Friday Funny

Unbelievable!!!

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Project Blizzard

When life sends you a blizzard, throw snowballs.

Project Smile, a blog meme founded last year, appears to have died and gone the way of all projects classified under too much to do and not enough time to do it.

I tossed about the idea of trying to do a link party here on my own blog to keep Project Smile going, but I wasn’t the originator, plus, the name belongs to a very popular charity dental program I actually support. "Making Lemonade" and any remote form of the phrase is spoken for. Dang! Every good name is taken! Maybe I should just go with something brash like Grit Your Teeth and Pretend to Smile???

My blog seems to have a snowflake life of its own, so a blizzard analogy fits best. However, my own time constraints make me very wary of trying to take on more than I already try to accomplish. So I'll go it alone this month as far as a winter joy blog project.

I am trying to focus on unexpected happy surprises and things that go right during winter to prevent daylight shortages from ruining my mood and even my entire winter. After all, true snowflakes are created mostly in winter, right? Days are beginning to grow longer now, thank heavens, and I anticipate doing my own little version of Project Smile, henceforth and forever known as Project Blizzard, just one more time until next winter. (Although February might pop up, too, if for no other reason than a specific day that month provides treasured reasons to smile.) (You thought I was referring to Valentine's Day, didn't you?!?!) (Well, that day is pretty darned awesome, too.)

This winter, so far, has been the easiest for me to bear for as long as I can remember, which leads me to believe focusing on positive instead of fretting about negative improves my ability to cope with SADD. Friendship and companionship have added immensely to my cheer this winter, and faith, hope and charity probably are the biggest contributors to successfully chasing off most of my depression in late 2011. Add a good dose of creativity and imagination, plus two tiny sparkling drops of spare time, and I think I’ve got the prescription just about perfect.

So, on with December’s reasons to smile:


My collection of Christmas cacti went crazy all month, and a few plants are still partying wildly.






The most recent addition to my pin quilt, received after donating my 16th pint of blood, is forcing me to think about making a new pin quilt. I’m almost full! One or two more pins, and I’ve filled my first pin quilt!


Autumn dug in its heels, even though winter’s stranglehold was and is formidable.


Took 26 months to reach a million page views. Two and a half months later, the counter hit 1.5 million.


This month’s full moon didn’t hide beneath clouds, which enabled this ...




Three days off at home during Christmas enabled me to finally make my own homemade glue.


The homemade cornstarch glue works! And does NOT smell like garlic.


Christmas lights always make me happy.


All these boxes are filled with photos, negatives and CDs. Another tower of boxes wouldn't fit in this picture. I needed one specific photo for next Monday's snowflake post.


The Shelf Road photo was in the first box I opened!!! I'd even labeled the CD! I just KNEW that Shelf Road had left quite the impression on me!




Fresh peppers, indoors, of course, in December!!!

Brazilian sunshine from Ane shows off her exquisite needlework and perfectly compliments Colorado's early morning skies. Sunrises always make me smile.

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Wordless Wednesday

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Mama, Don't Take My Kodachrome Away

This wasn't going to be my Christmas card this year, but something happened.

A corporation asked for three very old photos, pre-digital, for possible use as a "holiday" card. Not a Christmas card.

The photos were so old, I had to dig through negatives and slides, reprint and then scan, followed by some clean-up necessitated by old negatives and a very loved and appreciated scanner. While I was at it, I decided to pull a few more photos from the archives as well.

There were photos I didn't even remember taking. Some really awesome stuff! With film. That stuff I used to take to the local drug store some 20 and 30 years ago for two-day processing. If it was negatives. Because that was the best you could do back then. Slides took two weeks. But the color saturation was worth every dime and every day.

Back then, I thought I'd never go automatic. I never dreamed of digital. I thought I could never get colors like this with a computerized, automated camera.

The corporation ultimately chose the Icy Stockings but then rejected nature's humor and went with a different photo that didn't appear as "Christmasy." A totally generic leaf photo. Not even wintery.

And that is how the Icy Stockings became the Christmas card The Lizard and I sent out this year. With the word Christmas. Mailed on time this year, too, for a change!

More from the Kodacolor and Kodachrome archives...

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Snowflake Monday

Check out this hat! My very first slouchy hat!

This is yet another variation of my Longs Peak Snowflake. Throw in a dash of color and just look what you can achieve with a basic snowflake pattern!

