Give your eyes and hands a rest and put away your tiny hooks and thread this week. We're going to make an Ice Mountain Snowflake Rug!
I pulled out all the white yarn leftovers in my stash from at least the last 20 or 30 years because I decided instead of buying a space rug for my wood floors, I wanted something unique. What I made has eight strands of yarn, including one that is off-white, which I believe adds a little bit of depth to the project.
My "handspun" includes at least two but possibly three skeins of Red Heart Super Saver (in various assorted balls leftover from multiple projects), two skeins of Aunt Lydia's rug yarn (does that date me or what?), one skein of an unknown brand with a little bit of sheen, one skein of Christmas yarn with an iridescent strand, two skeins of baby pompadour (from Super Yarn Mart... how old is that?!?) and one unmarked skein of boucle. Ends are extremely easy to weave in on this project, so I used up every small white ball I could find, joining new balls to whatever ran out, taking no thought to matching strands when tying knots. If you don't have any white Christmas yarn and are unable to get your hands on some, consider using a strand of metallic thread to add a touch of sparkle.
Ideally, this project is made with no new purchases, just busting the white stash. During the final row of my project, I ran out of yarn three times. I pulled some yarn off the biggest remaining skein each time and was able to finish up. At the very end, I was within inches of running out of two more skeins. Mission accomplished! Stash busted!
This is a very soft rug and suitable for cuddling if you decide it's too nice to put on the floor. If you use lots of acrylic yarn, it is weather proof and will take quite a feet beating. You don't have to block it, you don't have to stiffen it, and you don't have to glitter it.
Ice Mountain is the middle of the Three Apostles, a trio of 13,000-plus-foot rugged peaks in the heart of the Sawatch Range. At 13,951 feet, Ice Mountain is the third highest point along the Continental Divide (behind 14ers Grays and Torreys Peaks), is one of Colorado's Centennial Peaks (highest hundred) and is considered one of the most challenging in the state to climb. One of the most popular routes for climbing Ice Mountain has a great name: Refrigerator Couloir. A day climb of all three peaks, North Apostle, Ice and West Apostle, is called Ice Squared, another awesome name. I have no desire whatsoever to climb Ice Mountain, but I'd sure like to get a sunset shot of it reflecting in Lake Ann at the base of West Apostle. The picture above shows the Three Apostles from beaver ponds at the base of 14er Huron Peak. Ice Mountain is the middle peak. The photo below is Lake Ann from the top of Huron Peak. Oh, and Sawatch is a Ute term meaning "blue earth" or "water at blue earth." See why this picturesque valley is called by that name?
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!
The critters wasted no time staking out territory on the new rug.
Finished Size: 49 inches from point to point
Materials: White yarn leftovers, size Q crochet hook or desired size for number of yarn strands being used (I used eight strands and approximately 6 skeins of yarn)
Ice Mountain Snowflake Instructions
Make magic ring. I wrapped the magic ring around all my fingers instead of just one for the rug version!
Round 1: Ch 3 (counts as 1 dc), 1 dc in ring, * ch 3, 2 dc in ring; repeat from * around4 more times; ch 1, 1 dc in 3rd ch of starting ch 3 (ch 1 and 1 dc count as final ch 3, and you will be working over the post of the dc on the next round). Pull magic circle tight.
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 2: Ch 3 (counts as 1 dc), 1 dc around post of dc directly below, * ch 1, 1 sc between next 2 dc and pull tight, ch 1, 2 dc in next ch 3 sp, ch 3, 2 dc in same ch 3 sp; repeat from * around 4 more times; ch 1, 1 sc between next 2 dc and pull tight, ch 1, 2 dc in next ch 3 sp, ch 1, 1 dc in 3rd ch of starting ch 3 to form 6th ch 3 tip of Round.
Round 3: Ch 3 (counts as 1 dc), 1 dc around post of dc directly below, * ch 2, 1 sc in next sc and pull tight, ch 2, 2 dc in next ch 3 sp, ch 3, 2 dc in same ch 3 sp; repeat from * around 4 times, ch 2, 1 sc in next sc and pull tight, ch 2, 2 dc in next ch 3 sp, ch 1, 1 dc in 3rd ch of starting ch 3 to form 6th ch 3 tip of Round.
