Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Getting all Kumbaya on you again

As I've said before, I read a lot of blogs, and most of them are knitting and/or fiber related. More often than not the authors feel they need to post something knitting-related, and usually specific to a particular project or yarn. "I haven't posted much this month because I don't have anything new on the needles," or "I haven't made any visible progress on XYZ, so I didn't post." I see this a lot.

I suppose, if any of them read my blog, they'd consider me off topic quite a bit. This bothered me for about five minutes, but ultimately I march to my own drummer. The fact that nobody else sees or hears it doesn't bother me. It might mean I have three or four projects going at once, one or more of which I can't reveal at the time, so I blog about books instead. Maybe my camera has me in its tractor beam or I'm canning or baking or sewing. Who knows. I don't feel the compulsion to stick to posts about socks or baby sweaters or my latest stash addition. It all feels like it leads in the same direction anyway--being creative and nurturing that need.

For me, there's a connection to fellow knitters and fiber fiends, even if we've never met. We have our own language, and understand the excitement of scoring that perfect Malabrigo color way. If I tell you I had to frog three repeats of a 24 row lace pattern, you'll pour me a drink, not offer me a jar for the frog. If a knitter is vacationing in a new city or moving to a different state or country, they'll get a list of the local yarn shops without even asking. You know there is help out there, and you know somebody can relate. I figure most of you will forgive me taking the scenic route.

It's probably a little too touchy-feely for some people and that's O.K. But I pretty much lay it all out there and see what happens. I'm not afraid of being emotional or obnoxious or silly. Yes, a little decorum goes a long way in this age of YouTube Mel Gibson meltdowns. (He should learn to knit; he could make his own straight jacket.) I try to keep the EWWW factor on the low end. But I promise you, this blog is always me. Good or bad, witty or witless--what you read is what you get. Enjoy the ride and thanks for coming along.

7 comments:

  1. knit his own straight jacket!!!!

    It amazes me how much I love my interblogs friends.

    Then again- I read what they write and I pick them that way so it shouldn't be quite so surprising!

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  2. You know, I've been contemplating this a bit. I originally started my blog with the intent to blog only about my yarn ventures. However, occasionally I do like to talk about my dogs (because I'm just one of those dog crazy people). But do I blog about the pups on their own blog, which I have a hard time maintaining because it's separate and I just generally forget OR do I just blog about the dogs on my regular blog and say to hell with it? It's my blog and I'll do what I want. I'm leaning toward the latter :)

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  3. I'm a sentimental person so I'll be swaying and singing Kumbaya along with you.
    I too started my blog thinking knitting only. But there are other things I like and I end up blogging it. I think it's ok. And I love the scone recipe and the pasta recipe you posted. I would've missed out on them if you kept it knitting only.

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  4. Yep, I say blog whatever you want to blog about! We are multi-faceted people with lots of stories! (You know I like to tell stories about stuff. Ok Davey stuff primarily!) I love your posts. And yes! Mel Gibson should knit himself a straight jacket. Loved it!

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  5. Stay true to yourself and blog whatever you feel about. This is your blog and if anybody has a problem with it they can stay away. This is at least how I feel about it.
    I enjoy your blog. So, keep it up!!

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  6. Can you hear me singing along? I agree completely. I think of myself more as a writer who knits than a knitter who blogs. If we can't be free to talk about what we are feeling and thinking about on our own personal blogs, then why the hell not? I have friends who read mine that don't knit, but I hope they can appreciate it when I do talk about it. Likewise, I suspect that knitters who read my blog are also interested in things farther away from them than their own needles. I hope so anyway or they will be alarmed by my occasional lapses into poetry and other oddities. Keep on going, JelliDonut, whatever you want to write about. Make us think, make us laugh...

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  7. Mel Gibson knitting his own straight jacket....whaaaaahaaaaa!!!

    God, you're so funny!

    Keep on keeping on, Susan! What we see/read is what we get.

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