Boomer in ToyLand

It was recently brought to my attention that it's been a while since we've had a post entirely dedicated to the wonderful little fluff-ball that is Boomer.

So, in response to public demand, this one is all about Boomer. My Little Boomie is a deep and complex little doggie, with many sides and many moods. It was hard to decide which of these complexities to feature in today's entry, so I decided on his playful nature.

When I first told Boomie that I would (finally) be posting about him, he was modestly flattered.

Once the flattery wore off, he went right to work picking out his favorite shots of himself and his favorite toys (just a warning, there were many photos to choose from - heavy pic post ahead)!

Sometime, Boomie can't be bothered to go and track down a soft little squeekable, and will just make do with whatever is closest! Clever doggie!

And of course when a doggie plays this hard, he sleeps hard, too! Nightie night!

Simple Pleasures

The makings of a perfect summer afternoon:

In case you need specifics.....

1. An original Aloha Pineapple smoothie with a vitamin boost from Jamba Juice.
2. One lovely little cake of hand dyed Araucania Ranco sock wool in maroon.
3. A DVD of "Lars and the Real Girl". Awesome, awesome movie!!

Oh yes, and a curious little doggie wondering why I'm taking pictures of inanimate objects that are not nearly as cute as he is!

Pacing yourself is key

Since I've been spending more and more time on my favorite time-sucking website, Ravelry, I decided to participate in the Ravelympics. What are the Ravelympics, you ask? Well, basically it's a "competition" of knitters and crocheters that coincides with the Olympics going on in Beijing.

The idea is that you join up with a team (I joined Team Colorado), sign up for some events, (I entered PetsPommelHorse) and pick a project to make that coincides with the event.

The rules are pretty simple: You cannot cast on until the opening ceremonies start, and you have to be 100% completely done by the end of closing ceremonies.

Since (as I've mentioned once or twice) I tend to be a slower knitter, I decided to play it safe and picked a project that I'm sure I'll be able to finish in 17 days.

I'm going to be knitting a Paw Cozy (actually, I'm going to knit two of them). Here are some photos of the Cozy from the knitty.com website.

The best part about this project, is that I already had this yarn in my stash - yay, no shopping required! Although the two yarns look similar, they colors are pretty different. One is more of a dark blue/blue gray mix, the other is a dark blue/light blue/green mix. They are both 60% wool 40% acryllic blends, and of course (most importantly) machine washable.

I do have one confession though: In true KnittyBoomBoom fashion, I won't be casting on this evening (yes, I know, shocking that I'm not starting something on time), but I will be casting on this weeekend. Slow and steady - that's me!! Go Team, Go!!!!

Karma is a Knitter

Let me set the scene: So, there I was, having an icky week. You know - counting down the days to the weekend, when all of a sudden, there it was, in the most unlikely of all places to find happiness - my mailbox!! A package full of sunshine from my Swap Buddy!

I could hardly contain myself as I tore into it (yes, I get excited easily)! So much goodness to brighten up one's day!!

Included were a Calorimetry - or cool knit headband that's supposed to keep your head warm in the winter without wearing a hat- that she knit up herself. My Buddy totally did her homework on this one - I was so going to make one of these for myself.

Also some awesome yarns. A skein of Claudia's Hand Painted yarn in a fingering weight Merino. It's a gorgeous combination of purples called "Midnight" (the photo does not do it justice!).

And, a ball of Filati Cabo Verde in green and white. It's a cotton/acrylic blend that is oh-so-soft! And some citrus scented Soak (in the background there).

She also included some stitch markers - can never have too many!

And, someone must have told her about my weakness and love of all things notebook-y, because she included a cute little one as well.

All in all, a totally awesome care package from a totally awesome Swap Buddy, that made this frown turn upside down!!

Rip Van BoomBoomWinkle

My, my, my....where has the time gone? So long since a new post, it's almost as though I was on summer vacation!! Ahhh, remember summer vacation? But, I digress.

Yes, KnittyBoomBoom is back - I know that all three of you are thrilled to bits - hopefully on a much more regular basis, but ya' never can tell!

I've been trying to do some knitting every day, and slowly (very slowly) but surely, things are coming along. My new favorite project to work on is my Mitered Square Blanket from Mason Dixon Knitting. The entire blanket ends up needing something like 80 of these squares, so I definitely have a long way to go, but I get my "instant gratification fix" each time I finish up a square.

Here is some of what I've finished so far - they just need to be blocked to get rid of the curly edges then seamed together (once I finish all of the squares, that is):

By the way, that's not a green and black striped square, it's actually a dark purple, which looks much cooler than the photo shows.

