Follow It! My New "Pied Piper" Service

Most of you, Gentle Readers, know that I don't use Instagram or Facebook to tell my stories -- I'm a blogger at heart and have been on "Blogger" since February 2003. Over those almost 18 years, kids have been born and are getting ready to graduate high school and/or leave home! The world has changed, and tech has altered the way we live -- including how we "follow" each other online.

Feed Burner stopped its service a few months ago, meaning that those who have been loyal followers of my blog directly by getting an e-mail, haven't been able to do that -- through no fault of their own!

While I have a list of e-mail followers saved from "Feed Burner days", I don't want to simply import those addresses, preferring instead to have subscribers do so themselves again. It might take a while for those folks to see the notice, but if they -- or you -- visit my blog now, you'll see a new 'follow by e-mail' gadget on the left side of the page, provided by an outfit called follow.it.

If you decide to "follow", simply enter your e-mail and click "Subscribe". Shortly you'll get an e-mail asking for your confirmation (i.e. your permission). Reply accordingly -- and you'll be connected to my ramblings as they're posted -- every couple of weeks or so.

I hope you'll join in, and share with those you think my like to follow my blog. And thanks for your support! 😊

Was It Something I Said?

For some folks, blogging might be a bit of a popularity contest -- to see how many followers they can amass.  While I too like to see that more people are interested in my blog over time, I've been writing in this space going on 13 years, and my priorities lie more in the realm of sharing -- my life, my thoughts, my art processes.

Generally, over the last few years, my Gentle Readers have numbered around 84-85.  Some come, some go.  Maybe I've become a bit boring and need to step up my game, word- and idea-wise...and I'm giving some thought as to how I might do that.

However, all-of-a-sudden in the past week -- less than a week, really -- five (count 'em!) followers have stopped following.

Writing this is, I know, like locking the barn door after the horse has been stolen, for these former followers are unlikely to read this and contact me to explain why.

Perhaps it was the recent posting of a prayer poem?

Or the fact that I've taken a break from my artwork to make more traditional, pieced quilts?

Or the fact that I'm making those small quilts for Syrian refugees expected to arrive in our area in the next few weeks?

Or perhaps these readers were interested only in my process through Elizabeth Barton's Master Class and, now that the 2015 class has wound up, they've left the room, so to speak?

Maybe it's because I haven't orchestrated a give-away in almost a year?

The thing is, I don't keep track of who follows me and who doesn't...and I'm not about to begin to do so.  This blog is not, for me, part of some sort of competition.  I'm not interested in hunting down readers who stop following, to give them a shake and make them tell me why.

But I do like to be liked -- and I like to please my readers.  So please, Gentle Readers, help me out a bit here.  Please let me know what you like about what I post; what you'd like to read about more often; what bores you to tears and has you groaning, "Not yet another post about 'X'!"

I promise I'll pay attention to what you post in the comments...and see what I can do.

And thank you for your support!  :-)

The End of Week Two

In the ongoing celebration of  my 10th anniversary as a blogger!  This past week was focused on knitters, with a couple of treats given away mid-week.  Such fun!

Now it's time to announce the winner of the Knitter's Goodie Pack:

Once again using my faithful companion, Random.org, and including all commenters from February 15 through to this morning (just before this post)... the winner is...Regina!  How lovely to be sending this package to a fellow Quebecoise (Mais oui!  Je viens de Huntingdon, QC, au sud-ouest, pres de Valleyfield et Chateauguay...)!  I will be in touch with you momentarily for votre addresse postale.  One of my Tuesday Treats winners found my congratulatory e-mail in her 'spam' folder, so do keep an eye open for it, Regina!

Stay tuned for the Finale of my celebrations -- Week Three is all about Fabric!

Remedies

That line from Mick and the boys is still running through my head, like a mantra, as I begin this new week.  That, and the phrase I keep threatening to use as a new title for this blog:  "however long it takes".  Both began to haunt me when I finished P's scarf and found it continued to curl at the edges, even after blocking -- largely due to its 50% acrylic content.  I couldn't get what I wanted: a flat, narrow scarf.

What to do?  Add an edging, of course!  The scarf is 4" or so from edge to edge, so I needed a trim that wouldn't overwhelm it, yet fit in with the pattern.  After some searching, I found the one in the photo below, courtesy of Laceknitter's 1884 Knitted Lace Sample Book.  With the help of tutorials from Miriam Felton and Kelly Petkun (KnitPicks), I managed to make a start.

But. (Notice there's often a 'but'?)

At 6 stitches across, in this yarn, on 4.5 mm needles (same as for the body of the scarf), it was too wide -- and too lacy.  Hmmm.  Still not getting what I wanted.  So...I switched to 4 stitches, and a plain and simple seed stitch pattern which, as you can see from the photo, is moving along neatly, narrowly and smoothly.  I got what I needed.

But (again?!)

This scarf is over 60" long on either side.  When I began, I wanted a simple, quick-to-knit gift for my friend.  To make it properly, to do my best job, though, I realize I have to be patient for (you guessed it) however long it takes.

P.S. A word about 'followers':  Somewhere along the line in the past couple of weeks, I've reached 50 followers -- 50 Gentle Readers who put up with my wildest, wackiest, most sentimental posts and keep coming back to see what's new.  Thank you!!!!