Monday, November 28, 2005

Getting There!

I went to the doc for a follow-up exam of my knee. I only had one concern (or two). I have two tiny sores, one on my shin and one more on my knee, that will not heal. The doc fiddled a bit with the sore on my shin and pulled out an errant stitch. Hey, those were supposed to dissolve, weren't they? Anyway, sans a little stitch that had tried to break free, that sore should heal. Doc wasn't sure about the sore on my knee. Guess I'll just have to watch it a bit. Oh, and no more therapy! Yay!

My BIL's socks are coming along. A few more rows and I can begin the toe shaping. And more proof that things may be getting better -- I am dreaming of new projects. Not just socks, either (although several are on my list). I find I really, really want to knit a sweater, for ME. Call it my healing sweater, or my getting back to me sweater, or my just 'cuz sweater. But I think I'm ready.

I have also got some scrapbook pages finished. Here is my most recent page of my two sweet GD's:



Finally, here are my choices for Kristy's Blogs of the Week:

Cara http://www.januaryone.com/
Amber http://iamambernichole.blogspot.com/

Wednesday, November 23, 2005

Just Socks

The only thing I have the stamina to knit lately are socks. The last few months have been rough. It goes without saying that September was pretty much the worst time of my life. I took Green Day's When September Ends as my theme song. Those days dragged on and on.

So if that wasn't bad enough, I had to have knee replacement surgery in the middle of October. Want to see my scar? Sure you do!!!



After several days in hospital, and 2 weeks at Mom's recuperating, I was back to work full time. However, I had therapy 3 times a week right after work, and then I was just too wiped out to knit.

Now I am back knitting a bit, but socks are about all I can handle right now. My brother-in-law loves my hand knit socks and has been hinting to me that he needs more. So guess what he is getting for Christmas?



The pattern is Uptown Boot socks from IK Winter 2003, and the yarn is scrumptious Cherry Tree Hill in Java.

I ordered some Alpaca Yarn Co. Classic Lite to knit up a couple of new Nancy Bush designs -- Family Adventure Socks and Kickin-Back Socks.



The yarn is 100% alpaca and is yummy soft. I am excited to begin the socks! Finally, something to get excited about!

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Monday, November 21, 2005

What Makes a Blog Interesting?

In today's e-world, it seems everyone has a blog. There are news blogs, political blogs, celebrity blogs, music blogs. Even convicted murderers have their own blogs. So, with so many blogs in cyber world, what makes certain blogs stand out or more interesting?

I spent a good part of yesterday exploring a few blogs outside of the world of knitting. I mainly focused on some of my other hobbies, i.e. scrapbooking, rubber stamping, and daily news blogs. There are some really superior blogs out there, and there are some pretty horrible blogs. My criteria for a superior blog is:

1. Good writing. I can overlook an occasional grammatical error or mis-spelled word if the overall writing is creative, cohesive, interesting, and informative.

2. Pleasing to the eye. I am attracted to blogs that have good lines, are easy to read, have some structure and/or order, and utilize graphics and colors that draw you in and invite the eye to scan the blog's entirety.

3. Personality. I find the blogs I revisit time and again are those that offer a glimpse into the personal life of the blogger. Blogs that describe opinions, emotions, passions, desires.

4. Photographs. I do not need a photo in every blog entry, but frequent photos relative to the subject matter makes a blog more entertaining. The photos should be clear, accurately describe the subject matter and shouldn't take eons to load. I am not a patient person when it comes to waiting for a blog to load.

5. No broken links. Nothing aggravates me more than to click on a link that does not work. If a blogger takes the time to put in a link, it should be tested to confirm its accuracy.

Using the above criteria, I found my own blog sorely lacking. I plan to correct this.

But today, I am going to declare Monday on my blog &ldquoKristy's Blog of the Week&rdquo day to recognize blogs that I deem outstanding. Without further ado, here are today's picks.

Cheryl's Dream in Color

Eilene's Ei Knit


Enjoy!