Cake Flake Monday

I've had my obsessions...

Snowflakes...


Lizards...


Bears...


Socks...


Butterflies...


Dragonflies...


Owls...


Turtles...


Hearts...


Flowers...


Rocks...


Rainbows...


And even more rainbows...


The last few weeks, my obsession has been cakes.


Wedding cakes made by mothers of the groom...


Low-Sugar Birthday Cakes...


Cupcakes for Little Critters...


Now I find myself wanting to crochet cakes! No calories, no mess, use up thread spools, make beautiful birthday cards, use up hand-dyed thread so I can dye more!


Have you ever wondered if there's a way to use up all those cardboard Lizbeth spools?


Today's cakes may, of course, be stuffed, rather than filled with a cardboard tube.

Last week's Dwarf Pyramid Snowflake, worked in different colors, makes the perfect cake top!


Just like my new favorite baker had to experiment with several different recipes before she came up with the perfect tasty low-sugar combination, I had to experiment with several different recipes to achieve a flat crocheted cake top.

My first recipe looks as though someone slammed the oven door. Or my self-rising thread swallowed a little too much dye during the cooking stage.


My second concoction looks as though it wants to be a volcano when it grows up.


Third time's a charm! You may construct your cake top with a standard six increases on each round if you prefer, but now you know why my instructions below are a little unusual.

You may do whatever you'd like with cakes and snowflakes you make from today's patterns, but you may not sell or republish the patterns. Thanks, and enjoy! Happy Mother's Day!


Finished Size: snowflake: 2.5 inches from point to point; cake: 1.25 inches tall and 1.75 inches in diameter; cake plate: .75 inch tall
Materials: One finished but unstiffened Dwarf Pyramid Snowflake in desired frosting/topping colors, size 10 crochet thread in cake, frosting and plate colors, size 7 crochet hook, 1-inch by 1.5-inch empty cardboard Lizbeth thread spools or suitable stuffing, stuffing for cake plate base, empty pizza box, wax paper or plastic wrap, cellophane tape, Mod Podge, 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

Gauge: 10 sc=1 inch; 10 rows of sc=1 inch

Cake Instructions
NOTE: This pattern is worked in the round, with no joins unless otherwise instructed. Use stitch markers if desired.

With cake color, make magic ring.

Round 1: 6 sc in ring; pull magic ring tight.

Rounds 2 and 3: 2 sc in each sc around for a total of 12 sc and 24 sc, respectively.

Round 4: 1 sc in each sc around.

Round 5: * 1 sc in next sc, 2 sc in next sc; repeat from * around 11 times for a total of 36 sc.

Round 6: * 2 sc in next sc, 1 sc in each of next 2 sc; repeat from * around 11 tims for a total of 48 sc.

Round 7: Sl st in next sc, 1 sc in back loop only of each sc around; 1 sc in back loop of sl st; do not join.
If you're not reading this pattern on Snowcatcher, you're not reading the designer's blog. Please go here to see the original.

Rounds 7-19: 1 sc in each sc around. Periodically check to make sure crocheted cake will fit over cardboard spool, with just enough spool showing after Round 19 for a round of double crochet to cover. Increase or decrease sc on Round 6 in multiples of 2 if cake does not fit width-wise over cardboard tube. Decrease or increase Rounds if necessary to make cake fit height of cardboard tube.

Round 20: Sl st into next sc, ch 2, * 5 dc in next sc, take loop off hook, insert hook through top loop of 1st dc and replace loop on hook, pull loop through top of 1st dc (popcorn stitch made), ch 1, sk next sc; repeat from * around 23 times (or adjusted number if you increased or decreased number of sc on Round 6); sl st in top of starting popcorn; bind off. Weave in ends.

Insert cardboard tube or stuffing. Stiffen and allow to dry thoroughly if desired.


Top with Dwarf Pyramid Snowflake if desired, and fingershape. Topping may be glued into place if desired. Allow to dry thoroughly.


Cake Plate Instructions


With cake plate color and beginning at bottom base of cake plate, make magic ring.

Round 1: 6 sc in ring. Pull magic ring tight. Do not join unless instructed to do so.

Round 2: 2 sc in each sc around for a total of 12 sc.

Round 3: * 1 sc in next sc, 2 sc in next sc; repeat from * around 5 times for a total of 18 sc. Sl st in next sc.

Round 4: To form cake plate stem, ch 2; working in back loop only 1 dc in each sc around for a total of 18 dc. Sl st in starting dc.

