The kettle has just boiled and I’ve made myself a cup of tea. It is frigid outside. Absolutely bonkers cold and it’s only going to get colder and more snow is coming. (There is already rather a lot.) Each morning as I leave to “walk to work” I’ve been grabbing my skates from their hook by the front door and they hang over my shoulder cheerfully swaying as I walk a few minutes to an outdoor rink in a local park and have a few turns on the ice before heading back home. If this sounds ridiculously romantic, well it is – especially if you can ignore that I am an absolute crap skater, though practice can only help.
(Last week Elliot and I went for a skate and he’s just learning so spends as much time falling down as he does gliding around. After a little while he said “Wow Grammy you are such a good skater!” and then promptly fell down again. I can honestly say that nobody has ever, ever said that about my skating before and I highly recommend taking a young learner with you if you struggle with your self-esteem. I do not recommend taking them more than a few times though because by next week he’s going to be better than me for sure.)
Today was cold enough that I didn’t take my skates, I couldn’t imagine the minutes without mittens putting on and tying them up and I just went for my walk. I always listen to audiobooks as I walk (or clean, it’s the only way I can bribe myself into doing it) but today I didn’t because I wanted to think without interruption. I walked along, bundled in knits top to bottom (and saw several people wearing leg warmers and thought about knitting some but I think I will wait and see if that urge is still there when it’s not -25 since I have never wanted them before) and thought long and hard about what I wanted to write today.
Today is my Twenty-second Blogiversary and that means that 22 years ago I sat down and wrote and posted my very first blog entry and the minute I did that I stepped through the door it cracked open and nothing has been the same since. I tell you some version of that every year on this day and I always look for a different way to say it, and that’s what I was thinking about as I walked. It was still what I was thinking about when I came home and knitted a little bit, and made some soup for lunch.
(These are my Self-Imposed Sock Club socks for January- I tried to take them outside so the light would really show off the colours but there was nowhere that wasn’t too %^&^%ing snowy so I put them on the spare bed. Enjoy. Yarn is Indigodragonfly in Spoken Four, last years Bike Rally fundraising yarn, and the pattern is Defying Gravity and it is very fun.)
In the end I decided to tell you about something that happened not too long ago. I was at an event with lots of other knitters and we were knitting and chatting the way we do, and the way only knitters can. (Everyone else takes it so personally when you’re reading a chart, I’m listening to you for crying out loud.) The topic of The Blog came up and someone said they really love The Blog and someone else said “Well, sure but the blog is dead.” Now – before you get your back up on my behalf (I love that about you) there is no need. A big part of me can agree with them. For sure this space isn’t what it was. Like all things there is change and I get it. Gone are the days that I posted five times a week. I hear them, I respect that and I didn’t say anything or feel hurt. I did start thinking though, because while that little piece of me could see their point, a larger part of me wanted to push back hard because in my heart, that feels like a ridiculous statement.
It stayed with me, and I’ve reflected on it often. (Don’t worry it wasn’t that long ago, I’m not consumed.) I can’t tell you how desperately I feel like The Blog is not dead – is it just wishful thinking – something I’m holding onto because I’m not great at letting things go? This is one of my best and worst traits, so I always consider it. I’m GREAT at holding on by my very fingernails and this has both caused me loss and saved things that were important. Was this just my point of view? It wasn’t until I started to write about this that I realized the answer.
As I wrote that this person had said the blog was dead, I noticed a detail. Do you? When I wrote it as I heard them, I typed “the blog”. When I wrote about my feelings that it was still here, I hit that shift key. The Blog. I have written before about what the family and I call you – you are The Blog. We’ll ask ourselves what The Blog would think, or wonder if The Blog would like something. Around these parts The Blog isn’t software, memory, words and pictures. The Blog is me writing to you. Your comments coming back to me – connections made here and in real life. It’s me working on something you made me interested in, it’s you trying a technique I wrote about in 2017. It’s me having a snapshot of you in my mind because I’ve built it out of a collage made of your hundreds of comments over the years. It’s you knowing that Amanda can play the violin – or how this family fared during the pandemic. It’s me understanding what you love because I love it too – it’s you knowing Charlotte’s name. It is you introducing yourself to me in another town and me not really knowing who you are until you tell me your email address or username – and then in that moment having you bloom into the person I know from this town, that you’re a neighbour in The Blog. I’ve seen your socks.
I guess I think too that The Blog isn’t dead because at least once a week I get an email from someone who is reading the whole thing- from beginning to end and they want me to know that they really had their scene scrambled when their mum died too – or that it was helpful to read things I wrote about being a young mother – and that the things I wrote about the value of parenting made them feel better about how absolutely trashed the house their happy kids are playing in. Or they write and tell me something they thought about when they were reading about one of my multitude of insecurities because they thought I might feel less insecure when I read it. (They are usually right.)
A little while ago someone who reads this blog and leaves comments sent me an email and thanked me for a recipe I put here years ago. It was great that she wrote because it just so happened that I was finishing a book she had recommended in a comment.
