of blogs and bloggers

Isn't it great when you discover a great new blog? (And no, I'm not fishing; I know most of my legions of readers are friends or family, and godluvya for coming, but that's a whole different thing from today's topic, so I'll get back to it.) By luck or happenstance, you find a blog that makes you smile, or nod, or laugh out loud, or tear up, or whatever floats your emotional boat. I thought I'd share some favorites.

My first read when I'm blog-surfing is Laurie, aka Crazy Aunt Purl. I found her blog when I was looking for a hat pattern to knit, and stayed for everything else: knitting, cats, horrorscopes, pictures, videos, links, and a great take on life. Love ya, Laurie! Check your mailbox, though I swear I'm not stalking you! (The hat pattern is great, by the way, and so simple, but there's much more to it than that.)

Second, I generally read Stephanie, the Yarn Harlot. Although there is a lot more regular knitting content here, she also writes about family, neighbors, travel, and so on, and is amusing and inspiring and well, next time she comes to Greater Boston, I'm there (I was a little late to the Harlot bandwagon, so I didn't go when she was in Cambridge recently [this summer? last summer?]).

Then, Franklin at The Panopticon (which his website does explain, so I won't). In recent weeks, two different people have sent me links to him, which shows they do know me, and yes, I enjoy reading his blogging. He knits, too (I found his site from Stephanie's), but again there's more there than that. And if you go to his blog, you should know that Dolores is a sheep, okay? And don't call her imaginary unless you're ready to face the consequences.

Those are generally the first ones; then if I have time, I check out others:

Jennifer Saylor, with whom I used to work in North Carolina, back in the day. I enjoy her writing even when she writes about mathy stuff, and if you know me (which as previously discussed, you probably do), you know that's saying something (hello, English major!).

MonicaPDX, whose blog I found mostly because she also reads Stephanie and Laurie, and comments well. I enjoy her perspective on life as well as her helpful also-learning-to-knit-socks position.

And a new one (to me), Tammy at Polka Dot Mittens, also found through a pithy comment on Laurie's blog. I went back and read through her archives, and had a fine giggle. There were a couple of months when the postings were, well, a little slim, but after all anyone who is renovating the basement and preparing for a wedding is excused.

I just hope she's prolific going forward, because damn it, the bad thing about blogs is that you find someone whose writing you want to read, and then they don't write, and that's no fun! If I click into a blog for the first time, and see the most recent posting is from 2 months ago, and starts out talking about how long it's been since they last posted, they've lost me. They could be a great blogger, but it only leads to frustration. And who wants to volunteer for that?

If anyone wants to suggest others, please do so! For now, since I have boxes yet to unpack and a trip to plan for, I'm off to make cookies. Of course! And I'll post photos (sometime) of the wristwarmer: such a quick knit, I started it Thursday night and finished Saturday, and started number two! Fun...