Today marks the end of the sixth year of this blog and marks the beginning of the seventh. The blog started out with knitted donuts on October 2, 2011. Those donuts are long gone now, perhaps being used by girls in Nevada and California. The fact is I am a process knitter not a project one. The process of creation is more important to me than the finished project. There are times when I wish I were more of a project knitter, but then I stop and just accept myself as I am. This is a long-winded way to say, most of the things I knit belong to others. I possess only a few special pieces.
Through the blog I have talked about my travels, my pets, my grown children and the grand daughters and grand beagles. There are photos of the two locations I live and things going on in those locations. You went with me to Ireland, Scotland, Eastern Australia, Southern New Zealand and Fiji, Western Mexico, and saw glimpses of the Northwest Passage to Alaska. And you have attended several knitting classes, events and knit nights as well. It is a charmed life I live and you've been witness to that fact.
I would like to think the photos and writing has improved since 2011. But you are a better judge of that than I. There is a certain amount of fiddling done to most photos; they are cropped, straightened, colour enhanced if necessary and the brightness is turned up or down depending on the time of year and where the photo is taken. Luckily once a photo is posted here I no longer need to keep it. This saves me from having to find another way to store all the pictures. And believe it or not, posts are edited quite a bit as well. Paragraphs are moved, or removed. draft posts sit dormant for months waiting for a better way to be expressed. Mistakes still happen and as I reread them changes are made even if the post is already public. This is not a static record.
It has been my habit for the last several blogiversary "celebrations" to make changes to the look of this blog. Today will be no different.
On September 26, 2017 the page reads crossed the 170,000 mark and as I write this there are 170,325. Many in that number are the same readers, to whom I express my deepest appreciation. However, others seem to find this spot and check it out from all over the world, readers from more than 80 countries have read something here. Paul and I were discussing this very topic yesterday and decided it is a miracle that any stranger finds this little blog. To those I do not know personally, thanks for stopping by and spending a bit of time. Now, with 700 posts available, the number of reads grow even when I am not writing.
Looking back over the last six years I can see that knitting and my general interest in all things yarny has been a wonderful creative outlet for me. It seems to be endless in the new stitches, new patterns, new ah-ha moments it has given to me. This interest has offered so many events to attend, so many new people to meet, so many interesting textiles to create. And writing about all of it has recorded my growth and increasing depth of knowledge. This blog has always been a record for me to track projects, yarns and general information for my own reference. If others choose to join me on this journey, I am flattered by their interest. Thanks to you dear readers for meandering through this adventure with me.
But my biggest thanks today goes out to Mom. You were the one who introduced me to knitting when I was a kid and then rekindled that interest in the early 21st century when novelty yarns were all the rage. Mom, you gave me quite the gift, perhaps unknowingly, but nonetheless it has been a gift that has enriched my life in countless ways. And I am quite sure knitting will continue to enrich my life for years to come. That's one spectacular gift, Mom. Thank you so much.
Through the blog I have talked about my travels, my pets, my grown children and the grand daughters and grand beagles. There are photos of the two locations I live and things going on in those locations. You went with me to Ireland, Scotland, Eastern Australia, Southern New Zealand and Fiji, Western Mexico, and saw glimpses of the Northwest Passage to Alaska. And you have attended several knitting classes, events and knit nights as well. It is a charmed life I live and you've been witness to that fact.
I would like to think the photos and writing has improved since 2011. But you are a better judge of that than I. There is a certain amount of fiddling done to most photos; they are cropped, straightened, colour enhanced if necessary and the brightness is turned up or down depending on the time of year and where the photo is taken. Luckily once a photo is posted here I no longer need to keep it. This saves me from having to find another way to store all the pictures. And believe it or not, posts are edited quite a bit as well. Paragraphs are moved, or removed. draft posts sit dormant for months waiting for a better way to be expressed. Mistakes still happen and as I reread them changes are made even if the post is already public. This is not a static record.
It has been my habit for the last several blogiversary "celebrations" to make changes to the look of this blog. Today will be no different.
First just a reminder the tagline has been changed over time. It referred to a quirky knitter when I began writing in 2011 but over time my knitting interests have changed. Instead of knitting food and toys I have moved on to more practical and pedestrian items. So the tagline morphed to "Getting it together one stitch at a time." It is not necessarily the most original tagline, but it is accurately descriptive of this knitter's process.
Second the background stitch showing up behind the blog posts is now an embossed honeycomb stitch. The background started out in 2011 as a subtle blue color then changed to purple. The last two years it has been the whelk stitch knit in a heathered dark blue colour As my skills have improved so has my taste to more interesting stitch patterns in the background.
New books have been added to the Knitting Books page. The list has grown over the years, but only four hard-covered books have been added this year; they are highlighted for now. As much of the world moves to electronic media so have I. Most of my patterns are now stored on my iPad and are no longer printed on paper (unless I am traveling) plus more of my book purchases have become eBooks.
On September 26, 2017 the page reads crossed the 170,000 mark and as I write this there are 170,325. Many in that number are the same readers, to whom I express my deepest appreciation. However, others seem to find this spot and check it out from all over the world, readers from more than 80 countries have read something here. Paul and I were discussing this very topic yesterday and decided it is a miracle that any stranger finds this little blog. To those I do not know personally, thanks for stopping by and spending a bit of time. Now, with 700 posts available, the number of reads grow even when I am not writing.
Looking back over the last six years I can see that knitting and my general interest in all things yarny has been a wonderful creative outlet for me. It seems to be endless in the new stitches, new patterns, new ah-ha moments it has given to me. This interest has offered so many events to attend, so many new people to meet, so many interesting textiles to create. And writing about all of it has recorded my growth and increasing depth of knowledge. This blog has always been a record for me to track projects, yarns and general information for my own reference. If others choose to join me on this journey, I am flattered by their interest. Thanks to you dear readers for meandering through this adventure with me.
But my biggest thanks today goes out to Mom. You were the one who introduced me to knitting when I was a kid and then rekindled that interest in the early 21st century when novelty yarns were all the rage. Mom, you gave me quite the gift, perhaps unknowingly, but nonetheless it has been a gift that has enriched my life in countless ways. And I am quite sure knitting will continue to enrich my life for years to come. That's one spectacular gift, Mom. Thank you so much.
Comments
Post a Comment