Snowflake Monday

Snowflake-a-Day No. 52 - A twelve-sided snowflake?! Actually, these are two small hexagons that "glued" together in the air at almost a perfect 30 degree angle. A rare breed indeed! #snow #snowflake #macro #weather #meteorology #ice #nature #fractal #physics #science #winter

A post shared by Don Komarechka (@donkomphoto) on Feb 17, 2018 at 4:52pm PST

Are you tired of Don's faux 12-pointer yet? I'm certainly not! I may have one or two more 12-point snowflakes starting from triangles up my sleeve!

My goal was to get five snowflakes ahead so I could concentrate on photographing my niece's wedding, then downloading, editing and uploading the photos. This is the fifth snowflake, I'm writing this post a few weeks before the wedding, and hopefully I will be all done with the photos by the time this pattern is published!

I can't tell you how much I love today's pattern. I picked a very special name because I think this is my favorite of the Pyramid flakes so far.

I was born just north of the mighty Rio Grande in El Paso, Texas. I grew up on the opposite side of the Organ Mountains of southern New Mexico from the Rio Grande. When I got older, I made several trips to Bosque del Apache, a beautiful wildlife preserve along the Rio Grande wetlands in the center of New Mexico. Still later, I spent a great deal of time camping, fishing, exploring, hiking and photographing everything around Elephant Butte, also in central New Mexico. That reservoir is right on the Rio Grande.

I guess you could say I have Rio Grande in my blood.


So does my Lizard. He has wanted to climb Rio Grande Pyramid since before we met. He's seen the peak from the summits of 14ers Windom and Sunlight, but that's as close as he's been so far. This is another area we both long to explore one day.

Rio Grande Pyramid, at 13,821 feet is Colorado''s 97th tallest peak. A ridge running south from the summit contains a gorgeous rock cut called The Window, a place where I plan to take many, many photos.


The Rio Grande Valley in Colorado
This has absolutely nothing to do with today's pattern, but one of my bosses has worked hard to qualify for the Boston Marathon this year, and she's running today!!! I'm so proud of her! In honor of her achievement and participation, here's one of my favorite music videos of all time. Go, Melissa!

UPDATE: Melissa finished in 3:50! Pretty darned awesome! I also learned another member of our work group in another state ran, and Drew finished in 3:27!!! Way to go, Drew!!!


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: 7.5 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

Rio Grande Pyramid 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 (beginning popcorn stitch made), [ch 5, 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)] 2 times; ch 2, 1 tr in top of starting popcorn st to form 3rd ch 5 sp of Round. Pull magic ring tight.

Round 2: Beginning popcorn st over post of tr directly below, [ch 5, popcorn st in next ch 5 sp, ch 5, popcorn st in same ch 5 sp] 2 times; ch 5, popcorn st in starting ch 5 sp, ch 2, 1 tr in top of starting popcorn to form 6th ch 5 sp of Round.

Round 3: Beginning popcorn st over post of tr directly below, ch 3, popcorn st in same sp, * in next ch 5 sp work (popcorn st, ch 3, popcorn st, ch 5, popcorn st, ch 3, popcorn st); repeat from * around 4 times; popcorn st in starting ch 5 sp, ch 3, popcorn st in same sp, ch 2, 1 tr in top of starting popcorn to form 6th ch 5 tip of Round.
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 3 (counts as 1 dc and ch 1), * 1 dc in next ch 3 sp, ch 11, 1 sc in 2nd ch from hook and in each of next 2 ch, 1 hdc in each of next 3 ch, 1 dc in each of next 3 ch, ch 1, 1 dc in next ch 3 sp (cone spoke made), ch 1, 1 dc in next ch 5 tip, ch 15, 1 sc in 6th ch from hook and in each of next 8 ch, ch 1, 1 dc in same ch 5 tip (skinny spoke made), ch 1; repeat from * around 5 times, omitting last ch and last dc of final repeat; sl st in 2nd ch of starting ch 3.

Round 5: Sl st in next ch 1 sp, starting * popcorn st in same ch 1 sp (or next ch 1 gap between spokes on repeats), ch 8, 1 sc in tip of cone picot, ch 3, 1 sc in same tip, ch 8, popcorn st in ch 1 gap between spokes, ch 12, 3 dc in skinny spoke tip, ch 3, 3 dc in same tip, ch 12; repeat from * around 5 times; sl st in starting popcorn.

Round 6: * Ch 12, popcorn st in top of cone spoke, ch 10, sl st in top of next popcorn, ch 10, 1 dc in each of next 3 dc, 3 dc in next ch 3 skinny spoke tip, ch 10, 3 dc in same tip, 1 dc in each of next 3 dc, ch 10, sl st in top of next popcorn; repeat from * around 5 times; 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.

Tweet

Pin It