I hear by declare this the Year Of The Blog. Don’t get me wrong, I love Ravelry, but one of its major impacts has been a sharp decline in knit/fiber bloggers and blog posts. I can’t imagine the Internet without Ravelry, BUT. There are some big advantages of active, creative bloggers writing regularly. Having a relatively close group of blog friends is a little like having a small wine party or tea party in your living room, sharing knitting or spinning. Ravelry is more like a huge convention center full of knitters and spinners, all jumbled up and bumping into each other. I have also noted that forum threads tend to degenerate into nasty name-calling much more frequently than you’d ever see on a blog. Most of the Ravelers are very polite, friendly people, mind you, but even the most innocent sounding threads can take a nose-dive to drama in zero-to-sixty seconds flat. Sometimes I can see it coming, sometimes not. It’s a little like watching a car wreck.
Ahem. Anyway. I’m not about to give up Ravelry. But this is the year I’m going to try to blog more, and to try to comment more. There you have it. I don’t promise to blog every day, but I’m going to try to show up here more often.
A couple posts ago I promised you photos of knitting-related acquisitions, and a peek at what I got for Christmas. Here you go.
A Tom Bihn knitting bag! I’m so excited. I’ve wanted one of these forever. I actually bought this for myself with a little Christmas bonus I had. Note Big Pink peeking out. Here’s another look:
Big Pink removed so I don’t give anything away. This has lots of space, is sturdy, and you can customize it with a bunch of little bags that clip to the inside.
And why do you suppose I was shopping on the Tom Bihn website in the first place? Because this is what my sweetie pie got me for Christmas:
It’s a Mac Air! Oh my. I adore this. But I needed a case for it. Ergo Tom Bihn.
It’s perfect. It’s his Ristretto bag, and has a nice padded compartment for the laptop, and plenty of pockets and space for other stuff. I could even stuff a sock in progress in here for travel.
And just so I can show that I really do knit, here’s the dog mittens I mentioned in the prior post. In case you all forgot, I started these eons ago, dragged them out this fall, decided they were too small, and ripped half a mitten out. Here’s where I am.
I’m about half done with the first mitten (again). Just because I always get asked, the pattern is Dog Mittens, by Jorid Linvik. Here’s a Ravelry link, and here’s her pattern shop link.
So, there I go, making New Year’s Resolutions that I said I wasn’t going to do. What plans do you have for your blog this year?
I’ve been lusting after a Bihn bag for awhile. You always seem to tip me over on these things, but not quite yet. Let me know in a month if it meets expectations (You should see the number of less than successful bags I have acquired.)
I agree on blogness. Not so much for the manners, more because I get to chat about what I’m doing much more casually. That just doesn’t really happen in a focused forum post, or on a project page. And there is too much fragmentation: if I want to talk about wine, I have to go to a wine board, if I want to talk about X, go to X board, etc. And yes, I adore Ravelry for all else.
I couldn’t agree more about blogging. With blogging I almost feel as if I have been invited into your living room. I look at Ravelry as more of a catalog of designs and record of my projects. I check in on a few groups on occasion, but I certainly don’t spend hours pouring over posts. I much prefer the personal “interaction” on blogs with my imaginary friends! I’m so glad you’ll be back to blogging more. I’ve noticed a lot of my personal favorites not posting much, so it’s good to have you back.
Love the bags…lucky you. Has Lewey tried to fit into it yet? Those dog mittens are so cute. Happy new year to you.
Those aren’t really resolutions…they are more like guidelines.
I, too, am going to try to blog more, and have recently instituted my regular features – Movie Monday, WIP Wednesday and FO Friday. I keep waiting for someone to get all insulted about being told to FO, but…the beauty of only having three people regularly reading your blog…there’s no one to comment!
Very cool bag! And congrats on the new computer!
Yay for blogging more. 🙂 I agree about how blog commenting fosters friendships more than forum participation seems to.
Hello Lorette. I’m recently new to your blog. Been enjoying surfing all your posts. I’ve put you on my blogroll. All your animals are wonderful but I absolutely am smitten with your Pure Bred Brown dog~ Riley! His face just melts me. Lewey is a doll, and Lucy looks regal and Willie looks as if he is smart enough to talk. He reminds me of Salem, the cat on the show Sabrina the Teenage Witch!
congrats on the new computer 🙂
ooo and those dog mittens are da bomb! I love them! I wonder if Jorid offers other dog poses besides the BT. Leastwise I think that is a Boston Terrier. How cute is that. Think I will write and ask her cause I’d really love to have a JRT doggy on my mittens. Thanks for sharing the link to the mitts!
I love Tom Bihn bags. I bought a Swift eons ago and I am so tempted by the new reinforced bottom. But that said, my Swift still looks like new, can hold a huge amount (sometimes a problem), remains on my shoulder, and has wonderful organization without going over the top. I did treat myself to a couple of his yarn bags recently.
