Australian Cruise

Australian Cruise
Our first full day in Australia, 2012, on a Freemantle beach.

Saturday, February 21, 2015

My first attempt at designing my own snowflake!

I was at a basketball game and brought along my thread and hook, but only one simple snowflake pattern, because I wanted to actually be able to watch the game!  I finished that snowflake before the 1st half was over..... Hmmmm.  Maybe I'll just start crocheting and see what I come up with....  Here are the results!


The one on the top is the first attempt, and I finished it by the end of the game.  I decided to make another version the next day, and that is on the bottom.  The secondary loops are on the 4th row instead of the 3rd, so they doesn't have the single crocheting around them.  Also, on the first attempt, I made the loops 8 chains on the 3rd row, so it was a lot more loose.  I kind of like that look. 

If I was to do it again, I'd make the picots on the secondary loops much smaller, like all 3ch picots, instead of 5ch, 7ch, 5 ch triple picots.  I like large picots, but it is a bit too much here for ALL the loops to have such large picots.

Here is my pattern (my 2nd snowflake):
Rhonda's Snowflake
Special stitches:
5 ch picot: ch 5, sl st in 5th ch from hook.
Triple picot:  ch 5, sl st in 5th ch from hook; ch 7, sl st in 7th ch from hook; ch 5, st st in 5th ch from hook; sl st in first sl st.


Ch 6 and sl st in 6th ch from hook to make a loop, or (preferred) make a magic ring.
Rd. 1:  Ch 2 (counts as dc), 11 dc in ring.   (12 dc)
Rd. 2:  (Ch 6, skip a stitch, sl st in next st) 5 times.  Ch 3, dc in beg st.   (6 loops)
Rd. 3:  Ch 1, sc in same loop, (Ch 6, sc in next loop) around, joining at at beg sc.  (6 loops)
Rd. 4:  Ch 1, sc in same loop, *in next loop (4 sc, 5 ch picot, 4sc); sc in sc.*  Repeat around, sl st in beg. sc.
Rd. 5: [Ch 5, triple picot, ch 5, sl st in same st. Ch 12, triple picot, ch 6, sl st in 6th ch from hook, ch 6, sl st in next sc.]  Repeat around, sl st in beg. st.
Finish, weaving in ends, and stiffen.


Monday, February 16, 2015

More snowflakes!

The materials for making snowflakes are quite portable, and they are so fun to make, that I've made some more!  Four of them are the same (some of the ones I will be giving away), one is another repeat, but the others are new patterns.  So fun!

First, the four of a kind, with the chart found at http://stylowi.pl/15848121:


Next, I have 4 snowflakes from a Martha Stewart site :


The Martha Stewart site is sort of confusing, as it shows a picture of all the snowflakes, then has steps 1-5.  Step 1 is the overall directions of making, stiffening and pinning the snowflakes.  Steps 2-5 are instructions for the individual snowflakes, all mooched together in one paragraph.  I copied pasted onto a Word document and put spaces between the rows.  The "feather" flake was easy, but a pain to pin.  All of them were fairly easy patterns.

Then one I have to find the pattern for... Book, "Our Best Christmas Thread Crochet", #31...


Then the last one is from a site with seven snowflake patterns.   Mine is #7.  Super easy pattern, with a lot of loops, and you just pin it to get the angles.  I think it's pretty cute.  My changes to the pattern:  Instead of starting with a chain of 8 and then 18 dc (2sc counting as a dc), I did a 6 chain ring and did 12 dc in the chain. Then just do the next row "in the next stitch." Couldn't figure out what she meant by skip the next space...


Saturday, February 7, 2015

Snowflakes!

My, oh my!  Back in November, I was helping a friend who wanted to learn how to crochet an easy snowflake, and I decided I wanted some more snowflakes myself!  They are so pretty, and take very little time to do, at least compared with a 'normal' project. (Like my sweater I've been working on for over a year that only needs 1 1/2 sleeves and then it will be done. That's next on my to-do list.)

After I made just a few, I first decided I wanted 100 snowflakes, so I could display them on my front two windows, but realized that 100 would probably make it so I couldn't see out very well. :-)   Fifty seemed more reasonable! 

I started out with a few free patterns online, then made about 10 from the Christmas crochet book I have, then got the rest of the patterns online.  I will try to find the links to as many as I can!

First of all, here are all 50 snowflakes!
50 snowflakes, made between November 2014 and February 2015.