Round 5: Ch 2; * 1 dc dec across next 2 dc, 1 dc in next dc; repeat from * around 5 times for a total of 12 dc. Sl st in starting dc.

Round 6: Ch 2; 1 dc in each dc around; sl st in starting dc. Stuff for desired shape, and continue and complete stuffing during next 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 7: Ch 2; * 1 dc dec across next 2 dc; repeat from * around 5 times for a total of 6 dc dec; sl st in starting dc dec.

Round 8: To begin forming plate, ch 2; working around lower post from front of each dc (not upper dc dec), 1 dc around lower post of each dc around for a total of 12 dc; sl st in starting dc; turn.


Round 9: Ch 2; 2 dc in each dc around for a total of 24 dc; sl st in starting dc.

Round 10: Ch 2; * 1 dc in next dc, 2 dc in next dc; repeat from * around 11 times for a total of 36 dc.

Round 11: Ch 2, * 2 dc in next dc, 1 dc in each of next 2 dc, 1 dc in next dc, ch 3, sl st in top of dc just made (picot made), 1 dc in same dc, 1 dc in each of next 2 dc; repeat from * around 5 times for a total of 48 dc and 6 picots; sl st in top of starting dc; bind off. Weave in ends.

Finish: To stiffen, I positioned cake plate upside down on blocking template, pinning like a snowflake and applied Mod Podge with a paint brush to both plate and stem, finger-shaping stem. Allow to dry thoroughly. The magic of Mod Podge is it allows you to shape after drying. Once dry, I removed pins and any Mod Podge residue, then pressed bottom of cake against hard surface to shape it into standing position. I then finger-shaped plate to hold cake without falling over. Sometimes this takes a few minutes to achieve proper balance.


Now, I can't very well exit stage left on a Snowflake Monday without a snowflake pattern, right? Well, here you go!


Cake Flake Instructions

Make magic ring.

Round 1: Ch 2; 12 dc in ring; sl st in starting dc. Pull magic circle tight.

Round 2: Ch 2; 2 dc in each dc around for a total of 24 dc. Sl st in starting dc.
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 2, * 1 dc in next dc, 2 dc in next dc; repeat from * around 11 times for a total of 36 dc. Sl st in starting dc.

Round 4: Ch 2, * 2 dc in next dc, 1 dc in each of next 2 dc, 1 dc in next dc, ch 3, sl st in top of dc just made (picot made), 1 dc in same dc, 1 dc in each of next 2 dc; repeat from * around 5 times for a total of 48 dc and 6 picots; sl st in top of starting dc; bind off. Weave in ends.

Finish: This snowflake does not necessarily require stiffening. It also may be used, unstiffened as an applique by simply sewing onto flat surface. If desired, snowflake make be shaped by pinning, then spraying lightly with water and allowing to dry.

To stiffen, tape wax paper or plastic wrap to top of empty pizza box. Pin snowflake to box on top of wax paper or plastic wrap. This snowflake may be pinned in a circular shape or pulled tight to form a hexagon, depending upon personal preference.


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.








Linking up with Busy Hands Quilts, Crazy Mom Quilts and Confessions of a Fabric Addict.

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Friday Fortius

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A Mermaid's Tale

Once upon a time, upon a sea far, far away, a therapeutic foster mom adopted a seven-year-old carrot-top girl who had been through quite a few temporary placements, as well as a couple of permanent placements gone awry.

Mom believed consistency, stability and lots and lots of love would cure all ills, but through a lifetime of learning discovered luggage-bearing wards-of-state sometimes come with wounds that can't completely heal.

A child who has been through nine homes sees things in a different way than an adult who, even though raised in a blended family, cannot possibly comprehend the attachment issues adoption agencies spend decades trying to navigate and decipher.


Mom struggled with trying to teach the child ownership, but never, ever stopped trying. How does one teach possession when the student spent seven years never able to hold onto anything long term... from a pair of jeans to a stuffed animal to a bed in the same home for longer than a couple of months?

The little girl grew up, ran away, and returned to the lifestyle of the parents who gave birth to her, the former life she knew, the life with far less to lose. A life with no roots, a life with no connections or commitments, a life with no stability and very little love or compassion. Thousands of tears were shed by the adoptive mom.


Many years later, the now grown little girl had a little girl of her own. The adoptive mom made a quilt for her newborn granddaughter, crafted from fabric the adopted daughter had picked, used and loved as a child.


