Snowflake Monday

I've been trying to work on portable crochet projects while waiting for Lizard during his PT, and I needed some snowflake inspiration, I guess because it's just been so hot. It's finally cooling down... YAY!!! While looking for inspiration, I came across this Wave shot, originally created in pink, from Valentine's Day 2012, and a swarm of the most wonderful memories enveloped me. Valentine's Day, The Wave, and Shonna... I shifted the hue in the manipulated image below from pink to teal because today is the first day of Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month. Today's snowflake is inspired by this image and fueled by so much love and warmth.

The Wave is one of my favorite places in the world, but also, I used to spend hours back then pumping my favorite images through a Photoshop kaleidoscope extension on my laptop. The Wave was one of my favorite image collections when creating kaleidoscopes. When I had to replace that laptop in 2016, my favorite Photoshop extensions wouldn't work on the new computer. I bought another kaleidoscope-generating program, but it was nothing like the wonderful extension I'd been using since about 2009. I rarely used it. I had to replace the 2016 laptop during the pandemic, and I've yet to find a suitable kaleidoscope generator for this baby, the computer I'm using now. I've manually created a few kaleidoscopes in Photoshop. There are all kinds of tutorials out there with good instructions. But nothing runs as smoothly as the old program that was never converted to newer technology. I also have two apps on my phone that create kaleidoscopes as I take photos, and I do enjoy using that every once in a while. It's not the same as manipulating an existing photo, however. Good thing I have about 2,000 archived kaleidoscopes in my stash to work with when I need inspiration these days!

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: 7.5 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

September Wave Snowflake Instructions

SPECIAL STITCHES:

Popcorn Stitch (pc)

Work 5 dc in designated st, take loop off hook, insert hook through top loop of 1st dc and replace loop on hook, pull loop through top of 1st dc.

Make magic ring.

Round 1: [1 pc in ring, ch 15] 5 times; 1 pc in ring, ch 7, 1 quintr (which is 6 yo)(counts as 7 ch in next Round) in starting pc to form 6th ch 15 sp of Round. Don't pull magic circle too 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 2 (counts as 1 dc), [1 dc in next ch, in next ch work (1 dc, ch 3, 1 dc), 1 hdc in each of next 2 ch, 1 sc in each of next 2 ch, sk next ch, next pc and next ch, 1 sc in each of next 2 ch, 1 hdc in each of next 2 ch, in next ch work (1 dc, ch 3, 1 dc), 1 dc in next ch, in next ch work (1 dc, ch 21, 1 sc in 10th ch from hook, 1 hdc in next ch, 1 dc in next ch, ch 3, sk next 3 ch, 1 dc in each of next 2 ch, 1 hdc in each of next 2 ch, 1 sc in each of next 2 ch, 1 dc)] 6 times, omitting last dc of final repeat; sl st in 2nd ch of starting ch 2; bind off. Weave in ends.

Round 2, Rock Covering: Ch 2 (counts as 1 dc), [1 dc in next ch, in next ch work (1 dc, ch 3, 1 dc), 1 hdc in each of next 2 ch, 1 sc in each of next 2 ch, sk next ch, next pc and next ch, 1 sc in each of next 2 ch, 1 hdc in each of next 2 ch, in next ch work (1 dc, ch 3, 1 dc), 1 dc in next ch, in next ch work (1 dc, ch 3, 1 dc)] 6 times, omitting last dc and last 2 ch of final repeat; 1 dc in 2nd ch of starting ch 2 to form 6th ch 3 tip of Round.
NOTE: Binding off here makes a cute little flake.

Round 3, Rock Covering: Ch 7 (counts as 1 dc and [[ch 5), 1 dc in next ch 3 loop] 17 times; ch 2, 1 tr in 2nd ch of starting ch 7 to form 18th ch 5 sp of Round.

Rounds 4-?, Rock Covering: Ch 7 (counts as 1 dc and [ch 5), [1 dc in next ch 5 sp] 17 times; ch 2, 1 tr in 2nd ch of starting ch 7 to form 18th ch 5 sp of Round. Continue with Round 8 until snowflake fits snugly around rock, leaving about a 1- to 2-inch opening on the back or bottom side.

Final Round, Rock Covering:Ch 2 (counts as 1 dc), 1 dc in each ch 5 sp around, inserting rock after about 2/3rds of Round, gently stitching while finishing Round and closing up hole so as not to damage crochet hook; sl st in 2nd ch of starting ch 2; bind off, leaving 4- to 5-inch tail. Weave end through final Round of dc and pull tight. Bind off again, weave in end. Place in garden!

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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Tech Tease

Darned technology!!!

Well, Microsoft has bit me again. But I'm doing the best I can to keep a sense of humor and not throw all my peripherals out the window.

Finally bought a long-needed full-size monitor... because my eyes just can't adequately see the tiny laptop screen anymore. But this new monitor doesn't behave like the one my employer provided for my even tinier work laptop. (My personal computer is 14 inches wide, down two inches from my previous personal computer. The work laptop is 12 inches wide. My personal monitor is 20 inches wide, and the work monitor is an exhilarating 22 inches wide.)

It has taken me ALL DAY to get my brand new monitor set up. I absolutely LOVE being able to see everything on the screen again without massively increasing resolution size. But now I have to keep my personal laptop wide open in a different area to prevent the little screen from blocking the big screen because both the monitor and the laptop go to sleep if I close the laptop. And, just as the reviews proclaim, the monitor I bought has lousy speakers. I didn't think it would matter because I have my own amazing external speaks. When I plug my awesome speakers into the laptop, everything is silent. The new monitor won't let anything else make noise!!! When I plug my not-cheap speakers into the monitor, the sound is noticeably degraded. I've tried EVERYTHING we are supposed to do to change these settings. Windows 11 and the new monitor default the sound to the monitor, and there's nothing I can do to change that.

Computers!!! Can't live without 'em, but sure can't live in peace with them!!!

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Snowflake Monday

At 8:18 pm Saturday, February 18, I finished my backup project of downloading one (Snowcatcher photo gallery) image from every snowflake pattern I've shared on my blahg. (Yes, I know, that's not how the word officially is spelled. But "blah blah blah"g is a term of endearment for me.) Two more of my external hard drives from the past have given up the ghost, and I no longer have access to many images I've taken over the past two decades if they aren't in my SmugMug gallery or on an unlabeled CD hiding somewhere in my basement.

Images are missing. I will have to remake some snowflakes and rephotograph them. This is not the first time I've undertaken a project of this nature. I remade many early snowflakes for my Snowbike quilt. (Oh, my gosh!!! I'd forgotten I created that stunning quilt for an exhibit that never happened!!!) I even tried to rephotograph the snowflakes in white if I didn't already have a white version.

I remade even more snowflakes for my snowflake lamp, which still proudly hangs in my dining room and still is a conversation starter when we have visitors. (A bit devastated to learn Matt, the blogger who inspired my snowflake lamp, is no longer blogging. Thank heavens for the Wayback Machine!!!) I tried to rephotograph these snowflakes in white, too, but those photos were on one of the external hard drives that died.

Some of the snowflakes on my lamp need to be re-stiffened or remade. They've lasted a good long while... I made that lamp in 2016!!! But some of the flakes have yellowed, and some are showing their age.

My current project is a bit more ambitious. Not only am I trying to make sure my Snowcatcher Snowflake Directory has photos of white snowflakes (except for a few that were made specifically to be in color) for every pattern; I'm also trying to make sure I have a backup photo of every snowflake I've designed. Not just for the digital temperature quilt I've been working on this year. I just need to make sure I have named photos of every single snowflake. Call me obsessed.

I was elated when I downloaded the final flake, and not only because this project had taken four months. I have limited personal computer time in the evenings because working from home (on a secure and highly protected work computer) most of the time does NOT, believe it or not, make housekeeping, cooking and gardening (in summer) easier or faster. There's also that full-time caregiver thing always going on in the background. (Not a complaint.)

I experience many internet outages, and that interfered with my project many evenings. (It interferes with working from home, too, and I could rant on and on about that...) Right in the middle of my final batch of snowflake photo downloads, I got a stupid notice that my photo website is not secure. Oh, and it was secure five minutes ago??? But not now??? Just how does that happen???

