Crochet Snowflakes

Last Christmas I crocheted my dad a giraffe hat (because he likes giraffes), and I had so many problems with figuring out a good pattern that I had to stop and restart numerous times, and ultimately the gift arrived a day after Christmas. I don't have a picture of my dad wearing his hat, but here is a blurry, poorly lit, phone picture of Eric wearing it just before I shipped it. I was pretty sad that my parents didn't get their Christmas presents on time, and all because I couldn't get it together with this hat, which I had been planning to make him for months and months.

When we were visiting my parents in Texas this summer they gave me a book of crochet snowflake patterns. My mom made it really clear to me that she wanted some of these for her Christmas tree. After crocheting the knight hoods for Halloween I started making snowflakes, and I learned pretty quickly that they were more challenging than I expected. My mom's birthday is November 3, so I had enough time to finish and send just three snowflakes.

But for Christmas, my offering was much more significant. These are just 15 of the twenty I sent. And bonus! I got them shipped on December 15, and they arrived in time for Christmas. (The others were in the starching process.)

These are fairly challenging to make, simply because the hook is small, and the thread is fairly delicate. It is not the same as working with yarn. Each one takes between thirty minutes to an hour. The largest ones are about 3 inches across, and the smaller ones are about 1.5 inches. I watched a lot of "House M.D." while working on these beauties. I hope to continue to work on them all year so our own tree can be decorated with them next Christmas.

Here are some closeups: