Saturday, April 07, 2007

1. Year Blog Anniversary!




Let’s see what Wikipedia has to say about “blog":




A blog is a user-generated website where entries are made in journal style and displayed in a reverse chronological order.
Blogs provide commentary or news on a particular subject, such as food, politics, or local news; some function as more personal online diaries. A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, web pages, and other media related to its topic. The ability for readers to leave comments in an interactive format is an important part of most early blogs. Most blogs are primarily textual although some focus on photographs (photoblog), sketchblog, videos (vlog), or audio (podcasting), and are part of a wider network of social media.
The term "blog" is a portmanteau, or, in other words, a blend of the words web and log (Web log). "Blog" can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog.
In November 2006, blog search engine Technorati was tracking more than 57 million blogs.





This being my first blog anniversary post, and the 211th post as well, I learned from past mistakes and wrote it in MS Word first, just so I don’t loose it again! (No pun intended).

A little more then a year ago, I felt the urge to start my own blog. I’ve had been reading blogs for a while and thought, why not? I started to have a look around for a free account. At first there was “My Space”, which turned out to be something I didn’t like. Word Press was next, I even set up an account, but being new to it all, I didn’t find it simple enough. My son suggested “Blogger” to me, and I’ve been here ever since. It’s not really a surprise to me that I stuck with it, since I’m like a tick, when I’m interested in something. 100% all the time!

Some numbers: I signed in at Google Analytics in mid February. There where

March 2007: 6152 visitors,
April 2007 up to April 7th: 1,216 visitors to my blog. Hello-o! Big wave here! (and a smile)

One of my first posts was about the recovery of Sam and his first knee surgery, as well as a scarf I made for my friend Roswitha. First post .

I learned a lot, about blogging, and the blogging community. My knitting advanced not just with baby steps, but with huge steps in all directions. With the help of the internet and all its helpful hints, tips and tricks, it’s easy to find information on whatever topic imaginable!

I learned knitting as a kid in school. As I was looking through my photo albums I realized that I did quite a lot of knitting. I made a lot for my children when they ware babies and toddlers, but stopped knitting, after I learned about quilting. (I knit a sweater for my boyfriend, now husband, and have the picture to prove it!) I never stopped knitting socks though, just plain old stockinette stitch socks. One year and a half ago I started up with more socks and dishcloth knitting, and one thing let to another, and here I am today.

All that thinking about my past knitting let to this little story about one particular piece I made. I’m real sorry that I don’t have a picture of one of my sweaters I made when I was 17 years old. I’ve got some very natural sheep wool from my aunt. They had a small flock of sheep and never knew what to do with the woolly stuff (I guess the sheep were for eating mostly). Anyway, she gave me this bag full of stinky sheep wool, coarsely spun too. I wound the hanks into balls, where my fingers got all sticky and smelly. I didn’t care. I made myself a knee long!!! “Sweater-dress”. It looked like a sweater knit with brioche stitch on top and the mini skirt part was some kind of ribbing. It weighted a ton, and I looked probably like a sheep on two feet. I remember hiking to the next village, which was 12 kilometers away. It was a sunny winter day, and I just felt like it. Once there, I sat in a coffee shop, reading and sipping – probably coffee( or tea). At first I didn’t think much about the looks I got. But it suddenly occurred to me, that something must be wrong with me. Since I was schlepping this thing on my back for miles, I got used to the smell. Once inside and warming up I must have spread the scent of an old randy ram, which made me laugh. I must have looked something like a female yeti. I took the bus back home. I don’t think I wore that thing too often!

But I do have some pictures of a sweater I made, when I was 18 years old. I was visiting Venice in 1983, during off season. I know that, because it was real cold, and I wore mitts. Look at those! I attached fringe all around them. Totally forgot about them. The sweater was made with a golden colored yarn. It was very soft and very expensive, surely NOT acrylic, but more than that, I can’t remember.



Back to the present: I made some cyber space friends, even have regular readers, (Hello!), and people who leave comments regularly as well, thanks!

That leads me to the winner of my little contest:

It’s Angie aka Dipsy Doodle ! Congratulations!
(I pulled your name out of a hat, very scientific like)
I hope you like the book! Thanks for playing! Please send me your mailing address via e-mail!

It’s always nice to have some feedback; otherwise it’s like talking to oneself. There’s Linda from NYC for instance, which dropped me a line or two recently, and sent this pictures of her White Shepherd Gulley. She was reading my blog with him by her side. You can see Biko’s head on the screen! Thanks for your kind words, Linda! I appreciate hearing from you; it makes it all worth it!

Now, usually I don’t harbor deep thoughts. But during the last few days I was thinking about this past (knitting) year and what it meant to me, and what it means to me right now, and what I want to do during the upcoming year.

I think a natural next step is to give spinning a try. I’ve been thinking about it more and more lately, and I want to give it a try. I’ve been in contact with Amy of Boogie Knits . She’ll put together a starter kit for me, and I trust her experience and am looking forward to the whole package! (She’s even dyeing some roving in colors I like). See, talking the talk already!

