On the Blog

Today is the third anniversary of this blog.  Here is the very first photo from my very first post three years ago.

I took the photo while on a special vacation trip to Bermuda in 2007.  It shows a flowerbed at the pink "Princess Hotel" (the Fairmont Southampton).

On the first anniversary of this blog, I was vacationing at St Thomas, USVI, and I was proud to have posted about my first Blogiversary while being so far from home.  (I was anxious to keep up with the blog while one of my first knit designs was just out out in a magazine.)

Here is a photo from that trip in 2012.

The photo is of a tree branch at Lindquist Beach.  I was happy that I caught just enough of the sun through the branch in my photo.  I was laying on a chair on the beach under the tree.  Loved that. 

Last year I forgot about it being my Blogiversary (or, I think that I remembered it, but I also thought that self-congratulations would be a boring topic).  I did post a Colorwork Meditation (#7, no less, my favorite number) on the day.  That post contained this photo (not by me) of Josef Albers, Homage to Square, collection.  Love it.

Photo credit: http://igetitart.com/tag/josef-albers/

Today, then, begins the fourth year of the blog.

I was thinking that I might briefly share some of my blogging experience.

There are spammers, and worse, "referer" spammers, who have caused me grief... but that has mostly died down.

I (once, not long ago) had a vacation post with a good number of links that I believe was being used by someone for advertising purposes.  It was getting a crazily growing number of page views each hour over several days.  It made me nervous.  I deleted it, but then I re-posted it without the links.  I was not able to preserve the comments or page view numbers, but at least what I wrote and all of the photos are there.  (Last I checked, it still had zero views.)

I do enjoy going to my blogger stats page.  I like to see all the page views that my tutorials (especially my colorwork one) get everyday and from all around the world.

Is it funny that I have no worries about readers (who I imagine to be knitters) from India or Argentina or Korea viewing my blog in good number, but I do worry about unknowns (who seemed to be "storming" the old there)?

Lastly, thanks to my new blogging friends!  You know who you are.  You blog.  I blog.  You comment.  I comment.  I love that you are there! 

Juxtapose

jux-ta-pose verb to place close together or side by side, especially for comparison or contrast.

My vacation week was a juxtaposition-ing for me.

There I was during the first week of June with two magazines on a sales rack having my first two published patterns in them.  I purchased several copies of each.  I was working on a new design submission, and I was blogging about my knitting patterns.  My family, close friends and knitting acquaintances were all congratulating me.  I was really pleased with what I had accomplished.  It was all good.

Then, during the second week of June, there I was on a tropical island where nobody (I know of) knits.  We have been visiting St Thomas for many years now, and we even have friends who live there, but no one was interested in my knitting.  It was in the upper 80's each day and humid.  When we went boating, even I must admit, I could not bring knitting on board.  But I did knit in the morning and at bedtime.  I did a bit of knitting at beach and poolside.  (It was, after all, World Wide Knit In Public Day/Week.)  I found that the more that I knit, the more I felt like myself.  It really was necessary, if you know what I mean.

Also, I asked ahead about WiFi, and I brought my faithful laptop in order to keep up with my blogging, and to reply to comments here and at Ravelry.  The internet was spotty at times.  But I did manged to publish my previously written "Now, How did that happen?" post on that first weekend, as planned.  I actually wrote my "First Blogiversary!" post, and my "Midweek Meditation" post (with a photo at Lindquist Beach, which was where I KIP'ed, or Knitted-In-Public).  And, it was while I was on vacation, that I saw that link to "Now, How did that happen?" made by Amy Palmer on the Interweave blog, knitttingdaily.  Like, wow, that would not have happened if I did not bring my laptop!  I was then able to quickly post "Thanks, Amy!".  It was all good.

In conclusion, I am so grateful that I brought my laptop on vacation.  I am grateful that I had WiFi.  It felt strange that no one I was with knew, or cared to know, about my knit designs.  But, vacationing was, in itself, a blast... Did I spend long days boating and on beaches and visiting all of these tropical non-knitting friends?  Yes!  Did I meet some new island people and hear some new island stories?  Yes!  Was it all that a vacation should be?  Yes, yes! ... and I even came back with a suntan!

I am also glad to be back here blogging and knitting and designing in my own home.  It has been a juxtaposition-ing, I tell ya!

It is all good!

First Blogiversary!

My very first blog entry was posted June 12, 2011.

Happy Blogiversary to me!

I hesitated for years to start a blog, because I was afraid that I would not be able to keep it up.  I have seen many folks I know start out so enthusiastically, and then just stop posting.  Life can certainly get in the way of blogging.  I usually write short and easy posts in between the longer ones.  And I get encouragement by seeing growth, however slow, in the stats on my pageviews.

I am happy and proud to say that I have been doing this for a whole year!

Thanks for reading and thanks for your comments!

Art Credit: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Birthdaycake_1_year.JPG