Wordless Wednesday

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Going for the Greens

With changes in all kinds of circumstances at home, I needed to be creative in my garden plans this year. I decided to give planting indoors from seeds and then transplanting outside in May or June another try. I punched holes in the bottoms of 12 clean yogurt containers, then slipped them into hole-less containers for proper drainage. I filled each with soil and dug out my stash seeds.

I used up all the tomato seeds (five varieties) in my stash. I didn't even know if any of them would grow. I think only one package was from last year; most were from up to a decade ago. My baby tomato plants might now be sold for at least $2.99 apiece in a garden center! Look how much money I'm saving!

I could not believe I didn't have a single pepper seed anywhere. I actually had to order fresh seeds. That cost almost as much as buying a couple of mature pepper plants in May! (And I should have enough seeds to last at least five years!) My new seeds arrived Saturday, so they're a bit later start than the tomato seeds, but I've never had trouble growing peppers from seeds. I'm not worried at all.

I, meanwhile, have been planting all my potato eyes all winter long, and I've been planting the bottoms of every onion I've used for the last year. Last year's seeds from onions I allowed to go to seed are coming up, also, and, tee hee hee, onions deter critters. A couple of carrots went to seed last year (as did some cilantro, basil, oregano and dill), and the seeds are beginning to sprout in the outdoor raised-bed gardens, even though we got more snow last week! My herbs perturb bunnies, and that's a joy to my soul. My volunteer rhubarb from last year is already making a raised-bed garden appearance, and it's keeping bunnies away from that box. The lavender, mint and sage are all starting to show fresh new green, and they deter critters. My indoor microgreens have been going strong for several months now. It's going to be a fresh, homegrown salad summer!

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Snowflake Monday

Last week's pattern marked the first of four smiling snowflakes I churned out in about 2013 and then forgot about for approximately a dozen years. I'm trying to reverse engineer the old flakes (which, in case you wondered, were made with my own hand-dyed size 30 crochet thread and a size 12 crochet hook) now, each with (in my opinion) the best of the four faces I created back then. I think I was in "if at first you don't succeed" mode back then because the four smiling face snowflake centers are similar, but each shows a bit of improvement. Today's is the second of the batch. I plan to re-create the final two in the coming weeks. A month full of chilled smiles!

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: 6.5 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

Happy Thoughts Snowflake Instructions

Special Stitches: fdc (foundation double crochet)

Make magic ring.

Round 1: Ch 2 (counts as 1 dc), 11 dc in ring; sl st in 2nd ch of starting ch 2. Pull magic circle tight.

Round 2: Ch 4 (counts as 1 tr), 2 tr in same ch as sl st, ch 2, sk next dc, 2 tr in next dc, ch 2, sk next dc, 3 tr in next dc, 1 fdc in bottom of tr just worked, 1 dc in same fdc ch, [1 fdc, 1 dc in same fdc ch] 13 times, working last dc of final repeat by drawing up loop through 2nd and 3rd chains of starting ch 4 for first 2 tr yo (creating a linked tr/dc); sl st in 4th ch of starting ch 4.

Round 3: 1 sc in each st around, increasing 3 times, with two of the increases in the eye spaces, for a total of 36 sc; sl st in starting sc.
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 6 (counts as 1 sc and [ch 5), sk next 2 sc, 1 sc in next sc] 11 times; ch 2, 1 tr in 1st ch of starting ch 6 to form 12th ch 5 sp of Round.

Round 5: Ch 4 (counts as 1 sc and [ch 3), in next ch 3 sp work (3 dc, ch 3, 3 dc)*, ch 3, 1 sc in next ch 3 sp] 6 times, ending * on final repeat; ch 1, 1 dc in 1st ch of starting ch 4 to form 18th ch 3 sp of Round.

Round 6: Ch 6 (counts as 1 sc and [ch 5), 1 sc in next ch 3 sp, in next ch 3 tip work (3 dc, ch 3, 3 dc)*, ch 3, 1 sc in next ch 3 sp] 6 times, ending * on final repeat; ch 1, 1 dc in 2st ch of starting ch 6 to form final ch 3 sp of Round.

Round 7: Ch 1 (counts as 1 sc), [in next ch 5 sp work (1 dc, ch 6, sl st in 3rd ch from hook, 1 sc in next ch, ch 2, 1 dc), 1 sc in next ch 3 sp, ch 3, in next ch 3 tip work (3 dc, ch 3, 3 dc), ch 3, 1 sc in next ch 3 sp] 6 times, omitting last sc of final repeat; sl st in starting sc; 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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Friday Fortius

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Hooking Paradise

I haven't had as much sewing machine time as I would like, but my hook(s) has been busy. I just love portable projects I can take along to work on while waiting for appointments, etc.

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Wordless Wednesday

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Gag Me

I had a blog post ready to go for today (and it actually would have met one of the AI suggestions below), but when I went to hit the publish button, I noticed the date. I can't publish something serious on April 1!!! That's sacrilege!

However, that means I need to come up with something humorous. Do I even have anything to giggle about???

Here are AI suggestions, modified a bit by me. See if you can find my edits. That would be a great puzzle for the day!

You're asking for alternatives to celebrating or acknowledging April Fool's Day. Here are some ideas:

Focus on the upcoming spring season. Since spring has begun, you could focus on activities related to changing weather and nature, such as planting a spring garden, going for a hike, or celebrating spring.

Plan a fun activity. Instead of focusing on April Fool's Day pranks, you could plan a fun activity with friends or family, such as a game night, a movie marathon, or a picnic.

Do something nice for others. Instead of playing tricks, you could do something nice for others, such as volunteering, helping a friend, or simply saying kind words.

Get creative. You could try a new hobby, learn a new skill, or write a poem or song.

Start a new project. Now is a great time to start a new project, whether it's a personal goal or a creative endeavor, or just finish a WIP.

There's my humor angle!!! All my WIPS are finished!!! I can start something new!!! HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!! Now THAT'S funny!!!

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