Blanket Here is a finished object I worked on over the Thanksgiving holiday. It is a baby blanket for my niece. She is pregnant with her second child. The colors in the photo came out really off, but here goes:

I used the pattern called "Simple Crocheted Baby Blanket" (not original by any means, but I didn't write it up). I used two skeins of RH Tweed I had bought on clearance a year ago (in denim) and found that wasn't gonna be enough so I went in search of another skein. Not happening, so I bought one skein in a cranberry color and the picture is the result of it. She is having a boy and I think this is very masculine. The weight of this blanket is wonderful and so easy to work up. I'm very happy with the results (but definitely not my photo of it).

Last nite was our oldest son's football banquet. It was a night for the senior ball players to get honored with a ring and their jerseys. We were so proud. It was worth it just to see how awkward it is to watch young men get hugged by coaches that throughout the session yelled at them. I was choking back great whoops of laughter every time a player walked up and each coach reach out to shake their hands and then hug them. These poor boys, half of which probably never have physical contact with their parents much less a coach, didn't know which way to put their heads or how close was to close. Funny stuff! No pictures cause like the photo whiz I am, I forgot the camera.

My husband started his new job today and I can't wait to hear all about it when he gets home. Well, it will probably have to wait cause I have to go in to work for about an hour and a half starting at 5pm and our youngest has his first basketball practice at 7pm so we probably won't see each other till after 8pm. Crap! I'm just glad he is working again. My house was looking like shit. I have spent most of the day cleaning and putting away things that have been laying about for weeks. It is by no means the way I want it, but it is started!! I can't get anything done with a house full of males laying about like a pride of lions during the daylight hours. It's just wrong.

Anyway, I'm off to work somemore on the ripple lapghan I'm making for charity. Can't wait to show this one off!! It is looking awesome.
Peace all~ DAWN  ¶ 12:47 PM |

  Thankful For. . . Secret Pals!!! get a look at my reveal from Ashleigh aka:AshEgypt(click her name and check out her blog. . .she's got a lot going for her).

This is organized chaos. She wrapped each thing individually and my youngest had a blast upwrapping for me. Can you believe this! She spoiled me ROTTEN.


Here is a picture after I organized it a bit.
You can't see the great scarves she made, but there is a bronze one and a red mobious neck scarf. I love them both. Tons of yarn, a book of Knit hats, lots of extras plus, she spoiled each of my kids. She made the older ones some killer iPod cozies and the young one got a giant Hershey bar (that was a sought after gift by everyone). . .take a look at this:


You can see a close up of her iPod skully sweaters here: Skully Sweaters
She is very talented. This was a great swap. I enjoyed spoiling my pal and I really really enjoyed being spoiled by my pal. Thank you, Ashleigh!! Yippie!!


Peace and enjoy the lingering moments of this Thanksgiving weekend, everybody. ~ DAWN  ¶ 12:04 PM |

  Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone!

Here's hoping that each of you have a blessed thanksgiving day and remember to pass on that gratitude throughout the year.

p.s. don't over do it, Christmas is right around the corner--it's all about pacing yourself. After all, you want to save room for that fruitcake don't cha?

Peace all~ DAWN
  ¶ 6:22 AM |

  Movies, Movies Hello, My name is Johnny Cash.

Yes, it is worth the ticket price to see this movie. Not only are the parts played well, but the music is really well done. Don't shoot me or anything, but I think I like Joaquin and Reese's singing better. They pack a lot into the 2 plus hours covering the years 1944-1968. Two negatives for me. . . the ending kind of kurplunked and June was overly sweet. Other than that. . . two thumbs up.

Now, how about that Harry?

Not only have the characters grown up but so has the movie. Very good special effects and who doesn't think magic is cool after all these years. No more bold stripped yellow and red scarves for these teens, they are chic narrow stripes of gold and maroon, fine knit scarves now. The kids are much more secure in there abilities ,too. I love that Harry is nervous, but rises to the challenges (unlike the quivering Frodo in Lord of the Rings--grow some balls already). Dark? maybe. Some heavy images to deal with for kiddies? yeah. If you are over 8 and seen the others, then go for it. There are so many subtle lessons given in these books/movies ; you really want you kids to learn them. "you will have to choose what is right or what is easy"

I say, go to the movies, people. With your significant other or with the kids in tow. You won't be disappointed.

