Rad Hats for Rad Kids, originally uploaded by DawnsRays.

Two more hats for the Rad Bad Beanies pile! I love these two–so much fun.

Happy knitting!
~Dawn

08 fair, originally uploaded by DawnsRays.

Welcome Autumn!

We know fall is on the way when the county fair comes to town. That is where we spent Saturday evening. Eating loads of crap and listening to carnies yell ridiculous things to strangers in hopes that it will entice them to spend lots of cash. We refrained (pats on back).

Though I am a summer girl through and through (you will never hear me wishing for winter, though there are things I love about it), I can say with all honesty that autumn is one of the prettiest times of year. The colors that come out in Tennessee can only be seen during Sept./Oct. You cannot duplicate them no matter how hard you try and this is why. . . the light. That is what makes autumn so glorious; it is the slant of the light and how it seems to make everything glow from within. So, welcome autumn in all of your intense glory, let the sense overload begin!

~Peace

1. Why did you join PRGE? Because I haven’t missed one since the inception (except and quickie summer one last year)

1.a. Have you done other swaps? Are you doing other swaps right now? Why yes, I have and No, I am currently only in this one.
2. What are your five favorite things? (these don’t have to be knit related) We will skip the obvious, which is knitting: reading, hanging with my family, taking photos, chocolate, snuggling with my husband after a long day.
2.a. Do these things allow any hints into your personality for your punk pal?  ah, no–not really

3. What are your three favorite things that you have made with knitting/crochet? The Shetland Triange shawl, a fair isle hat, and a Dragon Scales tank top
3.a. What do you tend to make with knit/crochet? hats in the late summer and fall because I tend to donate them to a charity (that is a hint, if you know me), lace things and scarves          
3.b. What do you hope to make (or complete that you have started) someday? a lace stole that is almost (or already at least a year old and growing weary)
4. What five things would you love to see in a swap box someday? Why?  some cool stitch markers, maybe a nice needle case, anything that smells good or tastes good, a book of pattern stitches, and a set of cable needles from Knit Picks (those cool muli-colored ones)
4.a. What do you hope to never see in a swap box again (or ever)? acrylic yarn, kitchen cotton (another hint if you read my blog), and pink.  

5. What are your three favorite yarns? What are your three least favorite yarns? FAVS: alpaca, Noro, Cascade 220 (cause you get a lot of bang for your buck) NO-NO’s:  kitchen cotton (stuff like Peaches n Cream, blah), Simply Soft or any 100% acrylic, and well, I’m not that picky

5.a. Do you like solid, self-striping, or multi-colored yarns? I like solid and LOVE heathered and really get into trouble with multi-colors cause I am attracted to all things party-like!  but I love it just the same.  
5.b. What are your favorite colors? What are your favorite colors to knit with?  purple, red, blue, green, really if it is a deep jewel tone I am on it.  I occasionally get into browns and neutrals but not often.
6. What are your five favorite delicacies?  good god!  um, dark chocolate or really nice milk chocolate, Taco Bell, Rick Black Coffe, Chai Tea, and handmade soap.
6.a. What yarn do you hope to one day try and why? Kauni so that I can make the Revontuli -huivi/Northern Lights Shawl.  It is in my Ravelry Que.

These are some needles I am testing for a friend before she decides if she should add them to her shop. I think they look really cool!

I have decided to scrap the new lace project on account of color choice. That lace yarn I lasted posted about is making me want to gag. Blah! I hate the colors! It is like washed out camouflage. I don’t know what I am going to do with the yarn but I will not be knitting with it. Life is to short. If you think you may want it, please let me know. I would love for someone who finds it appealing to have it and love it. In this house it will only be hidden away. Any takers?

Have a great day!

Wish you could smell these roses!  Have a great weekend, everybody!

what’s this lady doing?!?!

Originally uploaded by kivajo

This photo is from my sisters flickr page. Please feel free to visit and comment (she is a lot of fun). Anyway, we went to a newly opened Whole Foods in the Nashville area over the weekend and she brought her camera (as she is pron to do) and snapped this one of me sneaking bread samples (I prefer the cheese samples but we’d already made that round). The store is huge and the produce section is like a painting! Just gorgeous! She has a picture of the biggest elephant garlic I have seen. It is the size of a softball–you should hop over and check it out.

I know you all will be busy over the next few days with Thanksgiving preperation, so Have a great Thanksgiving everyone!!

Peace and Blessings for you and your loved ones,
Dawn

I saw this commercial and was in a trance. I LOVE the Devo song and the whole entire commercial is so 80’s! I love it!!! (dig the chicks finger-tip gloves–totally impractical but very very cool).

Carry on. Oh, I almost forgot–MORE COWBELL (ha!)

Well, here is a little bit of the goings on in my knit world. The first picture is Clapotis 1 and 2. One is being done in the chunky hand-dyed yarn my secret pal sent me (on #10 needles) and two is being done with a dk weight alpaca on #8 needles.

As you can see, on number one I have already begun to drop stitches. On number two, not yet. These could take me a little while but they are great projects for watching t.v. I can’t knit and watch movies, though. I have to pay attention to my movies. Most t.v shows I can look away and still get what is going on.

Next up, we have the ponchette laying on the diningroom table, just hanging out and drying. I think I have it blocked out to the proper size but we all know that until I get it sewn up the side and try it on, the jury is still out. It looks nice laying there, though.

And just a bit of commentary because I can. If you call me “nappy headed” or a “ho”, I will break your jaw. If you do it on a radio show for thousands to hear–well, let’s just say public ridicule is a bitch, man. Deal with it. Also, Pac Man Jones will be suspended for an entire year with the Titans. I am smiling with glee. Okay, enough of that depressing bit of Americana. Go out and say something nice and do something nice for a stranger. It will help to cleanse the collective conscience, I promise.

Remember this:

Well, it is done and ready to be blocked. I hope to have it on the diningroom table sometime today. That should cause much fuss with my oldest. Everytime I need to block something he comes in and goes, “what the hell is that on the table?” usually followed by, “I need to do some homework (ha) where can I put this?” shows me his gigantic drawing pad. So, we’ll see.

Oh, the weather has turned to crap. Truely. Since I have lived in Tennessee, I do not believe we have had a decent Easter weekend. It is either raining, cold, or bloody windy. We will surely get 2 out of three this year. They call it a “dogwood winter” because the dogwood trees are in full bloom (gorgeous) and it is freezing here at night. I think the hardy perenials will survive it but we had idiots who planted annuals and stuff when the weather was 80 degrees. Hello, it is still SPRING. Safe planting time is after April the 15th here.

Wow, you really care about the plant and harvest zones of the South, don’t you? I have been making a few surprises for my PRGE secret pal. I can’t wait to send her the next package. It is gonna be full of goodies and quite a few will be homemade.

Happy Easter, Spring, New Beginnings, or in our case, Welcome back WINTER!!

May your glass be ever full,
may the roof over your head
be always strong,
and may you be in heaven
half an hour before the devil
knows you’re dead.

HAPPY ST. PATRICK’S DAY! CHEERS!