Because this pattern is based on the Longs Peak Snowflake, I've named it after Chasm Lake, which lies at the base of The Diamond, the mountain's gorgeous and steep east face.


I love every alpine lake I've ever visited, especially in summer when the lakes are lined with wildflowers, but Chasm Lake is a favorite destination and memory because it's the only alpine lake I've visited with my kids (years ago) and with my husband (every chance we get). I designed the Longs Peak Snowflake specifically to look like flower petals when worked in color, and I wanted to make projects with many colors, just like the wide variety found in the mountains during July.

This hat was inspired in part by the Blizzard Project on Ravelry. Tracey started the group in November 2010 to encourage snowflakers to make more than just Christmas tree ornaments. I designed this snowflake in April with the intention of creating multiple motif projects, and the Blizzard Project was pure inspiration, setting my brain into overdrive as I tried to come up with new and different ways of connecting snowflakes for projects besides Christmas trees.

I've used sock yarn for this project, but the pattern also could be adapted to use sports weight or worsted weight with an appropriately sized hook. Once again, I've knitted the hatband because I enjoy the fit and feel of knitted ribbing, but crochet adaptations are possible. Lace may look airy, but it can be warm when crafted with wool, and I deliberately knitted the hatband wider than normal, 2.5 inches, to provide maximum ear coverage because I live in a climate with cold winters. For a warmer climate, the hatband could be 1 to 1.5 inches.

Fair Warning: You will have ends to weave in with this project. I weave my ends in as I go so I don't forget them and so I don't have to go searching for them when I'm done.

Included at the end of this post is another thread Longs Peak snowflake variation.
If you're not reading this pattern on Snowcatcher, you're not reading the designer's blog. Please go here to see the original.

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 Snowflake Size: 6 inches from point to point (sock yarn)
Materials: For one motif, small amounts of fingering yarn in black, white, variegated colors and coordinating solid colors, size B crochet hook, stainless steel pins for blocking, blocking surface. For slouchy hat, 1 50-gram skein of black fingering yarn (or desired color), at least 1/4 skein of white fingering yarn (or desired color), small amounts of fingering yarn in variegated colors and coordinating colors, size B crochet hook, size 3 circular knitting needles, stainless steel pins for blocking, blocking surface or balloon. For my slouchy hat, I used Knit Picks Palette in yellow for flower-like centers and black as the main color, sport weight fingering yarn in white to set off the flowers against the black and seven colors of Cherry Tree Hill Semi Solids for flower petals.

Note: This project is excellent for using up leftovers. However, adjustments may need to be made if leftover yarns are not exactly the same weight. Add or subtract stitches when using different weights of yarn, as necessary, to keep motif flat. I used sports weight yarn for the fourth round of my sock yarn motifs because I couldn't find an affordable true white sock yarn. I had to decrease stitches on the fourth round until I found the proper combination and ended up unraveling that round several times and reworking it until I was happy with the shape. Also, if mixing fibers, make sure to keep track of the care of each yarn used so you will be able to properly clean the project if necessary. This also is imperative if you give the project as a gift so the recipient will know how to properly care for it.

Special Stitches:
dc cluster: [yo and draw up loop, yo and bring through 2 loops on hook] 3 times, yo and bring through all 4 loops on hook
tr cluster: [yo twice and draw up loop, yo and bring through 2 loops on hook, yo and bring through 2 loops on hook] 4 times, yo and bring through all five loops on hook

Chasm Lake Snowflake Motif Instructions

Make as many motifs as required for desired project. Instructions for slouchy hat, which requires 7 motifs, assembly instructions provided below.

With coordinating solid, make magic ring.

Round 1: Ch 2 (counts as 1 dc), 1 dc in ring, ch 3, * 2 dc in ring, ch 3; repeat from * around 4 times for a total of 6 spokes; sl st in 2nd ch of starting ch 2. Don't pull magic ring too tight.

Round 2: Sl st in next ch 3 sp, make loop on hook nearly the size of a regular dc and twist twice, work dc cluster into same sp, ch 3, work dc cluster into same sp, *work dc cluster into next ch 3 sp, ch 4, work dc cluster into same sp; repeat from * around 4 times for a total of 12 dc clusters; sl st in top of starting dc cluster and bind off.

Round 3: With variegated thread, make slip stitch and yo twice, draw up loop through any ch 4 sp, [yo and bring through 2 loops on hook] twice (counts as 1st tr of tr cluster), work next 3 tr of tr cluster as instructed above in Special Stitches, ch 7, tr cluster in same ch 4 sp, *tr cluster in next ch 4 sp, ch 7, tr cluster in same ch 4 sp; repeat from * around 4 times for a total of 12 tr clusters; sl st in top of starting tr cluster, bind off.

