All About Me Mondays

It's been a long time since I've done one of these All About Me Mondays. A time where I can tell all of you something about myself. I'm one interesting & awesome person after all!

This week I thought I would tell you about one of my hobbies! I love to Knit or at least to Quick Knit. Quick Knitting is where you use a Loom to Knit instead or Needles. I would love to learn to Knit without a loom in the future. Though for now I use looms. Looms can limit the different types of projects you can make. You would need a different shaped loom for different projects. 

**Photo Credit to KnittingLoomFactory.com**

I bought a set of the Rectangular Looms from Michael's. They also have a set of Round Looms which I have considered getting as well but I just don't wear hats! I upgraded to the Rectangle Looms from a Spool Loom (similar to this one but not this exact product). I felt extremely limited with the projects I could create with the Spool Loom. I made a few Tube Scarves like this one that Priscilla is modelling.

Priscilla the Fancy Pig

Priscilla is sporting a super gorgeous 10 foot long Green Tube Scarf. I made it 10 feet long so it could be wrapped around the neck multiple times to insure maximum warmth! 

After upgrading to Rectangular Looms I decided I would go for the Biggest Loom first. Not the smartest idea I've had since I was under the impression I could make a blanket out of it. Maybe a Baby Blanket but definitely not a blanket for an Adult. The below is what I've done so far on the biggest loom.

 It might be a little bit longer as this picture was taken a few weeks ago. After the blanket idea failed I decided upon using it as a shawl. Though lately I've been considering binding off the ends and finding a use for it at it's current length because I love this yarn and want to use the rest of it to make a gorgeous scarf! Also due to the length of the loom I get easily frustrated when I work on this project. 

Being that I have a short attention span I started using the smallest loom in the set to make scarves even though I was still working on the shawl project. 

This is the first scarf I made and what it looked like when I first started knitting and the finished product! The scarf itself is made using Loops & Threads Charisma Northern Lights Yarn. The L&T Charisma Yarn is the Yarn I use in all of my scarves and knitting projects. The yarn is thick and soft so they make for nice & toasty scarves! This scarf is about 5 1/2 feet long and took me about 6 days to knit! 

I like to knit when I'm watching TV or when I'm in the car as I'm not a very good passenger and it helps distract me! I've thought about challenging myself to knit a new scarf every two weeks! I doubt it will last long as I can already feel myself slowly getting bored with knitting. When I do reach my maximum level of boredom I will probably but it aside for awhile and then pick it up again in the future! Hopefully anyways as I have been known to cast things and food aside for good when I get bored/sick of it! 

Two weeks seems like a good length of time to make a scarf. Since I know I can knit a 5 1/2 foot long scarf in as little as 3 days if I push myself like I did this past weekend! 

I've already started a new scarf! In my new scarf I tried to use two different colored yarns to make an even more beautiful scarf like in the video I watched to learn how to bind off scarves. Turns out she used lighter or worsted weight yarn to make her scarf so when I tried to combine two strands of the yarn I was using I got this:

One Seriously Thick Yarn Caterpillar!

The Dark Purple Scarf of Love!

 I realized after a few rows that the scarf was going to be too thick so I stopped where I was a took the scarf off the loom! I think it looks like a Caterpillar! So after this fail cake I started another new scarf. I had wanted to give this Off-White & Dark Purple Scarf to my Gramma for Christmas but I guess I'll just be giving her a Dark Purple Scarf instead! I think she'll love it either way! Purple is her favorite color and I'm making it with love! So I know she'll love it! I also think my Mom will love it too so I might have to make her one too! 

I also have plans to make a Scarf for my best friend Missy for her Birthday in Jan. but the yarn I wanted to use is out of stock so I'll have to wait to start that project! 

What do you like to do in your spare time?

Until Next Time! Stay Beautiful :)

**All Pictures Are Mine**

Summer Recap Continued

The rest of July was spent inside fighting off some sickness. It made for a terrible two weeks. Eventually I was able to return normal. Sam normal anyways! 

The complex we live in has a pool. Every Summer I say I'm going to go swimming everyday or at least to try and go more often than I did last year. I even made Tuesdays Swimming Day but like most resolutions I make I don't end up sticking to. It worked for the first Tuesday and then several of the following Tuesday weren't very good weather. I'm one of those if-I-miss-one-week-I'm-done people. Also the screaming children often deters me from wanting to go swimming!  

In the middle of August Babe & I attended Henry Buggins' (Bernie's Dog) 2nd Birthday Party. Bernie threw him a Birthday Party last year and I wasn't able to attend. This year I was able to and I had a good time! Plus I got to take pictures and mess around with the filters on my camera & we all know I love doing that! 

 These are my favorite pictures of Henry from the party in the Punk filter on my camera! Henry wasn't the only dog there. Bernie's Mom and someone else brought their dogs.

 Overall I had a really great time at the party and look forward to next year's party! 

August also holds one of my favorite events of the Year!! The New York State Fair! I've gone nearly every year since I was little. For a number of years I lived within walking distance of the New York State Fairgrounds. We could here the concerts from our windows! Despite how much I love attending the New York State Fair I didn't go this year! I waited too long to make plans, didn't have enough money to splurge on what I usually splurge on and my anxiety made me acutely aware that I might be a burden to whoever I went to the fair with! 