Another yarn break – I’m knitting Craghill. I think it’s pretty gorgeous.
Essentially – I have never thought of The Blog as something that just I do. We are woven together in this place, knit into one fabric, use whatever textile metaphor you’d like to this is twenty-two years of books and recipes and patterns and bad socks and good sweaters and baby blankets and together we are The Blog, and you just don’t feel dead to me at all. As a matter of fact, I think we’ll be just fine.
Much love, and thank you for everything. Meet you here soon.
Stephanie
PS: This year I’ll ride my 15th Bike Rally. To be honest it was a harder decision this year but in the end the world could use all the good acts it can get. It has become tradition to kick off my fundraising on my blogiversary, so here we are. It’s also become tradition for your donations to be the number of years we’re celebrating here, or some multiple – 22, 44, 66… that way the fundraising staff processing them is super bewildered, especially when the explaination is simply “That’s the knitters.” The link to my page is here if you’re so inclined, and it’s also a great day to recognize Ken, the patron saint of The Blog, since he’s the one who gave it to me in the first place. His Bike Rally link is here.
Happy Blogiversary from one who has been a fan from day one. Life highlight was meeting you at a book signing some years ago here in PA; a blinding migraine was NOT going to keep me away. You called my first socks perfect; worth every moment then and now. Being presumptuous to speak for the Blog (and as I’m not on IG), I appreciate every moment and message whenever they appear. Don’t underestimate your impact in this world; we could all use a few more Stephanies in our life. Namaste – (another) Bonnie aka Knitsiam
What a long, strange ride it’s been, petal.
Can’t imagine the years without.
Happy Blogiversary! I’ve read your blog beginning to end a couole of times. I love looking at my RSS feed and finding that you’ve posted again. I just donated to both of you for the bike ride.
Happy Blogiversary. I’m grateful for you. You make us laugh, think, and enjoy a relationship even though we’ve never met.
Oh, Steph. How perfect. Yes, the Blog is all of us, and you, and I love that. I still send the blog post you wrote about Amanda turning 18 to my friends when their kids are making them feel crazy, and I still find it comforting to think, “They will be adults a lot longer than they are children. This is a good trait in an adult. I will exercise patience.” I love that my son, 28 years old and not a knitter, knows who you are and how important you are to me.
A family can look lots of different ways. Eternal thanks to Ken and you and all the Blog readers for gifting us this one. I love it a lot 😀 <3 <3 <3
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Always and forever yours,
The Blog
Thank you for sharing for the last 22 years. Here’s to the next 22 years ❤️
Thank you for bringing us together as The Blog. Thank you for 22 years!
I love the blog. Don’t let it/us die. Have read it start to finish. Always happy to read another post.
Has it been 22 years already? Feels like only yesterday that I found you, and yet here we are. Happy bloggerversary, and a nod to Ken as well. ✨
Also, kudos to you for attempting to ice skate at all. I fell on the ice a few years ago and at the ripe age of almost 52 decided my days of winter sports were over. Walking is tricky enough in the bad weather. I’ll leave the rest to the young folks .
Oh my goodness. My kids have just started ice skating lessons. We are in Florida where ice skating takes a good chunk of money, driving time and commitment. So, this is something most of us just never really do. There is a woman also in the very first level beginner class, but the over 18 one. She is the oldest person in her class by at least 30 years and the only even somewhat overweight one. The first day she moved so slowly a snail could lap her. I was so very impressed with her for being out there. Clearly she decided she wanted to skate, and she’s doing it. They’ve had three classes now, and she can totally beat that snail. I am internally cheering for her so hard from the stands. She would probably find it creepy if she knew. Definitely a bit weird. But man, I am so invested in this stranger’s success. I think it is just so cool that she has decided to just do it.
I have always loved your writing! And you pictures, recipes, patterns!
So many memories!!! I used to send the post to a dear friend who would print your posts and read them aloud to a friend going through chemo. And giggle… and giggle …(there might have been gaffaws too) We were all kinds of fiber arts but only you wrote about .. obsessions, addictions, frustrations, and joy of accomplishments. Thank you so much.
Happy Blogiversary! I love being invited into you living room and getting to spend time with you, your lovely family, and all the yarn. Thank you for such generosity and the joy it brings.
Happy Blogiversary! Thank you for creating this space and sharing so much with us. And thank Ken from us too! I’m so glad that he helped you create this space in the first place.
Hi Steph,
I’ve missed you. I still write my own blog a couple times a month, and because I link it to one of those “parties” (quilters, in this case), people do read it and I often get a comment (or two). Somehow I missed your Jan. 15/26 post so I went back and read it before this one, so happy that you’re still here in this Blog-a-verse, with people who like a story that’s too long to do well on Facebook and isn’t always loaded with pictures like Instagram (that may be imaginary on my part; I’m not on Instagram and don’t wanna be). I realize you’re on Patreon but I can’t afford more than one or two memberships (I have one at the moment and have second thoughts about that on a regular basis). My pension income focuses on food and utlities …and craft supplies…
I share your feelings about winter (it’s been very snowy out here on the Alberta prairies this year, which is great for fending off another year of drought but is still rather irritating)…and I haven’t my skates any more (not for decades)…so I too “walk to work” (i.e. to the PO to pick up the mail) and home again. And I too knit ‘heaps’ — and quilt, and stitch (cross-stitch) and make artful hooked rugs (for the wall)…and read…and so on.
