Wordless Wednesday

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Square Wheels

It is becoming more and more difficult every year to build Life Saver trains.

About three years ago, I couldn't find more than one flavor of Life Savers. Or, well, the multi-flavor rolls of candy with a hole in the middle. In 2018, I ordered cases of (fresh) individual flavors still available. (Yes, it seems you certainly can buy some of the old-fashioned flavors that have been kept in hiding for at least three or four decades, but oh, my goodness! I want the recipients to be able to eat the trains! Not be forced to use them as well-preserved paper weights!!!)


I still had plenty of the mail-order rolls when I started a new railway line last December. Yes, they could be borderline old. But I did check the expiration dates before I set to gluing.


Last year, I couldn't find round-wrapped mint patties or even round-wrapped peppermints to use as wheels. My trains last year rolled to their recipients with square wheels.


My smart phone stupidly died on Christmas Day, and I wasn't sure I'd downloaded the photos I'd taken of the most recent trains, which I'd built just the day before! Thank heavens, I did. So I have photos to illustrate today's post!

Bottom line is I'm going to have to discover different candy if I plan to continue building trains. Or find something different I can build with square wheels!

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Snowflake Monday

I concocted eight conventional dye shades last month to see if I could obtain a deep-shaded rainbow of crochet thread. I was pleased with my results, especially since my solar dyeing didn't get much heat in January.

I typically don't try to solar dye in winter. Lizard's medical procedures this winter have kept us home most of the winter, and I needed some bright and cheery imagination stimulation to lighten my mood. Solar dyeing isn't a huge time hog, except for winding hanks to be dyed. Solar dyeing this time of year sometimes doesn't even get warm, but I'm finding the freeze/thaw cycles create some very nice effects on my crochet thread. As well as some fun photo opps...

I decided the rainbow needed a darker blue and a darker purple, although I love the shades I got on the first round. I did a second batch with only dark shades I have used before but wasn't able to obtain the deep hue I thought I'd get. I've been experimenting this winter, trying to see how I can achieve deeper colors without overdyeing. One of the dark blues actually is darker than the first time I tried it, about two years ago!

Because I loved my new dark hues so much, I reused three of the dyes for a variegated hank. I haven't made my own variegated thread since October 2018. Of course, second dip will never produce as dark a shade. But I am so in love with this new thread, which I call Winterberry, I've created two more variegated hanks since then!

I'm even going to try speed through the third batch to see if I can make a truly valentine version of today's pattern, which was inspired by my Winterberry thread, before Friday.

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: 5.5 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

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.

All of My Heart Snowflake Instructions

Make magic ring.

Round 1: [Pc in ring, ch 3] 6 times; sl st in top of starting pc. Pull magic circle tight.

Round 2: [In next ch 3 sp work (1 sc, 1 hdc, 1 dc, ch 3, 1 sc in 3rd ch from hook, 1 dc, 1 hdc, 1 sc)] 6 times; sl st in starting sc.

Round 3: Ch 15 (counts as 1 tr and ch 12), sl st in 6th ch from hook, ch 6, [1 tr in top of next 1st Round pc, ch 12, sl st in 6th ch from hook, ch 6] 5 times; sl st in 3rd ch of starting ch 15.
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: [Over next ch 6 work (3 sc, 3 hdc, 3 dc) 1 sc in next ch 5 tip, ch 15, *1 dc* in 4th ch from hook and in each of next 2 ch, ch 5, 1 dc in 4th ch from hook and in next ch, 1 dc in top of next *1 dc* post, 1 dc in bottom of same *1 dc* post, sk next 2 ch, sl st in next ch (heart picot made), ch 6, 1 sc in same ch 5 tip, over next ch ch 6 work (3 dc, 3 hdc, 3 sc)] 6 times; bind off. Weave in ends.

NOTE: For the red-hued snowflake above, I added five chains on each side of the spike chain loop to see if I could get more heart definition when pinning. I liked the effect so much, I made the next two samples the same way. For the hibiscus-hued snowflake below, I forgot the 2nd Round but didn't notice until I began pinning, so I couldn't fix it. I also tried two sc on each side of the ch 5 tip on Round 5 instead of just one. I liked that enough to use it again on the final sample at the end of this post. The pink sample at the bottom of this post has heart picots at the end of each sequence, between 3/sc groups, and I like that so much, I'll probably do that when I make a white version of this snowflake.

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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Friday Funny

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Snowflake Day

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Wordless Wednesday

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An Attitude of Gratitude

Once again, Roger Allen has propelled me into a higher realm. This time, his words from last November have hit me when I needed them most, right now. In February.

