Blogging

Lovely, Beautiful

| Verónica

I had some lovely, beautiful days recently thanks to my fellow bloggers. I received word that Agujas was nominated for the Beautiful Blogger and One Lovely Blog Awards. Thank you to Deep in the Heart of Textiles (a fellow Texan) and Woolhogs (love their logo) for the happy news!

The rules for the awards are: (1) Add the award to your blog; (2) Thank the blogger who gave it to you; (3) Mention seven random things about yourself; (4) List the rules; (5) Nominate 15 (Beautiful) / 7 (Lovely) bloggers; and (6) Inform the nominees by leaving a comment on their blogs.

So, here are seven more random things about me:

  • I had two precious dogs several years ago named Tequila and Vodka.
  • If I had a pet now, it would be a Scottish Terrier and I would call him Scotch.
  • I often wonder why so many knitters and crocheters have cats.
  • I am allergic to cats.
  • I majored in British & American Literature in college.
  • One of my favorite writers is Milton.
  • I can recite (most of) “The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe.

Now for the best part – passing on the award. I love discovering new blogs by visiting the sites of other nominees (which, of course, is the whole point).

And the nominees are …

Irenic.Art – I could look at the photos of her handspun yarn all day. They are like works of art. She sometimes berates herself when she’s not pleased with how colors came out (I usually like those the best) and I love her story about saving a hummingbird from unknowingly committing suicide.

Warp and Woof Knitting – Besides being drawn to this blog by the knitting, I also enjoy the nature shots and the whole zen Buddhist philosophy. Oh, and I like Sunshine’s drawings.

Tales of Twisted Fibers – I really like the crochet handbags. They have a very modern look.

Fattoria Fiberworks – I love that she built her own loom and weaves as a form of meditation.

Button Beautiful – I think her crochet blankets and toys deserve an award.

Ten more to come at a later date.

New! Angry Pear – That darn pear makes me laugh. A wonderful series of drawings about an angry piece of fruit.

Soulshine Traveler – Amazing pictures, fantastic locations, and helping others.

El Bueno, El Feo Y El Malo – A picture a day from Aragón and Spain.

Hungry Sofia – Beautiful pictures of food that looks scrumptious.

The Blue Hour – A photo blog. One of my favorite posts is L.A. Cabin Living – what a wonderful place to escape and reflect in.

Live Simply, Travel Lightly – I love this traveler’s spirit of adventure.

This aMACEing Life – Photos from U.S. cities visited by this couple who happen to be on tour with the Broadway show “Wicked.”

The House of Archetype – Lovely artwork and collages accompanied by a poetic sort of prose.

I hope you enjoy these blogs as much as I do.

100 Followers

| Verónica

A couple of weeks ago, I was surfing my favorite blogs and noticed this in my “Notifications” drop-down:

Congratulations on getting 100 total follows on Agujas.

I was stunned. Perhaps some of you have hundreds, even thousands of followers and are not easily impressed. But to me, it was an incredibly joyous moment. I get so much pleasure and personal satisfaction from writing and publishing posts on Agujas. I am able to share my passion for knitting, and the occasional travel post, with people from all over the world. But the best part about blogging is joining a vibrant online community. I feel like I have 100 new friends! I enjoy reading and seeing the works of others and having online conversations. There are several of you whom I feel I know, like catching up with a dear old friend.

So, first and foremost, thank you for following Agujas.

Because I felt like celebrating, I painstakingly culled Agujas’ WordPress, Twitter and email followers in chronological order to find the 100th follower. (I eliminated the husband and child because they are required to follow my blog).

The 100th follower is Caity Rosey of All She Wants To Do Is Knit. As a small token of appreciation for following Agujas, I am pleased to send you some wonderful yarn from Habu Textiles to add to your stash. I love this delicate yarn that is spun or woven using traditional Japanese methods. I recently posted about my visit to the Habu Textiles studio which you can read here.

Caity, I will have the yarn shipped directly to you. Please send an email to Veronica (at symbol) AgujasBlog (dot) com with your mailing address.

Sinceramente y de todo corazón, gracias a todos. I look forward to reading your posts and responding to your comments on mine.

Versatile Blogger Award

| Verónica

What a joy it was to launch my email and find a note from Anastasia from For the Knit of It telling me she had nominated me for the Versatile Blogger Award! This is the best possible honor because it comes from a fellow blogger and knitter. So, first and foremost, thank you Anastasia.

According to the VBA Rules, here are the next steps:

  1. Add the award to your blog ✓
  2. Thank the blogger who gave it to you ✓
  3. Mention 7 random things about yourself ✓ (see below)
  4. List the rules ✓
  5. Pass on the award to 15 bloggers ✓ (the fun part; see further below)
  6. Inform the 15 bloggers by commenting on their blogs ✓ (even more fun)

7 Random Things About Me:

  1. I can not sing. (Well, I can, but you wouldn’t want to listen).
  2. I can twirl a baton.
  3. I peek at the answers when solving crossword puzzles.
  4. I’ve read The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas at least a dozen times. The plot has romance, intrigue, politics, religion, heroes & villains, kings & queens, honor, friendship and sword fights – what more could one want?
  5. When I was in grade school, I had a goat as a pet. My aunt killed it and cooked it for dinner (cabrito). I don’t like cabrito.
  6. I really dig Kurt Russell’s hat in “The Thing.”
  7. I am learning Mandarin.

I am now pleased to pass on this award to some of my favorite bloggers:

Fiber Arts
Travel & Adventure
Photography