Love-nder

A few years back, I bought the cutest little lavender growing kit. I fell in love with the purple metal watering can, but I knew it would rust if I put anything directly into it. So I used a black plastic cup whose origins I do not recall and stuck a few small rocks from the garden into the bottom to give the soil proper drainage.

The seeds that came with the kit never sprouted. I ended up buying a tiny little lavender plant and transplanting it into the black plastic cup. Once it was big enough to go outside, I began putting volunteer grape hyacinth from the backyard into the cutest little planter in the house.

A couple of years later, I hadn't learned a thing, and I bought another indoor lavender grow kit. Same song, second verse. I bought a package of lavender seeds the next time I was at the nursery, and the only seeds that sprouted were in my outside garden. I ended up transplanting volunteer grape hyacinth I dug up in my backyard into the terracotta pot.

Every year now! Once the bulbs are big enough, I transplant them into the garden. And they always end up making more volunteers in places I don't particularly want or need them to grow. But one can never have enough grape hyacinth, right?!?

Prior to Lizard's first surgery, by golly, I did it again. This terracotta planter was similar to the second one, but it actually SAYS lavender on the outside. I thought that was adorable. I'd learned my lesson, but I thought I might plant more volunteer grape hyacinth if the seeds didn't come up.

Of course, the seeds didn't come up. I had a few leftover lavender seeds, so I put them in the pot and stirred up the soil a bit. Still nothing. Then shelter-in-place happened, and I kind of forgot about the indoor lavender, even though it has been on my work-at-home computer desk all this time. Last fall, I stirred in some lavender seed heads from my garden, not really expecting anything to happen.

Last week, when I began digging up a few of the new volunteer grape hyacinth that seem to thrive in the rocks near the house, where there is nothing but clay that doesn't get watered by me (they do get rain and snow...), I was going to start over in the third lavender pot. But to my surprise, two of my homegrown seeds had begun to sprout!!! And now, there are FIVE!!!

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Snowflake Monday

I couldn't sleep Friday night, so I got up and made a new snowflake. When Lizard saw it Saturday morning, he said it looks very complicated. That it was! I don't remember how many times I had to frog sections and do them over and over, but it seemed I had a mountain of curly thread on my lap almost throughout.

It's a good thing we had chilly, windy and eventually snowy weather over the weekend, or I wouldn't have been able to finish writing the pattern. You'd have just a photo of the flake today with no instructions!

As I was preparing to spend a week with my mother-in-law last month, I was digging around in my project bags (Yes, sadly, I have more than one. More than 10. Probably closer to 20.) trying to decide what to take with me when I came across my stash of hand-dyed thread. I had forgotten how many luscious colors I have, and I couldn't wait to dive into them again!!!

This week's pattern allowed me to get back into my glorious pinks.

Today's pattern also allowed me to show different ways to pin the same snowflake.

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

Svoboda Snowflake Instructions

If working heart motif in white, ch 14 and work each of next 7 rows in white and do not bind off. If working heart motif in one color, different than flake, ch 14 in that color and work each of next 7 rows in that color, binding off as instructed at end of Row 7. If working motif in 2 colors, ch 14 with top half of heart color.

Row 1 of heart motif: 1 sc in 2nd ch from hook and in each of next 12 ch for a total of 13 sc; ch 1, turn.

NOTE: This second row is another of my infamous rows/rounds that probably will give you fits, and for that, I apologize. Experience with linked crochet will help tremendously. I played around with linking more than just the first and last tr of each shell in order to prevent gaps in the stitches, but the motif doesn't look bad without all the linking. If my instructions don't make sense to you, just work a regular 7-tr shell instead of linking the stitches.
Row 2: [Draw up a loop through each of the next 3 sc, [[yo and draw up loop through 2 loops on hook]] 3 times (linked tr made), 5 tr in same sc as 3rd drawn-up loop, yo 2 times, draw up loop through same sc, [[draw up loop through next sc and through 2 loops on hook]] 3 times (linked tr made), sl st in next sc] 2 times, omitting last sl st of final repeat. If working motif entirely in white or red (or desired color), sl st into 13th sc of 1st Row, then sl st into foundation ch of 13th sc and ch 1 to begin next Row. If working heart in 2 colors, bind off here and weave in end.