All that to say, “Happy 22nd Anniversary” and please remember The Blog is here, missing your presence and thankful you’re still here.
I don’t comment often as I figure mine will just get lost in the sea of fan mail, but I’m so glad you don’t think we are dead yet, as I hope to live a lot longer yet. Thanks for all the great recipe ideas during Veganuary on your IG account, and sharing your loves and knits and struggles here on your blog, and I remember how excited I was to get to hear you in person at one of the Sock Summits in Portland.
The Blog is alive and well. We miss your posts, but we know times have changed.
You congratulated me when I celebrated my one year cancerversary by taking a class you taught at Webs. This year it will be my 15 year mark. Perhaps it’s time for another celebration. One does not survive ovarian cancer, let alone for 15 year.
I make your Emergency Soup recipe regularly, although I never seem to have parsley on hand.
You introduced me to Doctors Without Borders during the Haiti earthquake. I still think of the knit flag in any crisis. There are lots of those these days.
Yes, these comments are pretty random. That’s because The Blog is not a thing. It’s people.
Happy Blogiversary
Happy Blogiversary! Your blog started my online discovery of knitters and other blogs. I am forever thankful to you for that. It has expanded my world. It has given me opportunities to read your books and even hear you in person. The blog will always live on, whether you write on it or not (although I hope you continue). Thank you!!
I love The Blog! Long may it flourish..mine is sadly languishing. I could no longer keep it up for sad reasons, but I have enjoyed yours for years. I met you in real life when I lived in Kentucky and you were on one tour or another, and then I moved to Winnipeg and well, I still celebrate you from afar! Thanks for including us in all your family and knitting adventures, and for cruising by my Instagram now and again. You’ve been a cheerful shining and realistic light; the kind of knitting friend I hope to be for others. Wishing you everything good! Here is to another 22 years! @yrnspinner aka Joanne
I stumbled upon on the Blog in 2006 and read all of your posts from the beginning and since. I met you at Rhinebeck and you held my first socks. I told you that you inspired me to knit socks and you asked me why I felt inspired. I couldn’t quite explain it but as the years have worn on, the inspiration continues and I have started knitting both socks at once on two sets of DPNs, 2, or, 3, or 5 rounds at a time. I’m not fast but I enjoy it. I follow you on instagram now and love your Veganuary posts. Once again, I am inspired, and make at least 2 vegan meals a week. I dream of joining your group of knitters at retreat but life has not yet made that possible. Thank you for continuing to be a constant.
I love the blog! I love you too! Thanks for always being so you. The fact that you held my yarn for me while I wound it into a ball on Galiano Island makes us practically best friends! ❤️
For almost 22 years I’ve been a part of your life, and you a part of mine, all because of words on a screen flung out into the void.
You’ve entertained me with your epic knitting failures, and in return I’ve called you a slacker. And we’ve laughed and cried together, sometimes in person and sometimes from afar.
I won’t stop if you won’t.
What? No mention of Joe’s Gansey?
LOL!
Like many others here, I love your Blog. I’ve read it end to end a couple of times (and I still turn to various Christmas panic posts when I need inspiration – or just reassurance that I’m not alone in my unrealistic expectations of what’s actually possible given the limitations of a 24-hour day. I do less of that now, I have to say.)
I’ve so enjoyed all you have shared with us – the knitting, the challenges, the Joe stories, the Amanda and Meg and Sam stories. It’s felt like sitting in your living room and it’s been a warm and welcoming space. Long may it continue to be so!
Happy Blogiversary, Stephanie! Your reflections on The Blog resonate deeply, and it’s clear how much connection and community you’ve built over the years. Here’s to many more years of sharing and knitting together! By the way, if you’re looking for some fun to enjoy while knitting, check out free online games for the latest trending online games!
Happy Blogiversary, and I’m happy to confuse the Bike Rally organizers with my $22 donation. Thank you for sharing and caring.
Happy Blogiversary Steph. No the Blog is not dead. It’s still wanted and still an inspiration. I look at the projects and yarns I’ve used over the years and know that they came from your ideas. Your family stories were great, made me think you are my next door neighbour. Your books still sit on my shelf waiting for another read. Here’s to many more years of all that.
There certainly was a mass exodus to social media, but the blog didn’t die. Social networks are a different type of place with different rules. There are clearly a lot of people who wanted to post more spontaneously and more quickly and they found somewhere more suitable. It’s also more transient. Some bloggers have found that it wasn’t the place for them and have returned. Platforms like Medium and Substack have tried to reinvent it but all we need is a place to post some selected pictures and considered words and where others can visit, read and interact. Those places will continue to exist, people will use them and others will visit.
I’m glad you’re still here. It’s been a long journey and it’s not over yet.
