AWOK

Absent Without Knitting. That's me. I've neither had the time nor the motivation to knit much lately. Has that ever happened to you? I seem to have hit a point where none of my projects are speaking to me. Maybe it's just summertime and I want to do more things that require moving and the outdoors. Or maybe I need to accept that a couple of those WIPs need to become RIPs.

I have been doing alot of work on the house though. Good thing, or else this 52 mile commute may never end.

While I haven't been knitting much I have been surfing the blogs. I thought I'd share with you a few things I've come across lately that have either inspired or motivated me.

First, a few new blogs I've come across. I'm sure they're not new to everyone, but they're new to me! Have you ever noticed that even within our little knitblog community we seem to have sub-communities? Many of the blogs I read link to the same blogs. Like our own little subcultures. I think some of it happens thru geography, and some thru a commonality (e.g., started blogging at the same time or interested in a particular type of knitting). So I've been trying to find some blogs that are outside of my little blog subculture. Here's what I've found recently (and need to add to my sidebar):

• Reverie Knits - Great choice of projects, beautiful and simple blog design, enjoyable writing. She inspired the Carla-Along that Shobhana started. I love Carla and considered joining but I don't know if I'd like the sweater on me. But I keep looking at it. Hmmm....maybe
• Marnie - I've loved her designs for a while now but she just recently started blogging. She's also the designer of the corset in the latest knitty. I like stopping by to see what she's got cooked up. Marnie makes great use of integrating crochet with knitting and inspired me to give my crochet wrap a try.
• Jackie Blue - OK, so she's been blogging for over 2 years so I really have no excuse for just having recently found her. But, you have to admit her blog is pretty and her projects are cool. She's working on a Phildar hoodie that I've had my eye on for a while. In fact, seeing her work on it has gotten me really close to ordering up the Philar books I've been considering for a while.
• Poor Miss Finch - I think she's pretty new to the blogging world. Her projects are fun and she shares her thoughts and problems with you along the way. I enjoy that because I think we all go through it. Is it the right color? Does the yarn match the project well? Hmm...how will eyelets felt? We've all been there and it's nice to read about it too

These are just a few of the new ones I've been reading. I really should comment on the blogs so people know I'm actually there. Sometimes I feel like I'm barging in on a community, but if they're anything like me they love to know who's stopping by. So I'll have to make more of an effort to comment. I mean, it's not often I'm accused of having nothing to say!