I should so be sleeping – firstly I’m a new mom and I should always be sleeping when my baby is sleeping. Secondly, we spent the day at the beach and we’re all exhausted. But I feel like I need to get this post out and late at night might be my only time to do it.
To start, I want to thank everyone that left such thought provoking and generous comments. I promise I wasn’t trying to be provocative, I was just elaborating on an off hand comment I wrote the other day. I’ve read all your comments and have taken them to heart. Here’s what I’m thinking:
EVOLUTION: I think you’re absolutely right – blogs evolve. They have never and probably will never be any kind of static platform. Just as we evolve as humans (we hope), how we communicate will most likely evolve. I used words like suffer and death and I think they are appropriate in all kinds of evolution. Things change – something gives, something dies. I’m beginning to think that my lamentations on knitblogs, per se, has a lot more to do with me and my life than the actual state of knitblogging. My life has changed so much over the past year – immeasurably so – that it’s only natural that I’d want some things to stay the same. My blog changed, and it seems everyone else’s changed too and I miss how things were. I guess I’m still grieving for the blogger I once was; I was always very proud to be carry the label knitblogger, then someone called me a mommy blog the other day and honestly I cringed. I’m not ready to change my moniker. I’ve got almost 300 feeds on my bloglines list and maybe 50 are something other than knitting blogs. I suffered from infertility, yet I have maybe one or two infertility blogs on my list – and that’s because they were both knitters. I have a couple mommy-ish blogs – but really they’re about products – not people. When I found knitting blogs I found my home. Now I sort of feel adrift at sea. Melodramatic, perhaps, but it’s how I feel. And I fully believe you should feel what you feel.
RAVELRY, et al: I’m (one of) the biggest Ravelry hypocrites out there. I have no problem browsing for patterns or checking out what yarns people have used for a particular pattern for WAY too long, but I haven’t updated my projects on there after the my first initial posts. So I’m using the database, but not contributing too it. Honestly, the minute I heard about Ravelry I took the position of Chicken Little. And when I heard there would be forums? Ugh. I’ve spent my share of Internet time on forums and honestly I’ve seen nothing good come of it. In fact, I’ve seen a lot of ugliness. But there’s no denying that change is good and welcome and inevitable. I’ve benefited from Ravelry just like the next knitter or crocheter or spinner. I just can’t be a contributer – it’s not for me. Same goes with Flickr. I never had a Flickr account until I started my Ravelry account and that’s not for me either. Photography is a HUGE part of my life, but it’s also a job for me and something just doesn’t feel right about my pictures on Flickr. I’m sure this is an ignorant bias on my part that someone will surely point out, but again. It’s not for me. Same thing with a lot of these other internet tools. The fact is I’m a blogger. It suits me very well. I love to write and I love to take the pictures I need to take and I like having the control to do what I want with my words and photographs. The fact that I have an audience makes it all that much better, but I’ve realized these last few months that I’d be here regardless.
The bottom line is I’ve allowed myself tremendous growth in so many areas of my life, that now I’m going to feel free to let my blog grow. From now on I’m going to disavow any and all labels – I’m no longer a knit blogger or a mommy blogger or a photo blog or an infertility blog. This blog is me. All the parts of me. For better or worse.
Thank you all, again, as always, for coming along for the ride.
I admire your decision to just let go and write what you want to write about. I feel like there’s a lot of pressure to choose one type of blog you want to have. But actually, when I think about it, most of my favorite blogs are those that have some recurring themes (knitting, for example) but in which I get to see more of the whole person. I’ve loved watching your blog expand in the last few months!
Lovely post – the last one has had me thinking quite a bit and trying to sort out what I thought about the state of blogging and Ravelry. In short I think it’s had a different effect on different people but it has had a big effect for sure. I like this follow up – long live blogging about whatever we like :o)
I am so with you. The majority of blogs I read are knitting blogs, with a couple mommy blogs and photography blogs mixed in. But my blog? It’s about whatever is interesting to me at the moment. I don’t care about what they say about sticking to one topic in order to be successful. My blog is for fun for me, not a popularity contest. I love my blog, I enjoy it, and yeah, I talk about knitting because I enjoy knitting. So you go, girl!
