Okay – so maybe I exaggerate. And maybe the discussion of knitblogs being dead only occurs between Ann and I on a semi regular basis. And sure, things do slow down in the summer.
BUT, and this is MY OPINION (although one that is probably shared by many others) things have DEFINITELY changed in the knitblog community. The other day I received an email that the knitblog web ring was changing its ring software and you have to re-sign to be a part of the ring. When I first signed up there were very specific rules for joining the ring – for example, you had to post on a fairly regular basis and the posts had to mostly be about knitting. According to the knitblog web ring website, there were about 1300 blogs on the old ring and so far 44 people have signed up for the new ring. AND the rules have been relaxed. You only have to post once a month now. I’d be willing to bet that a significant majority of the blogs on the old ring wouldn’t even be allowed to join now.
To me, that signals a dramatic shift in the knitblogging community.
Why? Of course, blogging is a fluid enterprise. People come and go all the time. Priorities shift, life events get in the way, but this seems to much larger than just the usual comings and goings in the community. For better or worse, IN MY OPINION Ravelry has had A LOT to do with it. There are many many blogs on my bloglines list that post very sporadically and when they do, they blatantly say they’ve been on Ravelry. It’s MY OPINION that the interesting discussions about knitting and projects that used to be on the blogs have moved over there – instead of many in-depth posts about a project we generally get one wrap up post that says the details are over on Ravelry. No doubt, Ravelry is an extraordinary tool in this community, but the social aspects of it have had a huge impact on what I loved about knitblogs.
I’m not innocent by any stretch of the imagination. The knit part of my blog has suffered greatly since I got pregnant and the blog part of my blog has suffered as well. I still knit, for sure – I’ve started 87 projects in the last month – none of which are very satisfying. And most of my posts are about my baby. Yes. It’s true. I’d like to think I was prescient in that I named my blog the very narcissistic January One – no knitting in that title. It’s all about ME.
Maybe I’m just bored and knitblogs are still as vibrant as they ever were. Maybe it’s true that the blogs I’m subscribed to have changed, but there are still knitbloggers out there ready to inspire. Leave me some blogs in the comments if you’ve got some you really love. My computer time is limited, but I’d love to laugh and be inspired. Who wouldn’t?
Again – MY BLOG HAS SUFFERED. I am not holding myself out as some kind of paradigm perfect blogger. I’m as guilty as the next person. But I do think there’s been a cosmic shift in the community – and maybe it’s my own fault – but I can’t help but feel out of the loop. The community I knew and loved has changed. (Although you could say it’s been coming for awhile. I’ve felt a similar shift at the last few fiber events I attended as well.)
Go ahead. I’m ready for the shit storm. Remember, though, my computer time is limited. As evidenced by how my own blog has changed, the baby is my #1 priority.
You may not blog as often as you used to, but I wouldn’t say your blog has suffered in terms of content, it has just changed, as has your life. Same with a lot of people; life changes, focus changes. Some have time to talk about it, others don’t. But while the focus of some turns away from knitting, new ones pop up all the time.
As far as web rings like knitblog go, I can’t say what others feel, but I don’t join because the rules make me feel as if someone’s telling me what to do. I don’t want to feel pressured to blog a certain amount or about a specific subject. Sure, my blog is mostly knitting/spinning, but if I feel like wandering off course, I don’t want to have to think twice about it – or think I have to ‘make it up’ by talking about knitting the next time.
I do spend time on Ravelry but I can definitely say it hasn’t taken any time away from my blog. I occasionally skim the forums but for the most part, I’m there to look up patterns and yarn combos for my next projects.
Blogs I love (in addition to the usuals; Yarn Harlot, Norma, etc.) – I have no idea how ‘new’ they are, they just brighten my day, make me laugh, and/or challenge me to learn more: Brooklyn Tweed, Etherknitter, Feral Knitter, Knot Much of A Knitter, Maia Spins, Pink Lemon Twist, Queer Joe’s Knitting Blog, Tales from the Den of Chaos, What Housework and Zeneedle. I read a ton more, but this comment is long enough!
I think you’re right that Ravelry has had a huge impact. In some ways though, I think that’s good. A lot of blogs were just like here’s the specs – and didn’t really write about the process or their thoughts. Sort of like what one blogger once referred to as a “Cheese sandwich blog” (Dear Blog: Today, I ate a cheese sandwich. The end.) I felt like the same old big names were always writing the more involved posts everyone would talk about (I think that’s still true); there’s just fewer basic stats out in blogland.
A lot of people (more people, as opposed to the handful of old standbys) seem to be designing for publication – and can’t blog about their “secret” projects. As knitting becomes more of a job (in that they are trying to get say, two publication-patterns out per month) they can’t blog about it, and they are so wrapped up in editing and knitting the sample, they don’t have the time to knit other things.
hello! As a knitter and non-blogger, I can say that ravelry has encouraged me to engage in discussions and offer help that I would otherwise have been too shy to do before. also, I have added an embarrassing number of blogs to my Bloglines based on seeing projects and reading posts on ravelry. the knitblogs may have less discussion going on, but the discussion is still happening and it’s reaching a wider audience. I appreciate what you’re saying, just thought I’d add my side.
as for some blogs you might want to check out–I don’t know which ones you read but here are some I enjoy: http://www.bluegarter.org/ http://dullegriet.wordpress.com/
http://jattasoheltaa.blogspot.com/ (not much English but some great knits) and finally
http://wrypunster.typepad.com/my_weblog/
cheers,
emily
We love the baby updates!
And hey, if you want a new blog to read, come check me out. I love attention!
Thought I’d add my 2 cents to this discussion. Blogs change because peoples lives change. There are blogs that I used to read religiously that I don’t even visit anymore, and new blogs that I new read religiously. It’s part of the human condition. Everything changes. Nothing stays the same.
As for Ravelry being to blame for this, I disagree with that. The blogs I stopped reading didn’t change because of Ravelry. They changed cos the authors life/interests did.
I’ve been trying to use the Ravelry forums to increase my blog traffic. It’s working, slowly but surely.
As it was just my second bloggiversary, I’ve actually been thinking about this a lot. The community has definitely changed, and many of my favorite bloggers from two years ago blog about knitting less frequently. A lot of it, like Amber mentioned, can be traced to the successful design careers of Eunny and some of our other old favorites. You and Glampyre and numerous others had babies or other major life changes that naturally change the content of the blog.
I think Ravelry has caused some people to stop posting as frequently, but it has caused others to begin blogging in the first place. And I have found it to be a really great way of checking out other blogs. I surf through the “random favorites” gallery, and check out someone’s blog if I’m impressed by their work.
I’m not sure “suffered” is the right word for people to use. “Evolved” is better, maybe. I don’t have a blog, but I do belong to several knitting-related Yahoo groups. The volume on those lists has also declined. I think the big difference is that Ravelry (at least on the forums) is more of a dialogue than a soliloquoy. I’ve found that to be a hugely appealing aspect of Ravelry. The fact is, there’s only so much time in a day, and if people are spending it on Ravelry, they’re not doing something else.
As for your blog in particular, “evolved” is definitely the right word, IMHO. Your life has changed, and focus of your blog (a public representation of your life) has changed to reflect that. To be expected, I think.
I agree. I use google reader and there use to be more to read. Now not so much. Heck I know I have been blogging less, though I do try to blog at least twice a week, but that has been more because of life getting in the way.
My fav (besides yours of course – Meli is a beauty hope you guys are ready to beat back the boys) is Turtle girls bloggy thingie (http://turtlegirl76.com/)
I have to admit I will read blogs first and check Ravelry second. The Ravelry world is soooo large it is hard to find all the truly interesting conversations. With Bloglines I can keep up with my favorite blogs and check it many times a day.
Blogging in general has changed, not just knit blogging. With the ease of RSS feeds and good feed readers, you don’t have to post as frequently, since people don’t have to make a special effort to go check your site. You no longer have to post daily (or several times a day) in order to maintain readers. I know that this allows me to read more blogs than I did previously!
This is a great topic — I’ve been thinking about it a lot myself and gotta say that I think you’ve hit the nail on the head.
I agree with you that Ravelry has had a lot to do with the change in blogging — blogging used to be the “new new thing” and now the it’s Ravelry. Of course, I find it incredibly ironic that the new new thing is really the old old thing of discussion forums linked to images, but I recognize for a lot of knitters and crafters, that is new stuff because they weren’t as connected to the Internet for the first wave.