Round 4: With white, 1 sc in any ch 7 sp, *2 hdc in same ch 7 sp, 3 dc in same sp, ch 3, 3 dc in same sp, 2 hdc in same sp, [1 sc in same sp], 1 sc in next ch 7 sp; repeat from * around 5 times, ending with [1 sc in same sp] and omitting last sc in next ch 7 sp of final repeat; sl st in starting sc and bind off. NOTE: With sports weight yarn, I worked 1 sc, 1 hdc, 1 dc, 1 tr, ch 3, 1 tr, 1 dc, 1 hdc, 1 sc in each ch 7 sp.
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 5: With black, 3 sc in any ch 3 sp, ch 4, 2 dc in 3rd ch from hook (shell made), ch 1, 1 dc cluster between next 2 sc, *ch 4, 2 dc in 3rd ch from hook, ch 1, 6 sc in next ch 3 sp, ch 4, 2 dc in 3rd ch from hook, ch 1, 1 dc cluster between next 2 sc, ch 6; repeat from * around 4 times; 3 sc in next ch 3 sp, sl st in starting sc.

Round 6, First Flake: 1 sc in same sc, *ch 5, 1 sc in next shell, ch 5, 1 sc in next shell, ch 5, 1 sc in 3rd sc of next 6 sc group, ch 5, 1 sc in next sc; repeat from * around 5 times, omitting last sc of final repeat and instead working sl st into starting sc; bind off. Weave in ends.

Round 6, Joining Flakes: With black, 1 sc in same sc, **[ch 2, sl st into corresponding ch 5 space of next flake (NOT corner ch 5 sp), ch 2, 1 sc in next shell, ch 2, sl st in corresponding ch 5 sp of connected flake, ch 2, 1 sc in next shell, ch 2, sl st in corresponding ch 5 sp of connected flake, ch 2, 1 sc in 3rd sc of next 6 sc group, ch 2, sl st into corner ch 5 sp of connected flake, ch 2, 1 sc in next sc]; repeat * sequence from Round 6, First Flake instructions 5 times, omitting last ch 5 and sc of final repeat and instead working ch 2, sl st into ch 5 corner of connected flake, ch 2, sl st into starting sc; bind off. Weave in ends.
After first row of joined snowflakes, work second row of joinings the same except joining flakes with **[ ] sequence on two, three or four sides, as applicable. In corner ch 5 loops where two motifs have already been joined, work 3rd join into join already made.

To assemble Chasm Lake Slouchy Hat: Make seven motifs, joining six motifs around first motif, as shown. Complete outer gaps in circle with insets as follows.






Row 1: With black and right side of motif piece facing you, 1 sc in any corner ch 5 loop on left unjoined side of motif as shown below, [ch 5, 1 sc in next ch 5 sp] 3 times, ch 2, 1 dc in joining of next 2 ch 5 loops, ch 2, 1 dc in same joining (V-stitch made), ch 2, 1 sc in next ch 5 sp, ch 5, 1 sc in next ch 5 sp, ch 5, 1 sc in next ch 5 sp, ch 2, 1 dc in next ch 5 corner loop (ch 2 and 1 dc count as final ch 5 sp). Turn.


Row 2: [Ch 4, 2 dc in 3rd ch from hook (shell made), ch 1, 1 sc in next ch 5 sp] 2 times, ch 4, 2 dc in 3rd ch from hook, pulling yo for 1st half of 2nd dc through top of V-stitch as shown below, ch 1, 1 sc in next ch 5 sp, [ ] 2 times for a total of 5 shells this row. Turn.


Row 3: Sl st in shell just made, ch 5, sl st in top of next shell, ch 2, 1 dc in top of next shell, ch 2, 1 sc in top of next shell, ch 2, 1 dc in top of next shell (ch 2 and 1 dc count as final ch 5 sp), turn.

Row 4: Ch 2, 1 dc in next dc ( in top of dc between 2 shells), ch 2, sl st in next ch 5 sp. Bind off. Weave in ends.
Repeat for each of remaining 5 gaps in circle, but do not bind off on final gap. Instead, ch 1 and turn, right side facing you.