I hope I can learn spinning on my own. I don’t know anybody who spins yarn, but I’m confident, I think I can, I think I can, I think I can ….

Then, there’s some knitting I’d like to do, namely for myself. At least a vest and/or a cardigan, socks don’t count. I’ve seen so many nice designs and it’s about time anyway. Also, I’d like to design a real pretty shawl and write the pattern. I don’t think that is easy, especially with the charts, but that’s what I want to do. The one I’m working on right now, doesn’t count. It’s just an easy - breezy one. Other then that, there will be a lot of sock knitting, but you’ll never know. I might catch the spinning bug real bad, and don’t have as much time for knitting as I would like too have. We’ll see, don’t we?

I finish up with a picture of my two stinky dogies (as I call them lovingly): It’s a few years old, I think Sam was one year old that spring.





Thanks for listening, reading, and commenting!

Monika

37 comments:

Anonymous said...

Happy Blogiversary! :)

Sarah said...

Happy Blogiversary!

It is always interesting to see how far we have come as bloggers and knitters, and those friends and complete strangers who have supported us along the way. Knitters are such wonderful people!

Anonymous said...

Happy, happy 1st anniversary!
Truly enjoy your posts, the picture of "Strickendes Maedchen" is priceless, if you come across another "oldie" please share it with us again :-))
Of course I also enjoy pix of Sam, he has a special spot in my heart.
Nur so weitermachen Monika!!!
Alles, alles Gute wuenscht herzlichst Ingrid

Kris B said...

Happy Blogiversary! I got a chuckle out of reading about the "yeti" sweater. Good luck with spinning.

Knitted Zebra said...

I always look forward to reading your blog ~ not only to see your beautiful knitting, but also to catch up on news of Sam and Biko. I found your blog from a link on someone else's blog. The moment I saw the picture of your 4 legged children, I knew I would be a regular visitor! Happy Blogiversary!!! Sasha, Samson and Gabi send hugs to Sam and Biko.

Cecie said...

das foto von den beiden mit den blüten ist ja der wahnsinn! bitte ausdrucken und an die wand hängen.

herzlichen glückwunsch auch - bei der gelegenheit: wie gehts denn eigentlich dem fellnasigen sorgenkind und dem fuss?

ich schick dir ein bisschen sonne & liebe grüsse ;o)

Lisa said...

You definitely should try spinning. I am a newbie and I just love it so far. I started on a spindle and got a little frustrated, altho I was able to spin some very nice yarn on it. (it just took me forever!) I got a wheel, and it is just a dream to spin on. Good luck!

Michelle said...

Congratulations on your blogiversary!! Yeah!!!

hakucho said...

Congratulations on your blog anniversary! I sure wish I had pictures of all the things I have knit over the years. Most thing were made and given away. That is one of the reasons I really like my blog is that it's a great way to record my work :) Making new friends who enjoy knitting is another :)

happy knitting :)

Anonymous said...

Congrats Monika! I read your blog regularly and always enjoy it but I don't comment all the time.
Gillian

sgeddes said...

Happy Blogiversary!

I know you will master spinning just as you have master knitting. I'm looking forward to seeing the progresss and the beautiful yarn you will spin.

tammy said...

Happy blogiversary! The spinning bug is biting me too. I really want to try using a Spindolyn.
http://www.knittinganyway.com/products/spindolyn.htm

It looks so cool! Can't wait to see your first spinning!

shannon said...

Happy YEAR!!!! I can't remember how I stumbled across your blog, but I am always in awe of your knitting. Smoking hot needles indeed!

Your two "stinky" dogs always bring a smile to my face as well.

Thanks for a year full of great reading.

Strickfimmel said...

Gratulation zum 1. Blogjahrestag!!
Ist es wirklich schon 1 Jahr her, seit Du Deinen Blog gestartet hast? Ich kann es kaum glauben. Ich freue mich immer wieder, wenn ich in Deinen Blog schaue und die neuen Fotos und Posts lese. Mach auf jeden Fall weiter so und ich freue mich schon auf neue Fotos.
Liebe Grüße
Sybille

Sue J. said...

Happy Blogiversary, Monika. I always read your blog for the beautiful knitting, touching stories of your family and the great pics of Sam and Biko. All the best. Here's to many more years.

Anonymous said...

Happy Blogiversary Monika...I'm so happy that we found each other!! I hope you will have many more blogiversaries in the future.
I have spun about enough yarn (on a little spindle) to make a hat and actually have some roving, but decided that the spinning adventure may have to wait until the kids are a bit older and we retire.... something to look forward to! Although, now that you are going to start - it may be difficult for me to wait!!

Anonymous said...

Happy Blogiversary!

I can't remember how I found you, either, but once I saw Sam and Biko I knew I was hooked.

Anonymous said...

Look at the perky puppies!

Happy Blogiversary! I'm so happy to have met you, Monika! I think you'll take to spinning like a duck to water.

