31 October 2022

Snowflake Monday

I wasn't sure I'd have time to make a new flake and write a pattern for this week because I STILL didn't finish Halloween snowflakes for my grands until yesterday... Needless to say, they are in the mail VERY late. I decided on Friday I would buy some half-price Halloween candy tomorrow, if I can find some (they'll probably get Christmas candy if I can't find Halloween candy), and send them with a note that I'm trying to help them prolong their Halloween celebrations. I don't think they will mind.

Before I designed today's snowflake, I thought perhaps I could cheat once again and just do snowflake photos. After all, we had our first snow of the season last week!!!

Unfortunately I didn't take more than a handful of macro snowflake photos that day because I was working while it was snowing. So I thought I could just share all my Halloween snowflakes from the past. There are quite a few! I'll link the patterns to the photos to help you find them easily. Just click on the photo, and it will take you right to the pattern.

Thankfully, Saturday night I finished a new snowflake, and I jotted down the pattern yesterday while waiting for sunrise (yes, yet another sleepless night).

I got the newest snowflake photographed at 7:21 last night, so I'm able to share it with you today! It doesn't have a Halloween theme, but hopefully there are enough goodies linked above to satisfy spooky crochet yearnings.

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: 3.75 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

First Snow Flake Instructions

Make magic ring.

Round 1: Ch 4 (counts as 1 tr and ch 1), [1 tr in ring, ch 1) 11 times; sl st in 3rd ch of starting ch 4. Don't pull magic circle too tight.

Round 2: 3 sc in each ch 1 sp around; sl st in starting sc.

Round 3: [Draw up a loop around post of Round 1 tr directly below, yo and draw through both loops on hook (fpsc or front post sc made), ch 4] 12 times; sl st in starting fpsc.
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: Sl st into next ch 4 sp, ch 2 (counts as 1 dc), in same sp work 1 hdc and 1 sc, [in next ch 4 sp work (1 sc, 1 hdc, 1 dc), ch 3, in next ch 4 sp work (1 dc, 1 hdc, 1 sc)] 11 times; in next ch 4 sp work (1 sc, 1 hdc, 1 dc), ch 1, 1 dc in 2nd ch of starting ch 2 to form 6th ch 3 sp of Round.

Round 5: Ch 2 (counts as 1 dc) 1 tr over post of dc directly below, 1 dtr in same sp, [in next ch 3 tip work (1 dtr, 1 tr, 1 dc, ch 5, 1 dc, 1 tr, 1 dtr) 5 times; in next ch 3 tip work )1 dtr, 1 tr, 1 dc, ch 5), sl st in 2nd ch of starting ch 2; 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.

28 October 2022

Frightful Friday Funny

Q: Does it work on werewolves?

A: Only if you add a cup of silver with it. But werewolves aren't pests if you feed them right.

A: Only on American werewolves in London.

A: I rub them on my children and stuff them in their pants pockets when it's a full moon, and so far they have exhibited no further symptoms, though we do have to continue waxing their unibrows. But they had those before.

A: Placed some pouches around the window perimeter, and the werewolf merely peered through the glass. It did not attempt to break through glass and enter. Great product.

A: Yes, but only in conjunction with wooden stakes, which are sold separately.

Q: Will this make you a friend to the penguins?

A: I wore it in Antarctica and the penguins kept bringing me fish. I wouldn't say you become a friend to the penguins, you become their leader.

Q: Will wearing this mask make me more susceptible to attacks by leopard seals?

A: I didn't have a problem with leopard seals. Probably due to an advanced defensive perimeter designed against them. But I did have issues with small children trying to take it so they could have a turn.

A: I have found that, at least in the state of Washington, this is not a common problem. Can't guarantee for your location, however. Hope this helps!

Review: I needed a mask to wear in the shops due to contagion restrictions. The staff in my local co-op weren’t happy about this, so I pecked at them, then went home to throw up dead fish in the faces of my children.

Review: REQUEST FOR ASSISTANCE - STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL.

Greetings carbon-based earth creature, I am Glatpok Zorthruus the son of a retired Supreme Galactic General in the Xorplaxian Army and a former minister. I came to know of you in my search for a reliable carbon-based earth creature to handle a very confidential transaction, which involves the transfer of a huge sum of Xorplaxian currency to a foreign account.

