Snarky Knitters

Addicted!

2008-01-27T05:33:12Z

I'm posting again! Don't fall over! I also posted on my other blog! Yay me! Anyway, I had to tell you all about my latest addiction. Even though it's been around forever, I've recently rediscovered Tetris & can't stop playing!! Check it out at http://www.freetetris.org/. This site also has links to Pacman, Frogger, Space Invaders! Now, if I could only figure out how to play at work without getting caught!

Warning!

2008-01-25T01:59:38Z

Do not give your camera to Laurie & leave her unattended! When you get it back, there will be a bunch of pictures like this on it!

View image View image View image View image View image View image

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!!

So Sleepy!!!

2008-01-22T21:19:56Z

I had to be the wind today at work to keep from putting my head down on my desk & taking a nap! Luckily, I finished thrashing about just before the CEO came around the corner! More later on my weekend visit with Laura & Nunmaker at snarkydesign.com/heather.

Merry Christmas!

2007-12-18T15:18:11Z

I know I haven't posted here in a while, but I wanted to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. I will be down at Mom's this year and hope to corrupt the next generation by teaching someone how to knit. I am sure Mom has many plans for me, and I want to bake some cookies and other goodies next week. Maybe by then, I will truely be in the Christmas spirit. Haven't felt it much. Just want to get home for the week and enjoy my family.

So, to everyone, I hope y'all have a blessed holiday. I know I am to have lovely knitting friends!

Merry Freaking Christmas!

2007-12-18T02:58:05Z

It could have been worse! It could have been SO MUCH worse! That's how I'm choosing to think of it! My beautiful snowflake tree (seen below in its former glory days) is toast!

I may be overstating a little, but the end result is that the tree is no longer usable in its current state. Let me start at the beginning. (Katey reminds us that this is a very good place to start.)

I got the tree just before Christmas of 2005 from Sam's at a very good price! It's an awesome tree; 7.5 feet, pre-lit with 1500 white lights. I love Christmas & was filled with so much Christmas spirit that I put my tree up the weekend BEFORE Thanksgiving! It turns out to have been a good thing as it didn't make it to Christmas day. For the past several days, it's been acting odd. It would flicker slightly as I plugged it in. I didn't pay much attention to that. I thought I was just jiggling it to much. A few times, the lights would go out for no apparent reason. No one was jumping up and down near the tree or causing any other problems that would cause the lights to unexpectedly go out. These were clues I should have paid attention to, but alas, did not. Tonight I was sitting on the couch & Brian in the recliner when the lights went out again. He happened to be talking on the phone to his dad at the time. I got up to unplug the tree & plug it in again (this had worked before, why not now?). I didn't look very closely at the plug as I reached for it, but immediately knew something was wrong when the plug burned my hand as I touched it. Upon closer inspection, this is what I saw.

And to the left is what's left of the wall outlet.

Since it's a pre-lit tree, it's probably safe to say that this tree is kaput. My mom was very distraught when she heard the news. (Mainly because my dad very bluntly tells her, "Heather called. Her tree burnt up." He's not very good at giving news.) Once she learned that we were all safe, including the snowflake ornaments, she turned her animosity toward Sam's. She's vowed to take the 2 year old tree back to the store & demand a refund! I'm not so sure about that, but my mom is the queen of returning things, so I don't doubt she can accomplish this! Brian's dad says that a new plug can be purchased & the cord can be fixed by cutting the old plug off & rewiring it (I'm sure he explained it better. I was semi-summing up.) I'm not sure if that could actually work, but Brian's not that skilled an electrician anyway.

So, it appears I will be out with all the crazys at 6AM the day after Christmas to try to get a fabulous tree at a super discount. Wish me luck & pay close attention to your Christmas trees! I'm very fortunate that we caught it when we did & that it wasn't much worse! I am truly blessed!

Have a safe & happy holiday everyone!

Happy Belated Turkey Day!

2007-11-27T03:13:30Z

Hope everyone had a great one! Here's a pic of my nephew, Wade, enjoying bath time & the "new toy" that suddenly appears everytime he's in the tub!

She's Like the Wind

2007-11-16T16:56:05Z

It's been too quiet in Snarky-land lately. We're all patiently waiting for BFF Jill to show up and not bugging Steph with "Is she here yet?" stupid questions. So in an effort to distract everyone take a look at this video of the Yarn Harlot being the wind with her flying needles. The vid is too big to email so you'll have to go here and check it out:

http://www.theanticraft.com/serendipity/index.php?/archives/124-Irish-Cottage-Knitting.html

Why oh why won't folks just put things on You-Tube???? If you have any problems getting it to play check out the comments for suggestions that helped other folks.

Finished!

2007-11-14T02:08:15Z

I finished the Harry Potter series last night & loved it!! I can't wait to watch all the movies now!

So Sad!

2007-11-06T23:21:38Z

I just finished reading Harry Potter & the Half Blood Prince (Book 6) last night! I need someone to discuss it with me! It was so sad! I was crying & Brian was making fun of me!

Going to Savannah this weekend! Hope to have plenty of cool pics & stories when I get back!

