Friday, November 9, 2007

Oh no! Baby Blanket

I've been working on a baby blanket for my friend, who is adopting a family member's baby. It's going to be around 30in X 30in, in a kind of checkerboard pattern, and I'm hoping to felt some pieces so that when they get older, they can play checkers on it. The baby was supposed to be born around Thanksgiving, and at work, we all pitched in for a double stroller so she can go out with her two year old and the new baby. We had it all planned and the stroller was going to be assembled, and I was going to make pink cookies for last Friday. But, as can be the case with babies, the baby decided last Thursday that she didn't need a party and she was going to be born. So now the baby's here, and I've barely finished 1/10th of the blanket, not to mention the felted pieces. AAAH! (Home alone kid with hands on face) I hope I can get pictures of the blanket up as a work in progress here, and get it up on the kal cal blog so that it can be entered in the holiday kal cal.

In the weight loss challenge, our group didn't win. We didn't even get an honorable mention. But I've gotten started on the road to healthy living and weight loss, so there is a plus side. And hopefully soon, not a plus size.

Secret Writer Strike

I guess I am what I will call a secret writer. I don't really write for a living. Actually, my blog is the most writing I do beyond filing out my forms at work. But my dream job would be a screenwriter/tv show creator, and I did take screenwriting classes in college and after. So I do know how to write screenplays, I just don't. Secret writer. You might say wannabe, but that doesn't sound nearly as cool, so I'm sticking with secret writer.



So as a secret writer, I am interested in the current writer's guild strike. While not a member of the writer's guild, I am a member of a union, and I know how tough it can be to make the decision to strike. At my job, if we went on strike it would put maybe 1000 people out of a job while we were striking, but in the end, it would be mostly an inconvience for a few people. We wouldn't be affecting the whole customer service industry, not even the whole cell phone industry. If you didn't call customer service, you might not even know. But in Hollywood, if writers go on strike, there are no scripts which means no work for anyone and shuts the whole industry down. And with such a public industry, everyone has a side. You're not just taking yourselves, but many people's jobs and futures into your hands, so if you're willing to fight it must be something worth fighting for. And this issue (residuals for downloads) is defintely worth fighting for.



Many knitters do create patterns for free because they enjoy creating something and want to share it with others, but many also create patterns for purchase so that they can make money to support themselves. (I am actually going somewhere with this) With the internet, someone can buy that pattern and repost it so other people can get it for free or do other things to help others avoid paying for it. And I know it frustrates many knitters because the pattern they worked hard on creating, that extra income that they are hoping for themselves and their families is out there and they aren't getting credit or getting paid for it, which could mean that they aren't feeding their families or can't pay for their kids to go to college or something else. And since most patterns cost so little, it does not take much to help the person who created the pattern for, let's say, the lovely blanket that will become a family heirloom. And that frustration is exactly why the writers are on strike. But in this case that person who is giving the pattern away is actually selling it (either on iTunes or by selling ad time to air it for free on their website) and not paying the patternmaker.



So this secret writer is taking up her virtual picket for you in the Writer's Guild, and refusing to download video on a network's website or through iTunes. I know if I were ever able to write something that anyone would purchase, the work that you are doing now would help this writer/patternmaker (I'm a secret patternmaker too) get paid for it, so thank you.

Friday, November 2, 2007

weight loss update

Well, the weight loss challenge has ended and I lost...13 pounds. Yay! Most in my group. We don't know the final results yet, but we should find on Monday, hopefully. Keep you updated.

Thursday, October 25, 2007

a few thoughts

I'm waiting for my audible downloads to, well, download. So I thought I would spend some time here today.

I Wanna be a Soap Star Ashlee won. Ashlee! Really. What was everyone thinking?! Jimena was a much better actress. Throughout the whole competition when the judges would say she was good, I could not believe we were watching the same show. Poor choice, Soap Star.

Pushing Daisies Yay! They got picked up for the full season. It is one of my new favorites. I've got Wonderfalls, which is Lee Pace's old show, at the top of my Netflix queue.

Puppy. My sister and I gave the new puppy her first bath tonight so she could be all made up for my parent's anniversary. She did not look happy, but her fur is so soft now. She's a typical puppy, and loves to nip at our feet and hands. We got her a work out kennel thing on Monday, and today, she learned how to climb out of it. Sophie learned how to jump out of it inside of a few minutes, but Jessie is much smaller and wouldn't have been able to do something like that.

