Wordless Wednesday

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Gotcha

Last year, I reported (both here and on Farcebook) scam ads with fabric, yarn and sewing machine "sales" just too good to be true. You'd think I'd have been wise to Round 2 this year.

I donated quite a bit of stash yarn to a senior center that crafts winter items for veterans years ago. Much of what was left was ruined in one of my frequent basement floods. (Finally fixed for once and for all last year.) Ever since then, I've sort of been hoping for a yarn sale which would allow me to replenish at least a bit of my stash. You know, just in case I ever decide to do a real temperature afghan...

So when I saw the JoAnn Los Angeles ad (NOT on Farcebook) with awesome savings on fabric precuts and yarn, I assume my common sense got trampled by my wishful thinking. I'm not sure there was any kind of logical thinking going on in my brain at that moment. I can't believe now I fell for it. I can't believe I was that stupid.

The very next day, I was alerted by my bank of a foreign transaction. I didn't have to look it up. I knew which expense was being questioned.

I was able to get a refund. Hopefully the "merchant" is being blacklisted by financial institutions now. (Unfortunately, the scammers expect this and change names and websites frequently to keep the scam alive and kicking.) I will have to settle for a regular sale one day to replenish my yarn stash. All I can do is try to warn people not to make the same mistake. And perhaps keep warning. I don't think it's going to slow down or stop. It's probably going to get worse.

In my post-scam research, I discovered anyone can learn how to set up fake delivery schedules and notices. Unbelievable. I will never understand why anyone would put so much trouble and effort into hurting fellow human beings, but I guess that's the world we live in. All we can do is try to be smarter, and keep trying to make the world a better place. In spite of the trials and tributations.

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Snowflake Monday

I wasn't sure if this would work, but I had to try. Today's snowflake is inspired by one of the tiny distraction flakes in one of my 21 February 2025 snowflake photos. If the glow glue center didn't turn out, the flake could always be used as a photo frame, or for just a snowflake with a hole in the middle.

When I was in elementary school, my classmates and I delighted in creating our version of window clings (before window clings became a thing) by drawing flowers, smilies, hearts, stars, peace signs, etc., with glue on the plastic cases our crayons came in. We'd color our wet creations with colored pencils, then let them dry overnight and peel them off the next morning. Sometimes we'd even lick the backs of our creations and stick them on our cheeks or on our arms. Early tattoos, I guess, just removable and changeable on a whim.

I photographed so many clear-center hexagons during our unnamed winter storm, and they were all very tiny. But great crochet inspiration, too! The name for today's snowflake is the Finnish word for sticky snow, the kind of snow that makes great snowpeople. Sticky Snowflake might have been a cool name for today's gluey flake, too, but I'll go with the exotic name instead.

I'm almost finished with a frame-only version (no glue in the center) with gold metalic embellishment, and I hope to create one more with pale blue embellishment with crochet thread I dyed myself many years ago. But the week got away from me; that happens a lot these days. I'll try to add new photos later this week after I finish crocheting, embellishing and stiffening them. MONDAY NIGHT UPDATE: One done!!! WEDNESDAY MORNING UPDATE: Favorite one done!

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: 4.25 inches from point to point
Materials: Size 10 crochet thread, size 7 crochet hook, contrasting crochet thread OR embroidery floss OR metalic thread, 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

Nuoska Snowflake Instructions

Ch 41. Taking care not to twist work, sl st tightly into starting ch.

Round 1: Ch 2 (counts as 1 sc and [ch 1), 1 sc in each of next 7 ch] 5 times; ch 1, 1 sc in each of next 6 ch; sl st into 1st ch of starting ch 2.

Round 2: Ch 1 (counts as 1 sc), 2 sc in next ch 1 sp, [1 sc in each of next 7 sc, 3 sc in next ch 1 sp] 5 times; 1 sc in each of next 7 st (7th sc will be in Round 1 ending sl st); sl st in starting ch.

