Competition Can Be Empowering

Last week, I shared about my vanilla sky sunrise. Once again, I asked AI to enhance a couple of my photos. The results are not bad. I'd rather have had a genuine colorful sunrise. But it was fun to see what AI could do.

It sparked a bit of a competitive spirit in me. Lizard would be proud. I can paint sunrise into the clouds of my photos via Photoshop, and I might actually do that one day, just to prove I really can do better than AI. But for now, I thought I could manipulate another of my bland backgrounds in an otherwise outstanding portrait better than AI was able to do.

I asked AI what it could do to liven up the background. I had to replace the red-tailed hawk in the vivid ones because AI smeared the wild colors of the modern art samples into the bird's feathers. Also, I had to feed it a couple of ideas (such as the balloon festival in Albuquerque) to get images I like. Nevertheless, I liked some of the ideas AI generated. I might one day create a greeting card set with some of the images.

I decided I could do better by creating collages with my own landscape photos, and I learned a lot in the process about how to make such image sandwiches look more realistic. Just by playing with Photoshop filters. Do you know how long it's been since I did that? Since I had time to do that?!?

I LOVE my collages. I am making a greeting card set from the images I worked up in Photoshop, with no AI assistance. Funny story, though. I used one of my favorite rainbow panoramas (which means a long, skinny image that doesn't fit into greeting card proportions), and when sizing it to 5x7, I asked AI to fix the second rainbow because the top of it was chopped off in my original rainbow image.

This made me laugh so hard!

As a result, I used one of my non-panoramic images and my own Photoshop painting skills to fix the faint second rainbow. I definitely outdid AI on this one! Hands down!

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Snowflake Monday

Dang! That was FAST! I was sitting down to the computer to begin writing today's pattern, and I noticed I was less than 500 away from 16,000,000 views. It seems like it was just yesterday that I missed the rolling of the zeroes when I hit 15,000,000. I set my admin page (which doesn't count my page views as page views) so I could refresh once in a while and see the actual roll this time. I thought it would be that evening. I got up, went into the kitchen, got my bowl of homemade chicken stew, sat back down to the computer and refreshed the screen, expecting to see maybe ten more views. It had rolled! And not just by a little bit!!!

It is snowflake season, but I didn't expect to hit (and MISS!!!) the zeroes again! I guess I didn't really expect to hit another million until very close to Christmas. I just hit 12,000,000 last December. I hit 13,000,000 at probably the beginning of June this year. In August I realized I'm probably not paying enough attention to my blog because I missed 14,000,000. Then it happened again last month; I hit 15,000,000 and missed it. Wow. Three million visitors in less than a year. On the hardest year of my life. Who'dathunk???

I thought blogging wasn't a thing anymore. I've tossed around the possibility to finish blogging, or at least wind up the snowflake designs, when I hit my 1,000th pattern (which should be about mid-March 2028 if I can keep coming up with a new pattern every week between now and then). I quit blogging for a while in April of this year because I didn't have a molecule of creativity in my world for a while. And I missed it. I had this big hole in my life and in my heart, and apparently, blogging is part of that emptiness whenever I take a break. I decided it is time to revisit my Six Zeroes Snowflake not only because that was such a joyful time, but also because the zeroes in my life have become much bigger. And I'm not talking about just the hole in my heart. 16,000,000 is pretty incredible. I think any blogger would be proud of those monstrous zeroes.

Back in 2009 when I first began blogging, the average lifespan of a healthy, interesting blog (way before bots and AI) was eight years. Back then, I couldn't have imagined I would have kept going longer than that. I love to write, and I love to take pictures. But I never expected I would one day be on the cusp of 1,000 patterns. I don't know what the future holds, but I'm going to try to keep holding onto my blog and designing snowflakes for now. Even though things have changed dramatically and tears still find a path to my eyes, my life is NOT a big zero, and I don't intend for it to ever be.

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: 6 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

Big Zeroes Snowflake Instructions

Make magic ring.

Round 1: Ch 2 (counts as 1 dc), 2 dc in ring, [ch 3, 3 dc in ring] 5 times; ch 1, 1 dc in 2nd ch of starting ch 2 to form 6th ch 3 sp of round. Don't pull magic circle too tight.

Round 2: Ch 2 (counts as 1 dc), [in next ch 3 sp work (1 dc, ch 10, 1 dc)] 5 times; 1 dc in next ch 3 sp, ch 10, sl st in 2nd ch of starting ch 2.

Round 3: Ch 2 (counts as 1 dc), [10 sc in next ch 10 loop, 1 dc in gap between next 2 dc] 6 times, omitting last dc of final repeat; sl st in 2nd ch of starting ch 2.
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 5 (counts as 1 dc and [ch 3), sk next 4 sc, 1 sc in each of next 2 sc, ch 3, sk next 4 sc, in next dc work (1 dc, ch 3, 1 dc)] 6 times, omitting last 2 ch and last dc of final repeat; 1 dc in 2nd ch of starting ch 2 to form 6th ch 3 tip and 18th ch 3 sp of Round.

Round 5: Ch 7 (counts as 1 tr and ch 4), 1 sc in 3rd ch from hook (picot made), ch 1, 1 dc in same ch as sl st, [ch 5, sk next ch 3 sp, 1 sc in each of next 2 sc, ch 5, sk next ch 3 sp, in next ch 3 tip work (1 dc, ch 4, 1 sc in 3rd ch from hook (picot made), ch 1, 1 tr, ch 9, in 7th ch from hook work (1 dc, ch 5, 1 dc, ch 6, sl st (tri picot made), ch 2, 1 tr, * ch 4, 1 sc in 3rd ch from hook (picot made), ch 1, 1 dc)] 6 times, ending * on final repeat; sl st in 3rd ch of starting ch 7; 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.

