Snowflake Monday

Back in May, I sent a box of rocks to my sister-in-law for her garden. She'd fallen in love with the "dinosaur eggs" I made for my grands for Easter, so I made a bunch more and sent them to her.

I'd started crocheting snowflakes for rocks with my store-bought thread colors so I could get rid of it. I planned to plant a whole rainbow of new rocks in my garden, which currently has about 120 rocks with crocheted snowflakes. The moisture the cotton holds helps keep my garden healthier when we have hot, dry spells.

I didn't know if the colored crochet thread would hold up to the bright sun, but I thought it would be a fun experiment. Some of the off-white rock coverings have lasted six years or longer. If the colors bleached out over time to pastel shades or even white, it would still make beautiful garden ornaments, and I don't mind bleached rock coverings if that's the final product.

My sister-in-law didn't put her rocks in her garden because, she said, she doesn't want them to weather or walk away with unapproved human assistance. I hadn't put any colored snowflake rocks in my garden yet because every time I made one, someone asked for it.

Only one remains. I've kept it on my porch with full intentions to complete a rainbow. A rock tenant meanwhile has taken up residence.


We had some unexpected fireworks on July 4. The biggest hail I've ever seen in person shredded most of my garden and left three dents in my car.










We went away for the rest of the July 4 weekend, and upon our return, I discovered something else the hail really pounded. I'm glad I didn't notice before we left to visit my daughter and my granddaughter in South Dakota. I might have spent the entire weekend being depressed.


















We don't often get hail where I live. We're too close to the foothills. I think we'd had hail three times in ten years, and now, this year, we've had four hailstorms in just over a month.

I wasn't sure if I wanted to make any more garden snowflake rocks. About 40 percent of the existing rock coverings were destroyed. I tried not to think about the rocks too much because it just hurt too much.

Now, more than a month later, it still kind of stings every time I see one of the nearly naked rocks. But I'm beginning to heal and move on.

I once dreamed we sold our house, complete with all the crocheted rocks and the snowflake lamp.


In my dream the new home owners contacted me a while later. All the crochet-covered rocks in the garden had been stolen while they were away on vacation.

I decided to crochet new rock coverings for the owners because I knew firsthand how much joy those rocks bring. After I published the first pattern for the first new snowflake rock along with the story of what I was doing, my readers all started sending crochet-covered rocks to the new home owners, and within a month, my old garden was covered with rocks once again.

When I awoke, my first thought was, "Yeah, right! The thieves will just steal them all again!!!"

I wondered what the point of replacing my rocks now would be if another storm comes along and destroys them again. With time, I finally was able to get past that fear.

I guess it's like when anything I make gets ruined. Time to start over with a fresh, new canvas. I don't want to stop creating just because something I created went to crochet heaven. I can create an all-new crochet heaven right here in my very own front yard. And if another storm comes, I guess I'll have yet another reason to keep on crocheting.

I've replaced the covering on the first destroyed snowflake rock with another red snowflake to match the one I sent my sister-in-law. Here's the original rock brand new in June of 2012.


And now it's fixed! (And I've now officially almost run out of one of the 12 store-bought crochet thread colors! And I've finished the next color in my own rainbow snowflake rock collection!)








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: 3.5 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

Tanager Rock Snowflake Instructions

Make magic ring.

Round 1: Ch 2 (counts as 1 dc), 1 dc in ring, [ch 5, 2 dc in ring] 4 times; 2 dc in ring, ch 2, 1 tr in 2nd ch of starting ch 2 to form 6th ch 5 tip of Round. Pull magic circle tight.

Round 2: Ch 2 (counts as 1 dc), 2 dc over post of tr directly below, 2 hdc in same sp, 1 sc in same sp, [in next ch 5 tip work 1 sc, 2 hdc, 3 dc, ch 3, 3 dc, 2 hdc, 1 sc] 5 times; in next ch 5 tip work 1 sc, 2 hdc, 3 dc, ch 1, 1 dc in 2nd ch of staring ch 2 to form 6th ch 3 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 3: Ch 6 (counts as 1 tr and ch 3), 1 dc over post of dc directly below, [ch 10, in next ch 3 tip work (1 dc, ch 3, 1 tr, ch 5, * 1 tr, ch 3, 1 dc)] 5 times, ending * on final repeat; st in 3rd ch of starting ch 6; 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.

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

Pin It