Oh My Stars! Or, A Crochet Evolution.

I have a confession to make: I am already thinking about Christmas.

It pains me to admit it, because I am always the first to feel amazed and disgusted that Christmas-themed anything (everything) is already appearing in stores in October. What about Halloween! I protest. And Thanksgiving too! I cry. But this year, I guess, I’m on the wagon (sleigh?) too. Because the making of Christmas cards is looming large in my brain.

Which brings me to stars. It occurred to me that little crochet stars tied to tag-like postcards (an ornament AND a Christmas card! rad!) would be cute – perhaps even superlatively so. Plus, it was an idea that would provide an opportunity to make tons of those sweet little stars I saw once on Ravelry – how perfect!

Only it turns out that the sweet little star pattern I remember is published in Finnish (in Ulla, which is a bit like a Finnish Knitty).

I don’t speak a whit of Finnish. But was I feeling deflated? Deterred? Nosiree.

Now, there is an Ulla knits group on Ravelry, and certain members of this group have even very kindly offered translation assistance, and I suppose that if I were smart I would have availed myself of these resources. But once I get an idea lodged firmly in my head I am far too impatient to accommodate things like time zones and busy working lives. No. I was going to make stars. And I was going to make them right now.

My poor Ulla star. You are nothing like you are supposed to be.

So, I made my own attempts at translation, thanks in large part to the amazing resource that is this knitter’s guide to Finnish. And though I would describe these efforts as valiant (though obstinate and preposterous are also good words for it), in practice, my translation was found wanting. And my stars? Well, they turned out…not quite right.

I’m sure some of this is due to the fact that my gauge is considerably larger than intended (I assume). I think the other part of it is that I completely made up the last two rows of the pattern. And my result was too large, too finicky, and too time consuming to make for 35 or so Christmas cards.

But this (mis)adventure was not a total loss. Rather, it was a crash course in star-making. And after a bit of fiddling, I came up with my own pattern. Which was so easy, satisfying and quick that within a weekend I’d crafted my own milky way.

In fact, I had so much fun with these sweet Malabrigo stars that – even without prompting – I plan to write up the pattern and share it. I hope to have it ready for you by the end of the week. Saturday, let's say. Does Saturday work for everyone?