A year later, grandmother and granddaughter met for the first time, and grandmother crafted a mermaid tail for the baby.


Another year later, the adoptive mom made Christmas quilts for more grandchildren. The adopted daughter was angry because her child wasn't a recipient (even though she and the baby also received handmade Christmas gifts).


"Don't you remember?" the adoptive mom consoled, "I made a quilt for your daughter when she was born. It was made from very special fabric I've saved all these years from your childhood."


The adoptive mom was devastated to hear the quilt was long gone. She didn't know how to contain the sense of loss... as if losing her adopted child all over again. Hundreds of tears were shed.

One day the adoptive mom realized... remembered... the adopted daughter doesn't place the same value on things as typical adults. In her mind, the adopted daughter didn't lose something precious. The lost quilt was just another segment of her life that evaporated while she wasn't looking, an experience she had grown accustomed to throughout her early years. Many tears were shed in the beginning, but as years wore on and memories faded, self-protection constructed a wall around painful losses. Life goes on.


The adoptive mom decided to make another quilt for the granddaughter's birthday, this time with instructions, both written and verbal, for the adopted daughter to cherish and protect the quilt (which would have no emotional or generational significance other than being handmade, just in case).


She opted to use the same heart free-motion quilting she'd used on the first quilt. Because the new grandma loves that little girl with all her heart.


The adoptive mom stuffed matching dolphin and mermaid pillows with quilt clippings collected during the previous two years. She learned never to stuff a pillow with leftovers while wearing a flannel dress. She wanted to make a matching dress, too, as well as a new mermaid tail, but there wasn't enough time. The birthday package had to be mailed.


"Your daughter is too young to understand the importance of holding onto cherished things. It's your job to protect heirlooms, probably until your daughter is grown and on her own. Just like I held onto that fabric from your first sewing lessons. What if I had lost that and couldn't make a special quilt for your daughter?"


"I'm sorry, Mom," the adopted daughter said after a long pause. She got it. She understood. "I didn't mean to hurt you."

The adopted mom knew at that moment her granddaughter wouldn't care that her new quilt wasn't made from fabric connected to her mother. She would enjoy whatever her grandmother gave her, and when she is old enough to understand, she will treasure the story of the special quilt that swam away. Perhaps it will give the new quilt more meaning because it symbolizes the sea of treasures we often cannot fathom.








Linking up with Busy Hands Quilts, Crazy Mom Quilts and Confessions of a Fabric Addict.

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Wordless Wednesday

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On the Road Again

Typically our first road ride of the year happens a heck of a lot sooner than the end of April. We like to ride up Deer Creek Canyon throughout the year when we can, and the road looping around Chatfield Reservoir is an excellent training ride... when the Reservoir isn't undergoing a serious makeover.

Perhaps surgery is a more appropriate term for what is happening at Chatfield this year. Even sunrise/sunset photography at that location has been curtailed, and wildlife viewing is practically non-existent.




2017 marked the mileage for new rims on my road bike; think replacing rims on a car, only different because bicycle gears are connected to the rims... Major surgery. Plus, my bike is even more difficult than Lizard's because I like tire liners. Because I don't like changing skinny tires.

Lizard will be the first to growl on any occasion about putting tire liners in skinny tires because it's not a chore for the weak at heart. Just another reason I love my Lizard!

We weren't sure last year if my neck would require major surgery, so we put off bicycle surgery until this year, when we knew for sure I could ride again. And probably because Lizard wisely didn't trust me to obey ALL my doctor's orders and stay off the bike until I healed sufficiently. (Mischievous grin.)

Combine all that with weather, weddings, the resurgence of elbow pain, weekend work schedules and one too many late work nights every single week, and the road bikes have been understandably feeling a bit of genuine neglect.

Lizard finished up my road bike a week or so ago, and we set out for our annual spring pink tree ride... a smooth and easy pedal along the bike path to a grove of pink and white trees, where we love to shoot photos of each other.


Twice in the past we've arrived before the pink trees were explosively blooming. Easy fix. We go back and do it again the following weekend.

Couldn't do that this year, thanks to work schedules, so we did something totally different. We did the white trees this time around. No regrets! Oh, and my bike is purring like a happy cat!






Perhaps the best part of our annual pink tree trek is the Qdoba burritos we grab on the way home to enjoy while we chill out after a fabulous ride!

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