Round 4: Ch 3 (counts as 1 dc), 2 dc around post of dc directly below, * ch 1, 1 dc in next ch 2 sp, 1 hdc in same sp, 1 sc in same sp, 1 sc in next ch 2 sp, 1 hdc in same sp, 1 dc in same sp, ch 1, 3 dc in next ch 3 sp, ch 3, 3 dc in same sp; repeat from * around 4 times; ch 1, 1 dc in next ch 2 sp, 1 hdc in same sp, 1 sc in same sp, 1 sc in next ch 2 sp, 1 hdc in same sp, 1 dc in same sp, ch 1, 3 dc in next ch 3 sp, ch 1, 1 dc in 3rd ch of starting ch 3 to form 6th ch 3 tip of Round.
Round 5: Ch 3 (counts as 1 dc), 2 dc around post of dc directly below, * ch 1, 1 hdc in next ch 1 sp, 1 dc in same sp, 1 tr in same sp, 1 tr in next ch 1 sp, 1 dc in same sp, 1 hdc in same sp, ch 1, 3 dc in next ch 3 sp, ch 3, 3 dc in same ch 3 sp; repeat from * around 4 times, ch 1, 1 hdc in next ch 1 sp, 1 dc in same sp, 1 tr in same sp, 1 tr in next ch 1 sp, 1 dc in same sp, 1 hdc in same sp, ch 1, 3 dc in next ch 3 sp, ch 1, 1 dc in 3rd ch of starting ch 3 to form 6th ch 3 tip of Round.
Round 6: Ch 3 (counts as 1 dc), 2 dc around post dc directly below, * ch 2, 1 sc in next ch 1 sp, ch 2, 1 dc between next 2 tr, ch 3, 1 dc in same sp, ch 2, 1 sc in next ch 1 sp, ch 2, 3 dc in next ch 3 sp, ch 3, 3 dc in same ch 3 sp; repeat from * around 4 times; ch 2, 1 sc in next ch 1 sp, ch 2, 1 dc between next 2 tr, ch 3, 1 dc in same sp, ch 2, 1 sc in next ch 1 sp, ch 2, 3 dc in next ch 3 sp, ch 1, 1 dc in 3rd ch of starting ch 3 to form 6th ch 3 tip of Round.
Round 7: Ch 3 (counts as 1 dc), 2 dc around post dc directly below, * ch 2, 1 sc in next ch 2 sp, ch 2, 2 dc in next ch 3 sp, ch 3, 2 dc in same sp, ch 2, sk next ch 2 sp, 1 sc in next ch 2 sp, ch 2, 3 dc in next ch 3 sp, ch 3, 3 dc in same ch 3 sp; repeat from * around 4 times; ch 2, 1 sc in next ch 2 sp, ch 2, 2 dc in next ch 3 sp, ch 3, 2 dc in same sp, ch 2, sk next ch 2 sp, 1 sc in next ch 2 sp, ch 2, 3 dc in next ch 3 sp, ch 1, 1 dc in 3rd ch of starting ch 3 to form 6th ch 3 tip of Round.
Round 8: Ch 4 (counts as 1 tr), 1 tr around post of dc directly below, 1 dc in same sp, * 1 dc in each of next 2 st, 1 hdc in next st, 1 hdc in next sp, 1 sc in next sc, ch 1, 1 dc in next ch 3 sp, ch 3, sl st in top of dc just made, 1 dc in same sp, 1 tr in same sp, ch 4, sl st in top of tr just made, 1 tr in same sp, 1 dc in same sp, ch 3, sl st in top of dc just made, 1 dc in same sp, ch 1, 1 sc in next sc, 1 hdc in next sp, 1 hdc in next st, 1 dc in each of next 2 st, 1 dc in next ch 3 sp, 2 tr in same sp, ch 4, 1 sc in 2nd ch from hook, 1 hdc in next ch, 1 dc in next ch, 2 tr in same sp as previous 2 tr, 1 dc in same sp; repeat from * around 4 times; omitting last tr and last dc of final repeat; sl st in 4th ch of starting ch 4; bind off. Weave in ends.
Finish: Weave in any ends still showing. Throw snowflake on the floor and finger shape. Treat your feet by standing on it, walking on it, dancing on it, or curl up on it and get the feel of Ice Mountain all over. You're done! Welcome to the exploded snowflake club!
Ice Mountain and the Refrigerator Couloir
One of this month's Starfleet challenges is to make something for charity or to give away, but participants are using the Maranga IV Mission fairy tale above to cloak their projects with imagination and make them more fun. A neighbor of mine was recently diagnosed with breast cancer, and she opted to shave her head instead of letting the chemo slowly tear her hair away. Temperatures in Colorado can still get rather cool this time of year, and sometimes rapidly and unexpectedly. She had red hair. So I designed a curly-haired and jeweled red hat for her.
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