But I also think a lot of the “old guard” bloggers (i.e. folks who have been around for more than 2 or 3 years) have had life changes or career changes that have changed the focus of their blogs. Goodness knows, you’re not the only one whose posting schedule and topics have changed since having a kid! I had no idea how much Z would change my focus and how I spend my time. Now, even when I have some free time, I don’t necessarily find myself jumping to knit or blog. It’s not that I don’t want to do those things, its just that with so much time taken up by work and a baby, I just want to have some time that isn’t scheduled. And I don’t really want to get to the point where crafting and blogging become chores instead of something I do because I want to do them.
I think there’s also another reason the knitting blogosphere is changing — many of us are indulging in other crafts as well. Lately, I’ve found myself much more inspired by quilting than I have by knitting. Not because I don’t want to knit, but because quilting lets my play with color in a way that isn’t as easy with knitting. Also, I’m still working my post-baby body back to where I want it to be and it’s hard to get inspired about knitting something for myself that I know will either be oversized or won’t be worn for long.
Finally, I also agree with Amber that it seems like a number of bloggers have either always been thinking about turning knitting (or some other fiber-related hobby) into a career or the success of their blog gave them the courage to get a new career started. And there’s nothing like starting a new business to severely curtail time… it’s almost like having a new baby…
Besides knitting, I’m a sports fan, mostly hockey. I’m seeing very similar changes in the hockey blogosphere to those in the knitting blogosphere. While Ravelry, especially the forums, may contribute to the shrinkage in knitting blogs, I think it has taken more from other online fora. The LiveJournal knitting communities have almost shriveled, for instance. Another factor is purely commercial. A lot of the most popular bloggers have gotten book contracts. Design details that might previously have been discussed on their blogs are now saved for their books. (The hockey equivalent is that A-list bloggers have now gotten paying gigs to blog for Yahoo, FoxSports, etc., and it’s not unsual for an entry on their old blog to serve merely as a pointer to a posting for the paid gig.)
In terms of the blogs I read, in both spheres, the ones I come back to most often are those written by people, not by mere knitters (or mere hockey fans). In other words, keep up with the baby stuff, and your small triumphs.
As a blogger who is posting less frequently, I think my biggest reason for blogging less is that my priorities have changed. Sure, for a quick hit, I go to Ravelry. I’ll admit it. Maybe in the past, I would have gotten that hit through a blog post. Since blogging has afforded me some great opportunities, I’m now trying to figure out how to keep the interactions going, without becoming a Ravelry forum junkie. That’s not my style. Flickr might be the immediate solution for me at this moment. In time, another format, or returning to the original blogging, maybe the answer.
Sometimes, when I feel there are fewer blog posts to read, I wonder if there is a new guard of knit blogs that I have not yet found. I wonder if the community goes in waves, or generations per se.
Or maybe web 2.0 does not involve blogs in the way it used to?
I think blogs themselves can be *very* time/money/energy consuming for bloggers sometimes– some of my favorite blogs have gone, with their authors having declared a need to refocus energy into other areas. I think it’s a natural evolution, as a group of bloggers who may have started blogging at roughly the same time and stage in their lives move on to other ways of expressing the ideas that they blogged. Other ways of communicating about knitting.Be it on Ravelry, in their kitchens, at knit night. Whatever.=)
If it is mainly a movement towards Ravelry… fine by me. I tend to “friend” my fave bloggers to see what they’re knitting. And I’m more likely to engage with them in a forum than on a comment page that I’ll post to once and never see again. I miss some of their regular blogs, but it’s a different sort of interaction. I enjoy options and apparently so do knitbloggers, even if it changes the way things have most recently been done.
I agree that Ravelry has changed blogs, but for me it’s an improvement. I had a blog to keep track of my projects, but I’m not a writer and I found it stressful to post. I wasn’t sure if I wanted the blog to be public, or just a selfish private way to track my progress. Ravelry has met my project tracking needs and has made knitting conversations/discussions more accessible and organized. I’m glad that others are still blogging, but it wasn’t the right choice for me.
Interesting entry. Its got me thinking about my blog. I did stop blogging for a while because I felt that Ravelry was taking over, but then I missed having my own space. I haven’t really been able to get into the community of Ravelry, so I am just on the outskirts and don’t have a group to share my daily thoughts with, so I needed to put it on my blog. How much is about knitting and how much is about general life I don’t know but I am mostly happy with how it is. But now you’ve got me thinking…
i’m about the third ’emily’ to post a comment on this topic. i find, that in it’s self, very interesting. the change that i’ve seen in knitblogs has been due to secret designs, book deals, babies and lack of overall time. the latter is my deal. it would take me so much time to complete a well rounded post, that i got discouraged…and it seems like i didn’t have any traffic or comments and that was also discouraging. now i use flickr to share my creativity with the interweb community.
but i would like to say this: haven’t knit blogs changed the community of knitting overall?! remember when you only saw the projects that got produced by your local knitting group and those odd, machine-knit store samples. I love the new community that knit blogs created. and i think ravelry has evolved and expanded the knitting community.
personally, i’m in love with flickr and looking at photographs. honestly, there are so many new formats for sharing projects: in words, photos and databases.
and one more thing: many thanks to many bloggers who have shared pictures and words of their lives with the public, allowing folks like me to know of some very creative and inspiring people. with out their blogs, i won’t be able to know of that creativity and feel a certain kinship to them.
keep posting Cara, i love the baby pictures, the honest human feelings of trial and tribulation and elation and those fantastically colored projects of yours.
As many have said, this is an interesting topic, and I think many of your commenters have touched on developments that are as important as Ravelry (e.g. RSS feed readers, more bloggers become pattern writers and get book deals). Also, web rings seem kind of outdated to me. I don’t think most new bloggers bother to join them. I know I’m only in one, a crochet ring which I joined back when my blog only contained crochet projects (two years ago). Also, the knitting wave has crested, I think. While some knit bloggers are moving on to actual careers in knitting, some bloggers are moving on to sewing, quilting, weaving, spinning and other similar pursuits.
I was on Ravelry constantly for a while, and when I started spinning it was a tremendously useful resource. Now, however, I’m starting to go back to my blogs. As someone said previously, Ravelry is getting so big that it’s hard to find the good discussions.
I agree. So many people have all but abandoned their blogs for Ravelry and have said so in personal e-mails to me. I miss reading regular blog updates. I know that people change and get busy, but some of the blogs I get on let you know they are taking the summer off or that they need a break – which I appreciate. I joined Ravelry only because most of the free patterns were going on there and that was the only way to access it. I’ve met a person here or there, but I’m not totally dedicated to Ravelry like so many are.
I don’t have much to add to what has already been said (as a testament to how much time I spend on Ravelry, I kept looking for the agree button to the comments :D). I think Ravelry has has somewhat to do with the demise of certain types of blogging, but I also think that it has allowed bloggers who had previously been focused on blogging about knitting to blog about other things, which helps keep me interested. While I enjoy reading about knitting adventures, I also enjoy hearing about the other items that take up your time, including children, crafting, life, love, happiness, sadness, inspiration, uninspiration, all of it.
I would also agree that the advent of RSS feeding has opened up my ability to keep track of all the many amazing and interesting blogs that are out there, and I’m finding new ones every day. Perhaps I have a problem, but I tend to have about 20-50 new blog posts to read daily (not counting my flickr and Ravelry feeds), which keeps me pretty busy 🙂
I say blog about what you want to, when you want. I’ll stick around. 🙂
I have to admit my blogging has changed too. My blog was never just about knitting, more about my life in general and knitting happens to be a big part of that. But as life changed and I get busier my blog posts change. Since setting up my yarn business most of my posts seem to be ranting about general life things that I just don’t have time to rant about usually, or updating with shop news.
I do still read your blog and countless others as I have been doing for the past 2 years or so. I read them because I like to hear about other people, I like to follow their triumphs and tribulations and if knitting is involved in that then all the better!
I do agree that Ravelry, whilst a fabulous and priceless tool in the knitting community, has had something to do with the shift in blog content. A few bloggers I used to read just totally gave up and preferred the more ‘real time’ discussion they could get on the Ravelry forums.
Blogging can be very lonely at times. You blog, put yourself out there, and often get no response (obviously that doesn’t include you!) but that’s the reality for smaller bloggers like me. And it’s easy to get disheartened by it and just give it up in favour of a more interactive medium.