Lizard and I had just returned from a checkup with the neurologist. The doctor confirmed what I had feared most of the last 12 months. Lizard's Parkinson's is advancing aggressively. After all we have done to attempt to slow the progression, the incurable disease is starved and taking big bites out of the person I love most.

It was difficult to hold back tears and be positive as I drove Lizard from one appointment to another. He doesn't need me being a drama queen. He needs me to be strong and cheerful. He can't hang on by himself. Yes, my feelings are important, too, but he's been hit over and over again in the last 18 months. I need to share my strength with him.


Being in the car these days is miserable for Lizard, and so he was focused on trying to soothe his restless legs when my runaway tears escaped. Lizard did not see.

I kept trying to tell myself to be thankful I still have him. Just 18 months ago, the symptoms were moving so fast we feared the diagnosis might be ALS. I even made plans. We'd sell the house and buy an RV. I'd retire, and we'd visit family while we could. I'd give him one more trip to Moab. I'd take him to one more beach.


If the diagnosis had been ALS, we'd be at the end now. I'd be saying goodbye. Not driving him to PT so he can try to build muscle and strength after total knee replacement in December to hopefully be able to get back on a bike one day.

PT became extremely painful for him, and he quit taking the heavy duty painkillers, which he never wanted to take in the first place, after the second week. He did great on breaking free from painkillers, I might add. There is no addiction here.

Well, I take that back. We're both addicted to life... Well, and cycling. And quilting... I wonder if I could get him into dyeing one day? Hmmm...




After his previous PT visit, Lizard was joking around at home, saying he would show those therapists. He would do wheelies down Mount Evans on his walker, and then they'd see he's no wimp.

Whenever he gets discouraged now, I remind him I want pictures of wheelies on Mount Evans on his walker. He'll smile and then laugh. It's a wonderful tool to fix the screwy emotions that journey hand-in-hand with Parkinson's and recovery from a serious surgery.

He was dreading this next PT visit because he knew how painful the rest of the day would be afterward. To distract myself from my own grief and pain, I offered to drive us up to Idaho Springs after PT so he could ride his walker down the peak, and then we could enjoy Beau Jo's Colorado Style Pizza for dinner and still have enough left over for the next couple of nights.

Lizard's attention rapidly shifted from the misery of his rigid and erratic legs to the thought of speeding down a steep mountain road on two wheels... and stabilizing walker bars. He laughed and repeated he will show those therapists who's a wimp.


Gratitude enveloped my heart. I have not seen an extraordinary amount of humor coming out of my beloved in the last year. I am so thankful he can still smile. I am so glad his sense of humor has not been completely destroyed.

And that's precisely what Roger Allen had written about last November. Why his Thanksgiving email landed in the top of my email on a late-January evening escapes me... and yet, it doesn't. God has always had a way of putting things right in front of me right when I need to see them.


visiting Roger & Judy Allen less than a month after the Parkinson's diagnosis
The questions in the email/blog post gave me pause. I don't really have to dig deep to find answers to any of them. I just have to stop dwelling on things I can't change and be thankful for every blessing I've been given.

1. Not only did Lizard make me smile when he remembered the preposterous idea of racing a walker down Mount Evans, but we spent nearly an hour of appointment day walking in a park and lake we'd never visited -- because it was close to one of the medical appointments. It was the first time Lizard had walked with me outside our immediate neighborhood since before his surgery in December.

2. One of my neighbors volunteered to help me with transportation when Lizard has a PT appointment on a day when I can't get away from work. And now that I'm running out of vacation time, several of our friends in the community have volunteered to help with PT transportation following Lizard's next knee procedure next week.

3. My adopted daughter and I are rebuilding our relationship.

4. I haven't been listening to music much lately, but I had to look up a song for a recent blog post, and "Stronger than I've Ever Been" still brightens my spirit and strengthens my determination as much as it did, if not more, than the first time I heard it, during the 2018 Winter Paralympics.

5. While walking with my arms full (without a basket because I'm always mistakenly certain no basket will result in fewer purchases) in the grocery store one day right around Christmas, I dropped a container of grapes. Grapes rolled EVERYWHERE. Two young boys, perhaps 9 or 10 years of age, got up from their Starbucks seats and treats and helped me pick up all the grapes, then returned to their seats. Who knew such service from such youth still existed?!?

6. Okay, I typed #5 a bit too fast!!! But people are good. Recently, my church announced a worldwide special day of fast and prayer for Australia, due to the fires. It wasn't just my church that was praying that day. Everyone who saw the announcements, which were EVERYWHERE, prayed. And Australia got rain that night. The continent isn't out of the woods yet, but they got rain. Also, firefighters from around the world joined in the fight, and crocheters, knitters and sewists from around the world created nests and protective coverings for burned animals. Some businesses around the world, including Spoonflower, where I have my fabric designs printed, volunteered to collect and mail nests and protective coverings so crafters could focus their time and energy on making what was needed instead of worrying about postage costs.