Whew!  It was fun, but am glad I'm done.  I am VERY sure I will be adding to this, but my to-do list is waiting....

Now for the individual snowflakes....  in groups!
(If you read this and the links aren't here, I am "in the process".  Couldn't do it all in one sitting.  Would have been a lot easier if I had done it one at a time, and not had to try to find the link later... I've loaned out my print-outs.  Plus, in my groupings, I duplicated two, and can't find all the patterns...)


1.  Sewemup Mesa Snowflake, large
2.  Book, "Our Best Christmas Thread Crochet", #34.
3.
4.  San Luis Peak snowflake


5.  Vintage Blazing Star Motif; Really interesting construction.
6.  Fiocco di neve
7.  Conundrum Peak Snowflake
8.  Spindrift 1


 9.   2010 Snowflake,  I had to rewrite a good portion of the pattern.
10. 
11.  Blue River Snowflake
12.  Dainty Snowflake


13.  A Snowflake for Marikamum      
14.  Sam's Garden Snowflake, by Orb Weaver  Unique design. A few things were tricky to understand. On rd 3, "dc in top of half of next dc" it means the LAST dc on previous ch 6. On rd 4, "Working around" means skip that part of the snowflake and move to the next part. When she did "ch 1, sl st in top of last dc" I did a ch2 picot instead. Would have been easier with clearer directions.
15.  Book, "Our Best Christmas Thread Crochet", #33.
16.  Book, "Our Best Christmas Thread Crochet", #36.


17.  Snowflake Chart;  One of my favorites- best chart I used, made it quick and easy.
18.  Charmed Snowflake (without the bead)

19.  Yarnspirations Snowflake C (Photo is C, Pattern is B)
20.  Book, "Our Best Christmas Thread Crochet", #30.
21.  Yarnspirations Snowflake A (Photo is B, pattern is C)


22.  Snowflake 1
23.  Yarnspirations Snowflake A    
24.
25.  Stand Out Snowflake
26.  Chain Loop Snowflake
27.  Rosa Snowflake   I only did 3 clusters on each outside spoke

29.  Lion's Brand Snowflake   Make sure you note the corrections.
32.  Pretty Picot Snowflake    Made a few corrections/changes to pattern. Round 2: Should read 6 ch-4 loops, 6 picot loops (not 12 ch-4 loops) Round 5: Instead of "ch3, p, ch3", I did "ch4, p, ch4." At end, instead of "sl st around beg. ch 2", I did "sl st around 1st ch in beg ch3."
33.

36.
39.   Bicycle Spokes Snowflake   Made a few corrections/changes to pattern.  rd 4: Ch 2 (counts as first hdc), *into same ch 3 space, work dc, ch 3, 2 dc into 3rd ch from hook, ch 5, sc into 5th ch from hook, ch 5, sl st into sc, ch 5, sl st into sc, ch 3, 2 dc into 3rd ch from hook, (dc, hdc) into space, sc into dc below, ch 8, skip hdc, sc into next dc; hdc into next ch 3 space, repeat from * around 5 times for a total of 6 spokes and 6 points, finishing with sl st into sc before starting ch 2 instead of hdc on final repeat; bind off. Weave in ends.
43.


44.
45.
46.  Oops! This duplicates #17.
47.  Snowflake garland; One of my favorites, and whips up quick!
48.  Book, "Our Best Christmas Thread Crochet", #31.
50.  Oops! This duplicates #20.

The real number 46 (on left):
46.  White Snowflake Christmas Ornament 2
The real number 50 (on right): 
50.  Oro Snowflake   I did 4 ch loops instead of 3 ch loops on 2nd row.

Ones I know I made but missed the picture somehow:
  







Truck Quilt

I have meant to post this since Christmas, but it was very busy, then I forgot! 

I made this quilt for my grandson, who loves trucks! 
We (my mom and I) have made our quilt 'sandwich'.

On the frame and Mom trimming off the excess.

Details of the before and after trimming.

On the frame and ready to start quilting!

Wahoo! We've done our first roll!

Mom is REALLY good at this.

See how nice her quilting is?

All done except the parts that are going to be machine quilted.


Sewing on the binding.

Proof that I actually did do some of the work. :-)

Christmas Day! "Did you get a blanket?" "No! It's trucks!"

Already playing under his new quilt.

Elise says he won't sleep with any other blanket.  I love that he loves it!