Keep blogging though! I’m still a very active reader even if I am silent most of the time.
Heh… figures I jump on the knitting blog band wagon as it’s going down in flames. 😉 I’m not sure I can comment on the death, or dearth of knitting blogs and new info, as I didn’t enter into the whole blog issue until around January of last year. It’s actually shocking to me how I’ve missed out for so long on tapping into the entire blog-o-sphere, and I’m so very glad that I’ve managed to find this fabulous resource. I started blogging in January as a way to keep my parents, who travel substantially, in the loop with what their grandkids are up to. And once I found software that worked well for my purposes, I though that I would start a blog to keep track of my various knitting (and other) projects that I so frequently get wrapped up in. That’s when I discovered that there were many other knitting bloggers out there and fell in love with a few of them.
I do know that ravelry did change slightly what I imagined I would do on my blog, but for me, that was all positive. I wanted a place to keep track of my stash, my needle collection, and my books and patterns, and I found the features on ravelry much easier to manage than doing this on my own blog. But I still–uh, when I can get to it between diaper changes and naps of course–use my blog to outline the many steps and mis-steps of the projects I’m working on, and I leave the discussions and questions for ravelry. And ravelry is actually driving traffic to my blog, which is excellent since I’ve been terrible at posting the past few months while dealing with the first trimester blahs. And since I’m pretty new to the knitting blog thing, and didn’t think to join a ring, traffic to my site has been pretty limited.
So for me,I can say that ravelry has indeed changed some of my behavior in relation to my blogging, but that overall, it’s all been positive. Although it’s great to comment on other folks blogs, it’s not a great place for interactive discussions, especially on blogs such as yours where the number of comments can be quite intimidating. And it really has helped me keep my blog more interesting for others to read by keeping some of the more mundane items of the blog and into a forum that’s probably more useful.
That all being said, again, I’m still pretty new at all of this, so my comments might not be worth much.
I am just a regular knitblog lurker. And I can attest to the fairly obvious changes that have occurred. Last summer I was ill and bedridden. The knitblogs were my mainstay during the long days alone at home. They were my knitting inspiration as well as my social inspiration: i.e my friends who helped me through a very tenuous time. Now, I am not sure where everyone went. I guess it’s Ravelry but I find that seeing the end result is not the same as being part of the process. And the bonus was feeling like a dear friend. I got to hear about new babies on the way, grandbabies arriving, pets, vacations, yarn finds, etc. I have felt somewhat bewildered. So it helps to know it is not just me!
A couple of blogs I have fallen in love with (and one is not knitting related at all)are Whoopee, and Fragile Industries
http://fragileindustries.typepad.com/fragile_industries/
Both are great reads
Well, I blogged for a while, and still enjoy reading blogs, but I never experienced the degree of interaction that I suspect the more well-connected bloggers do. Ravelry makes it more easy for me to connect with knitters in my area and knitters who have similar tastes. I do miss certain bloggy aspects in using Ravelry, but since it is always changing, I suspect that future features may come to satisfy those aspects too.
I will say that I received more feedback and interaction with other knitters in a month or so of Raveling than I did in several years of blogging. It just stands to reason that it is therefore more appealing to me to spend my time on Ravelry.
(I love the baby pics!)
I have sensed the same thing as you. I started a thread on Ravelry asking for knitblogs that are bit off the radar in the hopes of finding new ones as my old favorites seem to be hitting the radio silence button for a bit. People overwhelmingly responded.
But as in all fads and trends, things evolve and change. Ravelry is peaking now and of course everyone is over there, but just like MySpace, LiveJournal, the KnitList, Facebook, fun fur scarves and blogs, things will settle down in a couple of years. In the meantime, you will have an audience as long as you wish it, I am sure.
I am blogless, but I work full-time and there are only so many hours in a day. I do spend a lot of time on Ravelry, and for me that has given me a place to show my knitting. I never had the inclination to write a whole blog, but I can participate on Ravelry as much or as little as my time allows. It’s great for research, too, and that alone has saved me lots of time. I still read knitting blogs (like yours), and I subscribe to them all on Bloglines. I don’t think I’m missing out. Ravelry has enhanced my time online. The internet is always evolving. If it wasn’t Ravelry, something else would come along to create some pressure for change.
Great post. This is a topic that I have been thinking about for some time.
I know that Ravelry has had an impact on my blogging. I was not a prolific blogger from the start, but I did regularly post about my knitting and almost always about my finished projects.
Since Ravelry, I’ve noticed on several occasions that the project info will end up posted there (it’s so easy, just filling in lines and selecting yarns, needles, patterns, etc) with a reference from my blog back to Ravelry for the specs.
But life has impacted my blog as well. I named my blog stressreaction instead of some knit related title because it was about me, and my life and not just my knitting. Despite that, part of my blogging slowdown is because life has changed, I’m not knitting as much, and I’m adjusting. A large portion of my readers are knitters, but when I blog about other crafts, or happenings in my family, they will either read, or they won’t.
But depend on it, lot’s of folks will. Because, bottom line, this is about community. And I enjoy your baby photos as much, if not more, than your knitting photos.
Yes, I think Ravelry has changed blogs, but I’m not sure if it’s for the worst per se. I update my blog one or two times a week, and always have done so, but now include a lot of my life and other crafts I’ve taken up as well. Knitting has been the gateway to a really dangerous fiber obsession. 🙂 The blogs that I follow and continue to enjoy aren’t necessarily the ones that speak about knitting. I’ve made some very good friends through blogs, and enjoy reading just what my friends are up to. It’s a way of keeping in touch, since I can’t actually meet many in person. Sure, some people blog less because of their participation in Ravelry, but the people that I read and love are also talking about other fun things, like their vacations, crazy neighbors, book their reading, other crafts that have stolen their knitting time, family illnesses, family celebrations, and the like. I love it all.
In a related comment, I don’t see your blog topic’s change as a negative thing. Sure, you don’t speak of knitting as much as you used to, but that sweet baby is a wonderful topic of conversation. I come back and read (though I rarely comment) because I like catching up with you, not the craft. 🙂
Enjoy this special time with your baby. My babies are now 6 and almost 4. Time does speed by. *sniffle*
Not a blogger, but I am a lurking reader, via Bloglines which allows me to spend more time reading and less time clicking from one to the next. To pick just three (of the less well-known rather than ones like the Harlot or Wendyknits) from my list – Knitspot.com (designer Anne Hanson); Flintknits.com; throughtheloops.typepad.com
The “best” blogs are usually the ones that include bits of the blogger’s life – context, and stories, and change with the blogger’s changes. And pictures ;-)! Sometimes an individual stops blogging, or the primary subject changes – and so I’ve taken some blogs off my list, and added some new-to-me blogs (up to 116 on my bloglines).
Not on Ravelry – the initial wait time was discouraging; the impression of the rush to be part of the in-crowd (the “clique”) still just hits me wrong, as does the requirement to be a member to look at anything.
I like the format of KR better (looking is freely available, commenting requires sign-up) and Sewing Pattern Review (lurkers can look at the last three months of reviews; free membership allows access to all reviews; paid membership allows access to the whole shebang) – I lurked for a long time before I joined both these sites – and could see the quality and type of info available and evaluate if I might have something to contribute or comments that I wanted to share before I joined. (Might join Ravelry…if I could look at some of the site!)
So much available – the wonder is having relatively easy access to much of it!
This is a discussion that seems to occur every summer in the knitting community. It is not just the blogs but the stores too. Yet, in August/September things pick up again as the kids go back to school, summer vacation is over and people are spending more time inside. No one (that I am aware of anyways) ever says “Oh wow, the knitblog community sure is prolific right now”.
And, at the moment, my bloglines has 2951 unread posts (it was 2952 before I read yours). So I think it is still going strong. Especially since I mark all read weekly.
It’s kind of scary to me, since I just started a blog two weeks ago, that you’re posting about the slowing down of the knitblog community. Great! I finally try to step in and join the community, and people are talking about how it’s dying.
Hmm. Well, I kind of agree with you in a way: it has something to do with the lack of WIP posts, too. People stopped thinking about the progress, and how the blog helps show the progression. With Ravelry it’s more about the finished project, because you can’t write whole posts there during the process. You can write notes, but if you start writing tons of them, it feels weird. (That was another reason I decided to make my own blog.) Plus, it can be hard to find your “space” on Ravelry. With a blog you know your space. You have a space to come back to. You’re not part of a million voices clamoring to be heard. I like blogs better for that.