Blanket. I'm working on a new baby blanket for a friend of mine. The baby is due really soon, and I really hope I can get it done relatively soon, but I have so little done. I've been having a lot of trouble because it's being done in intarsia and there are at least 16 little balls I'm working with and the yarn keeps getting twisted.

Knit Out and Crochet. I attended the 2nd Lubbock Knit Out and Crochet last Saturday, and I had a lot of fun. So many people wanted to know about my blanket and had ideas on how to get the tangles out. It was nice to be able to work on my knitting somewhere and have people actually know what it is, when I knit on my breaks at work, everyone is curious, but they don't understand the stitches and stuff.

Halloween. We're having a costume contest at work on again this year. Last year I thought I would go as Ugly Betty, but I didn't do it. And I really am kind of wondering if I should do it this year. It wouldn't be that hard of a costume, except for the braces.

Weight Loss Challenge. I have now lost 10lbs. I am not feeling so well about it cause I wanted to have lost more, but I guess that's 10lbs less than I weighed a few months ago, so it isn't bad. And no one ever said it would be easy. I guess I thought that since I haven't hit 30 yet, it wouldn't be so hard to lose it. Wrong!

Monday, October 15, 2007

Puppy!

Well our new arrival is here. We got a call on Thursday night at 8:40 to come and pick up our Jessie Rose! So, I have been a bit preoccupied with playing with her and getting bitten, scratched, etc. I did watch a few shows and was in the process of giving my opinion when the call came in so I haven't had a chance to get to it. Plus I started on a knitting project for my friend Gavina's baby who shoud be here next month. I'm doing a checkerboard type pattern, and I think it is going to take a while with all the different squares. Hopefully, not so long that winter's over by the time the baby gets the blanket. Gotta go play with my puppy. So long!

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

New Shows

I haven't seen all the new shows, but I have seen more than a handful, and these are my favorite:

Pushing Daisies--I Love this Show. The voiceover, the set design, the costuming, the acting. You can tell that so much work went into making the show and they care alot about it. I hope that people pick it up. And there's a character that KNITS and he's male, that is not something I've seen on television, besides Knitty Gritty. I think that this would be a better match with Ugly Betty than Grey's Anatomy.

Chuck--Still lovin' Chuck. Still lovin Zachary Levi.

I can't think of anything else right now besides Life, which I like cause I love Damian Lewis. There's just something about it that I'm not liking about it, and I can't quite put my finger on it.

Puppy/Blanket




Two topics up first for today



Puppy--the puppy will be here soon, by the end of the month. I am very excited. Below I have her picture. She is the lighest colored one in the center. Her name is going to be Jessie Rose.


Ok. I obviously don't know how to put pictures in with the text cause I wanted the picture right here.


Blanket-- I gave the blanket away the other day, to the family who had the house fire. My mom's friend, whose daughter had the fire, said that she thought that one of the girls would love it because she loves pink. I hope they enjoy it.







Wednesday, October 3, 2007

Randomness

Sorry about the late post. We had a rainstorm last week and it took out the internet tower, so I haven't been able to post.

I finished the blanket that I was working on for Warm Up America. I decided that I was going to give it to the daughter of one of my mom's friends whose house was burned down about three months ago in a fire. She'll be toasty warm in a good way this winter.

I'll take pictures of the blanket tomorrow, so it should be posted soon.

Weight Loss Challenge Update--I've lost 8lbs. Four more weeks to go. Easier than I thought. I've been listening to this book called Skinny Bitch, and once you find out what happens at the dairy farm and the slaughterhouse, you won't want to eat meat or drink milk. At least I didn't. I'll try to cover all the Skinny Bitchness in a later post.

I finished Season 2 of Prison Break and I saw the first episode of Season 3 free on iTunes. Man that Sona place is awful. I'm off tomorrow, so I'm hoping to watch the other two on fox.com today or tomorrow. Then I'll have to watch them in real time with all the other fans. Speaking of iTunes, they now have How I Met Your Mother. Yes! I can't wait to download the Robin Sparkles episode (aka Slap Bet). I've been waiting to download that one since I got my ipod.

