Snowflake Monday

Today's snowflake was created aboard the commuter train the day after our first hard freeze of autumn 2015, while I was being thankful for the magnificent and LONG season I got out of my garden this year. This was the first time in all the six years we've lived in our home that we had dahlias until the final week of October!!!

I've never had a dahlia plant survive the winter, even though I explicitly followed winterizing instructions. So for this year's garden, instead of mail-ordering pricey bulbs, I bought two boxed packages at the grocery store for about $3 each and planted them in the ground. I found six unidentified clearance bulbs late in the summer at a local nursery. I put them in pots, hoping to be able to get them to bloom indoors if the season ended early, as well as protect them from our brutal winter winds.

One of the grocery store dahlias, the red one, produced three small flowers. The other, the orange one, bloomed three times each month, then went nuts in October, sporting up to six new huge blooms each week!

None of the potted dahlias have bloomed yet, but I brought one plant inside because it has three buds!!! None have opened yet, but my fingers are crossed... The color will be a complete surprise if this baby does bloom!

Here are some highlights from this year's outdoor dahlias:








I clipped all the remaining orange dahlias and buds as soon as I got home from work before our first freeze and placed them in a vase in the kitchen. I wasn't sure the buds would open. Imagine my surprise when two of them began spreading their petals three days later!

This was a super fun way to extend the season!


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: 2.75 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


Autumn's Last Stand Snowflake Instructions

Make magic ring.

Round 1: Ch 3 (counts as 1 tr), 1 tr in ring, *ch 5, 2 tr in ring; repeat from * around 4 times; ch 2, 1 tr in 3rd ch of starting ch 3 to form 6th ch 5 sp of Round. Don't pull magic ring too tight.
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 2: * 2 sc in next ch 5 sp, 2 hdc in same sp, 2 dc in same sp, 2 hdc in same sp, 2 sc in same sp; repeat from * around 5 times; sl st in starting sc.

Round 3: Ch 4 (counts as 1 dtr), * 1 tr in next st, 1 dc in next st, sk next st, 3 dc in next dc, ch 3, 3 dc in next dc, sk next st, 1 dc in next st, 1 tr in next st, 1 dtr in each of next 2 st; repeat from * around 5 times, omitting last dtr of final repeat; sl st in 4th ch of starting ch 4; 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 the snowflake twirl freely whenever you walk by! Snowflake also may be taped to window or tied to doorknob or cabinet handle.


My first and favorite dahlia so far; the plant didn't survive the winter.

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