Oh goody, because the thing I love most about your blog (after the pic of Meli, of course) is you. Keep it coming.
thanks for adding your unique take on it, C ~ I think you got a lot of people thinking, and that is a good thing. i have noticed a general down turn on the blogs, but I don’t think they are dying. either way, i am keeping mine, and i am glad you will be blogging too 🙂
Glad that you got to a space that you’re comfortable blogging without a label. You write well, ask good questions and share your life in a way that is enjoyable and thought provoking to read, whatever the topic may be. Enjoy and keep it coming!
Ravelry is the world’s greatest time suck – I realized that I have to time limit myself or I will never actually KNIT. (Since I already juggle a job, a commute, a race training schedule oh and did I mention I knit slow? – time is critical!) I do participate in the forum for my LYS stash club. I wasn’t going to post my projects but since I don’t keep a notebook somewhere else I take advantage of that function to keep at least one photo of the FO and some bare bones notes for myself.
Funnily enough one of my favorite things about Ravelry is the links to personal blogs – I often find myself clicking on someone’s profile and checking out their blog…
Cara, you have been through many significant changes in the past few years. It has been a privilege to share them with you. I applaud your openness with all of us. I agree with you that your place is with your blog. You do an outstanding job with your words and your photographs. I don’t think they could be shared as effectively in another forum. So, thank you very much for what you do. I will continue to read what you wish to share!
Once you have a child your life changes for ever and will keep changing from day to day. But thats ok you just do what you can and its your blog not ours, its about you. Have a Happy 4th!!
for awhile there I thought you were a nipple blog. Let’s not revisit that phase, shall we?
Cara,
we’re so similar – I’m on Ravelry, but I’m not ON Ravelry. I haven’t updated in forever, but I do search around in there. Same with Flickr.
Oh well. And I read your blog for YOU, I like it when you knit, when you talk about Meli and all other things. Same with Norma and Cari – they have evolved as people, and their blogs reflect that. I read and enjoy all.
Absolutely! It’s your blog and you should write whatever you want to write!
I’m the same way about Flickr – didn’t really care to have an account until I needed one for Rav, and I only use it as a tool to load the pictures there. Two online places is more than enough to maintain 🙂
Cara, you’ve found your comfort zone and realized you can be yourself. Becoming a mother can move you outside of yourself to a place where you can look around and see more clearly. I enjoy your blog more since you’ve come to that place.
Three cheers for “no label” blogging. In the end, whether a blog is “about” a specific subject, what keeps one coming back (speaking for this regular reader) is the person behind the blog.
I’ve thought about this “label” issue, too. In the end, I decided that my blog is for me to write about things that I’m thinking about. I’ve been going through a period lately where I’m preoccupied with things that I don’t want to talk about publicly, and I’ve felt paralyzed when it comes to blogging. But, as a friend pointed out, nobody’s going to come and take my url if I don’t post as much as I have in the past.
I applaud your decision to allow your blog to grow… I think you’ll find that it’s an excellent decision!
I’ve thought about this “label” issue, too. In the end, I decided that my blog is for me to write about things that I’m thinking about. I’ve been going through a period lately where I’m preoccupied with things that I don’t want to talk about publicly, and I’ve felt paralyzed when it comes to blogging. But, as a friend pointed out, nobody’s going to come and take my url if I don’t post as much as I have in the past.
I applaud your decision to allow your blog to grow… I think you’ll find that it’s an excellent decision!
Hang in there. I’m a couple steps ahead of you on the new mom rollercoaster, and it really takes your ideas about who you are and turns them on end.
I first wandered over here because of the knitting, but I keep coming back because of the photography, and because you keep me entertained 🙂
I’m loving Ravelry and the forums over there because I’m constitutionally incapable of keeping my own blog. Tried several times, blogging just isn’t for me. I wish it was. Now I get to contribute my little bit to internet knitting.
I’m really glad you’re going to keep blogging and see where it all goes.
I wouldn’t want to put a label on you. Each of us is multidimentional (or boring). I’m sure that if you keep sharing from where you’re real, you will help blogging get to the next level.
so right are your words about how your blog is growing. Because you are growing, why shouldn’t your blog. The most interresting blogs I’m reading (yours is one of them) are the blogs without a limited subject. A blog is about life, and your life is expanding beyond knitting. So be it, and it’s natural.
good luck, and I’m hoping you find time to blog, and allow us readers a little peek in your life. Thank you.