I know that knitting blogs may not be what they once were in the days before Ravelry and social media, but they are far from dead. I marked 20 years of blogging last fall, and I’ve been reading you since almost the beginning. In the past couple of years, I’ve noticed a bit of a resurgence, and I have a small group of close blogging friends who all post at least a few times a week. Thank you for continuing to maintain this space and for all the good you put out in the world.
Oh how I love The Blog! It’s bitter cold here in New Hampshire today with oodles of snow forecast and I am beyond delighted to spend the day on the sofa knitting while some squash soup simmer on the stove. Love reading about your growing family, but it seems we only hear about Meg and Amanda! How is Sam?
Although I don’t often comment, I’ve been a devoted member of The Blog since the very start, and I’ve absolutely adored every book you’ve written. Plus, as a Patreon supporter, I’ve gained so much from your insights! The Blog is a staple in my morning routine. Given the current state of the world, I took a step back from social media last year, which was tough because I knew I’d miss your Instagram posts so much! Your Blog posts have been a real comfort. I’m always thrilled when there’s a new post and will keep checking in daily. We love you and this community you’ve built!
Congratulations on 22 amazing years!
This reader appreciates your posts any time.
Keep up your great work!
The Blog is not dead, because as you said, the Blog is us, responding to you. Yes, it’s changed, because you have changed and we have changed and the world has changed. But dead? Never.
Thanks for 22 years of laughs and tears and knowledge.
I first learned about your blog from a yarn store in Nashville, Tennessee that I was visiting. Every time I need a laugh I find the entry about your “new stove” being brought into the house, for a cry i read Sir Washie’s eulogy
Why do I think of Sir Washie’s sad story so often? It is a great story and written so well. Stephanie you are a wonderful humor writer and I love all of your books.
I follow you on Instagram just to keep up with your life and whenever you say there’s a Blog post I’m happy. The blog is different now but certainly not dead.
Love from Judith in Bethesda ❤️
Congratulations on 22 years of writing, sharing, knitting, laughing and crying. Yes I found you on Instagram and I am a Patreon, but they’re not the same. This Blog is still my favorite. I appreciate anything you want to post here, anytime. Your sense of warm humor about regular human life, including yarny successes and failures, is a real gift to us The Blog and the world. My favorite will always be
Joe getting stuck in the truck nearby. Thank you!!!
I started reading your blog close to the beginning. I was in university and it was one of my many procrastination techniques I used when I had to write papers. The Blog has been with me through travels, my first jobs in remote places, some very hard years while we tried to start a family and then through the arrivals of my two children. My children are now 7&9 and our family is always busy and on the go. We recently lost my dad, or Grandpa, as he was known in our home. He lived with us for the last 6 years. Reading about your grief with your mum has made me feel not so alone in this mess of emotions. I don’t check The Blog daily for updates anymore but I do check in from time to time. I always appreciate a post, a bit of knitterly humour or insight. Thank you Blog and Steph.
Congratulations on twenty-two years, and thank you for all the knitting advice, ideas, camaraderie, and family news. I follow in an app (Feedly) so it tells me when you’ve popped in and said something.
I suspect your “blog is dead” person really meant “blogging is dead” which is not exactly true either. It’s just less common or “in” than being on instagram or tiktok. But here we all are, giving to the bike rally and wishing you well. Long live The Blog.
Blogging has changed. It is not what it once was. But I am glad that The Blog is not dead.
You write so well, I miss the days of the 5x/week posts, BUT … I am grateful for social media and the occasional blog posts.
What I have always liked about your blog is your honesty. If the Yarn Harlot has to frog on occasion, it is OK for me to frog, too. It doesn’t make me a bad knitter.
Happy Blogaversary. From this Blog, I’ve embraced the swatch, learned Latvian mitten knitting, laughed at Sir Washie, the paint on the steps, and the decaf coffee adventures. Crowds bursting into song at weddings, babies blankets, JoeVember, and his appreciation for clean clothes rank in my remembered highlights. Thank you for accepting us into your life.
Oh, the paint down the steps!
I understand why the knitter thought that. There was a time when you went so long between posts that I thought maybe we’d had the last one. You are one of the few bloggers I once read that still post at all. Some said goodbye, but many just one day made their last post and never quite came back to it. It was conceivable.
But, I had to step completely off social media last year. (I’m American. My mental health was at stake. And now it feels better not to have much of a digital footprint until we get things sorted.) So, the few blogs that still occasionally light up in my rss feed are all the more important. I will continue to read, however much you feel inclined to post.
Sending love to you and yours! I’ve been resting since before 2007. <3
*oh gosh, reading
I think I probably need to get reading glasses this year. I’ve gone to being 20 to 40 in the time I’ve been following your work.
For those of us not on social media the very long gap in posting here was, . . . . scary. But I always felt that if you were stopping you would let us know (those good Canadian manners!) So glad to have you back, even if sporadically. Thank you !
Happy Twenty-second Blogiversary! Funny thing, I think I love reading the Blogiversary posts the most of all.