I love Ravelry but have never really participated in the forums. As someone who used to blog my projects but stopped as soon as Ravelry started — I think Ravelry may have reduced the number of meh blogs (like mine) but that there will always be a place for thoughtful knitting blogs. Like yours! So I’m happy to hear you will be visiting with us more often. Perhaps my resolution in the Year of the Blog is to try and comment more. I am a huge lurker but I know it can be encouraging to know people are reading.
I have the same feeling about blogging – I feel like Ravelry (which I ADORE) has taken over my blogging and if it weren’t for the blogging there are many people I would have never “met”. I too am trying to up my blogging efforts this year as I was down a bit last year. Happy New Year!
PS Can’t wait to see how your Faerie Ring is doing.
You make some excellent points about blogging. I do like Ravelry but I only use it to log patterns for the future and check out what others have knit with a certain yarn or a certain pattern. Rarely dip into any of the forums so have not read any of the nastiness that I have heard about. There are several bloggers I miss that have gone the route of Ravelry. Glad you are not one of them.
Great knitting bag and what a Christmas gift you got!
Beautiful, beautiful!!
And, am I the only one who thought “dog mittens” were going to be little booties for walking canines in cold weather?
I LOVE THOSE MITTENS!!!!!!! So awesome.
My blog goals are…to actually keep UP with it. I tend to wander away….so hopefully I can post regularly. I’ve promised myself if I post every two weeks for 6 months, I can start the podcast I’ve always wanted to do. 🙂
@Kim – I, too, thought that Loretta was knitting little mittens/booties for the dog. Glad I wasn’t the only one!
And the real “dog mittens” are FABULOUS!!
ENABLER! Now I need to “glance” at their site….
I think I shall follow your lead and make a more concerted effort to update my blog, and comment on others. I too like Ravelry, but enjoy reading others’ blogs, and writing on my own so much more.
I also agree with you – blogfriends seem more intimate and more like personal friends than Ravelry acquaintances do. There are just so many people there!
Nice bag! My husband bought me a laptop as an anniversary/Christmas/BD gift, and though I didn’t think I needed one, I’m really enjoying it …
I’m so glad you will be blogging more. I read blogs, do not go to Ravelry Forums. The blogs just seem more personal to me.
Those mitts are so cute! I enjoy reading your blog very much so much more personal! Great bags!
I’ve been one of those neglecting my blog and not reading other blogs either. So one of the things I vowed to do this year was blog more regularly and read and comment on blogs again. It does feel good to do it again.
I’ve really struggled to write blog entries and a reasonable pace, even though my knitting has progressed. I’ve been attributing it to work and garden chores that use up my time for good photos–but Ravelry does play a role. I do check it every AM, and if I respond to a bunch of threads, there’s even less time to blog. But a resolution of sorts is to do better at keeping the blog up (and working on the appearance too).
I love your MacBook Air. I’ve been pricing a MacBook as a backup work computer. I just wish they were cheaper. I’ll have to see how things stand with my available cash after my home renovation.
So true. Love those mittens. One of these days I’m just going to have to buy that pattern because its so dang cute and I’m definitely a doggy person.
Goals for this year, well I said on my blog my goal is to have no goals. Although I do hope to bike more, weave more, knit more, and work less. But I doubt the working less will happen.
I think the same about ravelry and blogs – and also want to show up more on my blog as well as on those of my cyberfriends! I think I’ve already made a good start.
Happy new year!
Tina in Germany
Happy to hear you hope to blog more — I always enjoy your blog posts. Good luck with this.
Love the new knitting bag.
I fully support the Year of the Blog.
🙂
I’m with you! I love blogs, and love my own. I definitely need to post more often… 🙂 Happy New Year!!
Oh I love this!
I am focused on photography (and knitting) more this yera.
can’t wait to knit along with you!
My daughters both me a Namaste knitting bag for Christmas but I may also get a Bihn bag – I already use the little black window pane bag like the one you have in your bag for socks. I have the Bihn knapsack for my little laptop – I opted for it because of its’ light weight & I can carry a good bit in addition to the laptop in it – perfect for on planes. I also use the flat bags with the clear plastic fronts for knitting notions & to carry small Sudoku books, pencil & a sharpener when traveling. I’m a big fan of Tom Bihn – especially since they are made in Seattle (I like to buy stuff made in the US when I can).
Almost forgot – glad to hear your resolution to blog a lot. Many of my favorite bloggers seem to almost never blog anymore. I thought it might be due to Twitter (which I personally hate) but maybe it is Ravelry – I only use it to look for patterns or yarn (my grands always seem to fall in love with sock yarn that hasn’t been produced for 4 or 5 years).
Wish I hadn’t seen the bag. I’m a sucker for bags.
What a lovely Christmas present — don’t you love it when husbands know just what we want? (Jewels? Nah! Electronics please!)
I am *so* with you on your blogging vs. Ravelry thoughts. I love having both but for different reasons, and I love your analogy – so true. I’ve also renewed my commitment to my blog and intend to post more in 2011 and beyond. Thanks for visiting me again and commenting today!
I like this idea of “Year of the Blog”. I just started one myself and I’m having a great time reading all the knitting blogs I’ve run across. Like Lifesastitch I’m a sucker for bags, and yours is really great looking 🙂 Congrats on the new computer.