There were series of contracts executed by an Interstellar Consortium of Planets for the Ministry in which my father was minister on our homeworld. The original values of these contracts were deliberately over-invoiced to the tune of forty-one bazillion Xorplaxian Gluurts. The over-invoiced sum he purposed to acquire for himself after retirement. Unfortunately, things took another turn.I will explain more to you when you show your interest to assist me. Consequently, I am looking for someone who will help us (my father and I) to receive the money on our behalf. Needless to say, the trust reposed on you at this juncture is enormous. In return, we have agreed to offer you 20% of the total transferred sum. While we shall take 75% and the balance 5% has been set aside to take care of any expenses you shall incure in the process of the transfer of this fund.

Yours faithfully,

Prince Glatpok Zorthruus
Commander of the Xorplaxian Fifth "Purple Zithanportap" BrigadeV P.S. We will require initial investment to be made with one bazillion Xorplaxian Gluurts' worth of UFO-01 Detectors.

Review: Worked like a charm. I purchased this book because I was tired of people sitting too near me on public transportation.

Review: A little too fuzzy, and no USB port.

Review: My grandma loved it. You could tell by the look on her face that she liked it.

Review: Came full of rats and spider webs. But Grandpa kept a straight face, so that's gotta be worth something.

Review: When we opened it up, we found a bunch of bones and dust. After a few days of thorough cleaning, it looked good as new. The smell was still there though, so had a closed casket funeral.

27 October 2022

Barely Pink

I get so discouraged sometimes when I can't meet my own (sometimes ridiculous) deadlines. And yet, I need to celebrate what I -- what WE -- are able to accomplish, even if what I plan doesn't come to fruition. Lizard has been able to help me with some rock- and sand-moving in the backyard during the last week, and that's something he wasn't able to do at all last year. This truly is worth celebrating, not a reason to beat myself up for not squeezing everything I want to do into shorter (and cooler) days.

I'm still trying to finish a WIP quilt every month, and this quarter, my goal is to finish TWO WIPs each month (one is a November birthday present and two are Christmas presents). It may wind up that all I finish this quarter are the three gifts, and only because I will force myself to finish them. It may be that each of the gifts are finished after midnight the day they are to be presented. But for now, I'm still trying to cross six off my list by December 31.

This month's goal is Tickled Pink, the Sequel. Because this is October. I have two other WIPs that are ready to sandwich and load onto the longarm. But this is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. My second breast cancer-themed WIP list project has been waiting too long to earn my undivided attention. My first Tickled Pink quilt inspired this project back in 2014. (What a fun blog post to go back and re-read and re-live!) When I pulled the WIP from my project shelf, I discovered my self-cut charm squares (cut from scraps leftover a decade or more) for this project did not include the backing fabric for the original Tickled Pink as planned, which meant I had to dig into my pink stash to find a remnant somewhere.

This project includes the third mariner's compass I've ever crafted, also back in 2014. (Another fun blog post to go back and re-read, and my dear Lizard left a comment back then! He can't type now, so words cannot describe how wonderful it was to re-read his special comment!) Re-reading about the joy I experienced upon completing my first-ever nearly perfect compass REALLY makes me want to give another compass a try. I think I need to do one in green batik scraps. Blue snowflake leftovers would be awesome, too. And boy, is purple ever calling my name!

BUT!!!! No more new projects until I finish some of my WIPs!!! (Unless someone in the family announces a new baby or an engagement...)

End-of-the-month literally is just around the corner, and I'm never going to make it if I don't get off this computer!!!

In my own defense, I have been patchworking some almost pink... but not with fabric. My landscaping project has been on the WIP radar, too. I couldn't get anything done during the summer's heat, and some portions of the project must be completed before winter sets in.

I began this project three years ago with what started out as a rocky flying geese path.

Now I find myself hoping I can do a flagstone log cabin, and perhaps even a snowflake or mariner's compass! I tried to build a snowflake with red rocks in the garden the first year of my front yard garden, but my "flake" wasn't very big and didn't last very long.

I did a red rock windmill in the garden, too. It also didn't survive whatever I planted in the middle of it.

I've now finished the landing outside the back door, so we should be set for winter. Now I can get back to the real Pinktober goal for this month. I don't have a design wall, and this project is too big for the dining room floor. I don't have a spare bed to lay out the blocks right now, and placement is complicated. So I pinned all the blocks to an old curtain I made for one of my kids' bedrooms back in the 90s. Now I can work on the project whenever I have time without having to figure out the placement all over again. Charm square shadows are finally coming along!

Linking up with Alycia Quilts and Confessions of a Fabric Addict.

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