Congrats on your Blogiversity! I have been a long time reader & love every post I’ve read. I’m thankful you still continue to post when you feel the time is right. I love your instagram posts & enjoy all the pics, knitting & recipe ideas. I was thrilled to take classes from you at DFW fiber fest & I learned so much! Thanks for everything. Winter will end for you so don’t lose hope!
Thank you for letting me be part of The Blog. These 22 years have flown by in a flash, leaving good memories and lots of knitted goods. I’ve met you at a couple of events through the years and those occasions were a pleasure- mostly because I was there with knitter friends. Thank you for knitting us all together and sharing so much of you with us all. With love, tinkarenknit.
Happy Blogiversary, dear Stephanie! Here’s to at least another 22, from one who used to read you on the Knitlist. I used to ice skate many years ago, but falling is no longer on the menu. If I ever get my shoulder working properly again, I’d rather get my cross country skis out. Every few years, NYC gets enough snow dumped on it to be able to go to Central Park to zoom around for a while.
Long live The Blog!
My mother is in the process of dying this evening and I am oh so grateful for you, Stephanie. For the blog and the Patreon. I grew up in Kingston, graduated from UofT, and am now living in Southern California. And your Eastern Ontario accent on your Patreon videos makes me both homesick and held.
Hoping you find strength and peace.
Sending prayers for you both; may your memories be a blessing in the times ahead.
Every weekend I read a bunch of (mostly knitting) blogs. Maybe I’m just old school, but I like reading what people are up to. Happy Blogiversary! May we have many more!
Happy Blogiversary! I have so missed your writing! I have been reading your words since very close to the beginning. It was so comforting to know that you made mistakes and had the same “Oh it will be fine!”, moments that I had, even though you are a vastly superior knitter! It was so much fun to watch your family grow up as mine did. Thanks for letting us be The Blog. I hope that you continue blogging for many years to come.
Happy blogaversary! I don’t think The Blog is dead, I keep it open in a tab and I refresh it every so often to check. I’ve been reading your blog for many years, since I was in my early 20s (I’m 38 soon). What I really wanted to tell you is that you (and The Blog) are the reason I lived in Toronto for 3ish years, 2014-2017. I moved from perth, australia, to the exact opposite point on a map, partly because i wanted to get away for a bit, but partly because I really enjoyed what I saw of Toronto through your knitterly lens. And so, due to this influence, I got to see America before the rise of truly partisan politics when it was still safe to travel there, and I took a class with you at the 2014 squam. then i travelled from vancouver all the way to toronto, and made many amazing knitter friends there, with whom I am still in contact, I refer to them as my Canadians <3 I also got to attend one of your retreats which was amazing (2015 maybe?). I don't know if I would have done any of that without you. i probably would have just moved to Melbourne which is much more boring haha. So i just wanted to thank you and The Blog for being such a positive force in the world, and a positive influence in my life.
I’m a little late to the game, but here’s another Happy Blogiversary! I’m a slow knitter, but your supersonic knitting speed has been inspiring. Your games of Yarn Chicken have been very entertaining, and so has The Christmas Spreadsheet (now morphed into the Table of Delusion). How long have I been reading? At least since Millie was shedding all over everything….
The blog is not dead! Yeah. I started reading your blog this year after discovering knitting podcasts, and then hearing about it. But I wasn’t sure you were still writing so I also followed on Instagram. But as a blog consumer-to me the blog offers actual writing, longer thoughts. I can understand that feeling pressured to do this regularly would kill the enjoyment over time- and that also seems to happen on instagram but I am glad to know you still feel like communicating this way and we will all be here happy to read you whenever you post. Happy Blogiversary. Thank you.
Thank you. And thanks to Ken. The Blog IS alive and well, and I am happy to be a part of it. I was thinking of you yesterday, when I shovelled the back porch, again, and wondering if I should have put some woolies onto the fresh snow as you spoke about this recently. . I didn’t, which is good, because they would have been covered in a VERY deep amount of the ongoing snowstorm. Today is Shovel a bit, Knit a bit of hat. Stay warm. Knit On!!
Happy 22nd❣️You can tell Ken he is a prince among men for giving us the gift of the Blog. I appreciate all of the thought and work you put into it, and have always enjoyed reading about the slice of life you present each time. I live out in the Pa suburbs and there are no knitters out here. When I found you online it was a whirlwind of knitting joy that came into the house and made me so happy to be sharing with you. I want to thank you and all who helped you to be present here. ( It was nice to hear from Rams and Presbytera too.)
From another from-the-beginning reader and rare commenter, congratulations on 22 years (though I don’t understand how that much time has passed!). I’ve enjoyed reading you, meeting you at the inaugural Sock Summit (didn’t we make a world record then, for a minute?), and following along with your life that you share with the Blog.
I’m not on Insta, either, and while I know it’s probably faster/easier for you to pop something up there, I’m always happy to see a new post here. Insta is like waving hi from a car driving by; the Blog is like settling in for a real conversation.
So I’ll check in each day to see what’s new, and be thankful for your thoughts and stories.
