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Tap tap tap. Tappity tappity tap. Tap tap tapitty tap tappity tap tap tap.
My fingers are moving (twitching, actually) on the keyboard, but they aren’t so keen on typing at the moment. There’s nothing wrong with them, aside from being a little cold. It’s the words that are posing a problem. I know lots of words and how to spell them.
Elephant. Underpants. Green. Floorboard.
But I’m having a hard time choosing specific ones to use. And then there’s a small matter of putting them into a certain order that’s pleasing to the senses. Certainly I could herring bowl at muffin tickle, but then dowel chickens watermelon in the gurgling vine. Juggle what I selfish?
~sigh~ I do love to write. Love it! But I’m not sure lately what I want to be writing about. The quality of my writing on this blog has really suffered over the last year. I need to recommit. It seems that in lieu of actually writing, I’ve had a tendency to simply list things that are vaguely related in hopes that . . . what? In hopes of what, I’m not sure. Inform? Entertain? Alleviate guilt from lack of writing? Sadly, I think it’s the latter.
Why do I have this blog? What do I hope to accomplish with it? It started as simply a place where I could talk about my newfound hobby. Since then, knitting has ceased being just a hobby and blown into a full-on lifestyle, which is rather odd. I never imagined that knitting would become a lifestyle choice, like being a nudist or a vegan. Who would have thought that someday I’d have so much in common with survivalists, goth kids and Mac users?
And yet, I’m not really making advances with my knitting or fiberlust. I simply don’t have the time or the inclination right now to try new things. I like making scarves and sweaters and want to get good at socks. But I’m not ready to commit to spinning, which would certainly make for far more interesting blog fodder. And it’s through no lack of trying by friends of mine who spin. There are plenty of enabling opportunities should I choose to peek between the fingers covering my eyes. The very fact that I can whip out a list of a dozen spinners off the top of my head in 30 seconds is frightening, to say the very least.
That’s not to say that I wasn’t tempted at Spa last weekend. After watching most of the people linked in the sentences above spinning their hearts out, I came home, dusted off my spindle and spun up a few hours worth if merino that Melanie gave me about a thousand years ago. (1 human year = 500 blog years).
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It’s fun, but my arm got tired and achy from holding the spindle up, and I may not have been holding the fiber right. Let’s just say I held it like a baby bird of prey. I started making mistakes and then thought about just how long it would take for me to make actual plied yarn that I could use and put the spindle back in the dust.
My inner Verouca is just not that into it, what can I say? I want yarn NOW! Anyone know of a Golden Goose that excretes a lovely merino/silk blend? If so, I’ll take one of those. NOW!
Flange tires doorknocker I saying? Oh yeah, I was talking about the State of the Blog.
My fellow, citizens, the State of the Blog is sloppy and unfocused. Not surprising, since that’s how I’ve been feeling for the entire winter. I don’t know if I knit enough for it to be the entire focus of the blog, so I need to get that idea right out of my head. When I first started the blog, I was able to focus a wide lens on fiber and related matters, allowing myself to extend the boundaries in sometimes clever and pleasing ways. For some reason, since my time has been rather limited, I’ve found myself tightening the reigns on my subject matter a bit. I’m not really sure why, but I think I’ve tried to take the easy way out by making boring posts that had knitting content crammed in there somehow. Round peg, meet square hole. *smash!*
And you know what? That’s a total rip off. Certainly for readers, and also for me. Why am I putting what I love last? (I can, and should, ask the same question about my husband, who I rarely spend any quality time with lately) More importantly, why am I imposing these time constraints on myself, only to fritter away hours doing unimportant crap? I mean really useless? Like mindless time-suck things? I’m talking video Mah-Jong and Cake Mania, people. Seriously. It’s bad. Time wasting has been like a drug for me for a couple of months now and I need to snap out of it. Is Olympia Dukakis around? I need a good slap, a la Moonstruck.
