Monday, March 03, 2008

Me, I Just Ramble On

As I perused my enormous list of blogs today, I kept thinking about how different people organize and run their blogs, and how they compare to mine.

I know.

But it is interesting to see how many different styles of blogging there are out there. There are those folks who post to-do lists on a regular basis and the remaining posting is just the follow up of their goals. And there are those who catalogue (I like that spelling) each project, one at a time, almost like a journal or in some cases a tutorial. Then there are those who are apologetic versus those that are confident (probably past the point of good taste), and those who are trying to make something out of, well, not a damned thing.

I read bloggers who are obviously prepared before they address the keyboard and those who just as obviously have divine intervention on their side because you know they are sitting there trying to talk into the mouse, but somehow the blog gets published. And I have seen those I consider to be widely read and popular bloggers disappear into thin air at a moments notice. Like they married a cop or something. Have you noticed that? I have. One minute some nice young thing is talking about her knitting and her boyfriend in law enforcement, then the engagement pic goes up, then the requisite post about knitting for the wedding and then *POOF* they utterly disappear from the blogosphere.

Anyway, I love them all, even the less than stellar attempts (which usually resort to lots of lolcat pics and internet quiz results, so you should not look too closely at this blog, okay? Thanks!) but I do wonder sometimes why we do this.

I know I'm not the first to ask this question, but I wasn't paying attention when it came up last time, so I'm going to ask again:

Why do you blog about your knitting?

Leave an answer in the comments before midnight EDT, March 13 and I'll pick my favorite to win a copy of this out of print book:


And remember, since Blogger isn't consistent with sending me email addresses, check back on the Ides of March (the 15th for you non -Roman types) to see if you've won. Good luck!

21 comments:

turtlegirl76 said...

Because I've pre-paid for 2 years of hosting at turtlegirl76.com and dammit. I'm getting every penny's worth out of it. =P

J.P. said...

Originally, it was just so that I could write whatever was happening once and not in a million emails. Now, it's just for me. And whoever wants to read and comment, I guess.

TURBOchic said...

Lies. It's all lies. You know we post to revel in the glory of FO admiration. It has nothing whatsoever to do with the fact that I live in the sticks, so it's one way I feel like I can connect to those in the hobby around me. *shifty eyes*

Dave said...

Cool idea for a contest!

I think I'm the catalogueing type. Although I originally started blogging in order to motivate myself to finish more things and keep some order to the WIPS, it hasn't been entirely successful for that. I just don't blog the piles of UFOs. I was was hoping to change from a "grand plan/no follow-through" knitter into, well, the reverse, but I still crank out the little things and the big ones sit. (sigh)

Debbie D said...

It looked like fun and I got the words out of my head.

Mary-Lou said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Mary-Lou said...

It really is the gift that keeps on giving! I'm a knitter surrounded by muggles, but through my blog, I have made new friends, seen things I want to make (or not!), learnt new tricks, passed on old ones, found Ravelry, spent far too much money, got SABLE ... but mainly, I think it's the thought that there might just be someone out there who understands about any achievements in knitting, and won't just dismiss them with a kindly-meant (but disheartening!) "very nice dear (now run along & play)" kind of comment ...

Amy said...

I started blogging because I wanted some interaction with other knitters. I wanted to get the snark out of my system and I wanted a place to remember what on earth I had knit. But I'm one of the ones who has fallen off the face of the earth for a few minutes.

evilsciencechick said...

it's Jen's fault. she turned me into a knitting blog against my will!

Rabbitch said...

Knitting? Oh hell, that's that thing I do with the warshcloths, isn't it?

If I didn't blog about it I'd likely forget to do it because my life is a little bit messy -- and if I don't blog about it I won't ever take chances, try to knit something new, finish an object and so on. I guess for me it's sort of like sitting around knitting with friends and we all get to look at each other's stuff and it's fun. No, not that "stuff". You're just sick.

And, as one of those sitting there taking into the mouse, I thank you for your continued readership.

Unless, of course, you're not reading and then I don't.

Anonymous said...

I blog because I read knitting blogs for a few months and thought, "Hey, I could do that!" Yeah, I'm kind of a monkey-see, monkey-do type. But I continue to do it because 1, it's fun; 2, it is a creative visual outlet for me (I like pictures); and 3, I've found some friends in the blogosphere.

Anonymous said...

I started because I was gonna blog my writing progress, way back last year when Yarnagogo posted a challenge. She wanted us to use our blog space to chronicle our writing, rather than emailing it to her. And I knew I wouldn't just want to write about writing, especially if I crapped out on the challenge, which I totally did. And I read a lot of knitting blogs. And most of the people I know are knitting muggles (although I've converted a few), so I didn't have people to share with who might give a hoot. Then I decided I like blogging, so I'll keep it up as long as it makes me happy.
And, of course, blogging is writing, so my inner writer gets to do her thing, without me actually opening Word and creating fiction. It's a compromise, but I'm good with it, for now.

KarenK said...

I'm a sporadic blogger at best - it's solely for my own erratic cataloging of finished objects (and my book list on the sidebar), so if I blog, fine; if I don't, fine. No guilt, no pressure.

Happygoth said...
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Happygoth said...

The reason I started blogging about knitting (other than the peer pressure that drove me to it initially) is that

1. it gives me motivation to push through projects, because once I've posted about them, many people know I'm working on them. Even if they don't hold me accountable, I feel as though they do, and that's just as good. As a consequence, I want to keep on working, so that I can show progress, and so that the guilt doesn't completely overwhelm me (guilt, even the imagined kind, is a marvelous motivational tool).

2. Like knitting itself, blogging about knitting creates an instant community. I'm a huge fan of social networking, and if I do it through a blog, I can control the content, and I don't have to use MySpace. Because I'm sharing the same sorts of things others are sharing, I feel like I'm part of this world of knitters who all understand me (and I understand them).

3. I'm an egomaniac and I like to say that I'm on the internet. It's like visualizing hearing myself talk.


I blog because I love sharing cool things with other people. You know how sometimes you find something so overwhelmingly cool that you can't keep it to yourself? That's what the blog is for. It's for ideas you can't help sharing, websites you've found that you can't help sharing, and in the case of knitting, a project that you're so proud of that you have to show the entire world, or at least the entire virtual world. Through the wonders of flickr and the blogosphere, all of that is possible (and then some).

Anonymous said...

I blob, therefore I am.

Actually, it's so I can remember what went on last week :-)

*grin* lookie what I found.....
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d40/artemis257/goddesscard.jpg

Anonymous said...

did I mention I still can't spell?

I meant *BLOG*

and that link...make it one long string to use it....

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d40
/artemis257/goddesscard.jpg

Megan: Dyer, Spinner and Weaver said...

I blog, therefore I am.

Megan: Dyer, Spinner and Weaver said...

Oh, how bloody embarrassing. I hadn't even seen the comment published just above mine when I posted. Crap.

Lyle (Finn O'Flaharty) said...

I started to blog because I was hoping that it would encourage me to finish more projects. It has helped in that some manners, but not as much as I was hoping. I have found that even though I was hoping to post once a week, I don't have enough to talk about.

Anonymous said...

I blog about my knitting because in real life, I don't know anyone that knits!