Happy Blogaversary Steph! And thank you (again) Ken. I check in often to see if you’ve posted recently, and am delighted when you have. I appreciate the ability to go back and reread, and maybe it is time for me to read through the blog again.
Congrats on 22 years! I have also been through a lot with you, been inspired, laughed and cried. I am loving Veganuary and have discovered a few new recipes. I have to say, some of your photos are as eloquent as your words – Elliot on skates in the background, the sweater that wouldn’t go over your head – I can relate! Too funny. Thank you for being a bright spot during these hard times, as well as for the last-so-many years. (I also like being part of “The Blog”, I think that’s cool.) For me, I enjoy reading blogs and am glad that some people are still keeping up the practice on a regular basis, and checking here and finding a post is a real gift. I hope you don’t feel any pressure, but that this is a gift for you, too. Thank you!
Vive Le Blog!
Long live Community knitted together by spinning tales and weaving in ends!!
Onward
Agree!
When I saw your photo I was instantly transported back to a favourite story of yours, back in the days *before* blogging – was it on rec.knitting or some such?
And you told a story of ice skating while knitting something white… and you dropped your yarn which trailed out behind you….and hijinks ensued.
Congrats on 22 years of blogging and even more years of entertaining writing.
congratulations on 22 years! It brightens my day each time I see your name pop up on my blog feed. I love how you walk to and from work, as well as so many other things about you.
We are as grateful as ever when you post, and thank you for so many years. I look forward to many more!
These days I think connections, via the blog or any community, are more important than ever. Happy Blog Anniversary. Your blog is a beacon of hope, humor, fiber, and light. I’m part of a small group of bloggers who post at least weekly. I value the connections between all of us. Long live the blog.
I read over some of your work on this website retro games and thought it was quite well-written and intriguing. Keep up the promoting strategies!
It’s always wonderful to read your blog. Reading in the past about the baby blankets you designed and knitted for your grand babies inspired me to design and knit one for my grand daughter for when she came into this world 3.5 years ago. Thank you.
Happy 22nd! I’ll be here as part of The Blog as long as you’ll write. You inspired me to start my own blog in 2008, and it serves as such a nice history of my knitting and other random activities. Grateful to you and Ken. Much love always!
Congratulations on 22 years of writing about what matters most. A faithful reader.
I admit I wish you’d write more for the public again!
Also, to hell with social media.
Dear Stephanie,
I check each month to see if there is a new blog. Yours is the first one I ever read on encountering online life when I started to knit properly, for me, my sanity and with purpose. I do follow on Instagram too, however it is the blogs that draw me in to the community of knitting and knitters across the globe. It’s unlikely we will ever meet in person, but I do love your books and blogs on life. Keep writing, Anita, Coningsby, UK
Legwarmers in a Canadian winter are a game changer – just sayin’. I knit myself two pairs and have ZERO regrets.
Funny you should discuss the phrase “the blog is dead” because I recently checked to see if The Blog was still active. I see your wonderful posts on Instagram but haven’t been checking the blog as often.
Was curious to see if you were going to post about the recent passing of Barbara Walker. I recall she was to be at the famous (infamous) Sock Event. I wasn’t able to attend but that Event (it broke the servers?) but it is worthy of a knitting legend to be told to new knitters of all ages (perhaps as a cautionary tale LOL). In any case do you have some Barbara Walker memories to share with The Blog?
Aha, I found the timeframe for the one and only Sock Summit. It was in 2011.
I was just writing my own blog post about meeting up with an old knitting friend today whom I hadn’t seen in about ten years–and how we’d carpooled to San Francisco to your booksigning, where you’d asked to hold her baby and you and the babe smiled happily at each other as you bounced him. It made Dannette smile at the memory when I mentioned it–and she blew me away by saying he’s 12 now.
And here you are writing again, and such a lovely, loving post. Thank you for this hello to us all out there. Much love to you and yours.
It’s nice to see you posting again. I’m a dinosaur – don’t do Instagram, etc…
Long term reader, and owner of your many books.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and knitterly adventures. Congratulations on 22 years, and thanks to all The Blog community for the best comment section in the interwebs.
Wish I could send some of our 44C heatwave to melt your snow, I went on quite the cooling journey reading about snow cleaning.
Happy Blogiversary! I’ve been a reader for over 17 years and am very happy that The Blog is still here. If I’m completely honest, I much prefer blogs over Insta and FB. Social media has too much noise with it. Between the algorithms that imbed content that it thinks you want or should see and the utter nonsense that some people post, it gets to be too much for me. Blogs are more intimate and thought out. They preserve the written word, something we’re losing. I’m glad you still share here, even if it isn’t as frequent. Thank you!
PS: Thanks also for sharing you “walk to work” idea. I’ve been working from home since March 2020. I can tell it has taken a toll on my body. I’m going to adopt that practice.
Happy Blogiversary! Like many I found your writing a few years after you started, and went back and read from the beginning. And I own many of your books, and met you in San Francisco in March, 2014, at Books, Inc. Wishing all the best for you and your family, and so delighted that Ken gifted you with the beginning here.