7. One of my co-workers asked me out of the blue today if she could treat me to lunch.

8.a. Here's where #5 could be inserted again, darn it! But I can come up with another answer. Or two. Several of my friends and co-workers listen when I need to talk about how hard it is to watch someone I love become disabled. They try to make sure I take care of me so I can better take care of Lizard.

8.b. When I told one of my co-workers about turning my grief into gratitude when I realized ALS would have made this particular time even more difficult, he described what it was like watching his mom go from happy, active and healthy to unable to do anything, due to ALS, in exactly two years, to the day. I feel so bad for him and anyone who has lost a loved one in such a horrifying way, but I'm even more grateful now I get to keep my Lizard a lot longer.

9. My Heavenly Father is ALWAYS there for me, even when He seems so far away. He always has been. He always will be.

Regardless of how bad things get, I still have my Lizard. We have many great years ahead of us. Our future may not look the way we planned, but we do have a future together, and I'm looking forward to every single day with him.

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Snowflake Monday

I was working on a really fun and colorful snowflake (with my newly dyed-thread!!!) for this week to help celebrate our annual Make a Snowflake Day on Thursday, February 6, but I didn't get the pattern written yet, and it may be a couple of weeks before I can do that now.

So here's another from the archive. It was designed on May 6, 2012, and probably is one of the first snowflakes I designed after I got my cast off my crochet wrist following the bicycle wreck that later that year took me off my bike for most of the summer and part of autumn because I didn't know I'd crushed a disc in my back until after I painfully completed Ride the Rockies in June.

I code-named this snowflake at the time with the name of the Lizbeth thread colorway I used to make it, and now that seems like a perfectly good name, knowing what that summer became in the shadow of my squished disc. Ha ha!

Can you spot the errors in the pale blue snowflake below I made to test the pattern? Or perhaps it's just a demonstration of a variation… Um, yeah, that's my story, and I'm sticking to it!

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: 6.5 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

Summer Fun Snowflake Instructions

Make magic ring.

Round 1: Ch 2 (counts as 1 dc), 11 dc in ring; sl st in 2nd ch of starting ch 2. Pull magic ring tight.

Round 2: Ch 2 (counts as 1 dc), 1 dc in same st, [sk 1 dc, 2 dc in next dc, ch 3, 2 dc in same dc] 5 times; sk 1 dc, 2 dc in same st as starting dc, ch 1, 1 dc in 2nd ch of starting ch 2 to form 6th ch 3 tip of round.

Round 3: Ch 2 (counts as 1 dc), 2 dc in same sp, [1 sc between next 2 2/dc groups, 3 dc in next ch 3 sp, ch 3, 3 dc in same sp] 5 times; 1 sc between next 2 2/dc groups, 3 dc in same sp as starting 2 dc; ch 1, 1 dc in 2nd ch of starting 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 4: Ch 2 (counts as 1 dc), 2 dc in same sp, [ch 3, 1 sc over next sc, ch 3, 3 dc in next ch 3 sp, ch 3, 3 dc in same sp] 5 times; 1 sc over next sc, 3 dc in same sp as starting 2 dc; ch 1, 1 dc in 2nd ch of starting ch 2 to form 6th ch 3 tip of round.

Round 5: Ch 2 (counts as 1 dc), 4 dc in same sp, [ch 5, 1 dc in 3rd ch from hook (dc picot made), ch 2, 5 dc in next ch 3 tip, ch 8, sl st in 8th ch from hook, 5 dc in same ch 3 tip] 5 times; ch 5, 1 dc in 3rd ch from hook (dc picot made), ch 2, 5 dc in same sp as starting 4 dc, sl st in 2nd ch of starting ch 2, ch 8, sl st in same st as sl st.

Round 6: Ch 2 (counts as 1 dc), [3 dc in next ch, ch 3, 1 dc in 3rd ch from hook (dc picot made), ch 7, 1 sc in 2nd ch from hook and in each of next 2 ch, 1 hdc in each of next 2 ch, 1 dc in next ch, ch 3, 1 dc in 3rd ch from hook (dc picot made), sk next dc picot and chain immediately after it, 3 dc in next ch (right next to 5/dc group), 6 dc in next ch 7 loop, 2 tr in same loop, ch 3, sl st in 3rd ch from hook, 2 tr in same loop, 6 dc in same loop] 6 times, omitting last dc 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 the 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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