Round 3: Ch 1 (counts as 1 sc), [3 sc in next sc, 1 sc in each of next 9 sc] 6 times, omitting last sc of final repeat; sl st in starting ch.
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 1 (counts as 1 sc), 1 sc in next sc, [3 sc in next sc, 1 sc in each of next 11 sc] 6 times, omitting last 2 sc of final repeat; sl st in starting ch.

Round 5: Ch 1 (counts as 1 sc), 1 sc in each of next 2 sc, [in next sc work (1 sc, [ch 3, 1 sc in 3rd ch from hook] 2 times (heart picot made), 1 sc), 1 sc in each of next 13 sc] 6 times, omitting last 3 sc of final repeat; sl st in starting ch; bind off. Weave in ends.

Finish: With desired contrast crochet thread, metallic thread or embroidery floss, work lazy daisy stitch into each side of flake, as shown. Weave in ends.

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. (I used clear packing tape to cover snowflake template to stiffen these snowflakes to create a smooth surface for glue center.) 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. If desired, fill snowflake center with glue, making sure to catch all inner edges. Use toothpick or pin to pop any bubbles, and try to smooth out glue without leaving more air bubbles. Place in dust-free and bug-free environment for drying.

Wash paintbrush and container thoroughly. Allow snowflake to dry at least 48 hours if you put glue in the center of flake. If you live in a cool or moist environment, a hair blow dryer might come in handy to speed the drying process. 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 Fantastic

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Glow Worm

Well, sort of... My next class kidlet birthday happened this week, and this kid's favorite animal is a snake. I double-checked with her mom to make sure, and yuppers, this now eight-year-old girl is crazy about snakes! She got a white snake (to symbolize baptism) that glows in the dark (to symbolize the light of Christ). And boy, was she ever a happy camper! She immediately wrapped it around her wrist and promised to wear it to school the next day!

I also finally was able to pin and stiffen a pair of snowflake pendants I crocheted way back before Thanksgiving. I haven't turned them into jewelry yet, but that's the plan.

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Wordless Wednesday

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Flaky

Until this year, I typically would shoot two or three shots of each snowflake, hoping at least one shot of each flake might turn out.

When you're shooting with a long lens (I use extension tubes on my macro lens to enable closer focus), the tiniest motion can blur the shot, or wind can move the flake!

I typically would try to get about 200-300 shots during a storm, and I'd typically be happy with 50-75 of the pictures after editing. (Oh, and the best flakes generally are at 15-17 degrees, so it needs to be chilly.) I'd shoot for an hour (or as long as my fingers could tolerate the cold) (plenty of peppermint hot chocolate might be consumed!!!), and editing would take a day or two.

With image stacking, the idea is to intentionally move while shooting as many shots as possible of each flake, hopefully capturing all aspects of the flake in perfect focus. I'm still new at this new method, so I'm trying to get 20-30 shots of each flake. Some of the masters say they shoot 200-300 shots of each flake. My 2006 camera isn't that fast, and my ring flash can't recycle that fast. :) (No complaints!!! I LOVE my camera and my cheap ring flash!)

All similar images are then stacked into one photo, then aligned, then blended, using only the sharpest aspects of each image.

During last month's storm, I shot for about an hour four times, resulting in a total of 1,867 total shots. I finished editing snowflakes from the second batch nearly two weeks later, resulting in 48 surprisingly clear photos from 657 shots. The first outing, which was about 24 degrees, featured a lot of frozen water droplets on each of the 16 snowflakes I shot via 277 images.

A lot of math, I know. A lot more time spent shooting. Also a LOT more card and external hard drive memory! Oh, and more frequent battery recharges. And a lot more time!!! The final two sessions of photos took another two weeks to edit! I think the photos speak for themselves, though. Worth all the extra effort, don't you think?

Once I finished editing the final two batches (62 out of 624 from the 3rd session and 28 out of 309 from the 4th) (which I must say resulted in 154 total snowflakes from 1,867 shots, 73 of which are acceptable and only about 20 I really love), I decided to create a montage of the tiniest flakes I hadn't aimed for. These babies are microscopic. I think I'll continue adding the tiny little flakes to this image as I continue to attempt to perfect my technique, but for right now, I thought this was pretty cool!

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