Different...but Sorta the Same...

Welcome! Glad you made the switch from the old blog to the new one. (Or if you just stumbled upon the site, welcome to you, too!)

Not that it is really a new blog - it's the same blog, just with a different name, new address and new logo. And the same crazy crafter at the helm.

The reason for the change comes from my pursuit to make my crafting - from designs to handmade goods to contracted crocheting and knitting - into a real business. A very small, unprofitable business to start, but a business nonetheless. While a logo and new blog wasn't specifically outlined, it's still part of my crafty resolutions for 2010.

I should note that in addition to the blog address and name changing, so has my Ravelry name - I'm no longer CrochetCommuter --> I'm now OnHooksandNeedles. My email address will also change - but that may take awhile until it's official. I need to make sure I update a ton of registrations with the new address.

The logo you see had been in my mind for a few years. It is the name of the yarn store I hope to own someday. Until that happens, it will serve well as my online business - for the blog, Ravelry and Etsy. It was created by a friend of mine who took my rudimentary sketch and make a great graphic out of it. Her name is Sarah and if you're looking for a great graphic designer who understands the needs of the fiber fanatics, check out her web site at www.pricedes.com/Price_Design.html. I also need to thank my close friends who provided some excellent and honest feedback of the logo drafts. I love the finished product! What do you think?

I was able to export the posts from the other blog to here which is great - except that none of the shortcuts to previous posts will work. So if you find broken links in past posts - sorry about that. I'm not going to go back and fix them all. The old blog will stay up for a while with a link to the new site. I'll be slowly deleting old posts from it but as mentioned earlier, those posts now reside here.

With the new logo will also come some marketing items which I hope to pass out at the Knit and Crochet show in July. If I can get them made in time, I may also have a few to hand out at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival.

So stay tuned for more developments and changes. I appreciate greatly those who read the blog, like my patterns, leave comments and otherwise let me know that there is an audience out there that enjoys my ramblings. I hope you like the new blog (or it eventually grows on you). Your comments/suggestions are always welcome.

Cherrs!

Merci Buckets

Thanks to all for the feedback. The blog will be staying here for now, perhaps trying some new layouts or color schemes in place of packing it all up and moving to a different blog host.

In other news, the snowpocolyse redux or snowmageddon is on it's way to DC/Baltimore. I'm hunkered down with plenty of craftiness to keep me busy. I'll also have some time to blog about it all while the snow piles up outside. Cheers!

Solicited Advice

As noted in my crafty resolutions for this year, some changes are brewing here at the blog. I've been thinking about moving from Blogger to WordPress but I'm still on the fence. While the change could be fun (new features and designs) it could also be a pain (a lot of work to set up, new platform to learn, links to past posts won't work, might lose readers).

To move or not to move, that is the question.

Your thoughts and advice are appreciated.

Three years and counting...

Wow. Three years of this blog already???! It seems like just yesterday I gave up the blog of ranting and raving (the Shoe Box) for one devoted to crafting. And so many visitors - over 21,000! I hope that over the years readers have found the blog interesting, informative and occasionally funny. I've gotten a lot out of having the blog. It refocused me on my crafty pursuits and got me writing again. Maybe not writing well, but writing nonetheless. I'll look at it as a way to ward off dementia in my 30's.

Thanks to all for stopping by and reading about my crafty exploits. I'm hoping to keep it active through this year and I'm contemplating some changes to the blog - as in the title and blog host. Even for a Taurus, change can be good. :)

Spring-ish Cleaning

Spring sprung more than a month ago but it is now when I feel the need to clean and organize "things". Those "things" range from the bathroom linen closet to files on my computer to this very blog.

You'll note that things have changed on the side bar. I've removed the list of completed projects and condensed them into one post. The list was becoming so long, it would take some significant scrolling to see the other links listed on the side bar.

Another change was to include progress bars directly from Ravelry. This way I only have to update my progress in one spot, instead of updating Ravelry and changing the images in Flickr on my Blogger template. Soooo much easier! If you are a Ravelry member and want to learn how to get the progress bars, click here. If you're a Blogger user, be sure to check out this post which will show you how to split up the CSS and Java code to make it work correctly.

I'm hoping to add and modify other things on the blog as time permits (and as my understanding of html allows), so stay tuned!

Politics Over Drinks

Though this is a crafty blog, I did want to post a big hello and welcome to my wonderful husband who has finally entered the blogosphere with his new blog, Politics Over Drinks.

He has an amazing way of understanding and presenting political issues and events in an educational and thought-provoking way. Even if you don't agree with his politics, you'll learn more about the system and the procedures by reading his blog. And, I absolutely adore his sense of humor. :)

I've got a permanent link to the blog on my side bar with my "About Me" information. Happy reading!