Round 5: 1 sc in next ch sp, ch 5, 1 sc in next shell, *sk ch 1 sp immediately following shell, [ch 5, 1 sc in next ch sp] 6 times, ch 5, 1 sc in next shell, [ch 5, 1 sc in next ch sp] 3 times, ch 5, 1 sc in next shell; repeat from * around to final ch sp before starting sc, keeping in mind ch 5 sp count is not critical for this round. Keep your sc evenly spaced around to maintain mesh pattern and begin hat shaping. When you reach starting sc, instead of final ch 5, ch 2, 1 dc in starting sc (ch 2 and 1 dc count as final ch 5 sp of round). Ideally, there will be 70-72 ch spaces around. Having a few more or less will not affect size or shaping; 80 chain spaces around will not give chain spaces enough room to stretch out and form mesh; 60 chain spaces may not be big enough for an adult head.
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 6: Ch 1, 1 sc in same sp, *ch 5, 1 sc in next sp; repeat from * around to final ch 5 sp before starting sc. Instead of final ch 5, ch 2, 1 dc in starting sc (ch 2 and 1 dc count as final ch 5 sp of round).

Round 7: Ch 1, 1 sc in same sp, *ch 4, 2 dc in 3rd ch from hook (shell made), ch 1, 1 sc in next sp; repeat from * around; sl st in starting sc.

Round 8: Sl st into top of next shell, ch 1, 1 sc in same shell, ch 5, *1 sc in top of next shell, ch 5; repeat from * around to final shell before starting sc; instead of final ch 5, ch 2, 1 dc in starting sc (ch 2 and 1 dc count as final ch 5 sp).

Rounds 9-11: Ch 1, 1 sc in same sp, *ch 5, 1 sc in next ch 5 sp; repeat from * around to final ch 5 sp before starting sc; instead of final ch 5, ch 2, 1 dc in starting sc (ch 2 and 1 dc count as final ch 5 sp).

Round 12: Ch 2 (counts as 1 dc), 1 dc in same sp, *2 dc in next ch 5 sp; repeat from * around, ideally for a total of 140-144 dc, adjusting as necessary for an even number of dc for a k 1, p 1 rib or a multiple of 4 for a k 2, p 2 rib. Sl st in 2nd ch of starting ch 2.

Round 13: Switching to circular knitting needle, pick up one st in each dc around for a total of 140-144 st.

Rounds 14-22: K 2, p 2 around, or k 1, p 1 around.

Round 23: Bind off, maintaining rib pattern. Weave in ends.

Finish: I blocked and shaped the joined motifs before working the gap insets and hatband. I used a large balloon to shape the completed hat. I put the balloon inside the hat, blew up the balloon to stretch out the hat, lightly sprayed the hat with plain water mist then allowed it to dry. The balloon shrunk overnight and was easily removed from the hat the following morning, but I could easily have popped the balloon with a pin, too, if needed.


Longs Peak III Snowflake

Make magic ring.

Round 1: Ch 2 (counts as 1 dc), 1 dc in ring, ch 3, *2 dc in ring, ch 3; repeat from * around 4 times for a total of 6 spokes; sl st in 2nd ch of starting ch 2. Pull magic ring tight.

Round 2: Sl st in next ch 3 sp, make loop on hook nearly the size of a regular dc and twist twice (does not count as dc), work dc cluster as instructed above in Special Stitches into same sp, ch 4, work dc cluster into same sp, *work dc cluster into next ch 3 sp, ch 4, work dc cluster into same sp; repeat from * around 4 times for a total of 12 dc clusters, sl st across starting dc cluster into next ch 3 sp.
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 3: Ch 2 and make loop on hook length of ch 2 (counts as start of 1st tr of tr cluster), work next 3 tr of tr cluster as instructed above in Special Stitches in same sp, *ch 3, 2 dc in 3rd ch from hook, ch 16, 1 sc in 2nd ch from hook, 1hdc in next ch, 1 dc in next ch, 1 tr in each of next 2 ch, 1 dc in next ch, 1 hdc in next ch, 1 sc in next ch, sl st in each of next 2 ch, 1 sc in next ch, 1 dc in each of next 3 ch, 1 sc in next ch (spoke made), ch 2, 2 dc in 3rd ch from hook, tr cluster in same ch 4 sp as previous tr cluster, tr cluster in next ch 4 sp; repeat from * around 5 times, omitting last tr cluster of final repeat, for a total of 12 tr clusters and six spokes; sl st in top of starting tr cluster; bind off. Weave in ends.

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