So, I don’t know. I hope the knitblog community isn’t dying. I like it better than Ravelry. Sure, I love looking through the Ravelry patterns database (possibly the best part of Ravelry, to me), but I think the connections people make are better accessed through blogs and comments, where you can write more of your thoughts back and forth. Ravelry is more static than that. And while I think there’s been a shift in many people’s lives, so that people who have been blogging a long time are finding less and less time to blog, I hope there will always be new blogs popping up to fill the void, so to speak. Hope, hope, hope.
Cara, I’ve only commented one other time on your blog (and it won me your January One contest in 2007). I LOVE your blog and have read it “somewhat” faithfully for some time. Our lives do change and I LOVE that your baby is numero uno right now (that’s the way it should be – and I’m VERY opinionated about this being an attached mamma of 8). I don’t have any insightful wisdom to add – just wanted you to know that more than anything I love to fish through your archives – especially of your photos – they are truly spectacular!!!
This leads me to ask – and believe me I KNOW that you don’t have a moments free time on your hands – when you get a few moments (ha) would you give me some ideas about your fav photography books, equipment, and resources. I’m seriously thinking of changing gears and studying photography in hopes of actually making a business out of it sometime in the near future. (I’m turning 40 in July and I’m looking forward to the next half or more of my life) I love that you actually go into people’s homes to photograph them (what a wonderful concept) and I would love to do something similar with some homebirth photography sprinkled in. Someday I’d love to hear your thoughts on this. Until then, snuggle that sweet babe and give her loads of kisses.
Oh yeah, and as for knitting 87 unsatisfying projects – have you ever thought about diaper covers (wool soakers)? It’s for cloth diapering and it’s awesome! I’d love to share more with you if you’re interested:)
I just have one word for you: Agreed.
Funny, I was thinking of trying to blog every day starting in July, after 3+ years of once a week if that. I guess I’m just a born contrarian. Ravelry is good, blogs are good, changes in priority are good, webrings- not so needed anymore. Evolution!
I was thinking this week that Ravelry seems kind of quiet — at least the forums that I subscribe to are. And I find I miss the kind of wandering conversation that is more like life to me — you know, you start taking about some new yarn you love and then you are sharing a recipe for fish chowder with someone. And that doesn’t happen in forums that are so firmly topic oriented.
Now if I think about it, the so-called knit blogs that I most enjoy reading are more about the people who write them than they are about knitting per se. So I have loved your pregnancy posts and the breathtaking photos of your adorable daughter.
Have to agree I’ve felt and noticed the lack of exhuberance too. There is also a decline in the number of knitting magazines available at Borders and Barnes & Noble. Its sad for sure…. but in a small minute way as the trendy knitters fade away the tried and true-bees will unite into our small but comfortably rewarding nitch 😉
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You know, I was thinking about you and your blog and your beautiful baby yesterday afternoon, thinking how things change and how lucky I feel to be able to watch the changes in other folks’ lives through their blogs. I remember you writing about spinning and knitting when I first started reading, and I remember being excited when you finally had the baby you’ve wanted, I love seeing photos of the Li’l Miss now… that’s not a “suffering blog;” it’s a realistic snapshot of your life. I enjoy it.
Maybe the changes are just the fiber community growing up and into itself a little, becoming less of a trend and more of a staple in peoples’ lives. While it may be true that a lot of discussion etc. has moved to Ravelry, my Bloglines are more full and active than ever, and it’s quality stuff. Many of those blogs are people I’ve connected with on Ravelry and am getting to know better now. There’s certainly room for both on The Interwebs, and I’m glad to have all the resource and global connection I can! (Now I just need more hours in the day to keep up with them all and my own!)
Wow! People sure have a lot to say on this topic. It’s been pretty interesting reading the comments. There’s a thread – yes, on Rav – that is about off-the-radar blogs. It’s been very interesting too and I’ve noticed a lot of people have said their blogrolls are exploding after adding so many new blogs.
I don’t have anymore blogs to add – except maybe – MINE! I’d love you to stop by and check it out. I post about once a week – sometimes more. And I’m trying to post about the process more and not so much at the end when I’m all done with a project.
And I LOVE your blog! Little Meli is adorable so when you don’t have knitting content or don’t feel like posting about knitting – just put up 10 or 50 pictures of her and we will be just fine!
I’m not a big crowd kinda girl, I like the one-on-one. I started blogging because it was a way for me to connect with other folks who did what I did but it was a simple linear thing. I joined Ravelry because it was a great organizational tool for me. I’m not much comfortable with forums, feels like I’m yelling at a crowd and then waiting to see who yells back. Ravelry is still such a new thing to so many people, I’m sure the novelty will eventually settle out and the desire to be individual (please – sheeple, use the tool don’t be one)will return. It’s hard to be yourself with Ravelry when we all look exactly the same in layout. I’ll happily sit back an watch how it all falls out.
Hmm. I don’t know. I know for sure that Ravelry has reduced the traffic on the Knittyboard, but I can’t say the same for blogs. Hardly anyone visits mine anyway and I don’t have one of those doohickies that measures site visits, etc., so I can’t say much from my own experience. The blogs I read are still posting regularly. My enjoyment of rings – finding a random knitblogger with no comments and brightening her day, for example, – has been hampered by RingSurf’s recent change to inserting their home page (and ads) into the process.
Of course this all is a changing process. The web is new (why, I remember, young missy, back in the good old days, we just read Knitter’s and were well-pleased with what we found). I have to admit I regret getting into blogging a year or two late; it means that no one reads my blog (which couldn’t possibly be due to my boring writing or lousy photos, now could it?) because there are too many of them now.
I don’t want you or your blog to change, but of course I wish for you growth and opportunity. That will cause change. But by continuing to blog, you build a deeper bond with your readers.
You have great comments by your readers! I wonder what the next ‘Ravelry’ will be.
I think there was a certain fadishness about knit blogging at first and there were tons of blogs and people were very enthusiastic and then people starting dropped off or life took a turn.
I do agree that when people started getting book deals many blogs turned more toward the commercial side and as a result lost a lot of the personal aspects that brought me there.
The blogs I still read are all good blogs, not just about knitting. I haven’t got involved much in the community aspect of Ravelry. It feels like going to a party where everyone knows each other already and I am the odd man out.
I absolutely agree that the world of knitblog has changed dramatically. I write much less than I used to, and I also read fewer knitting blogs than I once did. It started with Ravelry, but honestly right now I feel that Flickr gets my attention most of all. There is a thriving knit/craft community hanging out on Flickr these days, and it seems to have many of the aspects of knitblogging but an even more communal feel. I feel like Flickr offers some sort of “mini-blog” experience – crafters post a pic, write a little something, and then people respond immediately, and the original poster can respond right there (with buddy icons to let everyone know which response is directed at whome), and everyone bounces around from one person’s photostream to another. The details aren’t as thorough as blogs but there seems to be more immediacy and more communal interaction.
My life on Flickr is a direct result of Ravelry. I didn’t have or need a pro Flickr account before Ravelry. And once I started uploading photos for Ravelry on Flickr, I got more involved in the community there.
I am trying to keep my blog alive, but it has been very hard to sustain right now. I feel bad about it, mostly for those people who have no Ravelry or Flickr connection.
Honestly? I love that it’s quieter. More room for me do write without thinking everyone is watching. 😉
Cara,
I think it’s not just knit blogs and it’s not just Ravelry.
I monitor nearly crafting blogs (knitting, quilting, crafting, etc.), and I see both a down turn in quantity but also a downturn in quality.
It’s not as easy to find the charming, well-written, or well-photographed blog posts that makes me want to read more or know the blogger better. (I’m going to check out all those knitblogs listed in comments above).
With declining quantity of blog posts the conversations slow. With declining quality of blog posts, the desire to comment or converse grinds to a halt. No comments, no conversations. Blogging returns to the early days of a “public diary” which is a change.
Many have turned to newer social media such as Ravelry or Twitter for their fix. The “built in” audiences jump start the conversations.
It’s a change. It’s happening throughout the blogosphere I think. It will be interesting to see where this leads.
I am blog-less b/c I don’t get enough knitting done to feed a blog. I also don’t do bloglines b/c I have settled on my daily reads and have a few others bookmarked (or favorited) that I’ll read when I have time to kill.