What an absolute treat to check The Blog today and see a new post! Happy 22nd Anniversary. I’ve been following since 2006 and have found inspiration both personal and knitting here. Thank you so much for sharing with all of us <3
Grateful to Ken for pointing you towards that door, and grateful to you for walking through it! Delighted to have this read today. Long live The Blog.
I’m happy you’re back – I’ve missed you. I’m not an Instagram sort of girl (Insta dumped me a few months ago and I haven’t bothered to sign up again.
Love your insights, honesty, authenticity, and knitting.
Happy Blogaversary. Good luck with the race – hope it’s a grand success. I happen by from time to time with the hope that you will have posted a few words. They never fail. I relate to your life stories even though we are connected only online. I am so grateful to have followed along all the many years (not quite from the beginning, but close). Thank you. I’ll keep happening by.
Oh, oops! I forgot that the Craghill looks amazing.
M
Thoughts on legwarmers
I made these
https://ravel.me/tobyjavin/wjg
and they define being ready to go out in the cold. They cover the gap between pants and shoes and keep the bottoms of my pants dry. I panicked at the begin of winter when I thought they were misplaced. (I had put them in a repair pile because a quick lacer had caught and I had a loose end on the bottom edge.)
So happy to see you posting again! At least that’s one good thing that’s come out of this excessively cold and politically depressing winter. Much love to our Canadian friends— especially you.
**** If what follows breaks a rule, please delete it, but it’s such a powerful example of one small snowball turning into an avalanche. ****
Have you heard about the Melt the ICE caps? The patterns (knit and crochet) are based on red hats Norwegians knitted and wore as symbols of resistance to the Nazis (who eventually outlawed them — but the Norwegians kept wearing them).
The pattern is available on Ravelry and all proceeds go to help Twin Cities area charities aiding people affected by ICE. Last time I looked, more than US$250,000 had been raised.
elleninindy
Happy Blogiversary!
So many thanks to you for years of sharing, caring and laughter, and thanks to Ken for giving you the platform to do so. One of the first posts I read involved a vehicle getting wedged between a building and a post, I believe. If laughing out loud could add years to one’s life, I’d live past 100 on that one alone 🙂
I am a very infrequent poster (anywhere, not just here), but I’m here and on Patreon enjoying every bit of content you share. In-person classes at Webs and Squam (you helped me up off the floor after the group photo one year) might be a thing of the past, but the appreciation and memories live on.
All my best wishes to you and yours, Stephanie.
Steph, life changes all of us. I understand the loss of both parents and to that end it changes the Dynamics of how we all fit into life. I’ve watched you be a parent, a knitter, writer, teacher and crusader for what you believe. Don’t feel bad about taking time to blog less. It’s our age we think more before we write. God bless, do what you feel you need to do. We will be there when you get back.
Much love and knitting,
Christine Paulino
Gdedigns
Happy Blogiversary! Thank you for 22 years, and best wishes for a happy, healthy New Year! Vive le blog!
I’m just so happy to see you back here! (I’ve missed hearing from you since I got off all of the billionaire boys’ platforms.) Your posts always brighten my day, and are especially cozy during this deep, dark (seemingly unending) winter. Congratulations on 22 years, and I wish The Blog many more.
I am glad to hear I’m not the only one who has read through the archives more than once, haha. Been reading since 2007ish. The blogging medium has evolved to match life (it’s more microblogging on Insta) but the spirit remains. Thanks for continuing to share!
I’ve followed The Blog since its very early days & do miss you posting as regularly as you used to. I’m glad to see this post.
I suspect that Elliot skates the way I roller bladed. The difference is that he’ll improve, whereas my roller blading days are behind me, in the interest of keeping my bones intact.
Your combination of socks and yarn is fabulous!
Happy Blogiversary!
This place has been such a source of wisdom for me through the years – not just for knitting (I read through the archives early in the pandemic when our youngest was Going Through It, and it helped me be a better parent), and not just from you. However it lives on, even as just an archive, I’ll always consider it a safe and welcoming space. Thank you for making it that.
The Blog is not dead! I check in every couple of months to see if anything new is happening. I’ve got a few blogs that I’ve really enjoyed over the years that I’ll spend 15 minutes clicking on their links. It’s a small joy when I run into something new. I ditched social media (though I will scan a subreddit on occasion) because it turned me into a zombie. I love the blog format because, long or short, it’s like a story. It’s a little piece of something I can relate to. Thank you for 22 years. And, Ken… how did he know??? I guess I’ll head to the beginning to find out.
Happy Blogiversary, Stephanie! It’s inspiring to see how your blog has evolved over the years and the connections you’ve made. While enjoying your knitting and reflections, don’t forget to check out some free online games that are trending right now for a bit of fun!
Yay! More blog posts! I keep checking in and was delighted to see the recent ones. I’m not on insta or patreon or FB, etc, but I keep up with Rav. Honey I’ve been reading for years and feel as you do – dear friends come in so many packages. I am honored to have travelled along with you and yours, the honesty and the clarity is precious to me. And yes, we know Charlotte’s name.