Peace~ DAWN

  ¶ 5:27 PM |

  Christmas already? Well, I finally made my first stocking. Pretty cool, if I do say so myself. I used this pattern:
Waiting for Santa. The pattern takes forever to load up. It's PDF, but it was super easy and there are three sizes to choose from. I did the smallest (11 inches long) but you can choose 17 or 21 inches also. I think I will try a smaller hook and the larger size next time. This one is a little holey for my taste. It is going in a gift basket that we are giving away at work.

Me and the husband are going to see "Walk the Line" tonite. I'm not a Johnny Cash fan per say but I love Joaquin Phoenix. Any movie I have ever seen him in he really gets into his character and is very passionate about his part. You just believe he is whoever he is portraying. Plus, I'm a sucker for a good love story. On Sunday we are going to see the Harry Potter movie. There will be reviews a plenty afterwards. So, enjoy your weekend and relax.... it's the holidays.
Peace~ DAWN
p.s. I truely need to get a different background for my FO. That happens to be the sheet on my massage table at the moment and it is finding is floral way into a lot of shots. Yuck!
Oh, and here is the Candy Corn Candle. I don't know why I put my hand in there. I was trying to show size but it just looks like a weird attempt at trick photography. If it were real, I'd be really sick right now.  ¶ 12:45 PM |

  Ladder Scarf
Ladder Scarf:

1 skein Lion Brand Jiffy Thick and Quick (#6 super bulky weight)
(I used "Adirondacks")
N hook
(finished size: excluding fringe 65" x 3")
* caution: this uses almost the whole skein. If you are a loose crocheter you might not have enough for the fringe

Ch 130
Dc in 4th chain from hook, dc in next chain, ch 1, skip next chain, *dc in next 2 chains, ch 1, skip next chain, repeat from* across to last chain.

Sides:
3 hdc on side of the last dc made; now, working in backside of chain, *hdc in each dc, ch 1, skip ch space, repeat from* to end, 3hdc on side of last dc, work from * up other side, slip stitch in the first hdc and fasten off.

Fringe: Cut 12 strands of yarn 12 inches long. Holding 2 together, fold in half and attach 3 groups of fringe to each end.  ¶ 2:16 PM |

  I got this in the mail yesterday: It's a pretty good book with some nice patterns for crochet. I guess I was just having withdrawels for a new book. It's layed out nicely and has some good tips in it.

I have been working on a few gifts and some charity stuff. I hope to have some pictures up by Thursday and a new scarf pattern! {cause you can't have to many of those--actually I have 2 scarf patterns, but I need to re-test one before I put it up-- don't want any wonky scarves flying around out there in the cold}.

Had a most unproductive day {thanks to a client who decided not to show even after having a reminder call yesterday}. So, I had to go to town for an appointment and kill an hour and a half till I had to go in for one client and then she didn't show. Grrrrrrr I did get some paperwork done and I made a scarf in an hour so my day wasn't a total loss. Bonus, we got our new feather comforter today!!

I was gifted the other day with a giant Candy Corn candle! It is so cool. I will include it in the upcoming photos. Plus I got a thank you for some donations I made in the form of 3 balls of ribbon yarn! wow--Saturday was a good package day. Hope you all have a great rest of the week. If you watch Medium--next week is 3-D!! I got my t.v guide with the glasses in it today. Yay!
Peace~ DAWN  ¶ 5:12 PM |

  Marvelous Mini Tote, completed I F***ing Hate blogger sometimes!!!!!!!!!
This is my second attempt at posting this so here goes:

I finished making the Marvelous Mini Tote by Deneen. It is so fast and looks great, so if you want to try fulling/felting whatever, give this pattern a try. If you want a wool yarn that is great to full with then try Wool of the Andes by www.knitpicks.com or the wool from www.handpaintedyarn.com. I used Maderas from handpaintedyarns and it fulled in two cycles, 2! I dare you to find the stitches. Dare you. You can't even see them. All you see is the blended variations of color. I love it.

Here are the pictures all in a row, cause this is were blogger screwed with me (the cd is for size reference only, not a plug).

Well, there you have it. Have a great day and I am out of here. Back to work for me and away from the stress of blogging with photos! Arugh!

