Those Darned Deer

I was mixing and pouring concrete in the backyard last week when I noticed a gorgeous tulip. My tulips came with the house. I lose them to the deer almost every year. I did not plant tulips in my garden. Tulips are candy to deer. For the last couple of years, I've been clipping them and bringing them inside to enjoy in vases.

I fully intended to clip the tulip when I finished with the concrete. Cleaning up after finishing my concrete work sidetracked me. I forgot until after dark. I went out the next morning to check the concrete and clip the tulip, and the deer had already taken care of the clipping for me.

I've taken note of all the other tulip blooms beginning to emerge. I'll not wait for them to open before cutting them. I'm hoping to have many beautiful blossoms in my kitchen in the coming days!

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Snowflake Monday

I know Snowflake Monday is in trouble if I don't have a new snowflake at least halfway done by Thursday night. I can't remember when I started this flake; it's been that kind of week... By Sunday afternoon, I still hadn't been able to complete the second round. It's pinned and drying on the pizza box as I write this at 8 p.m. Sunday night while listening to a Palm Sunday podcast. The photos may have to be added in later today...

Funny story to go along with today's flake, though. I could not find my ball of crochet thread anywhere. I ended up having to wind a new one. I wind my crochet thread (and thread to be dyed) from one of those big one-mile balls. I began crocheting today's snowflake with the new ball of thread. The next time Lizard and I went for a walk around the block, I found my crochet thread. In one of his shoes!!! Where I've been keeping lavender deodorizers for the last year or so. He'd become confused and thought my thread was one of the deodorizers... Hey, they're both round, right?

Today's snowflake formulated in my head as I edited real snowflake photos from March 6 and ran the fuzziest images through an AI program to improve the focus. I've been having fun trying to improve my out-of-focus snowflakes. I'd always hoped I might be able to draw (or maybe even quilt) my less-than-perfect images to perfect them one day. I guess AI might be the next-best thing for now, especially since I can do my "retouching" on my phone while we are in a doctor's office awaiting appointments...

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: 3.5 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

Palm Sunday Snowflake Instructions

Special Stitches

Popcorn Stitch: 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.

Make magic ring.

Round 1: [1 pc in ring, ch 3] 6 times, omitting last 2 ch of final repeat; 1 dc in top of starting pc to create 6th ch 3 sp of Round. Pull magic circle tight.

Round 2: Ch 5 (counts as 1 dc and [ch 3), in next ch 3 sp work (1 dc, ch 3, 1 dc)] 6 times, omitting last dc and last 2 ch of final repeat; 1 dc in 2nd ch of starting ch 5 to form 6th ch 3 point of Round.

Round 3: Ch 1 (counts as 1 sc), 1 sc over post of dc directly below, 3 sc in each of next 11 ch 3 sp around; 1 sc in next ch 3 sp; 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 same ch as sl st, [1 sc in each of next 5 sc, 3 sc in next 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 same ch as sl st, [1 sc in each of next 7 sc, 3 sc in next sc] 6 times, omitting last 2 sc of final repeat; sl st in starting ch.

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

Round 7: Ch 1 (counts as 1 sc), 1 sc in same ch as sl st, [1 sc in each of next 11 sc, 3 sc in next sc] 6 times, omitting last 2 sc of final repeat; sl st in starting ch.

Round 8: Ch 2 (counts as 1 dc), 1 fptr in middle sc of Round 3 point directly below, 1 dc in same ch as previous dc, [ch 13, sk next 13 sc, in next middle sc of 3/sc group work (1 dc, 1 fptr in middle sc of Round 3 point directly below, 1 dc)] 5 times; ch 13, sl st in 2nd ch of starting ch 2; bind off. Weave in ends.

Finish: 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. 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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He Heals

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Guac Away

Back in December, I shared I had solar-dyed four more balls of crochet thread. Now I have added two more new colors!

A third ball has been soaking alongside these two new balls, but it isn't quite dark enough for me, so it's back in the jar in the window for a couple more week with fresh pigment in hopes for better saturation.

I just love my avocado skin- and pit-dyed crochet thread colors. I've used plain white worsted cotton to tie my thread hanks prior to dyeing for years now, and I've collected quite a few 12- to 14-inch scraps over the years (four or five strands for each hank) I've never been able to discard because I'm such a "use what you have" and "waste not" nut.

I don't know what I'm going to make with it yet, but I tied all the scraps together and wound them into a ball one afternoon while Lizard slept and I had to do quiet things to keep from waking him. I'm kind of looking forward to coming up with a fun pattern and/or project for this new addition to my avocado collection!

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Wordless Wednesday

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Easy Being Green

This was supposed to be my St. Patrick's Day post. I was so spent and exhausted at the end of the day on Monday, March 16, I forgot to hit publish. I kept thinking I could publish a little late on Tuesday, but I didn't get on the computer until after 7 p.m. That has happened a few times in the last several weeks. I guess that's just my new blahg schedule these days.

I'm hoping to start as many of my raised-bed garden veggies from seed again this year instead of buying established plants in a few months from one of the local garden centers. With no real winter this year, I might be able to get an earlier start on transplanting...

My goal was to plant my peppers and tomatoes for the coming summer on March 1. That was Sunday. I'm teaching 5- and 6-year-olds this year, and they are still at the very active and very excited stage in which it's a real challenge to keep them in their seats or to get them to listen to anything I say. I have to make everything into a game to capture their attention at all. Lizard's also struggling a bit more these days, and his needs outweigh anything in the garden. By the time we get home from church, we're both so exhausted, we both end up taking an afternoon nap. Then it's Bible study and my weekly call to my mom, and I don't get much else done.

I did, however, get my seeds planted in clean yogurt containers on March 2, and they've been coming up like crazy!!! (I also remembered to sprinkle poppy seeds in the garden right before our March 15 snowstorm that was supposed to be half an inch and instead delivered nearly six inches!!!) I can hardly wait for fresh tomatoes (and poppies!!!) from my garden!!!

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No Flake Monday

Again?!? Are you serious??? Yes. I'm sorry. I'm trying to keep up, but priorities have been smacking me pretty hard. Taxes (ugh!!!), a plethora of medical appointments, necessary garden responsibilities, helping my neighbor move, once again teaching Lizard to quilt, snowflake photos to edit... You name it. Everything got in the way last week!

I did finally get my snowflake photos from March 6 edited, and now I'm working on the March 13 snowflakes. Taxes are nowhere near done. I'm at the dentist bright and early this morning having a stubborn crown re-installed for a fourth time. And I need to finish my final glow-in-the-dark amigurumi for the last of my Sunday school students to turn 8. She's actually moved up into the next class now, and I'm teaching her younger brother (and five other five- and six-year-olds). But no way I'm leaving her out after teaching her and her classmates for four straight years!

She had started 2025 requesting a unicorn, then suddenly a few months ago decided she wants an otter. I've never made either a unicorn or an otter. But I'd never made half the critters I made last years for my students. So, I'm pressing onward trying to finish this otter. I hope to be back with a new snowflake next week!

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