MKG Cable Gram - Volume 22, Number 2

In the last issue of Cable Gram, I profiled several knitblogs that are interesting and diverse in the online worldwide knitting community. This time, I stayed closer to home and asked several local knitbloggers their thoughts and opinions on blogging. Blog addresses are given at the bottom of the article.

The first, perhaps most obvious, question was: "Why did you decide to start a knitblog?" Many bloggers, like Carrie from Knit-Whit and Renee from A Good Yarn, started blogs in response to following the foibles of other knitbloggers and wanted to join the community. After all, sharing our progress or woes with others who understand them is a comfort to anyone engaged in creative activities. As Connie from Scrapovers notes, "I like to share what I am doing with fellow knitters. Although my family is very supportive of my endeavors, their eyes do glaze over with the details of a project." And blogs are attractive to new and experienced knitters alike; bloggers who have been knitting 20 or more years include Connie and Beth from Beth's Blue Room, while Carrie notes that she started knitting at Christmas of 2002 "and my needles haven't been quiet since!" Jeanne from Knit3Tog has a unique blog shared by three knitters, created to keep in touch: "One of my knitting friends moved out of state, so she, and I, and a third local friend decided to start blogging together as a method of keeping in touch with what is going on in the lives of each of us."

But anyone who spends time keeping up with knitblogs quickly realizes that knitting may be the main topic, but it isn't the only topic. If this seems surprising, keep in mind that knitters seem to be a group of people with diverse and varied interests and lives. While knitting projects may be a mainstay of topics, other interests pop up-- pets, children, movies, concerts, politics, books, TV, gardening, other creative arts from jewelry-making to embroidery to sewing-- knitbloggers cover it all.

When asked if she only blogs about knitting, Kelle from Knits and Giggles says, "I love knitting, but my life is not solely centered around knitting. I write about things that I enjoy, my family, reading, gardening, or whatever makes me giggle."

Chris from Stumbling Over Chaos chuckles at the idea of only having knitting content: "Hee--I'm sure I have as much (or more) feline content as I do knitting content. I think the subheading of my blog title should prepare people for the mixed bag they'll get: ‘I used to internet date. Now I read blogs instead. Knitting, reading, bicycling, cat parenting--it's a wild life.'" Beth notes that while she keeps knitting as a high priority topic, her daughter also gains attention: "Since I spend most of the day with my daughter I also talk about her. I guess it's a 60% knitting, 40% life blog."

It's that diversity that keeps bloggers both writing their own blogs and reading those of others. Renee says, "I think of my blog as a reflection of my life. Knitting is an important part of my life, but not the only part. I enjoy reading other things on other people's blogs, so I also include it on mine." Carrie says she uses her blog to update friends and family on all kinds of things that are going on in her life: "I don't limit my content mainly because I have out of town family who read my blog, so it's a great way for me to keep them up-to-date."

Perhaps because of this sharing of all aspects of life, blogs often lead to online friendships; I know I've made friends that I've never met and may never meet, but I enjoy reading about both their knitting and their other interests. When asked if she maintains only knitting content, Deb from Wound Too Tight says, "Oh, hell no! Some of my blogger people have become virtual friends. I enjoy hearing about what else is going on in their lives. I guess (hope) they wouldn't mind the occasional sappy, tragic, comical story about something in my life. Have I told you about the root canal...?"

Bloggers: Beth from Beth's Blue Room:
http://spaces.msn.com/members/bethblueroom/

Carrie from Knit-Whit:
http://www.knit-whit.blogspot.com/

Chris from Stumbling Over Chaos:
http://stumblingoverchaos.blogspot.com/

Connie from Scrapovers:
http://www.scrapovers.com/blog/

Deb from Wound Too Tight:
http://woundtootight.blogspot.com/

Kelle from Knits and Giggles:
http://www.4knitsandgiggles.blogspot.com/

Jeanne from K3Tog:
http://k3tog.typepad.com/k3tog/

Renee from A Good Yarn:
http://www.goodyarn.blogspot.com/

Amy C. Rea is a Twin Cities freelance writer, relatively new knitter, and even newer blogger. Visit her at http://www.knitthink.typepad.com to read about her knitting successes (rare) and failures (frequent), and enjoy the nice doggy pictures, too.