Since this project is going to take some time, I decided not to get crazy with buying all of the yarn up front (a first for me), and am just buying a skein or two at a time, and seeing what type of color combos I end up with. It will either be a hideous FO or wickedly awesome!!!

I'm using the yarn the pattern actually calls for (another first). It is Tahki Cotton Classic, and oh so yummy to work with! I love love love this yarn!!

Work on the Slow Bee came to a bit of a stall after restarting it after the traumatic frogging incident, but progress is again picking up. I also have a few other things on the needles, but will reveal those details on another post.

Boomer sends his love, and sends out his apologies for not getting a post out sooner - just another reason to consider a Thumb Augmentation. Silly doggie, thumbs are for people!

Fluff Piece

Turns out, a good bath, and a nice brushing can do wonders for one's outlook. At least that's what I can tell from Boomer. Over the last couple of years of having him, I've come to love all his many looks. Fluffy, trimmed, long ears, short ears, uneven clumps, etc, etc. It's funny, though, how deceiving a few ounces of fur can look. When Boomie is at his fluffiest, he easily looks like he's at least 10 pounds (or more according to some), but alas, under all that snowy-white fluff, he's his usual lean, mean 7 pounds.

Judge for yourself - here he is at full, maximum fluffiness, looking buff:

But, after a few hours at the doggie salon (aka torture shop), we can see that under all that extra poofiness, he's still just a sweet little doggie, with a very handsome profile.....

who still loves the simpler things in life, like a good chewie!

Nobody Said This Would Be Easy...

Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale,

A tale of a fateful trip.

That started with a ball of yarn,

And some sticks with pointy tips!

Ha - I crack myself up! But seriously, this is a lot of knitting content in this post - all about my Slow Bee adventures. (just warnin' ya'!)

So, I finished up my gauge swatch a couple of weeks ago, blocked it, and was more or less pleased with how it came out. My gauge was correct (yay), even though my swatch ended up looking a little wonky from my half-assed blocking. I knit the top of the swatch with the clear beads I had purchased, and the bottom with the matching/multi colored beads. I decided the clear was definitely the way to go. They blend in with the yarn, but give off just enough sparkle when the light hits them just so. (They're kinda hard to see in the photo, but trust me, they work!)

So, with that final decision made, I was off and knitting Clue 1 of the KAL. As I'm sure I've mentioned once or twice, I tend to knit on the slow side, and since this was my first time knitting something so intricate, I was extra careful (slow). I decided to follow the old "an ounce of prevention..." methodology, and took the time to place my stitch markers before and after each repeat; I counted my stitches between the markers at the end of each row; I inserted my life line (the white thread you can see running through the middle of my work), just in case; and even invested in some "grown up" needles to aid in my quest.

(Brief pause to gush about the aforementioned needles - they are the Addi Turbo Lace Needles, in size 3 with a 47 inch cable. I love love love them!!! The slickness of the needles, the sharpness of the points, the smoothness of the cable joins - I feel a song coming on (but I'll spare you!)!)

I consulted the pattern often, and as I started to see the pattern emerge, I got more and more confident. Placing the beads turned out to be a snap, and with my new extra sharp needles, those tricky ssk's and k3tog's were cake! I found my groove and started to make some progress. Five days of work (told you I was slow), and I was just about done with clue 1. Couldn't wait to start on clue 2, and after a lovely evening of knitting, I went to bed on Sunday with a feeling of accomplishment.

Just as I was drifting off to sleep, I woke up with a jolt. OH. NOOOOOOO. I've been knitting the borders totally WRONG!!! ARGH!!!! Who knows why it occurred to me just then, but I had to get up right then and check the pattern. Yup - totally wrong!

The edges are supposed to be knit in garter stitch (knit on both sides), I was knitting one side and purling the other. What a rookie mistake!

I've hardly been able to even look at my Slow Bee since then. I went on Ravelry to see how others were faring with their KAL's (aka commiserate and whine), and checked out the Slow Bee message board. I bored my BFF daily with my dilemma. Basically, I was living in Denial Town for the last 4 days. I just could not bring myself to utter that horrible F-word, even though I knew, in my heart, I'd have to (gulp) frog it and start over.

I know that I'm not the first to frog this project - doubt that I'll be the last. I'm just bummed and annoyed that it was for something so dumb. Live and learn I guess.

So, today was the the day. The Slow Bee came out of it's time-out, posed for some last photos, and was frogged until it was no more.

This is what was left:

Turns out, I survived the frogging, and cast on once again for the Slow Bee KAL. What an adventure it's been so far. I've laughed, I've cried, and even learned a little something about myself! Tee-hee, dramatic much??