But those I read daily (yours, Mason Dixon, Wendy, Grumperina & Harlot) are ones I stick with b/c you get to “know” the people and take an interest in them, their lives, and the knitting.
Bloglines don’t do that. Ravelry, which I got into early on, seems like a party to which I wasn’t invited. I don’t know where to turn or who to talk to! I posted my projects and that’s mostly it.
That’s my 2 cents. Interesting topic. I loved reading the responses.
I’m not sure knitblogging is dying (I’m enjoying my own blogging experience more than ever) but it is evolving. I suspect it may become more and more populated by people who love/need to write, and less populated by people who just need a place to catalogue their projects (which Ravelry does far more efficiently). I honestly don’t feel anywhere near the same level of connectedness on Ravelry that I do from blogging – forum chat just isn’t the same thing as a thoughtfully written personal essay.
It is very true though, that many of the knitbloggers who rose to popularity got book deals (or editorial posts!) that caused them to hoard all their best thoughts, thus stifling their blog voice. Same with design success and the tyranny of secret projects.
As far as babies go… I started my blog when my kids were 5 & 2 – and daily posting really hasn’t been a problem. The first year or two would definitely have been tough… which is to say – it will come back. Meli won’t always need to be carried, she will learn to feed herself, and play on her own at times, and meanwhile, your baby posts are every bit as authentic and lovely as your blog has always been.
I still love your blog. And, if anything, I think Meli has added to the depth and love that is so clearly in your life. No apologies needed!
I think I’m still as active in my blog as in ravelry. But, you’re right, there’s a definite down turn. I also think the summer is notoriously quiet. Lots of people are on vacay and kids are out of school. Hopefully the knitting blogs will live on. I certainly love them so much!!
I agree with you wholeheartedly — I think the knitblogging community has changed noticeably in the past year or so. I feel like I used to interact so much with knitters via our blogs, and now…not as much. I continue to blog because I like having a place to document my work, and while the interactions are fewer, I still think they are good.
As others have said, I think it’s completely natural that your blog content has evolved as your life has changed. Personally, I love reading your baby posts!
Well said.
Congratulations on making your life, well… yours!
I think what what everyone has said about Ravelry and book projects is right on the money. (And although I wish the book authors every success on their books, I have to wonder how much more the market can bear…)
I started a blog very recently because it was something that I wanted to do for myself, so maybe I qualify as the “public diary” sort. I find it is a great outlet for me — some way to get my thoughts out. It is not a knitting blog per se because knitting is a part of my life, but not the whole. Because it is a self-ish project, I deliberately don’t track my stats. I don’t need one more thing to obsess over. But that’s not to say I don’t like the occasional comment I get! ;o)
Keep up the good work, I love seeing how your crafting is intersecting with your personal life. And your pictures of Meli are beautiful! I especially loved the one of her crumpled little cry face a few posts ago. It brought back so many memories of my guys with the same expression.
First of all, your daughter does come first and that’s the way it should be. So don’t apologize for that.
Ravelry has made a major difference in the knitting community. It allows more immediate gratification and, for some, reduces their desire to blog – their conversations on Ravelry have taken the place of the blogs. However, there are still some great blogs available – you just have to hunt them out.
I would have to agree completely with your post. The blogroll I started three years ago has seen over half drop like flies. And these were blogs that a ton of people commented on and subscribed to. I get a bit upset each time one of these bloggers decides to drop out because I would give my left arm to have so many people interested in what I have to say. Who’s going to be left to inspire my knitting and crafting? I need pictures and text, folks! And on a frequent basis!
And regarding a knit blog turned parenting blog? My favourite blog is Soule Mama, and I really enjoy Blue Yonder too, plus I throw lots of anecdotal tales about my girls on my knit blog too. They’re cute and funny, so why not? Keep blogging, and I’ll keep reading!! I pinky swear.
I can’t speak for others, but I began to notice how much of my time/life was devoted being on the Internet, mostly checking knitting blogs and sites, and I was a bit disgusted.
I know that I decided to return to “real life” — to spend time with my family and friends.
I still check in every now and then, but I feel much better connecting with my loved ones.
I think Ravelry actually encouraged me to start blogging. I write a good bit in my day-to-day life, so that part didn’t seem as strange or difficult to me as the picture taking did. Once I “had” to photograph my projects for Ravelry, I started thinking more and more about starting the blog. But it also isn’t exclusively about knitting–it’s also where I talk about my work and anything else that’s on my mind. I don’t think I knit enough to sustain a knitting-only blog.
I wonder if the blogging community is also falling victim to its own increasingly high standards. I can’t count the number of times recently when I’ve read “Oh, I’m not a good writer, so I don’t publish in my blog that often” or “I can’t take really good pictures, so I won’t bother.”
I, too, noticed a huge change in blogging with the popularity of Ravelry. For me, blogging is mostly personal. I like to keep track of my projects, whether they are knitting related, or more likely now baby related. It is a very basic form of journaling for me. I use ravelry to keep track of project details, but I don’t really enjoy participating in the forums. I thought when I had a baby and stopped working that I would have tons of time to post blog entries—HaHaHaHa!! My knitting blog is more a parenting/family blog at this moment, but with time I sense it will change again. It truly is a reflection of my life, and I like it. One thing I did about a year and a half ago was publish my blog into a hardback book for just me. I wanted to have a copy of what I wrote up until that point. It is fun seeing it in print and someday my son will be able to read about how boring his mom’s life was before he was born!
I agree that Ravelry has changed things, but I think all for the better. I have made new friends and branched out on my knitting and have tried things I would have been otherwise to afraid to try. It’s an amazing support system and community!
While I do blog on a daily basis, it’s not always about knitting, though knitting is the main focus. Sometimes it’s silly (watching the movers chop my couch in half to get it out of the house), sometimes, it’s serious (my best friend having a double stroke), but I blog for me and allows me to share a piece of me with all of you in Cyberspace.
Sounds like a bit of the grass is always greener. Personally I love Ravelry, I now have a sense of community that I didn’t have before. I read blogs but I have no interest in writing a blog. For me life is too short, just my opinion. As to who I read, http://knitterguy.typepad.com/ his lace is exquisite and he is thoughtful
http://lenealve.blogspot.com/ this one is dances with wool and while her work is exquisite, I’m absolutely charmed that I can read a blog by someone who lives north of the Arctic Circle. Lene also cowrites Fine Stitches (a quilting blog) and
http://celticmemoryyarns.blogspot.com/ exquisite writer and fabulous pictures. I came to these via knitting, but it isn’t necessarily the knitting content that keeps me coming back. Enjoy
I do have to agree with whoever above mentioned flickr. Flickring has taken up a huge amount of my blogging time because of that great community spirit and instant feedback. I’ve never been much of a writer, but I love to take photos, so it’s very easy for me to take hopefully pretty pictures and put up a few words. I am trying to be better about blogging though because I have found that more than anything I like having the record there for *me*. When I look at blogging like that I find it more interesting than just a way to slap stuff up for other people to ogle.
I have been thinking of this very thing! So glad to see you’ve put my thoughts into words.
I have been knit-blogging for three years now, and I am frankly just getting tired of it. I think it’s the whole “life-changes” thing going on for me, for sure. As for Ravelry, I don’t know. I haven’t really gotten into it, other than just opening an account. I haven’t posted a single project! But I know that my mindset has been a “one or the other” type for some time now. It seems like if I’m going to do Ravelry, why bother blogging at all?
Pre-Ravelry, I honestly fought the urge to have my blog be knitting-focused, although I will say, for awhile there, it really was. My blog is a life blog – my journal. Sometimes there’s more knitting. Sometimes other stuff. Rav hasn’t changed that much for me.
Post-Ravelry, I definitely have noticed the shift. I personally love your Meli posts, and I hope that if your life takes your blog towards more Meli and less knitting that you’ll keep on posting. There’s room on your blog for everything, whenever you want to talk about it!
well, you know me, i wasn’t always a knitter and my blog wasn’t always about knitting so i’m not sure if i’ve ever considering myself an exclusive knitblogger. i do think that ravelry helped get rid of all the blogs that really did nothing to enhance the knitblog community. people could move project specs over to ravelry and not use their blogs anymore which has worked out great for most of them.
but you look at people like grumperina and techknitter and i think that if they ever gave up blogging, that would surely be the end 🙂
i just recently unsubscribed to a few blogs. they hadn’t updated in months and when they finally updated, all they did was post a video they found on youtube or something similar. yeah. THAT’S blogging. i don’t think so.
anyway, i’m glad you’re still writing!
