Christmas Snowflakes

I just realized that I forgot to post this project!

Goodness me, how absent-minded. Well, I'm sure that plenty of people across the country have yet to take down their Christmas decorations, so surely this won't be so egregiously untimely as I can simply claim similar intentions.

Growing up with a rather creative mother who crochets, I remember having numerous crocheted lace snowflakes adorning our Christmas tree that we delicately wrapped in tissue (actual facial tissue, haha). They were always part of our ornament stash, so I never wondered where they came from. It wasn't for years that I actually realized my mother had made them herself!

So it was natural for me that during my very first year of learning to crochet lace that I make a few snowflakes that very Christmas. It turned out they make very good gifts!

I just *happened* to have some 30 gauge thread (the thinnest crochet thread readily available) in white lying around from one of my (cough) secret (cough) projects in progress, so I picked out my favorite snowflake pattern and whipped up 3 or 4 in a matter of days.

Before they're blocked they look like funny blobs:


I've been using a sheet of craft foam that I sit on top of my ironing board to block each of my items, but unfortunately it doesn't give very good contrast for the white snowflakes. I played with the contrast settings on this photo, but don't strain your eyes too much trying to see them.


I had some leftover silk ribbon a friend had given me that was extra from a college project of hers. I never knew what I was going to do with it, but it came in quite handy as a bow-tie for the snowflakes! Here you can see the finished product hanging above my fireplace (fireplace not pictured -- just trust me on it).


My output of snowflakes was severely limited by the fact that I left for the rig a good week before Christmas day. Let me know next year if you want a snowflake for Christmas, and I'll be sure to include one in your Christmas card!

Engagement Gift

I've been working on a lot of long-term projects lately that are intended to be surprises, so please excuse my lack of recent posts. I can't risk spoiling the element of surprise in the gifts by posting them all over the internet, after all!

But I can't quite excuse how late this post is, since this surprise gift was given back in July.

The gift was for my brother's fiance, Susan, in celebration of their engagement. Here is a picture of the happy couple:


At the time I was working on a crocheted lace project (no more details! That's a reeeallly long term project that is still a surprise). I used some of the thread from that and grabbed a string of beads from a nearby store in Houston on purpose to make a beaded lace necklace from the following pattern I found online.

I used white thread and faux turquoise beads, which were irregularly shaped and gave a much less regimented appearance once all assembled.

I had to think a good long while about how to make it work, and I eventually realized that I had to string all of the beads onto the thread ahead of time in order to successfully crochet them onto the necklace.

The crocheting itself took me around six hours, and I have to say I was quite pleased with the results! Here are some pictures of me modeling the finished product.



Now Susan probably has a much smaller neck than myself, so it won't be so much of a choker on her. I haven't had the luck to see her wear it, but she let me know how much she liked it. As soon as I have a picture of her wearing it, I'll add it to this post, but in the meantime here's a picture she took of it on a statuette she sent to me:


I'm expecting to do more beaded crochet pieces in the future, as this was a very successful first try!