Snowflake Monday

Today's snowflake has so much cool trivia behind it, I debated calling it a Trivia Snowflake. But I really love the name November Reign, so Trivia will have to wait until the next time the stars align.

For starters, this is my 400th snowflake pattern. (I have roughly 60 or so patterns that haven't been published yet, so that's why my directory doesn't show 400 snowflakes.) Is 400 worth a party or what?!?

I had just finished another crocodile stitch snowflake right before this one, and because of the final appearance of the mermaid scales, I wondered if a fan-type stitch would be easier, less bulky on the back and equally as visually effective. Today's snowflake answers that question with an exclamation point, in my opinion.

The prototype snowflake was created with the last little bit of my hand-dyed thread from about two years ago. I've been limiting myself to dyeing more thread only after I use up what I've already dyed.

I wrote this pattern the same night I finished the sixth of eight quilts that needed to be finished by Thanksgiving.

This snowflake was designed on the day of our first accumulative snowfall of the season.

It also happened to be Veterans Day, and I think the starry points honor the day and the purpose behind it. Today is Pearl Harbor Day. Both my grandfathers served during World War II, so today is a special day in my family.

Most important, this snowflake was designed on one of the most difficult days of a month-long challenge I'd taken on: shooting a sunrise every day of November, hence the snowflake name. There was no sunrise that day!

Most Novembers offer up the most incredible sunrises of the year in my little corner of the planet. November 2015 was stingy. I had more cloudless days than the ghosts of droughts past. A handful of overcast or Vanilla Sky mornings added a level of difficulty to the challenge. Yet I got a pretty creative "sunrise" on Veterans Day, and being able to eke out a dash of creativity on a gray day is a pretty empowering experience for me.

Today's snowflake is the first one to be published after the successful completion of my November Reign challenge. It's a symbol of accomplishment, with a glimmer of patriotism and a mountain of joy spun into it. It's not my favorite snowflake, but it marks some big things in my life!

Oh, and this probably was obvious, but I really liked the hauntingly mysterious and pre-drone "November Rain," too (as a mystery and not with the icky explanation of the plot) when I was much, much younger.


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: 4.5 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


November Reign Snowflake Instructions

Make magic ring.

Round 1: Ch 2 (counts as 1 dc), 4 dc in ring, take loop off hook, insert hook through 2nd ch of starting ch 2 and replace loop on hook, pull loop through ch (popcorn stitch made), * ch 8, sl st in 7th ch from hook, ch 1; 5 dc in ring, take loop off hook, insert hook through top loop of 1st dc and replace loop on hook, pull loop through top of 1st dc (popcorn stitch made); repeat from * 4 times; ch 1, 1 dc in top of starting popcorn to form 6th ch 3 sp of Round, ch 3, 1 tr in top of dc just made to form 6th ch 6 loop of Round. Pull magic circle tight.

Round 2: Ch 2 (counts as 1 dc), 6 dc over post of tr directly below, * 13 dc in next ch 6 loop; repeat from * around 4 times, 6 dc in starting loop, sl st in 2nd ch of starting ch 2.
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 5 (counts as 1 dc and ch 3), 1 dc in same ch as sl st, * ch 10, sl st in 4th ch from hook, 1 sc in next ch, 1 hdc in next ch, 1 dc in next ch, ch 4, 1 dc in middle (7th) dc of next 13/dc group, ch 3, 1 dc in same dc, ch 6, sl st in 3rd ch from hook, 1 sc in next ch, 1 dc in next ch, ch 1, 1 dc in same dc in main body of flake as previous dc, ch 3, 1 dc in same dc ; repeat from * around 5 times, omitting last 2 dc and last ch 3 of final repeat; sl st in 2nd ch of starting ch 5; 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.

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