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Friday Fortius

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Just Dreaming

College is taking up more of my time than I expected. So, enjoy!

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Wordless Wednesday

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Once Upon a Time

I thought I was in for a spectacular sunrise, the first one I got up in time to shoot in what felt like forever. The slightest pink highlights lasted less than 15 seconds. By the time I got out of my car, the sky was back to gray. We got rain later in the day, so that's worth it. But I was so bummed!

I decided to hike around for a while to see if there were any other good shots on the horizon. Or right in front of me...

There's still a bit of color. And, eventually, the sky did have another brief display of color.

Both Lizard and I (as well as most of the community) had been heartbroken over all the trees that were cut down.

Lizard and I learned about a year ago now this particular state park is managed by the Army Corps of Engineers. More than a decade ago, the park (and most of the Front Range of Colorado) had experienced the opposite of what we face now. The park was closed for a while due to high water. The bike path I traversed when I commuted to work on two wheels was often closed due to high water. In addition, the reservoir's water levels were permanently raised by 12 feet in 2020-2022 to secure more municipal water, and the roots of thousands of shoreline trees were drowned under sustained high water.

Because dead hybrid poplars (cottonwoods) eventually rot and pose a safety risk to boaters and park visitors when strong winds hit, crews have been actively clearing thousands of these flooded "snags" over the past couple of years. The long-term goals for a state park and flood management are very different. It doesn't make it easier to swallow, but we did learn preservation has different meanings to different overseers.

I was most upset because eagle habitat was being decimated. Eagle sightings in the park have been dramatically reduced. However, water sports enthusiasts now won't be risking their lives beneath dead trees that could have fallen on them.

I have noticed many new little trees growing where the water used to be.

As they grow, some are going to really mess up the sidewalk/bike path that wraps around the reservoir. Potential tripping hazard for walkers, and wreck potential for cyclists. It seems like they are going to be continually fighting to keep the state park safe for humans while making it less attractive to wildlife.

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Snowflake Monday

I designed today's snowflake (with my own hand-dyed thread) in between Ride the Rockies and the MS-150 in 2013. (While Mrs. Micawber was visiting!) The weeklong tour was awesome, but gigantic things at my job had changed while I was riding my bike across Colorado during RtR. For a couple of days when I first returned, I didn't know if I would still have a job, and a couple of people who had been at my office longer than me were advising me to do something with which I did not feel comfortable doing at all.

I prayed about what I should do, and I received confirmation that I should follow my heart. That was 13 years ago. My lucky number! I no longer have my snowflake prototype, and I apparently never took a photo of it (I see it in my head as clearly as if I'd made it this week), but I did write the instructions. I no longer have the job; I do not regret at all retiring early to care for Lizard full time when he needed me most. I retired after 30 years and one month with the company, and I was able to spend Lizard's final year and a half with him, one on one, no distractions.

I giggled at the temporary name I gave the prototype back then: Blue/Green Triangle in the Middle. (Can you see a hint of an Enterprise outline in some of the stitching??? With a little imagination???) The thread dyeing was done in 2012 as one of my Star Fleet Fiber Arts Corp missions. I couldn't resist stepping back in time to fondly remember my Ravelry Star Trek days, given the recent passing of Walter Koenig and Patrick Stewart. Losing Jean-Luc Picard was as emotional for me as losing Spock 11 years ago, even though I have not watched any entertainment TV at all since the day Lizard went into the hospital last April. I wonder if he has met Chekov and the captain of the NCC-1701-D and NCC-1701-E yet. I know he would have wanted to be standing in line!

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: 5 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

Enterprising Snowflake Instructions

Make magic ring.

Round 1: 6 sc in ring; sl st in starting sc. Don't pull magic circle too tight.

Round 2: Ch 6 (counts as 1 sc and [ch 5), sk next sc, 1 sc in next sc] 2 times; ch 2, 1 tr in 1st ch of starting ch 6 to form 3rd ch 5 sp of Round.

Round 3: Ch 2 (counts as 1 dc), 1 dc over post of tr directly below, [ch 5, sk next ch 5 sp, 1 sc in next sc, ch 5, sk next ch 5 sp, * in next ch 3 tip work (2 dc, ch 5, sl st in top of dc just made, 1 dc)] 3 times, ending * on final repeat; 1 dc next ch 3 tip, sl st in 2nd ch of starting ch 2, ch 2, 1 tr in same ch to form 3rd ch 5 tip of Round.
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 2 (counts as 1 dc), 1 dc over post of tr directly below, [[ch 3, 1 sc in next ch 5 sp] 2 times, ch 3, in next ch 5 tip work (2 dc, * ch 3, 2 dc)] 3 times, ending * on final repeat; ch 1, 1 dc in 2nd ch of starting ch 2 to form 3rd ch 3 tip of Round.

Round 5: Ch 2 (counts as 1 dc), 2 dc over post of dc directly below, [ch 3, sk next ch 3 sp, in next ch 3 sp work (3 dtr, ch 3, 3 dtr), ch 3, sk next ch 3 sp, in next ch 3 tip work (3 dc, ch 3, 3 dc)] 3 times, omitting last 3 dc and last 2 ch of final repeat; 1 dc in 2nd ch of starting ch 2 to form 6th ch 3 tip and 12th ch 3 sp of Round.

Round 6: Ch 7 (counts as 1 tr and ch 3,) 1 dc over post of tr directly below, [ch 3, 1 sc in next ch 3 sp, ch 3, in next ch 3 tip work (1 dc, ch 3, 1 tr, ch 7, * 1 tr, ch 3, 1 dc] 6 times, ending * on final repeat; sl st in 3rd ch of starting ch 7; 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.

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