Row 3: If working heart motif in 2 colors, using 2nd color, 1 sc in each of 13 foundation ch across bottom edge of heart motif. Ch 1, turn. If using 1 color for heart motif, 1 sc in each of 13 foundation ch across bottom edge of heart motif. Ch 1, turn.
If you're not reading this pattern on Snowcatcher, you're not reading the designer's blog. Please go here to see the original.

Row 4: Work sc dec across next 3 sc, 1 sc in each of next 7 sc, sc dec across next 3 sc; ch 1, turn.

Row 5: Sc dec across next 3 sc, 1 sc in each of next 3 sc, sc dec across next 3 sc; ch 1, turn.

Row 6: Sc dec across next 2 sc, 1 sc in next sc, sc dec across next 2 sc; ch 1, turn.

Row 7: Sc dec across next 3 sc. If working heart motif in different color than flake, bind off here and weave in end. If working heart motif in same color as flake, ch 5 and begin Round 8 at *.

Round 8: If working heart motif in different color than flake, using flake color, 1 dc in bottom tip of heart motif, ch 3, * work [[1 dc and ch 3 up side of heart]] 5 times evenly spaced to near top of heart, 1 dc in next tr, ch 3, 1 tr in sl st between tr shells, ch 3, 1 dc in top of next tr shell, ch 3, 1 dc in next tr, work [[ch 3, 1 dc down side of heart]] 4 times evenly spaced to near bottom of heart, ch 3, 1 dc in tip of heart, ch 1, 1 dc in 2nd ch of starting ch 5 or starting dc, whichever applies, for a total of 15 ch 3 sp.

Round 9: Ch 2 (counts as 1 dc), 2 dc over post of dc directly below, 3 dc in each of next 2 ch 3 sp, ch 3, 3 dc in each of next 3 ch 3 sp, ch 3, 3 dc in next ch 3 sp, 3 tr in next ch 3 sp, ch 3, 3 tr in next ch 3 sp, 3 dc in next ch 3 sp, [ch 3, 3 dc in each of next 3 ch 3 sp]] 2 times, ch 1, 1 dc in 2nd ch of starting ch 2.

Round 10: Ch 12 (counts as 1 dc and [ch 10), 1 dc in next ch 3 sp, ch 3, 1 dc in same sp] 5 times; ch 10, 1 dc in next ch 3 sp, ch 1, 1 dc in 2nd ch of starting ch 12.

Round 11: Ch 5 (counts as 1 dc and ch 3), 1 dc over post of dc directly below, [ch 5, 1 sc tightly in center of next ch 10 sp, ch 5, in next ch 3 sp work (1 dc, ch 3, 1 dc, ch 5, 1 dc, ch 3)] 5 times; ch 5, 1 sc tightly in center of next ch 10 sp, ch 5, in next ch 3 sp work (1 dc, ch 3, 1 dc, ch 1), 1 dc in 2nd ch of starting ch 5.

Round 12: Ch 5 (counts as 1 dc and ch 3), 1 dc over post of dc directly below, [in next ch 3 sp work (1 dc, ch 3, 1 dc), ch 3, in next sc work (1 sc, ch 15, 1 sc), ch 3, in next ch 3 sp work (1 dc, ch 3, 1 dc), in next ch 5 sp work (1 dc, ch 3, 1 dc, ch 5*, 1 dc, ch 3, 1 dc)] 6 times, ending * on final repeat; sl st in 2nd ch of starting ch 5; 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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Friday Funny

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Lizard Tails

My quilting goal this year is to finish one WIP each month. I didn't finish Lizard Toes in February, but the month was short. So March 2 counts, right??? Ha ha!