Back

2007-10-16T15:45:46Z

I left out Saturday morning to head home for a funeral. You all know that. I got to the airport for my 8:35am flight at about 6:35am. I stopped and picked up a Capaccino and a Chocolate croissant and sat down at my gate to wait to board the flight. Over by the counter, there were these 4 guys...let's see if I can describe accurately. My first impression was that they were an aging 80's hair band just about gone to seed. I knew they were a band. One of the guys had on a hat and sun glasses..they all wore black and one guy had rhinestones going up the sides of his jeans. I really wanted to go over and ask the who they were, but I was chicken. So, they boarded my flight and sat somwhere in the back. We got to Pensacola and they got off the plane. They were standing close to me while we waited for baggage. One of they guys picked up a big metal case with stickers on it. So, took a peek to see if I could get any clue about who these guys were. Sure enough, one of the cases had "Quiet Riot" written on it in magic marker...and not like graffiti. So, my first impression was right, they were indeed an aging 80's hair band and they were there to play in Biloxi, I think...at least when I mentioned it to my brother, he said he thought he heard they were playing the Hard Rock hotel over in Mississippi. Cool!

So, this weekend was full of drama, which I will talk about later. I did get to see Hot Rod who is a cute as ever and almost a year old. Her flame sweater should fit her, and Momma said that as soon as it is cold enough, she will be wearing it. She is going to take a picture for me. What a happy baby. While I was getting a lesson on changing the EGR sensor in my truck from 4 guys, she was happily playing with rocks in the front yard. She has a house full of toys, and she likes rocks and pots and pans... smart kid...the simple stuff is the best.

Ok, all for now. Am back at work and will see everyone tomorrow night. Where?

Thanks Everyone

2007-10-11T12:37:43Z

I just wanted to say a quick note of thanks for last night. I have more details, but not enough to know when I will be going to Florida. Y'all being there and the excitement with the police and the creepy crawly kept me for doing something crazy like leaving right then. That would not have been a good idea. I will keep you posted. Thanks again.

Finished!

2007-10-08T14:43:50Z

So, I finished the first Harry Potter book last night! It was really good! So, here's a question for all you Harry Potter experts. Should I see each movie after I've read the corresponding book? Or should I wait until I'm further into the series to begin watching the movies? Or should I wait until I've finished them all?

Michigan Yarn P*rn

2007-10-05T15:12:40Z

For those that don't know, I'm in Michigan for the month. Don't be jealous, it's a working-vacation so it's not completely free time. But ya know I have to make time to hit the yarn shops....life just wouldn't be right without it.

I went to a little shop called Beyond The Rainforest in Flint and it is charming and actually has a better selection of yarns than some shops twice it's size. They're having a Socktoberfest on the 20th that I may attend but we'll see. Here's my small score from her store.

The Panda Wool is a little splitty but it feels so yummy I WILL find something I can make with it! And the Lambs Pride is actually superwash though it looks like felting wool. This may become a hat I think.

Now, yesterday I had a wild hair and drove an hour to Lansing to (tah dah) ThreadBear Fiberarts! Oh man!! I probably only saw a third of the store. Lots of lovely yarns that I haven't seen anywhere else and of course some of the usual suspects. But man, kits galore!!!! 500 yd skeins of worsted wool yarn, can we say Felting Heaven? I can't even explain how over the moon this place is. Only downside? Not real "winding" friendly even though they weren't busy. And folks on Ravelry made me sound silly cuz I was going to bring my winder. Like a dummy I left it in GA. Never again. Ok, nuff kvetching....on with the yarn parade!

Found Koigu P704 to go with what I already have (they're getting 100 more skeins of Koigu today!):

Some lovely sock yarn from Interlacements called Tiny Toes:

Some GORGEOUS Jitterbug....the pic doesn't really do it justice:

Some lovely soft cotton/nylon blend that was 50% off (and knits beautifully!):

And how do you like the color of this CTH? Ain't it beautimous???

I'm usually not bowled over by samples in shops but there was a GORGEOUS shawl that was so impressive I HAD to have the pattern:

The picture doesn't quite do justice, believe me, it is stunning!

Ok, off to work and stuff. I hope to make it to City Knits in the next few days. Can we say Stash Enhancement? I knew you could! :-)

Harry Potter Virgin

2007-10-04T02:34:28Z

Shocking, I know! I have never read any of the books or watched any of the movies. The change begins tonight. I have the series (well, the first 5, at least) & will begin reading the first one tonight.

Just thought you all should know! :o)

When stash goes wrong

2007-10-03T19:05:54Z

We've heard it from family and friends for as long as we have been knitting. "Why do you buy more yarn when you have so much already? Don't you have enough?" They just don't get it. Stash is a wonderful thing. It makes those of us with a wool fixation happy and fills us with a warm, fuzzy feeling-and it's not just the angora. And with the addition of ravelry, we can organize and list our stash in digital glory to share with other fiber-obsessed yarnaholics. And have we ever! No, stash is something to aspire to, to enlarge, to expand. It is something to fondle, enjoy, and contemplate. Who among us can't go through the (sometimes hundreds) of skeins in our stash and name pretty much where it was purchased and (at least in general), what project it is slated for? There is vacation yarn which can take us back to where we were when we purchased it. Gift yarn causes us to remember fondly the person who gave it to us. Sometimes there is heirloom yarn, which perhaps passed to us from a loved one gone on. Part of the fun of stash is that it offers a glimpse of who we are. In it, we can explore different dimensions of our creativity. Stash is also useful, for without it, how would we create gifts on the fly? There is a problem, however, when the need to collect goes awry. Here are a few examples: A collection of tissue box covers. Of chocolate bar wrappers. Old calculators? And for my dad who puts waaaay too much mustard on his burgers, a condiment collection. What makes these people collect such strange things? Some imbedded need to hoard? A quirk of the subconscious? Maybe stash isn't about yarn. Perhaps it's about filling a need. There is, after all, a yarn-shaped hole in every knitters heart that only fiber will fill. Who knows? But the the next time someone gives you grief about your yarn collection, tell them to stuff it and be glad you don't collect banana stickers. And put them on your list to never get handknit socks from you again. That'll teach 'em.