I'm a cold weather lover, and I adore all things ice. But, boy, was I on fire! I was virtually chatting (and getting unexpectedly disconnected due to aforesaid internet burps) with tech support for my internet, my website, my browser, my computer, my VPN, everything I could think of, and getting nowhere really fast. I'd spent the previous weekend doing hard resets on my new (but nearly year-old) laptop because the most recent Bios update had rendered my external keyboard and wireless mouse useless. Have I ever mentioned how much I hate Microsoft??? HP is climbing that ladder!!!

Turned out my browser had done an auto update in the background. I had to clear my browser history... on a new computer I've been using only about two months now. Oh, was I an unhappy camper!!!

Isn't modern technology fun? And yet, what would I do without it?

My new backup snowflake photo folder on the new laptop says I have 731 snowflake images (which includes variations and Easter eggs). My snowflake pattern folder contains 721 patterns (so far). There probably need to be at least 800 photos in the new backup folder. My work is not yet done. Even though it felt for a few joyous minutes like it should be done.

I've been saying for years I'd like to make every single flake I've designed into a rock covering for my garden. Now, so many of the existing snowflake rocks have deteriorated, I really need to just start over at the beginning and redo nearly all my snowflake rocks. My goal in 2021 was to make a new snowflake rock each week as I sat on the porch with Lizard at lunchtime. I think I made three that year. I don't think I made a single one in 2022.

It seems the myriad of snowflake projects at the Snowcatcher household will never see the finish line, much less cross it. Yes, I finished creating a new backup photo file, which eventually will be online in my Snowcatcher photo gallery so I will always have a copy (I now have a copy of everything on the new laptop and sometimes on my phone in The Cloud, an automatic option at home on the new personal laptop whether I like it or not). But even my photo backup project may never die, as long as I keep making new snowflakes. I already have a new one to add to the collection today!

Here's my inspiration, taken on my front porch during my lunch hour on February 15. I'm planning to make another go at this one in the future because it's so darned inspiring. But, how many times have I said that now??? :)

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

Winter Storm Nova Snowflake Instructions

Make magic ring.

Round 1: Ch 2 (counts as 1 dc), 1 dc in ring, [ch 2, 3 dc in ring] 5 times; ch 2, 1 dc in ring; sl st tightly in 2nd ch of starting ch 2. Do not pull magic circle too tight.
NOTE: Oh, heck, I couldn't resist. Had to make an itty bitty cutie.

Round 2: Ch 1 (counts as 1 sc), 1 sc in next dc, [3 sc in next ch 2 sp, 1 sc in each of next 3 dc] 5 times; 3 sc in next ch 2 sp, 1 sc in next dc; sl st in starting ch.
NOTE: Well, that's kind of cute, too. I used a ch 1, sl st in top of sc just worked on the middle of each 3/sc point to make the tips stand out more, which you may do for the full-size flake, too. I just pulled out the points when pinning my bigger flakes.

Round 3: Ch 17 (counts as 1 dc and [ch 15, 1 dc in 5th ch from hook, ch 5, 1 dc in same ch, ch 7, 1 dc in same ch, ch 5, 1 dc in same ch, ch 4, sl st in same ch (5-pointed snowflake tip made), ch 10, sk next 5 sc, 1 dc in next sc] 6 times, omitting last dc of final repeat; sl st in 2nd ch of starting ch 17.
If you're not reading this pattern on Snowcatcher, you're not reading the designer's blog. Please go here to see the original.
NOTE: Binding off here makes a cute snowflake and saves a TON of thread. I made the following adjustments to the 3rd Round on this one that I rather like and probably will use instead of the above Round 3 next time I make the full-size flake.
Round 3 with Adjustments: Ch 17 (counts as 1 dc and [ch 15, 1 dc in 5th ch from hook, ch 5, 1 tr in same ch, ch 7, 1 tr in same ch, ch 5, 1 dc in same ch, ch 4, sl st in same ch (5-pointed snowflake tip made), working back down spoke, 1 sc in next ch (which is VERY tight, thanks to all the stitches in the previous ch) ch 9, sk next 6 sc, 1 dc in next sc OR 1 dc over sc Round into middle dc of 1st Round] 6 times, omitting last dc of final repeat; sl st in 2nd ch of starting ch 17.