Well, except, I STILL didn't get it done yet. The plan was to finish the quilt over the weekend. I did finish piecing the backing for the fourth segment! (But forgot to take a photo, thanks to technology indigestion all week.) And I finished layering the front, batting and back. I got the final segment of Lizard Toes on the longarm, knowing if I could get the stitch tension right, I probably could polish this thing off in a couple of nights.

Sunday late afternoon we went for a tiny little bike ride because the weather was SO perfect, following a week of sub-zeroes. And I got a flat. I used to always make jokes about how long it takes me to fix a flat or change a tire. Well, the joke is even funnier now because it takes this rusty old lady a lot longer than it used to!

Quilting was postponed to Monday night after work. Then to Tuesday night after work. Then to last night...

Why do things get so crazy when I plan anything?!?

We endured yet another internet outage, and this one just happened to hit while my phone was updating. Now more than half the apps on the phone (particularly the photo apps, you know, the apps I use the most) won't work, including the VPN, which is pretty important right now with cyber threats running rampant. The phone still is not working properly yet after three hour-long troubleshooting calls with three different providers (both internet providers and the phone provider), and totally resetting the phone and losing everything and then waiting for the backup to re-install everything. It turns out I'm going to have to schedule an in-person appointment with the phone manufacturer, which likely will result in yet another reset. Luckily, there is an outlet about 15 miles from me. But I am not a happy camper.

I had to go into the office to get my work-at-home laptop replaced because the one I've been using for about 18 months apparently is out of warranty. Wow, has it really been two years of working at home?!? I informed our IT department I needed three USB ports for my mouse, my keyboard and my screen, plus a dongle to connect to our ethernet because our wifi is so unreliable and slow. (New laptops typically sport one old-style USB port and one new-style USB port.) They said my new docking station (my first ever) should take care of everything. Both the docking station and the dongle are new-style USB plugs, and the docking station has only three old-style USB ports. So I can plug in only one or the other. I'm still not entirely set up for working at home again yet, but I'm doing the best I can with what I've got.

I think this is my cue to take an evening to finish off that Christmas "Logged Off" sweatshirt I started last November!!!

The last thing I needed was for the longarm to give me heartache. Thankfully, Alycia had clued me in last time I worked on Lizard Toes (last July!!!) that batiks dull the needle faster. So I started the final segment of this project with a brand new needle. And the bobbin thread wouldn't catch. I'd put the needle in backwards. I had to search YouTube and watch a couple of tutorial videos to figure that out and how to do it right.

Once I got the upper and lower tension set, which took a bit of time but was a successful endeavor, I began quilting!!! I thought I'd be done before the sun set! But Lizard's endocrinologist called to change his appointment next week to... this Friday!!! We had to have bloodwork done right away so it would be done in time for the appointment. We immediately left for the closest vampire station, only to find it and the next two closest stations are closed until further notice. We arrived at the fourth-closest station 20 minutes before closing and successfully got the blood drawn. Whew!

So, my newest quilt is not complete yet, but it is on the longarm and waiting to be finished as soon as I get done typing this blog post.

Linking up with Alycia Quilts.

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Wordless Wednesday

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Queen of Hearts

We recently celebrated a birthday at the Snowcatcher household. No big deal, really; the special date just happens to be close to Valentine's Day, so in lieu of doing something really special this year, we just put our hearts into it.

Because there are just two of us and we're both trying to lose weight, we did 3-2-1 cake in mugs. Combining a box of angel food cake mix and a box of whatever-other-flavor-you-desire cake mix, sifting them together in an airtight container you can keep in the fridge, you are ready to make a single serving of cake quick and easy: 3 tablespoons of the mix, 2 tablespoons of water, stir, then nuke for one minute in the microwave. Voila! You have a yummy couple of bites of warm, soft cake! We topped ours with a squirt of chocolate syrup and a squirt of caramel syrup.

We also made chocolate chocolate chip cookies, and I shaped three into hearts. Lizard really enjoyed that!

We also received cookies, cake, chocolates and flowers on the doorstep from different Secret Cupids. So much for losing weight! But chocolate is always a big hit around here, and they added to the festive atmosphere we enjoyed by toying with some of our favorite photos in various photo-editing programs.

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