I agree with some of what’s been said about rings and also about designs for publication and about Ravelry. I’m just plain not as prolific a knitter as a lot of people out there, and I can post only so many times saying “look, I finished two more rows of the hat.” And I am thinking more about submitting my designs for publication, so that I’ll think twice about showing a project on my blog even if I don’t plan to submit it now, because down the road, who knows? One solution here that I’ve seen a lot of designers use is to post WIP pix and eventually free patterns for their simpler designs; I certainly do this, but not often (see above, not prolific). I may eventually try to sell some patterns on Ravelry as well.
I considered joining a ring at one point, but that was before I undertook to post every day in 2008 (halfway there! whodathunkit?), and I was scared off by the once-a-week rule and also by the knitting-content rule (see above, not prolific). I too want to be free to post about whatever I want, whenever I want. I take my inspiration from Norma, who has cut way back on the knitblogging while blogging all over the place on other topics. Blogging every day hasn’t changed the amount of knitting I do, so of necessity it has broadened the range of topics on which I post. Generally I don’t get a ton of comments (and to everyone who wants more comments I would say that the old rule is still true: the more blogs you comment on, the more comments you will get), but I got a lot of support when I posted recently on my opinion of some books my daughter had been reading and my refusal to buy her any more of them (just wait!), which I probably wouldn’t have gotten to had I not been posting every day. And I do get new visitors from Ravelry all the time, usually after posting in the forums, so although Ravelry has definitely made an impact on the knitblogging world I think to some extent anyway that goes both ways.
And, of course, people have had life changes. If you change from a knitblogger to a baby blogger, you may lose knitters, but you’ll probably gain moms. And you’ll keep some of us who are both. (In the fullness of time you may find that knitting is just what you need to get you through playgroup, gymnastics class, swimming lessons, etc.)
In the immortal words of Tom Lehrer, life is like a sewer: what you get out of it depends on what you put into it.
One great thing about Ravelry for designer-wannabes like me is that I can see who’s looking at my designs and who’s knitting them, and people can comment on them and make suggestions. The world has not been beating a path to my designs, so far, but someone did knit one of my smaller things recently, which I found very exciting. She doesn’t have a blog, so without Ravelry I wouldn’t have known unless she’d specifically emailed me to tell me.
i am glad that you took the time to write this post. good discussion, and i enjoyed looking through the comments.
like some others have mentioned, it is not about death. it is about evolution. honestly, i don’t think that my blog has changed much… it has grown up a bit, but i still like to blog about what i like to blog about.
like earthchick mentioned above, i split my time between the blog, rav, and flickr. flickr is a great community, and has really engendered a new love and passion for photography.
one more step in the evolution.
my blog is not going to die, and i hope yours does not either. hey, we are the “old-timers” saying “remember when?” 🙂
As co-list mom of the Knit Bloggers ring I can tell you the death of knit blogs has been greatly exaggerated;) There are new blogs starting everyday and many of them stay with it.
That being said there is a drop in the number of bloggers who consistently blog. Many of my favorites are giving up as well. I toyed with it because I wasn’t posting regularly but in the end I like the sound of my own voice too much, lol. I would also never give up this lovely community that I have found.
It appears that this is not just a blogging thing though. There was an article on AlterNet, see here http://www.alternet.org/story/89439/ , about the end of personal blogging in general. With all the social sites,like Ravelry but also Facebook and then things like Twitter and Plurk. Blogs are becoming somewhat antiquated.
Still there’s enough of us out there who are devoted that I think we’ll stick around.
The ring is already past 50 and I’m getting new applications everyday. Some people, like a certain pug lover in Long Island just don’t want to be on rings anymore. For whatever reason. I suspect that plays into it as well.
If my blog buds keep posting I’ll keep reading.
Wow…I read your post and thought “Yes! I know exactly what you mean!” But then started to read some of the comments that disagreed and saw where they were coming from too. Perhaps I am easily swayed? Although, I have had numerous conversations with friends about what I refer to as “the death of knitblogs due to Ravelry”. Not that I am knocking what Casey and Jess started, I love it. But I do feel like it had a significant impact on blogs.
I know I have never been one to really describe the process/progress of knitting a sweater, (it’s just not in my nature to be that detailed), but I know there have been a people who used to and don’t anymore, they just link to Ravelry. It’s just not the same anymore.
I still read your blog all the time though. I love the pictures and your writing.
Well, as for the knitblogger ring, I’m a member but was never notified they had switched to a new format. I bet a lot of people are in my boat which would explain the 44 member thing so thanks for posting it here on your blog.
I think that there will always be blogs because there are people whose posting styles tend to run more to the literary or photographic than to the straight up “I made this and this is how” style. If Ravelry promotes a higher quality in posting rather than sheer quantity I think it will certainly be a Good Thing.
I agree with you completely about the lack of blogging. Blogs that were updated multiple times a week now get a post once every other week, maybe.
I work full-time so I don’t blog, but instead lurk around on other people’s blogs. I joined Ravelry, but have found it to be too large to actually find a community to fit into as others seem to have. I guess it always seems to feel like I’m butting-in on other people’s converstions. Because I’ve always lurked, I can honestly tell you that during the summer, most blogs are quieter. Whether it’s vacations, kids out of school, or it’s just plain too hot to knit! Anyway, I honestly love blogs, and consistently find way more inspiration from blogs than I have ever found on Ravelry.
Some of my favorite Knit Blogs:
Unfurnished Brooklyn
Sheep in the City
Crazy Aunt Purl
Yarn Harlot
Knit and Tonic
Mason Dixon
Cafe au Laine
And of course, January One
Unfortunately for me, I’ve always been kind of a solitary knitter. I taught myself to knit some twenty years ago (I’m 43 years old), when no one else seemed to be knitting. On-line communities and knit blogs seemed to take-off with a fever after I’d already rejoined to workforce full-time. So, I guess I’ve always felt like I didn’t fit-in with other knitters. But, bloggers have always given me a lovely window into their projects, stashes, lives and homes – and I guess I just love that.
Oops – forgot to mention another favorite knitblog: Celtic Memory Yarns
I think that the impact that Ravelry has had on blogs is significant, but not totally bad. Ravelry’s project pages are an excellent way of sharing info about projects for people who are less interested in writing in detail about their knitting. That could potentially cut down on blogs that don’t share much else, or that are written by people who don’t enjoy maintaining a blog or the writing itself.
I also really like that Ravelry points me to blog posts about a specific project that I might not find otherwise. I’m more likely to dig deeper into a blog if I like the first thing I read, and that’s more likely to happen if I start from Ravelry.
This is a great post and I’m loving the comments — and this is one of the things I love about blogging and haven’t been able to find or tap into on Ravelry. I may come back here a time or two — until you post again — because this topic is interesting, and perhaps your next post will be along similar lines or maybe not, but eventually you’ll move on and the topic will change. I think I’m just not a forums girl — maybe I just don’t do it right, but it sure seems to take a lot of time to navigate through the forums and find topics that I’m truly interested in — other topics (old topics) seem to keep bubbling up all the time. I feel like I’m standing around in a huge crowd at the fair and I don’t know whether to check out the 4H exhibits or go on the ferris wheel or find some mini-donuts — and they only give the mini-donuts out one-by-one so I have to keep going back. I love Ravelry for what it offers technically and visually when I’m searching or researching, but I just don’t get what people DO there all the time.
I like to think that we are helping people find more friends and readers for their blogs 🙂 So far this month, 400,000 clicks have led people to sites on Blogger, WordPress.com, LJ, Typepad, and Xanga alone.
Here is another little statistic. The total # of blog posts (by month) written by Ravelry users over the last many months.
Here it is starting in September 2008 and only including people who wrote at least one post during the month of August 2008.
Sep 2008: 69803 posts
Oct 2008: 66447 posts
Nov 2008: 63578 posts
Dec 2008: 55019 posts
Jan 2008: 61376 posts
Feb 2008: 50514 posts
Mar 2008: 47757 posts
Apr 2008: 44351 posts
May 2008: 46159 posts
Jun 2008: 44698 posts (to date)
Now here is the same thing starting in February 2008 with people (again, on Ravelry) who wrote at least one post during January 2008.