Well, thank goodness for blogging freedom. Because if you stopped writing about tits, I’d be really upset.
(Sorry, Ann ;-))
It’s not quite the same as it was years ago when we started, and I miss it sometimes too, but I think it’s more an ebb and flow thing. I’ve noticed the group of blogs/bloggers I used to check in on post a lot less if at all (myself most DEFINITATELY included), but we all have a lot more going on these days. I think about blogging a lot, I just don’t get to it as often. For me, it’s the same with knitting. I miss it, but I’m not doing much of it lately. But there’s a new crop of bloggers that are just as crazy dedicated to it as we were back in the day.
You’re right about Ravelry though, I think it has played a factor. Then again though, although I wasn ever into bloglines, I TOTALLY use Ravelry’s friend tab to keep up on who’s posted to their blogs. It hasn’t stopped me from posting to my blog OR from checking in on my friends. I think it’s lame to link to your project info from Ravelry. Either put it on the blog or don’t 😉
miss you!!! 🙂
I must admit I’ve never understood people’s compulsion to criticize others’ personal blogs, for content or for whatever. Read or don’t read. I enjoy your blog very much, even sometimes clicking over when you haven’t written anything new just to see the picture in the header!
I’m really glad you opened up that discussion about Ravelry and blogging, because it had been nagging at the back of my mind, but I hadn’t really thought about it. And it was really interesting to see what everyone had to say. In my case, I think Ravelry actually encourages me to blog more because I’m not a confident photographer. If I take pictures to update Ravelry, then I figure I might as well write a blog post and use the pictures again! I agree with you about forums, but I like Ravelry because it helps me organize my projects. It’s been lovely to hear from you lately!
I originally started our reading your blog for the knitting content. But, then I’ve found myself just as interested in the “life” content. We don’t craft in a vacuum, and I think that is the most interesting thing about it. I am more than just a knitter, but knitting and crafting are a big part of my life. So, bring on the Meli, and the photos, and Georgie,and life in general, and throw in pictures of your finished mitered square project when it’s done. And, I’ll keep reading… Happy July!
Thanks for your input on the knit blog community. I am new to them and just recently switched where I blog. I couldnt wait for Ravelry either. Once on there it consummed too much of my time and trying to use flickr was a nightmare. So I rarely log on there. I dont think a blog has to be just about one thing. Im not all about music, or cooking, or my passion knitting. I a whole lotta woman. Thanks for sharing your life with all of us.
Here, here! I wish I had a glass of wine to toast you with. I’ve always enjoyed your perspective on things (even if I don’t agree). May you have many more passionate blogging years!
Cara, you are first and foremost a writer. That has always been evident in your blog. Sure you wrote a blog about knitting and you were very prolific with your knitting, but in the end, I think people read you because of the way you express yourself and we are interested in you as a person as much as your knitting. I also think that the lull in knitting blogs opens up room for new folks to come on the scene. I started my blog recently as a way to help me work through my stash,and the time felt right to me because the blogosphere was not quite so busy. I love you as a writer so please keep up the good work.
And thank you for inviting us to ride along with you. It’s never a dull read!
Thank you for sharing an honest opinion about Ravelry—you summed up allot of my feelings about it, too. I would say that over 50% of the stuff on there really has nothing to do with any of the fiber arts, and I was really turned off by it when I caught one of my “friends” making some extremely hurtful comments about me on one of the forums. Again, it had nothing to do with knitting; just me as a person. It can be a wonderful resource to learn about patterns and other products, but I’m not interested in the snarkiness that is too prevalent in some of the forums or the extraneous stuff that has nothing to do with fiber. I know other people love it, and that’s great for them, but I’m just not that into it.
Good on you for eschewing the labels and just doing what you do. I love your blog, no matter the topic.
To have a newborn AND know yourself MORE clearly is an impressive development. Kudos, dear one. I personally like Knitters Review as much as Ravelry (partly because of the way it’s divided and how FAST replies come) tho’ Ravelry’s relationship with Flickr makes the photos nice!
