6 times, omitting last bpdc of final repeat; sl st in 2nd ch of starting ch 15.

Round 5: Sl st into next ch, [1 sc in each of next 3 ch, ch 3, 1 dc in next ch, ch 1, 1 dc in next ch, ch 1, in next ch work (1 dc, ch 1, 1 dc), [ch 1, 1 dc in next ch] 2 times, ch 2, 1 sc in each of next 3 ch, sk each of next ch, dc and ch] 6 times; sl st in starting sc.

Round 6: [1 sc in each of next 2 sc, 1 sc in next ch, 1 hdc in next ch, 5 dc in next ch, ch 3, 1 dc in 3rd ch from hook, sk next 2 ch 1 sp, in next ch 1 sp work (1 tr, ch 5, 1 dc in 3rd ch from hook, 1 hdc in next ch, 1 sc in next ch (teardrop picot made), ch 1, 1 teardrop picot, ch 6, working back down spoke, 1 sc in 2nd ch from hook, 1 hdc in next ch, 1 dc in each of next 2 ch, 1 tr in next ch, teardrop picot, 1 tr in ch between 2 previous teardrop picot), teardrop picot, 1 tr), ch 3, 1 dc in 3rd ch from hook, sk next 2 ch 1 sp (and next 2 dc), 5 dc in next ch, 1 hdc in next ch, 1 sc in next ch, 1 sc in each of next 2 sc, sk next 2 sc] 6 times; sl st in starting sc; bind off. Weave in ends.

Finish: I've been stiffening my flakes with undiluted, full-strength water soluble school glue for quite a while now, and I've been squishing the glue onto and throughout each flake with my fingers (yucky mess!!!) instead of gingerly painting the flakes with glue. Yes, it's a mess. But it's faster. And stiffer.

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

If using glue, mix a few drops of water with a teaspoon of glue in small washable container. Paint snowflake with glue mixture or desired stiffener. 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 snowflake twirl freely whenever you walk by! Snowflake also may be taped to window or tied to doorknob or cabinet handle.

Tweet

The Most Difficult Season

Tweet

My Chains are Gone

Thanksgiving comes a week early for me this year!

A week before I finished a baby quilt for my newest neighbor last July, I finished the quilt top and backing for my mother-in-law from the same fabric. The Home on the Range fabric I initially bought to teach my mother-in-law to quilt. The quilt that has been a thorn in my side since 2022.

I finished (and presented) the baby quilt in no time (but still late for the by-then two-month-old), and then life (and Parkinson's) stress took off again. The sandwiched but unquilted mother-in-law quilt resumed its stressful heart pricking because I hung it on the top of my quilt rack (custom built by Lizard's stepdad not long after we bought our house) to remind myself every day that I needed to finish it. Preferably before my mother-in-law's November birthday to cure my self-inflicted stress and hopefully enable myself to move on to other more enjoyable projects.

Her birthday was Tuesday.

I finished quilting the quilt last Saturday. That's right. In one day. Simple straight-line quilting I had hoped Lizard might be able to do at least a portion of. (He hoped, too. It just didn't happen. We're still hoping he can one day tackle the longarm again... Tremors might actually help his free-motion quilting.)

At 10:38 p.m. Tuesday night, on my mother-in-law's birthday, I finished the binding. Hallelujah!!!

Lizard's mom will be here Tuesday, and Lizard will present her late birthday present in person. She has no idea it's coming. She might be disappointed Lizard wasn't able to do any of the sewing or quilting. But a stack of the Home on the Range fabric remains... Maybe I can piece a pillow, and Lizard can help me stuff it...

Why on earth would I ever put that kind of pressure on myself again??? Oh, yeah, to get rid of the leftovers... :)

Tweet