Feb 2008: 116741 posts
Mar 2008: 111731 posts
Apr 2008: 101623 posts
May 2008: 100761 posts
Jun 2008: 95538 posts (to date)
So here is my not-mathematically sound analysis of these fudgey numbers – perhaps that it is only a certain “generation” of knitbloggers that are posting less.
I read mostly knitting and yoga blogs being both a knitter and yoga teacher. I am also a Ravelry user, but only for seeing all the wonderful creative ways of interperating a pattern and such. I have actually lost good friendships becasue I didn’t comment enough on their blogs, or they saw that I hadn’t checked their most recent posts. Sigh…it got ridiculous. What used to be a beautiful way to connect became an obligation to one’s ego. Still read this blog and several others, I’m just tired of the stats being the reason for so many. LOVE the creativity, honesty, and inspirations that still exist out there.
I read mostly knitting and yoga blogs being both a knitter and yoga teacher. I am also a Ravelry user, but only for seeing all the wonderful creative ways of interperating a pattern and such. I have actually lost good friendships becasue I didn’t comment enough on their blogs, or they saw that I hadn’t checked their most recent posts. Sigh…it got ridiculous. What used to be a beautiful way to connect became an obligation to one’s ego. Still read this blog and several others, I’m just tired of the stats being the reason for so many. LOVE the creativity, honesty, and inspirations that still exist out there.
I know for me it is hard to have projects with images to post as often so I opt for posting images of other goings on in my life–mainly the kids. If I only posted when a project was complete, I’d rarely post.
My blog has started to morph into a mom’s blog with crafts thrown in when I can. I find that I’ve begun to sew more than knit too. It’s sad. Just today I thought I better pull out my books and find a knitting project. I do miss it and love it so…
I’m new to blogging (this year), and bloglines in general. It’s opened up a whole world I would not otherwise be able to participate in, Ravelry included, due to my location.
And for me, a blog about knitting only is too one- dimensional…I like to ‘meet’ the writer, hear where the inspiration comes from, the trial and error involved in creating a project. And nobody JUST knits; we all have full lives.
I also love to read about the new babes, and am enjoying ‘watching’ your journey with Meli,
My own blog has evolved dramatically, and I only began (in January or feb)…it was a place to log my knit projects (2 kids and 9 jobs including volunteer activities leads to very sloooow knitting), but I got so many questions from strangers about the island and island life in general that I had to ‘open it up’ to include those details or choose to ignore those readers. Then my family found it! I found I had to ‘change it up’ again to include details of home life.
The alternative of course is to keep separate blogs (who has the time?!?), or keep the blog private and knit only…but I enjoy the blogs I read that contain a variety of info interspersed with fiber frolicking.
And I want a laugh every day. I want to hear about the dye jobs gone wrong! The sweater painstakingly swatched that was still the wrong size!
It’s all about the process.
Bring on the blogs!
I believe in a sense you are right. But on the other hand… most of the blogs I read haven’t suffered much. Maybe I’m just lucky. And I don’t think I’ve discussed things less myself than I did previously. If anything, growing children are the factor in that!
I admire you for stating your opinion and not being afraid to say what you are thinking.
Cara, I think you’re absolutely right. I wonder whether it’s because people who have both a blog and are on Ravelry feel they now have 2 places to update every time they get further on a project?
I personally love the way your blog mixes both your knitting and your Life! I’m not as comfortable in sharing so much of my life on my blog, and I feel that your blog is much more inviting than mine because of it. Add in your fantastic photography, and it’s no wonder you are linked to so many others’ blogrolls!
Don’t change! Carrie
Who ARE all these people? None of your commenters (well, mostly none) are at ALL familiar to me. That’s quite amazing to me.
I love blogging, but as people have noticed, I haven’t knit much in forever (but check in tomorrow for another shift in that paradigm). I blog because I love to blog and love to write. I have a loyal following, but it’s not nearly as big as yours, and seems to be all DIFFERENT people. And I have very little interest in Ravelry, but I’m not feeling lonely.
I got that email about the ring changing and haven’t done anything about it….I don’t know… I should just go take that ancient code down from my sidebar, I suppose.
I think you’re right about the Ravelry effect. But there’s also the fact that many of us have been blogging for years now, and our lives have changed, and the blogs changed with us (as you’ve experienced yourself).
On Ravelry I post a question and get links to videos, links to blogs, and answers to my questions very quickly. It’s like a magic carpet ride taking me to places I would have never found on my own.
Ravelry isn’t a blog showing one project in one yarn anymore. The Baby Surprise Jacket has over 4000 entries on Ravelry. It’s easy to see what works and what doesn’t work with color and yarn types. What a quick way to learn color theory in one sitting. Ravelry is one more tool to use, and is very interactive. Unlike Yahoo or Knitting Review which have both slowed down so much, I don’t have time to wait for answers.
Do I look for new blogs? Truthfully, not after finding Ravelry. If there’s a great new blog someone over there will post about it, but with so many out there, it has be unique and good to hold my interest. So things have changed and I believe people are becoming much more selective about how they spend their online time with so many sources of information and entertainment.
Ravelry is like one stop shopping, I can go there and not have to get in my car and drive over to all the other stores. I still keep up with blogs that I like, but I’m down to six that I read regularly, that’s all I have time for.
For me (random blogger, random Ravely-er), it’s not that blogging has decreased. It’s that I no longer need webrings to find interesting blogs.
The number of knitting blogs I check has INcreased, post-Ravelry. I still check your blog, but less frequently because you post less frequently. That doesn’t stop my enjoying reading about what you’re knitting and how Miss Z is doing 🙂
Too funny…! I’ve just realized that I’ve conflated your blog with someone else’s — but my response would apply to either (both) of you. Please substitute “Meli” for “Miss Z” above.
Ditto what Vicki said. (And Norma’s first comment made me laugh out loud.)
I enjoy your blog whenever you post. I personally love the blogs that share their lives and their knitting. If I wanted a tutorial I can find it, if I want inspiration I read blogs. As far as Ravelry, I’m not a part of it. I’m sure it’s great, it’s just that I don’t have the time in my personal life to give what it demands for full participation, and that’s ok. I’ve lived my life on the out skirts of the In crowd, and like it there. keep posting when ever you get the time, Meli will only be this size once. Oh, and stop by my own blog – Raisingeden.blogspot.com
I like Ravelry as a resource for looking patterns etc up, but it doesn’t have the same “feel” for me as my blog and the “friends” that I communicate with via comments and emails. My blog is far more personal and I blog regulary and try to keep things interesting for all the great people that read it. Whenever I have posted on a forum on Rav my little voice kind of gets lost in the masses!! I much prefer blogs. 🙂
I think they’re different and both good and the only problem is having enough time in the day to do as much of either Ravelry or blog reading as you want (or NEED, for us obsessives) to do. I naively think that when it comes to blogging, if you build it (i.e., post regularly about whatever is on your mind, including knitting), they (likeminded people) will come.
Ravelry is great for people who find blogging a burden but want to be part of the online community in an interactive, picture-showing way. Blogging is great for really blabby people (not naming names and not excluding myself). I need them both! How can I find out what Norma is planting (or eating), on Ravelry? But when I want to make a specific pattern and see pictures of it in 800 yarns, I cannot do that by googling around the blogs. BIG TENT! Kay
As much as I miss your knitting, the colors and the textures and everything, Miss Meli is just too cute not to blog about and I just love to see pictures of her. This is your blog, and you should do with it what you want. As a loyal reader, I will continue to come back no matter what you talk about.
One more thought: So, who was it exactly that raised over $32,000 for Claudi’s and Michele’s MS ride?
Funny…I was just thinking the same exact thing you wrote. I totally notice a difference in the blogosphere and also attribute this to Ravelry.
I’m a fulltime working mother with teenaged children and a frequently traveling husband, and am a new, solitary, self-taught, blog-less, left-handed knitter who is a felonious knitting blog lurker. I’ve got a great life and lots of non-knitting friends. But for me, the knitting blogs are where I find inspiration. I’m in Ravelry, but the forums seem chockful of people who know each other already (sorta like stopping by the LYS and gazing longlingly at the table of happy knitters working together on projects and I’m no better at jumping into that than I am a Ravelry forum). I’ve learned so much about technique, color, design from the blogs I read – the focus you find on a blog really helps me versus the 4,000 Baby Surprise Jackets to sort through on Ravelry. Along the way, I have also come to care about what the blogs I read have to say on other topics and the people who write them. I’ve occasionally sent e-mails to posts and typically on topics not related to knitting. What you come away with is, regardless of whether it’s our hobby, our passion, or our profession, while knitting is what draws us together, we have lots more in common as people than knitting.