And just as we can weave or knit with varying fibers, colors and twists, our lives have varied threads. I still use “labels” but for a kind of informal index rather than limits or constraints.
Thanks for be a comforting nexus for many of us.
Diversity is what fuels the internet, Ravelry and blogs. Otherwise there would be one blog, one lonely commentary, and a very boring world. So continue to evolve and diversify to other interests and other facets of you. If I don’t like it, I don’t have to read it.
I expect I’ll be reading for quite a while.
I didn’t get a chance to comment the other day — but had read something similar a few weeks ago — the other comment being “Ravelry will be the death of knitblogging” (NOT that that’s what you said, of course).
I am a relatively new blogger, though started before Ravelry; had read blogs for a few years, not at the outset.
I think Rav changes the dynamics. I, for example, have not created a gallery of 2008 FOs on my blog; why should I, when I do it on Ravelry already, and there it’s part of a searchable database, which is much more useful all around? I put notes on my FOs there so people can benefit from my mistakes….
But I also post my FOs and WIPs on my blog, it’s a process. And my blog, like yours, is about life (it’s right there in the title, fair warning!). I like to have a venue for sharing the beauty, the insight, the funny thing that happened along with the knitting.
And becoming a mother transforms your life 110%; how could that not transform your blog? And your focus? I enjoyed reading before, I enjoy reading now. Plus bonus beautiful baby pictures!
I enjoy Ravelry a lot; I use the database part of it frequently, selected forums, um, selectively (I have made connections there, I have to say, though, that have followed through in real life; not everyone has a blog, and it’s a great venue for finding people who have something very specific in common if you wish (going to Rhinebeck? dealing with fertility issues? Knitting Oblique? Live in such-and-such a town? pretty much anything you can think of! But obviously not everyone needs those connections, I don’t feel the need for them overall, but it’s cool when you do — I found a ride to Sock Camp halfway across the country when I knew NO ONE going there, and made instant advance acquaintances, now friends, in the bargain, through Ravelry.
Anyway, back to my original thesis:
As you say today, and as I just said; Ravelry is changing the dynamic somewhat, but it does not take the place of blogging/knitblogging; it does not and won’t fill the same niche, the same ‘bully pulpit’ and place to set forth an essay, a photo or seven, a personal reflection.
So keep doing what you want, no apologies, no labels. (We of course hope to see a picture of Meli every so often, however.)
As usual, what a thoughtful past, Cara. I am at the point where I am trying not to label myself too much. Someone e-mailed me and asked if my blog was a knitting blog or a pie-making blog a while back. “Um, well, it’s my blog and it’s whatever I want it to be, thank you very much.” Also, the title of your blog doesn’t really lead one to believe that it is a blog to be labeled, it defies labeling, it’s your blog, and you should (as you have been) do whatever you want to do with it. I will keep reading, because I like what you have to say, whether it’s about knitting, being a mom, photography or what have you. Thanks for blogging; and, thanks for sharing pieces of your life.
Since you support this worthy organization, I thought you’d like to know that there is a nice article in the NYTimes about how Heifer International helped a poor peasant girl from Africa graduate from college in the US. Just a goat….that got her started.
Here’s the link…
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/03/opinion/03kristof.html?hp
you should feel great about the support you’ve given and encouraged others to give to this organization!
And Maddie is amazing and gorgeous!
Molly
Cara – I don’t know that I’ve commented before, but I read your blog faithfully and have loved the way you have let us into your life by showing us your beautiful daughter and telling us all about what has been going on in your world. Your blog is your blog and that is why I read it. I always look forward to your updates, whatever subject they may be on. Meli is beyond gorgeous, it’s truly a delight whenever her little face pops up on my feeds. Keep blogging about whatever you like and whatever life brings you. No labels needed!
Oh, and Ravelry? It can be whatever you want, and that’s the joy of it. It can be a database for you to refer to and never contribute to, a place to store photos of your yarn and projects without glancing at anyone else’s, or a full-on social network. There are people who use it for each of these things and that’s part of what makes it so cool. Worry not! There’s nothing hypocritical about the way you use it.