New shows--Back to You. I thought this show would be absolutely awful, but it hasn't been so bad. It's predictable, but watchable and my family likes it, and they watched Alias for me so...
Chuck--I am so glad this show is good. I've watched both shows and I loved each one. I've been a Zachary Levi fan since Less than Perfect and I knew that he would do good. And Adam Baldwin rocks.
I think that's all I've seen so far.

I really thought Travis would win I Wanna Be a Soap Star. Yes, his last scene sucked, but is he really worse than Ashley or Bo? Last year Mikey won and he could barely act. I hope they do the episode where the ones who get knocked off get to come back and get a second chance.

The new puppy will be here soon. We went to go see them yesterday. So cute. They have gotten so big, all in the span of a few weeks. I can't believe how much they've grown. Or how much milk their mother had to make for them all to get that big. Wow.

Okay, that's all for now. I should be back in the next few days, with pictures of the blanket, reviews of the season premieres I saw and more randomness.

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

WeightLossKalCalBlanketBreak

Hi everyone--



I guess I have a lot of things on my plate this week. I guess it's not all of huge importance, but I've separated it all for you.



Weight Loss Challenge:

At work, to raise money for the United Way, those of us that choose are making groups of 10 and joining the Weight Loss Challenge. Basically we're all trying to lose weight over the next six weeks and then the group with the highest percentage of weight lost will win a prize. And that prize...a catered lunch. That's not the prize I care about, though. Hopefully, healthy living will be its own reward. Bye bye Starbucks lattes and frozen custard. Bye bye cake and cookies and cokes. Bye bye salad dressing and butter and french fries. I'll miss you. But what i won't miss is the extra pounds. We did the weigh in this morning and I'm starting out at 223 pounds. My goal for this challenge is 10%, so 22 lbs. The stretch goal (my cousin's wedding next year) is 73lbs. So, here we go...but ice cream is soooo good.



Holiday Kal Cal

I've decided to join my first knit along, the holiday kalcal. I just signed up, but the sign in period doesn't start until 9/22, so hopefully, they'll take my entry. If not, I can just sign up later. I've got a few projects in mind for Christmas, and a project for a baby who will be born the week before Thanksgiving, so I'll have alot on my plate. But I can't wait.



Blanket

The first thing I've got to work on is the blanket I've been working off and on on since the Super Bowl. I've been working on it for Warm Up America. I've had the squares done since April, it's just putting them all together that I'm working 0n now. I'm thinking of sending it to Warm Up America instead of a local charity because I used a chunkier yarn and I think someone up north will get more out of the warmth than someone here. I really should have worked on this in April, because we were having freak snowstorms here and now it is so hot working on that thing it makes me not want to work on it. Once I finish, I will post a picture online.



Prison Break

Because what would a post from me be without a mention of Prison Break, especially when the new season started yesterday. I'm still working on Season 2, so I haven't watched it, but the download was free on iTunes, so as soon as I get those dvds, I can go straight into Season 3. I can't wait. Oh Netflix, bring me some more MICHAEL SCOFIELD. I'm going to Dallas hopefully later this week, maybe I can find my way to wherever there filming...yeah, right.

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Season 1

Well I finished Season 1 of Prison Break. I have to say I love it. Still in love with Wentworth Miller, and I like how the story twists and turns. In so many shows, I can guess what happens next or the ending of the show, and although I knew they broke out from the title of the show (and commericals for Season 2), I really didn't expect what happened. The only thing I think that distracts me from the show is Lane Garrison and his current troubles. I don't want to be influenced by that stuff, but I think if I had watched it before the accident, I would have felt differently for his character, but I just feel like he's an outsider. But I don't hold my personal prejudices against the show, and I'll keep watching. Now if only Season 2 would get here from Netflix....

Anyway, does anyone know how to link to blogs on the side? I see that in other people's blogs, but I'm not sure how to do it on my own.

Thursday, September 6, 2007

So do they make it out of prison? just kidding

I think I'm starting to get addicted to Prison Break. I hadn't seen it before, because it came on Mondays and we would usually watch How I Met Your Mother (which has to be my favorite comedy on now) instead. So I missed the pilot and the first few episodes, and everyone kept saying you need to see those, so I decided to wait until the dvd came out. And I guess I'm a bit behind because I just started watching them last month. Now, I can't get enough. I almost want to increase my subscription to Netflix so I can get some more. It's definitely an Oz lite in terms of the prison violence, but the story is so good, and Wentworth Miller is so cute. I know I'm weird but I love his long fingers. Right from the beginning when he was robbing the bank, I remember thinking how long his fingers were. Anyway, does anyone know what color his eyes are? At times they seem blue or green. Oh well. I got my email from Netflix today, and I'm getting my fix on Saturday. So it won't be long.