Ravelry definitely has it’s place – it’s helping me keep organized, is a great place to see the 4,000 BSJ if you need to, but the blogs feed me in other ways I’d hate to lose. You and the others who are sharing your life’s highs and lows
as well as your latest knitting projects are my LYS table – keep it up – there are those of us who need and respect you out here!!
Cara – your writing is so full of joy and one day, Meli will be so grateful to have this as well as you. Sharing your heart with the world is one of your great gifts. Keep it up.
Cara, I think I found your blog about a week before Meli was born. It was linked from another knitblog, but what has kept me coming back is your honest thoughts and great stories. I like the blogs that have a bit about the “topic” and a bit about life. Knitting is fun, but people are FASCINATING. (Especially little beans like Meli!) Incidentally, I tried a few feed-readers, but I felt I was missing the personality of the blogger by not visiting the site. I ended up decreasing my daily “rounds” and only visiting blogs that I really looked forward to.
Ravelry has encouraged me to begin my own blog. I’d been thinking about it for a while, and seeing how a lot of people have their Rav profile linked to their blog gave me the final push. Since I’m more of a lurker than a writer, I don’t post everyday, and lately, life seems to be getting in the way of more frequent blogging. I’m also still making decisions about what aspects of my life I want out there in the blogiverse.
I really enjoy your blog (it’s in my top ten), and I love hearing about what Meli is up to.
Come visit me over at theadventuresofladyp.blogspot.com. It’s life, knitting, and everything else in between.
Hi, Cara — I’m blogfree, myself, but I read and learn from a lot of knit blogs. Haven’t quite been swallowed by Ravelry — I go in, look at what I meant to look at, and leave (unlike clicking links from trusted blogs, which has cost me a LOT of time and money!). I think the blog/Ravelry intersection is a lot like the one from several years ago, when “lists” pretty much gave way to blogs. I remember when I first joined the knitlist, Socknitters, KnitU, and a bunch of others — there was a real sense of community, and a lot of life in the group. Now they’ve all moved kind of to a “I did this, I did that” or “Where can I find” kind of posts. To my great sorrow. All of the things that made them alive moved to blogs, which were very much more a solitary endeavor. Ravelry reminds me kind of like those lists again, this time with pictures and fancier software.
I came over here the other day and was too busy to comment or really read the whole post. Now I’m too busy to read the comments and the “r” key on my computer is driving me nuts! Anyway, remember that old song about video and the radio star?
Ravelry changed the knit blogger scene,
Ravelry changed the knit blogger scene…
I’m not so much on Ravelry. I put my stuff on, I check a few things on it, I stay away from the forums for the most part (why do so many words have an ‘r’ in them!?) because I don’t have the time or energy and I prefer blogs for all of the knitting and non-knitting content. Things evolve I guess, but somebody has probably already mentioned that.
I think if a blogger posts and says “I’ve been on Ravelry a lot, the details are over there,” then that says much more about the blogger than it does about Ravelry, and why they are using the knitting internets in the first place.
I still read blogs, still post on mine, and when I have an FO I am proud of I still post about it…Ravelry project pages record most things but not everything, and many a week goes by when I don’t post on Rav forums, but I’ll still use the Ravelry database and keep on loving it for procrastination and the vast resource it has become in my knitting life.
The blog belongs to the owner, not to the audience. What you blog about, how often you blog is your choice.
The audience of any blog will change. I haven’t been subscribed to your blog, but came over from Sheep Shots. I’ll subscribe cuz I enjoyed this post. With Google Reader, I’ll read every post your write no matter how few and far between. I never know from day to day, how many blogs I’ll visit, but one thing is they’ll all have a current post.
This is such an interesting topic…and one I’ve been thinking about a lot, too.
I agree, I think your blog changed because you changed – a normal, reasonable thing.
I think the blogosphere has changed not because of Ravelry, but because of the emergence of “Knit Blog Celebrities” and ego. So many people seem to be writing from a place of copying the big names vs. being themselves, or writing to drive traffic and comments to their site, rather than honestly putting a a peice of themselves out there and seeing what comes back. Knitting is trendy right now, and knitblogging is even trendier.
Casey’s post about driving traffic to your blog is concerning to me – would you blog if only 5 people read it? And would you you to Ravelry if no one clicked the link to your blog?
I think for those people who have been knitblogging for over 4 years or so, what we’re seeing is a proliferation of blogs that makes it so much harder to find quality in terms of content and connection.
I am a big reader (and usually a lurker) of blogs, but I have not had any interest in using Ravelry.
I think it is the Flicker issue, as I don’t want to use Flicker to post my photos.
I don’t mind if knit blogs change their focus or frequency of posting. I usually learn something from the authors’ new interests!
thanks for your thoughtful posts
I think the bloggers who love to write will still continue to do so. I’m not into the forums much but love the database that’s on Ravelry, but it’s not a replacement for blogging.
If I ever get to have a baby, maybe things’ll change but I would hope that at least some of identity will still be tied up in writing and expressing who I am in a way that I love so much.
I am not a huge fan of Ravelry. When I first joined I thought it was cool but now it is all you hear about and quite frankly I am sick of it. And understand I am coming from a different end than blogging. I used to work in a yarn shop. Many people say that Ravelry has encouraged them and made them feel part of a community but for me Ravelry became the “be all end all” for some many people around me that I felt many other resources were being neglected. I am not trying to take anything away from the Ravelry creators and supporters but again I think this shift to one place or source or whatever you want to call it has become stale. The forums and groups are like many webgroups where people only choose to vent and be snippy. YUCK!! I want to see knitting & crocheting pictures and content not a discussion about what is wrong with your LYS. Long live knitting and crocheting blogs! And PS I don’t publish a blog but I think they provide variety.
I started my blog (movinghands), in Blogger in late 2001. At that time, the knitblogs ring had JUST started, people were commenting on tagboards (anyone enough of an old timer to remember those??), and there were only 20-30 blogs in the knitblogs ring. It truly was a RING. One cup of coffee and some clicks, and you got the whole picture of what everyone was doing.
Then blogs exploded, rings exploded, I got married and had two kids, and I stopped and started my blog twice to end up where I am now, which is mostly a blog about sewing, quilting, and life in Tokyo.
I thought at least five years ago that the rings would die out, sooner rather than later. It is not just Ravelry. The very fact that more than 1000 people were on the knitblog ring made me sigh. I was shocked that there would be people interested in policing the thing to begin with. Bloglines and Google Reader happened, people realized that clicking through a ring meant that a lot of time could be wasted reading bad blogs or finding ones that were not updated, and people seemed to already know the good blogs anyway. The good ones, the steady ones, and the ones who shared good links to more good blogs became more important than going through the knitblogs ring looking for…what?
As blog design changed and got more sophisticated, I got the sense that people did not want to put a bunch of links to different rings in their sidebars.
What people are doing with knitting, how they write about it, and where they write about it seem to be different subjects from why the knitblogs ring looks like it will die out.
Wow – I have to admit, I had the very same thought as Norma did, and figured I’d been out of the loop for so long that there’s a whole new wave of people I haven’t met. I think there’s a whole host of people who have been (knit) blogging for years and therefore it’s sort of inevitable that their lives have changed to the point where their blogs are affected. Mine certainly did in quite the same vein that yours did – I think there’s only a knitting project mentioned maybe 3 times a year now on mine. 🙁 I’m with you though, Ravelry and all the book deals are definitely changing the face of the knitting posts. While it makes me sad and miss the old days, I think it’s a fantastic sign that things have morphed the way they have, and I’m so glad I was able to watch it from then until now. How cool is that! Evolution indeed.
I read your blog MORE now that it’s so baby-centered. I liked the knitting, but can’t resist tuning in to see your latest photos of The Cutest Baby In The World. And I enjoy seeing how you’re working toward integrating a little knitting into your new life.
I’m one who is blogging less. I write plenty but stumble over getting the photos (which are the good part)onto my computer. Laziness, pure laziness.
Over a year ago, I changed my blog from knit-o-rama to drew-o-rama because I wanted to blog about anything and everything creative, including knitting. It was also because I am busy with other things in my life and posts solely about knitting were getting few and far between. I am sure I lost some readers, but I think I have gained more than enough to make up for the loss.