Like The Queen

Like The Queen
Whatever happens to strike my fancy, but surely some sort of fiber content.

6 Comments:

You are still on my "must read" blog list even thought I seldom comment.

Oh dear, I really MUST comment, even though I seldom do. I really find it difficult to butt into someone's "private" life albeit an online one however this time is an exception.

Your blog, dear Bess, is one of my very favourites. Most mornings when I sit down at the computer and begin reading the blogs, yours is the very first that I turn to. I have followed your life for a number of years now - since even before you were working on your elusive Flidas (sp?). Like The Queen was one of the blogs that inspired me to begin my own very humble (and extreme neglected - yes, I am ashamedly one of those) blog.

The thought that maybe your wonderful words will no longer be waiting there for me when I turn on my computer makes me rather sad. I do understand your frustration with the technology side of it, though.

In the end, this blog is yours, your time is your own and you must choose the level of frustration you are willing to accept in your life. Whatever you decide, I would like to sincerely thank you for all the hours of pleasure you have given me by allowing me to share a part of your life through the years.

By KathyR, at 5:58 PM

I, too, would miss your blog if you decide to stop posting to it. I have my blog at wordpress.com and that might be a good option if you want to start a different one. I come to your blog not only for the knitting content but also the art and the library content. If you leave, you will be missed.

By Charlotte, at 6:17 PM

Add me to the list of people who read, but perhaps don't comment as much as they might.

And I would miss you if you stopped blogging altogether. I enjoy your posts, even if they are by necessity infrequent.

If you do move to another host, I will follow you.

Maybe this fall, when the weather turns cooler and things settle down a bit, you will feel energized again? I know it has been a difficult and stressful summer for you.

By fillyjonk, at 2:40 PM

I've been at that very crossroads before, last year I think. Blogger was driving me crazy with its lack of cooperation and I just didn't know if I had anything to say anymore, of if anyone cared. I stopped for a while, than I found that I missed writing. I started an English blog on Live Journal and enjoy it, although I do not post often, and lately I started a French blog as well, this time with Word press and I really enjoy it too.

The important thing is to do what feels right for you. You don't have to abandon the castle, you can just leave it for a while, go on a retreat, and come back again when you feel like it.

Your readers would miss you of course, but you must take care of yourself.

If it might cheer you up a bit, or inspire you, there is the Red Hot Swap on Ravelry (http://www.ravelry.com/groups/red-hot-swap) I put my name down for it, it looks like fun.

Take care Mrs. Queen :)

By Anonymous, at 8:28 PM

Dear Bess,

You must do what's right for you, of course. But please let it not be for an assumed lack of interest. Your distinctive voice is a treasure. Summer is a busy time when a lot of people focus less on knitting. I read you, when I have time, rather than catch up on famous blogs. I've also dipped my toe in Twitter lately, and it's lots of fun but plays quite a different role from my blog. As for having something to say, I've certainly enjoyed your missives, even when they're just about a slice of daily life. And there are times when your writing has taken my breath away. I hope you'll do whatever you need to do, but I surely hope we'll continue to hear from you in some form somewhere!

By cathy, at 1:23 AM

Moving On

No lace progress to report. Not even any lacy sock cuff progress since I made a mistake the first round out and will have to rip back on that sock I was working on Tuesday. Instead, I worked 3 8 hour days this week and on the two half days I was quite physically active. Of course, this is good - to think I could be physically active at all. But the ensuing tiredness did put a crimp on lace progress. Would you believe it? I fell asleep while Elizabeth and Meg were discussing the Pi are Square shawl on television last night - sometime around 7:30!

No lace progress means no photos, alas, but I can't get the photo loading option to display in blogger anyway - which brings me round to a discussion on blogging that has long been forming in my head.

It seems to me that fewer and fewer people are blogging these days and those of us who do are sketchy posters at best. Some of my very favorite bloggers have just ceased to post at all and I find myself writing less and less. I always suspected that the interactive/comment/connectivity aspect of blogging is what kept me inspired. My blogging seemed to connect me to a greater society, mostly made up of other fiber folk, in a way that made sharing what was going on both fun and worthwhile.

I felt like I had something to share. I felt like there were people who were interested. I was inspired to post, to reach out, to continue sharing. Lately though, I haven't felt any of that - and as I have found myself starting to repeat thoughts ... after all, how many elegies about the turning of the seasons, the serenading of crickets in the hedgerows, the pale fog of autumn becomes too many? ... I've begun to notice that only the famous bloggers are still blogging and I don't read them. I read the blogs of folk who connected with me and those folk, with a few exceptions, aren't posting any more.

Have Twitter and Facebook and other mini-burst communication formats taken the place of blogger? I certainly keep up with most, if not all, of the folk who used to follow TheQueen on Facebook. Twitter continues to elude me, refusing to let me log in or register, and in a way I'm sort of glad. My goodness, Facebook sucks up enough of my time as it is.

And now - Blogger just doesn't want to let me do anything any more. It won't let me cut and paste from a .doc file. It won't let me load photos. It tells me repeatedly that it's "Done with Error on Page" but it never lets me know how to correct the error. It is too big to move to Blogger's newer format so it is difficult, if not impossible, for peole to link to it via RSS feed or any other of the mysterious connectivity tools out there. It constantly wants me to log on with my google account but of course, LikeTheQueen was made with a different email address so I can't post from that.

This blog is over 6 years old and I am wondering if it is time to bid TheCastle adieu and either start a new blog (maybe somewhere else) or cease entirely. I have always liked the name of this blog, which is one reason I've been reluctant to shift to a newer or easier blogging option - but I think technology, and I'll admit it, the lack of interest from others, has pushed me to the point of decision. And so - over the next week or so I will do just that - come to a decision and move on.

posted by Bess | 7:12 AM

links

Click to see MrJamestown in action.

Essex Public Library on Facebook

Ravelry Discussion Group about Studios

COLOR COLOR COLOR

Summer of the Sock

www.flickr.com

besshaile's Summer of the Sock photoset

The idea is to knit up all these unfinished socks so I can go buy More Sock Yarn!!!

Some favorite blogs

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Could just barely stand it - but something made me want to see how it turned out

EH.

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Wow!