I live very very far away, and your writing The Blog is something that tethers me to parts of me that are often hard to hold on to. Keep going, baby. We’re with you.
Happy Blogaversary! I’m late to the party this year, but I’m still here. And I look forward to every entry and the responses from The Blog.
I love going back to the beginning and reading the whole blog (your kids are making me feel old though, lol). I’ve been a fairly quiet lurker almost from the beginning, but I still love to hear about what’s been happening in your knitting, and family life.
This blog has been with me for most of my adult life – through my first grownup job, having small kids, getting married, becoming widowed, kids growing up, now marrying again. You have been a constant source of comfort throughout all the change that is life. And for that, I am truly grateful. Happy blog-iversary
Long live The Blog! I am a dedicated follower of many years, 22?! I see you on IG too but The Blog is special. Thank you !
Belated Happy Blogiversary! Blogs are not dead; they’ve just gotten facelifts and now call themselves substacks Stay gold, Steph!
Aw, Steph, the Blog is very much alive! I love to read the comments, usually so much more eloquent than mine, and imagine the to and fro between us all. Love veganuary too!, I wonder how many people you’ve inspired to up their vegan meals.
You are a force for good in this world, Steph! Happy Blogiversary x
I love The Blog, and I’m never bothered when/if it shows up. In fact, I had not checked during the holidays, and was pleasantly surprised when I looked today!
Cheers to 22 years!
Margaret in Port Ludlow
Happy Blogiversary and please do not ever go. The Blog has kept me together through years of loneliness, small children and life disasters. Please stay, and please keep writing.
Congratulations on your blogversery! I think ive been here since before the beginning as I was reading your stuff back when you were posting to The Knit List and we were all encouraging you to write a book.
I havent checked in here in a while, but Im watching the Winter Olympics and was thinking of all the projects I’ve knitted while watching the Olympics because of you.
This year Im determined to finish a … well, Im calling it a sweater blanket for my youngest granddaughter. She wants a “giant sweater like a big round blanket. With sleeves I can pull down over my hands. And a kangaroo picket.”
Im on the yoke. Its a HUGE sweater. 81 inches around the bust. Its a blanket with sleeves and a kangaroo pocket.
Many of us are still out here, listening for you, waiting to hear what you are doing, knitting, etc. I don’t really “Instagram” but I must say your monthly video post at the end of the month is something I always log on for. So maybe make blogging a twice a month thing (or once a week) instead of feeling you have to do it 5 days a week for it to be viable. I know I would enjoy a ray of light in the darkness.
I love being part of The Blog. I regularly make a soup recipe that you shared. I don’t know exactly what you called it but in my head it is The Yarn Harlot’s Emergency Soup, and it’s delicious.
Thanks for creating such a lovely community and for being a source of light in the world.
I love this new thought about The Blog. I havent figured out how to get an email when you write, but I check in every once in a while on my browser. Today there were three new posts! Weeee! Thank you for sharing the past 22 years with us and for inspiring my voice on every blog I’ve had 🙂 Happy Blogiversary!!
I admire so many of your qualities and talents! I am so lucky to have been following you for 20 of your 22. Please know I love all your life moments that are shared and my knitting would not be the same without The Blog! Sending lots of gratitude your way:)
I’ll channel Granny Weatherwax and say “I aren’t dead”. You’re still there, we’re still here and sure, things aren’t as they were twenty years ago but what is? Twenty two years is a long time to be doing anything whether it’s learning something, raising kids or being in a single job.
It’s so good to hear from you again. Instagram is not the same.
What a lovely blogaversary post. As one who has been here nearly from the start, it always brings me joy when I take a peek to see if you’ve posted something new and find that you have! Grateful to be on the journey with you and with the rest of The Blog. Much love (this winter will eventually pass).
I cannot believe that i haven’t checked The Blog since the beginning of the year and there is SO MUCH GOODNESS here. I don’t think of it as dead, but as very busy in a different way. When i see a post my heart leaps with JOY! WITH JOY!!!!! Knit on!
Happy Blogiversary from New Zealand! I’d like to tell The Blog that I started reading this when I was a teenager and I’m now a mum in my thirties. This Blog has seen me through enough life transitions that I know that there’s a big post for everything. Cheers to the next year 🙂
Happy Blogiversary from Hobart, Tasmania! I don’t think I was here for day one, but I was definitely here by year two, (and I have quite a collection of your books as well). At that time I was having my third child and studying and moving and learning to knit socks, and as my kids grew up I would read your posts about joys and frustrations and terrors of parenthood and turn around and recite it all to my husband because I couldn’t keep such riches to myself! I have howled with laughter and cried for your sorrows, and while we will probably never meet in person, your words and work have been an enormous influence on the knitter, mother, wife, friend and person I am today.
Thank you.
Happy Belated Blogiversary! I’m glad we’re all here. You know I think the world of you and Colorado would welcome you back with open arms if you can forgive us the altitude.