Man, I feel like I just outed myself as an addict, but I kind of am. I didn’t actually intend to even bring it up when I started this post, but it’s kind of a glaring issue. While not the actual disease, it’s a huge manifestation of symptoms. Why would I rather build an Egyptian city‚ more than anything else in the world? (I uninstalled that a few days after I installed it, but for three or four solid days, it was frighteningly all-consuming) I know it’s just a really easy way for me to not have to think about my To Do List for a little while. I can very easily sit in front of a video game for an entire day and work on it to the exclusion of everything else. It’s a way for me to shirk any and all responsibility, but trick my brain into not feeling bad because it actually is working and being productive. Just not to any actual living things. Sure, I’m planting reeds so I can make papyrus so I can open a Scribal School and trade with other countries for more good my citizens want‚ but, and I say this in all earnest What the fuck? I don’t know that I’ve ever dropped the f-bomb on this blog, so that will give you a good idea of where I’m at with this.
So, I need to rethink the order in which I’m doing things. Maybe I should look at my life like a simulation game. If I can build a burgeoning city or bake, frost and serve beautiful cakes to hordes of angry Easter bunnies (no, seriously), why can’t I slop up everything on my own non-virtual plate? Well, the short answer is that I can, as a matter of fact. So what’s the hold up? Who knows? Winter doldrums? Eternal sleepiness? A good old fashioned sense of being overwhelmed? Yes, yes, and heck yes!
What’s the answer? I don’t rightly know, but I’m working on it. The purpose of this blog is to give me someplace to exercise my writing muscles and to hopefully be entertaining while doing it. I feel like maybe trying to limit myself to fiber-related subjects, no matter how loosely related, isn’t working any more. I don’t want to outgrow this blog, so I’m going to let the seams out a little and see if I can make a more flattering fit.
And on that note, check out this sweater I’m making! I love it. I got the pattern from The Elegant Ewe in Concord, NH. They’re now selling the kits online, and while it was quite a splurge, its well worth it. The yarn is Louisa Harding’s “Grace”, which is a merino/silk single that has a shine you wouldn’t believe. The woven pattern is pretty mindless, but easy to mess up if you aren’t paying just a tiny bit of attention because it alternates rows. I’ve had to unknit a fair bit because I duplicated a few rows. I can’t wait to wear this.
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I also had promised myself that I wouldn’t buy anything at Spa because I need to knit from my bloated stash. And I almost made it, but I caught the Boogie Fever at the very end. I hypnotized Dot with this Atomic Melon sock yarn. That’s why it isn’t actually in her mouth.
Well then, I’d say my plan for extending the blog beyond fiber is going really, really well, wouldn’t you?
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Yeah, I wasn’t going to buy anything at Spa, either. Then Amy showed up on my radar. It’s pretty hard to be pissed at her, though. I tried. 😀
I’m thrilled with this post. Write whatever you want. I like knitblogs that are about more than just the knitting.
Those men in bunny suits don’t bother me half as bad as those old ladies with the puppies. They are down right huffy. Not that I know at all what your talking about at all.
So you knit?
I honestly enjoy whatever it is you have to say – you do have a way with words.
You know, you’re fabulous and entertaining even when you are unfocused or soul-searching. I will be here no matter what you write about. Cuz yer fuckin’ funny dude. Oilpaint cheerios in the grassy coffee table like.
There’s nothing wrong with a little contemplating about blogging but don’t you worry about entertaining us. You’re doing just fine.
man, it’s a good thing that the cake game doesn’t come in a mac version because i’d be even less productive than i already am.
I admit that I am a horrible lurker here, but wanted to come out of lurking to mention that I love to read anything that you write in here!
Grace yarn in person was sumptuous.
Yeah, the doldrums hit. I’m with you on the internet addictions. Freecell. Flippin’ freecell. Then websudoku which I SWORE I would not do. And blogs. Have you mentioned blog reading?
I need to knit more, and organize my files and my stash. There! Knitting related content.
Being a notorious real world shirker, I’d just like to say that sometimes, while I’m shirking and hibernating and doing something, ANYTHING, other than actually living my life, I am also percolating on major life decisions/course corrections, etc. Sometimes we need to tune out in order to tune back in.
And whatever you want to talk about, we’re here to listen.
But seriously? Damn you for posting the link to the online kits. Triple super dog damn you. xo.
Two things:
1. Being a nudist isn’t a choice. You either are or you aren’t. I have known that I am not a nudist since I was 5 years old.
2. In college I played Sonic the Hedgehog for three days straight. STRAIGHT. It gave me a rash on my entire body (oh, if only I were joking about that…), and now I no longer am allowed to play video games.
I am a big believer in deleting, immediately, any game from your computer that sucks up three days of your life. If only I could delete the internet, I’d be all set.