Peace~ DAWN

  ¶ 2:15 PM |

  Good Things Look what I found lurking on the magazine rack at Hastings yesterday. Wow, it is full of really good patterns {can't you tell by my eyes}. So find it and buy it; mucho worth it.




If that weren't enough goodness to share with you, then take a gander at my new iPod holder. My poor iPod has scratches on it and it takes a beating (for some reason, my sons, who have their own pods, choose to listen to mine on an almost daily basis, go figure). I made it with Landscapes sock yarn from www.KnitPicks.com and it is so soft. It's like a bear hug for my iPod.
I now have a whole 390 songs on the thing. Latest additions are: Brain Stew by Green day and Beat My Guest by Adam and the Ants (both off SLC Punk cd). Yah!
Peace and have a great day
~DAWN
  ¶ 7:34 AM |

  Crochet Sunday: I don't know what is going on with me but lately I have been making tons of hats. Maybe it is the impending colder weather or all these one skeiners I have laying around. All I know is, if I don't down size my stash pretty soon I may have to do a lot of karmic cleansing cause I really can't justify buying more yarn. No matter how beautiful it may be. Having said that, I bid on some recycled silk on eBay last night and have 4 days till I know if I got it. Help!!

To top it off my handpainted yarn came yesterday. I bought 2 skeins for Deneen's Marvelous Mini Tote and one skein of buttery soft wool for this hat:

See how fast that was. I think it took me longer to wind it on the winder than to crochet the hat. It is edged in some lushous yarn my secret pal sent me. If that weren't enough I cranked out this hat this morning:

It is the purple one (yes, that is purple cotton tots next to my soft skully). I made that one for my co-workers little girl. Problem: it looks to big for a toddler, so. . . I'm making a second one now with a hook 2 sizes smaller and it is looking perfect for a youngins' head. I think I will give that one above to my other co-worker for her little girl, she's a bit older.

Anyhow, I am by no means done with the hats so prepare yourselves for hat overload in the coming weeks, months, whatever.

Oh, and I'm so glad some of you all checked out the site from yesterdays post and liked it. I want something like that so badly for crocheters I can hardly stand it!! I mean it. Seriously. If nothing else a combo of crochet and knit. I'd settle for that. Just some cool and offbeat patterns. I'm trying people, I really am, I just don't know that I have all that much ingenuity.

I'm off to crochet, eat, drink, and watch football now. Have a great Sunday!!

Peace~ DAWN

  ¶ 12:11 PM |

  Follow the Written Instructions Attention:
You may or may not knit. I don't care, you MUST go here Now!! {browse around then come back}

Pretty cool, huh? Now, go forth and tell others.

~DAWN  ¶ 8:29 AM |

  Confessions of a Yarnaholic Okay, please don't judge me. I just stumbled upon this while fingering the yarns in the aisle at Hobby Lobby. There it was. . . 5 skeins of LB Thick and Quick:

all mismarked. Instead of $6.68 they were marked for $1.86!! I did a double take like three times. Then I thought "charity hats!" {I did to}. So, I took it as a Karmic sign that I was to take all the yarn that was mis-marked (hence the odd ball in the front) and make hats for charity out of it all. Yes! that is what was being said to me. If you don't believe me, how do you explain the fact that all the labels have knit hat/scarf sets on them EXCEPT for ONE! One has a crochet pattern for a hat/scarf set {see it in the upper left of the photo}. Exactly. Karma. You get this yarn for next to nothing if you give it away. So I gathered up my other yarn purchases--to be photographed later-- and made like a bandit (uh, bad choice of words) to the check out and skee-daddled out of there.

Trick or Treating went well. We woke up without any T.P in our trees {which is always a sigh of relief for me}. Others in the neighborhood were not as lucky. I must say, however, that they were poor attempts at toilet paper throwing. They were either weak or drunk. We are left with tons of tootsie roll minis and some Mike and Ike's {which is why I saved those in reserve. Tootsies are my fav. halloween treat}. I think our house got skipped a lot cause my son was wearing a creepy old man mask. I'll post it later. Anyway, he said kids kept running past our house when they would see him sitting in the driveway. He eventually came in to have my oldest sit out for awhile. Lazy boy made the kiddies come to the door. I thought sitting in the dim light of pumpkin glow with goulish music playing was much better but what does a mother know.

Hope you all had fun. Peace~ DAWN  ¶ 2:10 PM |