Tuesday, September 4, 2007

Puppies



After our dog died last March (2006), my mom's friend's son promised up the pick of the litter from his dog's first litter. And last week, the puppies were born! I am so excited. 10 labrador retriever puppies ready for us to choose. So in six or seven weeks, we should have our new edition.

Reviews

I guess the title speaks for itself. This blog thing is kinda new, so I guess they are more like my thoughts on things.

Knocked Up-- I really liked this movie. It was funny and gross and sweet all at the same time. I'll admit, unlike most people, I liked The 40 Year Old Virgin (also directed by Judd Apatow) better. In that movie, pretty much everything that surrounded Steve Carrell symbolized how naive he was, how he hadn't matured, like he stopped growing up during puberty without that right of passage. That's what made the ending so great, although most of the people I know just didn't get it. I didn't really see that kind of thing in this movie and I guess I kind of missed that. I loved all the Freaks and Geeks alums, though. Especially Martin Starr. He was always my favorite on that show, and it was really good to see him again. I guess that was half Knocked Up half 40 Year Old Virgin.

Austenland by Shannon Hale-- I'll admit it, I love chicklit. Not necessarily the name, but the type of writing, the romantic comedy things. Anything with a Mr. Darcy type (Bridget Jones). And I did enjoy this, I listened to audiobook, which is so much easier to do at work. The narrarator was mostly good. Her Martin was absolutely horrible, although I can see her reasoning to make all the voices sound different, but I couldn't stand it any time he showed up, which probably wouldn't have been that way if I had read the book. The elderly aunt also sounded way to young. The book itself isn't bad, it is a big suspension of disbelief. But if you can forget about the setting and just focus on the main characters, it is a fun distraction. I enjoyed it, but I didn't love it. It was perfect for a workday listen.

Ready, Set, Knit-- I love this podcast. It is well formatted, split up into three sections, it consists of the upcoming events at the store, Webs, and the yarns. Followed by an interview and then a knitalong or informative session with Pixie, who works store (I think). Cathie and Steve are personable, and really seem to like the work that they do. It's not a personal diary on knitting like most knitting podcasts seem to be (not that I don't like them). Cathie and Steve get good people interview, the knitalongs are as informative as you can be while listening to knitting talk and they are both enjoyable enough that it works on it's main point, which is letting people know about their yarn store. I look forward to my new Ready, Set, Knit podcast every Saturday.

That's it for today on the reviews. My gosh I'm a bit of talker, not that you'd ever know that if you met me in person.

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

My First Blanket



I thought for a while that I would keep track of all my knitting projects I made for other people, but I didn't take pictures of the second thing, or the third... But I do have pictures of the first baby blanket I made. This was for my friend Kaysha's baby.


I got the pattern out of Knit Simple, I want to say Spring 2006, but I'm not sure. The pattern in the magazine had pink instead of blue and a rabbit instead of bird. But since the baby was a boy and the last name was Byrd, I decided to change it to a bird.

It really was a first project. I was halfway through before I figured out (i.e. saw on Knitty Gritty) how to use two yarns in the same row and not have the gap. Also, I learned after I finished the intarsia pattern how to do it without the gap. So the back doesn't look very good. If I had to do it again, I think I'd also find a color that would contrast more than the light blue did, but it I think it turned out ok.

Friday, August 24, 2007

Why Dizzy Knitter?

Heads up, Boring Exposition Blog. I just wanted to let everyone know why I choose dizzy knitter as my screenname. College was the best time of my life thus far and I was a Delta Zeta--DZ- Dizzy, I know, brilliant. And knitter because I knit. I would say I'm a beginner, I've been doing it since December, and I love it. I don't have much of a stash yet, but I have outgrown the little basket I bought for it. Last week, I got a dividend check from my insurance company, and all I could think was, YARN MONEY. You know that money was in the bank the next day.

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Hello All!


I've finally managed to land in the 21st Century and get my own blog. What do ya know? Hopefully, I'll start talking about my knitting and other stuff and not make this my only post. For now, I leave you with a picture of my sister's dog, who is also mine since we both live in the same place.