"A sheep on two feet"? "Smelled like a Yeti"? ROTFL! But see? Already you were doing your own thing.

Anonymous said...

Happy Blogiversary! I think you'll enjoy spinning quite a bit.

Tracy Purtscher said...

Sooo glad I've "met" you my dear! Congrats on your one year. Can't wait to see what inspiration you will bring in the next year!
Thanx for be you and having one my most fav blogs!!

Anonymous said...

Happy, happy blogiversary! I had a good chuckle with reading about that "yeti" sweater! I so wish I had pics of the sweaters that I knit as a teenie - they were incredibly 80's style, but some were really artsy indeed - but I've either ripped them or thrown them away after wearing them a lot, and unfortunately there's no pics left of these, neither of me wearing them. Hm, what a shame!
I'm totally happy that I've won your contest - I so very rarely win something that it's always like a holiday for me! I'm *so* looking forward to the book!
Have a very happy Easter, my friend!

Heike said...

Liebe Monika,
herzlichen Glückwunsch zu Deinem ersten Bog-Geburtstag! Dein Geburtstageintrag hat mir sehr gut gefallen und besonders die "alten" Fotos sind klasse. Leider gibt es von meinen frühen Strickwerken keine Bilder mehr. Inspiriert durch Deinen Eintrag versuche ich mich an die vergangenen Pullis zu erinnern und es fallen mir immer mehr ein! Mein Gott! Was muss ich in diesem meinem Leben schon Wolle verarbeitet haben! Die würde ich gerne auf einem Haufen sehen. Aber ich schweife ab...
Ich lese Deinen blog immer sehr gerne und er unterscheidet sich sehr wohltuend von anderen blogs - durch die Hundegeschichten ist es bei Dir immer sehr abwechlslungsreich. Ich freue mich auf viele weitere blog-Jahre!

Ganz herzliche Grüsse von Heike

Anonymous said...

Herzlichen Glückwunsch! Ich hoffe, es kommen noch viele viele Jahre dazu ... mit zahlreichen Fotos von Socken und Hunden ;-)

Liebe Grüße
Tanja

Anonymous said...

Hi Monika
Just want to say how much I enjoy your blog...although I have never commented. You are one of the 3 that I read, religiously! I think we need a knitting "foursome" in the near future...you, Hannah, Lynn and me.
Stay limber..
Mary C

LadyLungDoc said...

Happy Blogiversary!! Looking forward to seeing your shawl design. This blog has alot of tips on formatting charts:
http://fleeglesblog.blogspot.com/index.html

Ironic that the winner of your contest is also Austrian!

Monika said...

Hi Ladylungdoc,
it must be cosmic irony you mean, but let me asure you, I but all names of those who commented in a hat, the pieces of paper where all the same size, no matter how long the name is/was. I shook it and pulled one out. It was Dipsy Doodle, that she is Austrian had nothing to do with it. At my last contest before this one, I picked 3 winners, all of them came from the U.S. and didn't comment before the contest or much after either. It doesn't matter. They still got their prizes, because that's how it works. I do this contests because I think they are fun. I like to give gifts and make people happy. It's only small stuff, and I don't get anything out of it, except the joy of the whole experience, and yeah, maybe a few more comments.

Debi said...

This story made me laugh out loud! :)

Happy Blogiversary Monika!!!

Violiknit said...

Happy Blogiversary! I look forward to reading your posts in your Blog year #2!

Shirley, in PA said...

Happy Blogiversary indeed. I always enjoy your blog, especially the pictures of your wonderful dogs and the sock patterns you design. Good luck with the spinning. I'm sure you will figure it out.
Shirley, in PA

monica said...

Congrats on the blogiversary, I find it fun to share my knitting and knitting acheivements with fellow knitters, and to read about their adventures in knitting. But mostly making friends all over the world with people with similar interests. And I love seeing your dogs. We all have allergies here so I live vicariously through the knitters with pets. Thanks for sharing them with us.

meg said...

Happy Blogiversary, Monika. Great post.

Olga said...

Congrats on the one year mark! Thanks for being part of my little contest too! I really liked this post, it was sooo interesting to read about your life!

Dave said...

Happy first year! I always head to your site whenever time permits and it is always quite interesting! I hope I make it through my first year. Take care! :-)

eyeleen said...

Happy Blogiversary!!!

Anonymous said...

Happy Anniversary! I love reading your blog every day. I really enjoy it and learn from it. Keep up with the great stories and pictures. Take care.

Abigale said...

Wow, it's only been a year? Seems like I met you right about the time you started your little blog, and it's been wonderful getting to know you and your family :-)

Good luck on the spinning - I've only heard good things about Amy's rovings, though I've never tried them myself - and if you need any help, let me know. Also, you could probably try to find out if there's a spinning guild near you, and show up to one of their meetings - spinners are a lot like knitters, nice people!

And so lovely to see a picture of you! Even if it was an old one.

Anonymous said...

Happy Blogiversary!

This is such a great post, you have done a lovely job sharing your thoughts on blogging and knitting.