Elisa is wise, and Martha is funny. I’d listen to both of them
I used to think that a year was a long time, but boy was I wrong. Take the time you need to be and wander, it will come together when it’s ready. Whatever it is.
i have a rule. Only use the trial version – that way you only lose an hour of your life. Of course then you skip from Gamehouse, where your trial has expired, to Shockwave to use theirs and then over to MSN Games and 3 hours are behind you. Um , yeah, because my cousin, er a, told me he sometimes does that.
Diner Dash my friend, its like crack.
Don’t get me started on the DAYS that the Sims consumed in my life until my husband intervened (at my request) and removed it from the computer. I still come across the installation disk every once in a while and start twitching.
I sympathize with your bloggy blahs. It’s inevitable, I think, especially about something like knitting. It’s not like cakes (ahem) – you can’t churn stuff out every couple of hours for our perpetual entertainment. But you’re a naturally good and funny writer, so don’t worry – we’ll keep tuning in to read whatever you’re writing about.
I wish I had known you were at Spa–I could have told you in person how much I enjoy your blog (and the “man” podcast, too!).
BTW, your spinning looks really nice to me! It’s a nice change when you don’t know what to knit next.
You are very, very glad you do not play World of Warcraft. Trust me. I mean, mining, dude, and then smelting and then making armor so I can kill more stuff to get more reputation with the right factions and get an epic mount to go faster to get more money to get a flying mount so I can go faster and be one of the cool kids and…
Fuck. I’m so with you on the eternal sleepiness plus overwhelmedness except that, you know, I’m not a famous author with a book tour 😉 I’m glad to read that I’m not the only one with word problems, nor the only one who needs an existential kick in the ass. And I’m just glad to read you, period, because you rock.
I know what you mean, to me it’s poker. Every time I’m so tired I can’t be bothered to do anything at all I play hold’em online. I’ve learned over the years that I play more in the winter, and then when the summer (and sunshine) comes I’m more sociable, I go out a lot and meet people.
Oh, and don’t even ask about http://www.Pogo.com... Okay, now you are all officially under the spell of Pogo
I’m chiming in a little late, but as a fellow knitter and occasional blogger from New Hampshire, I wanted to ask you to please keep writing! I don’t care if you’re specific to one thing or not. It’s your blog and there are no rules that say what you should or shouldn’t do. It doesn’t help that this is New England and we’re sitting here waiting for more snow and bad weather. That’s enough to make anyone a little lethargic.
Another Warcrafter here, man, 2+ years of my life…and I’m still hopelessly addicted. But hey, at least my guild never has their crap together, I can count on 1-2 hours of knitting outside the instance while they slowly make their way. “Whats that? Heal you? Oh sorry I was turning a cable. I’ll rez you in a sec, gotta finish this row.”
Write about whatever you like, just write, I took a year off because I didn’t have any knitting news I felt was blogworthy….but I’m back, re-decorated, re-mission stated, and rearin’ to go. Now whats this keyboard for again?
Some of us are easily entertained. I could mean me.
😉
I’m with all the others that say keep flexing those writing muscles…whatever the content. The honesty of this post was refreshing. Thanks.
Oh man, I totally hear you with the ‘lalala! I won’t think about what I should be doing! lalala!”
Also, you need to blog about whatever makes you happy.. reinvention time!
(I sent you an invitation to ravelry- can’t wait to see what you think…)
late late late to the party…but write what you want…you funny. we read. very happily most especially when you are in the groove of what you want to talk about, rather than limited by arbitrary restraints.
I know what you mean though. I’ve been struggling with the blog for about a year. I should just admit it is a dating blog or an extension of therapy or something….
Just wanted to let you know that me and my friend Nancy just bought your book and now you owe us new underwear because we peed ours.
Hi,
I know this is a bit off-topic, but I could really use some help. I have been desperately searching for a knitting pattern for a sixties-style mini-dress, and, lo and behold, I came across a post you made on another blog quite a while ago saying that you have some. Is there any way you could send me either links to the patterns or patterns themselves? My email address is zjromano@ezaccess.net. Thank you!
Ha! Try being unemployed, and when you should be online looking for a job – you’re playing Cake Mania. Thankfully, I got a job by accident. NOW I feel like knitting, blogging, and doing all of the things I could have been doing while I was unemployed. Instead of watching every episode of CSI Miami. Great blog. Love it.