My mom & my sister went to the Fair & took pictures of the Sand Sculpture for me! This year's Sand Sculpture was a Dr. Seuss inspired Sculpture. It had Horton Hears A Who, One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish, Yertle the Turtle, Cat in the Hat, The Lorax and several other Dr. Seuss characters and a few quotes in it! Definitely one of my favorite Sculptures so far! They also saw the Butter Sculpture but forgot to take a picture of it.

My Dad also went to the Fair this year & he stopped at the New York State Lottery Building for me. Each year they have a new lottery ticket at the State Fair and when you buy it you can get a Squishy (like a stress ball) and enter to win stuff such as more lottery tickets, more squishies, NYS Lottery Merchandise and more. The Squishy is different every year and I collect them! One year if was Horse. Another year it was a Duck (I have this one). The year after that (2012 I think) it was Fish and you had a few different ones to choose from! I had a few of the fish but I made the mistake of giving one to Henry and he tore it up. Last year the Squishy was a blue dice or a red dice. I have both! The Squishy for 2014 was sports: Hockey Puck, Football, Basketball and maybe a Baseball. The Baseball is the only one I don't have! 

The point of my Rant is that I LOVE the New York State Fair and I am so excited for next year! I WILL attend regardless of my anxiety, financial status and whether or not I have plans! Also a shout out to my Awesome Family who made me feel like I was at the Fair even though I wasn't there! 

Nothing much to be said about the rest of Summer. Mostly just me trying to come to terms with the fact that the weather was more Fall weather than Summer weather and the days where I could wear shorts became far & few! The complex ended up closing our pool nearly a week early which really sucked when the weather got hot again! 

What did you do this Summer?

Until Next Time! Stay Beautiful :)

**All Pictures are Mine**

Procrastination at it's Best

I've always been a procrastinator. Especially when it came to school work and chores. My procrastination continues today with writing on this blog and anything else I think I can get away with putting off for "just awhile longer"! I think now would be a good time to try and overcome my procrastinating. I'll start by recapping what's been going on in the past few months! 

In the July I went with my Gramma, my Aunt T and my Mom to Lincolnville, Maine for our yearly trip. This year was only my third year going with my family to Maine but my Gramma has been going there for over a decade. Her sister Bet (my great aunt) and her daughter Jo have been going even longer! At least 20 years. This year we stayed for 10 whole days of family fun & relaxation! We rarely get to see my Great Aunt & Jo so I always cherish what little time I do get to spend with them!!  

Our Private Beach

We have our own little beach that we go to. The ocean is always so cold but I love going in anyways! This year I fiddled around with the filters on my camera and some of the pictures came out really really cool! My camera has a Sparkle, Drawing, Punk, Fish Eye, Pin Hole, Pop Art, Watercolor and a few other filters. The Punk which turns everything Pink is one of my favorites. The Watercolor filter picture below is what the view from our spot on the beach looks like! 

Watercolor Filter

When we're up in Maine we always go to our favorite spots. Moody's Diner in Waldoboro is one of our favorite restaurants we always eat there a few times during the week! They have super delicious baked goods! My favorite is their Pumpkin Whoopie Pie! Yum!!

Since we go out for most of our meals we try new restaurants too. This year we tried out the Smokestack Grill which has a beautiful view of a waterfall. I really liked that you could feel the mist from the waterfall. We also tried out Cappy's Chowder House as well as a few others.

The View from our Table at the Smokestack Grill

While we're in Maine we also hit up our favorite Ice Cream places. You would not believe how many times we usually get Ice Cream! We also hit up the movies on a rainy day. This year we saw the movie Tammy. I really didn't think my Gramma was going to like it but she did! We also had to hit up any Reny's store we came across! There are far more Reny's than I thought! My Aunt T loves Reny's and makes us goes as often as we can! There is a Reny's in Maine (I can't remember which town since we went to several Reny's) that is split into two separate stores across the street from each other. It's pretty interesting to see the differences in each store. 

Boothbay, ME

I had never been to Boothbay before. It's a beautiful place and has some very nice shops. There was one shop the Coastal Maine Popcorn Co. that had some crazy popcorn flavors like Buffalo Wing, Blue Cheese, Wasabi Soy, Cotton Candy, Caramel Apple, S'mores and much more. I didn't try any of their popcorn while I was there but I would love to in the future! I'm a sucker for Cheddar Popcorn!! I was/am truly devastated that they changed the Orville Redenbacher's Cheddar Pour Popcorn to just Orville Redenbacher's Cheddar Popcorn!! The Cheddar Butter made that popcorn super delicious and NOW it is just meh! I'll eat it if I have it around but I won't go out of my way to get it or eat it like I would have for the Cheddar Pour! 

Inland View of Boothbay Harbor

Ocean View of Boothbay Harbor

Boothbay Harbor, ME is a beautiful place & I'm very glad we got to visit there! Overall this year's trip was very enjoyable! As always I enjoyed making even more memories with my family!! Sadly this was my last trip to Maine with my family for now at least! Maybe I'll be able to go again some day!! 

Where do you go on vacation with your family?

Until Next Time! Stay Beautiful :)