Round 4: Ch 2 (counts as 1 dc), [10 dc in next ch 10 sp, in next ch 4 sp work (1 sc, 1 hdc, 1 dc, ch 1, sl st in top of dc just worked, 1 hdc, 1 sc), in next ch 5 sp work (1 sc, 1 hdc, 2 dc, ch 1, sl st in top of dc just worked, 1 dc, 1 hdc, 1 sc), in next ch 7 sp work (1 sc, 1 hdc, 3 dc, ch 1, sl st in top of dc just worked, 2 dc, 1 hdc, 1 sc), in next ch 5 sp work (1 sc, 1 hdc, 2 dc, ch 1, sl st in top of dc just worked, 1 dc, 1 hdc, 1 sc), in next ch 4 sp work (1 sc, 1 hdc, 1 dc, ch 1, sl st in top of dc just worked, 1 hdc, 1 sc), working back down spoke, 10 dc in next ch 10 sp, 1 dc in next dc OR 1 fpdc around post of next dc (I like the look of the front post dc so much better!)] 6 times, omitting last dc or last fpdc of final repeat; 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.

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Hubba Hubba

Last year when I lost access to Photoshop because my personal laptop is so old (about 2016, I think), I was forced to upgrade to Windows 10, even though I did not want to (and wasn't entirely certain it would work). After the upgrade, which I still don't really like, I realized the day will come when I will be forced to buy a new laptop. Even if the old one still works just fine (albeit a bit slow...).

Not only did I lose access to Photoshop prior to my software upgrade, I also lost the ability to work from home via my personal laptop. I now have a work-issued laptop I can use at home exclusively for work. It won't run any of my other programs, and I don't spend work time working on personal stuff anyway...

We were at my in-law's for a week when a work crisis arose, and I wasn't able to help because my old computer was too old. My co-workers handled the situation with my verbal guidance (over the phone), but insecurity rooted. I've had enough internet outages at home to know the day will come when I cannot work from my personal laptop, even in a pinch. I can set up a personal hot spot on my phone and access the internet via my personal laptop when necessary, but I can't use my phone to get the work laptop online. If we lose internet during work hours (which happened five times last year), I have to hurriedly drive to downtown Denver to work in the office. This is not a fun task on a snowy day.

My mother-in-law wanted me to be able to continue working from home, so she helped me buy a new laptop last summer. I have now spent the last seven months trying to get that mini monster up and running.

Modern laptops these days don't come with adequate ports for you to plug in your keyboard (because the laptop's is SO tiny), your wireless mouse (because the touchpad is a pain in the everything!!!) and your full-size monitor (so you can actually see the documents you are working on without a magnifying glass). So you have to have a docking station.

External hard drives (still used by people like me who don't want to put all their personal stuff "in the cloud") won't run on inexpensive docking stations (that usually have only three ports anyway). You have to use a powered docking station.

New laptops don't come with CD drives (because who needs that when you are storing everything in the cloud???). External CD drives won't run on inexpensive docking stations. You have to use a powered docking station.

Not knowing half of the above details when I ordered the new computer, I ordered a cheap little hub from the same manufacturer that built the computer. Because the middle-of-the-line full-sized docking station runs more than $200. The computer alone was expensive enough! And I had to buy the external CD drive, too.

When I discovered I didn't have enough ports and couldn't run my external hard drive and CD drive via the mini hub, one of the IT guys from the office gave me, for free, a full-size hub by the same manufacturer he had "just laying around." I gave him a dozen cookies. He seemed very happy.

As of January 1, 2023, my 2016 laptop could be determined as not compatible with Photoshop, Windows, Citrix or any host of other programs or peripherals at any time, quite possibly without a moment's notice. So I decided I should get serious about getting that new laptop running by the beginning of the year.

It took me three weeks!!!

Turned out the mini hub I'd purchased was defective. Turned out the donated docking station was defective. Turned out I had to buy a new docking station, which didn't have enough ports for what I needed. Which meant I had to buy yet another docking station.

And now, after all this, finally, my new personal laptop is up and running. I still prefer the old one. And I still hate Windows 10. I hate Microsoft more than ever. But my new personal laptop works, and I can work from home with it in a bind. I am, officially, connected.

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