Happy 4th of July for tomorrow! 🙂
I only recently joined ravelry mostly so I could see patterns that bloggers were linking to. I don’t spend a lot of time on it. Too many life things get in the way. And I don’t see myself photographing my yarn and posting it. What’s the point? I’m glad you’re still blogging. As you change so will the blog. Change is not good or bad it just Is. And what’s wrong with being a mommy-blog? You’re a mommy and you blog. You just also happen to be a talented knitter and photographer as well as a good person.
Thanks so much for this thought-provoking discussion! I recently started a blog — so late, but I decided I didn’t care, I was doing it just for me because I like to write and the picture-taking can be fun, even though I’m not great at it. When I began, I wasn’t sure what niche I wanted to fit in: mommy? gardener? knitter? farmer? Because all of those fit. And that’s when I decided I didn’t want to be any ONE of those things, because I am ALL of those things, and then some. I reminded myself that the blog was for me. I deliberately do not keep stats on my blog, because although readers and commenters are well appreciated, they are beside the point. Your posts and the comments have confirmed my decisions and much that I already suspected about what is happening in blogland. Well done for getting the conversation started!
Ah- to me, this was always about you. And I like you. Lots. So that’s a-ok with me. I read blogs because the people who write them are friends, whether they’re writing about knitting or babies or some weird thing growing in their gardens.
I said something about changing from a knitting blog to a baby blog. I really didn’t intend to put you in a box, although I can see how I probably sounded that way. Apart from a few political bloggers, I don’t know of anyone who blogs on only one topic all the time, and all I meant by “change from knitting blog to baby blog” was that if you write mostly about knitting, you’ll attract a lot of knitters, and if you write mostly about Meli (surely the most beautiful baby ever born, after mine, of course) and/or parenting, you’ll attract a lot of moms. But a blog’s attraction for me and I think for a lot of people is less in its theme, if it even has one, than in who the blogger is, because that will shine through whatever she writes, on any topic whatsoever. There are some bloggers who write about divorce or infertility or reality shows or court reporting or other things I’ve never experienced with such humor and razor truth that they get me right where I live. So just keep writing about the world according to Cara and I’ll read every word.
I mean to comment on this topic, but haven’t for some reason. Yes, I think to a certain extent Ravelry has contributed to less knit talk on blogs, but as you said so has the evolution of people’s lives. I certainly don’t blog as much about knitting these days. I’m doing it here and there, but my life has other stuff going on right now that I want to blog about. Knitblogging just sort of opened the door for me to be able to start sharing. And that’s part of the reason why I changed blog addresses a few months ago. I felt totally confined by my old blog “Knitting Newspaper”, as if the only topics I was able to address were knitting and journalism. There is sooo much more to me than that. So it was time for a change. Well anyway, that’s just my two cents. Probably some of the same stuff you’ve heard or maybe already thought of, just wanted to add in finally. 🙂
I am standing and clapping for you!
Hi!
When you first introduced the topic of dying knitblogs, I was very curious. I began my blog in February, with the intention of it being solely knitting content. But my life is very full (um, that’s sort of a whine, not a brag…), and my knitting time and progress are pitiful. I could not post even weekly on the meager knitting I manage to accomplish. But I found that I love to blog. I have readers who laugh with me (or maybe AT me, but that’s ok too), at my blunders and such.
But in a very short time, I was inundated with questions about what it’s like to live where I do (my circumstances are rather unique), and I found it easier and faster to blog about it rather than answer emails.
And then my sister “outed’ my blog to my family, who are all 300 miles away from me. They thought it was a great way to keep up with our everyday lives, and see more of the kids (and it is, I cannot argue the point).
Today, I am a Mother, a Postmaster, a (compulsive, obsessed)Knitter, Chair of my local School Board, and CEO of a home based business.
My blog reflects all of that because that’s who I am.
And I could not possibly find the time to blog individually on each of those interests.
I found your blog during your pregnancy with Meli, and I will continue to read it because I like who you are- all of you, not just the knitter you. And when knitting content shows up, it’s an added bonus…because if you’re a knitter, it ALWAYS comes back to the knitting!
I want to thank you for opening this dialogue. I was feeling guilty about the track my blog was on, and you made me look it and myself in the eye and discover some truths about what I am and why I do what I do.
I won’t say it was enjoyable, but it was certainly worthwhile.
So, Thank You!
Marissa