Giving Credit Where Credit is Due

I realized belatedly after my triumphant finished afghan post that I didn't adequately give credit to everyone that helped out with the two charity afghans. I think I mentioned a while ago that the afghans were a group project that my Stitch n Bitch group started *coughthreeyearsagocough*, but if you were only to read the most recent post, it sounds like I'm taking all the credit for the afghans, which I certainly do not mean to do! And so, I want to thank the following people for the squares that they contributed, in no particular order (well, actually just looking at the squares from the top to the bottom and counting them up):

Mindy: 16 squares! (Mindy crocheted so many of the squares in the second afghan that I finished that I kept thinking of it as the Mindy-ghan)
Kristi: 1 square
Rhonda: 4 squares
Erika: 5 squares
Bonnie: 1 square
Piper: 1 square
Sharla: 1 square
My co-worker Connie, her aging (and perhaps colorblind? *maysheneverdiscoverthisblog*) mother-in-law, and her sister-in-law: 16 squares, all in that crazy-ghan
Krystie: 5 squares

A second co-worker crocheted the border on the second afghan for me.

And me? I made five of the squares in the more sedate afghan, sewed 'em all together, taught myself to crochet enough to fill in all the gaps on the crazy-ghan (the co-worker and family took the 10"x10" square criteria I set up very...loosely, shall we say), crocheted the border on the wacky-ghan, and wove in a million bazillion yarn tails.

Incidentally, as I predicted, I did require a lot of wine to finally finish weaving in tails over the weekend. The large pitcher of sangria that I made (I hosted my Stitch n Bitch girls at my "new" pad for the first time!) did the trick quite nicely. Well, that and the splendid company!

Very soon, these blankets will be making their way to Salt Lake City to Primary Children's Medical Center to keep some sick kids company, and I couldn't be more pleased at the thought. I must confess that more than once when I was dragging my feet in finishing these blankets up, I probably put the "bitch" back in Stitch n Bitch, but I know many good vibes and thoughts went into the making of these afghans, and perhaps even a few of my "persistance over time and stubborn determination to finish these blankets even when it seems like I never will" vibes will be helpful to a kid facing more adversity than I have to endure. I hope?

At any rate, once again, a round of applause to the wonderful SnB peeps. You broads rock!

The End of an Era

The charity afghan, she is done:


Afghan Number 2 Finally Complete

I sent it through the washer and the dryer yesterday, and it held up admirably. No blocking for this mostly acrylic blankie. And that was my stipulation, too, for the squares -- they had to be machine washable and dryable. I mean, the last thing that the family of a sick child needs is a blanket that must be hand washed and blocked. Because it just won't happen. The blanket came out of the dryer feeling very soft and wonderful, and so I am finally looking forward to donating it, along with it's friend:


Afghan Number 1

And, no, you don't need to point out that an afghan shouldn't really take an era. I'm just tickled to be able to take something off the WIP list.

Which is good, because I felt a strong impulse to cast on for a tiny lace project last night, and so I went with it. Oh, and when I finally lined my cedar chest with some wax paper as a temporary fix to protect my yarn from cedar oil discoloration yesterday, I discovered a swatch that I started for yet ANOTHER project. Does swatching count as a WIP? It doesn't seem like it should...

So, in summary, stay tuned for tales of my recent knitting escapades with my two knitting groups, my Rogue progress, imperceptible afghan and scarf progress, a new project, and a rediscovered project. Oh and a wee bit of stash enhancement. Something tells me I need to start posting a little more often here...

Woo Hoo, I'm in!

Alright, how cool -- I got accepted to the esteemed ranks of the Knitting Blogs ring! So, if you surfed over here from there, welcome, and I swear, I actually do usually have more knitting content than, say, my last three entries might imply. At any rate thanks for dropping by!

Stalker, who are you?

Alright, I can't take it anymore, the curiosity is killing me!

You may have noticed the site meter in the right hand column of my blog. It tells me all kinds of stuff, like how many people visit my blog, details about their service (if available), and the page from which they were referred (if available). The part that really delights me is the wacky hits I get from google and yahoo search engines. Looking up "Arizona Legasus CPM" or "Phoenix Anti-Embolism Stocking"? Yeah, it'll bring you here, thanks to all my tales of leg surgery.

But yesterday somebody searched google for my full name and Utah, and here's where they wound up. So I figure it's someone I know or used to know who was wondering where I am now. So, whoever you are, if you come back, send me an e-mail at aeberinger at gmail dot com, or leave a comment here. If you're wondering what I'm up to nowadays, chances are I'm probably wondering what you're up to as well. I'd love to hear from you, unless of course you still hate my guts after years and were just looking me up because you wish me ill. In which case, certainly you have the wrong person.

Separated at Birth?

I have just discovered that I have a kindred spirit knitblogger out there. I discovered yesterday that Amelia, who lives in the UK, has a blog named Knitter Natter. And, hey, we both have short dark hair, and our names both begin and end with the letter A.

So, in honor of strange coincidences, we have decided to become Sister Blogs. You know, the way there are Sister Cities? Yep, that way. So take a moment to pop over to Knitter Natter. While you're there, you can admire the beautiful alphabet baby blanket that Amelia is working on.

Sometimes life just interferes

It has been one of those weeks.

That is to say, the sort of week where everything in life conspires to prevent me from doing much knitting. Last weekend knitting took a back seat to recovering from illness and cleaning and family obligations and some escapist reading. And, since weekend seems to be my prime knitting time lately, that means that here it is, Wednesday, and I don't have much to say for myself. I did work a few rows on my Greek Key Afghan, but sadly, I must say that I don't even think it's worth a photograph, as I haven't even completed a full pattern repeat. I'm debating ripping it out, but I think I'll keep going for a while before I make that decision. I tend to be a tight knitter, so I went up a needle size automatically, and of course I didn't swatch because, um, afghan? Who does that have to fit? But I'm starting to suspect that the pattern may have been written by a tight knitter for a change, and I'm already having worries about running out of yarn before it reaches a respectable size. So we'll see.

Life just kept right on interfering so far this week. I've been going through a challenging time at work, and I finally made the decision to request a move. This is, of course, something that has required more than one discussion with more than one manager, and it gets exhausting. It's not over yet. I'm spending a few days "thinking about it some more." I still want to move, I just have to hold firm and go through some more hoops. But it's mentally taxing, and I haven't felt much like knitting. Which may be a good thing, since I was having irrational desires to abandon all WIPs and cast on for some new socks over the weekend... :)

Anyway, knitting will ensue soon, I just know it. For one thing, I have my weekly knitting night tomorrow at my LYS, and I'm hosting my Stitch n Bitch group on Saturday.

Anyway, since I am so generally dull, let me direct you to my non-knitting link of the week. My future brother-in-law is biking across the USA with two of his wild and crazy friends. They set out on Sunday, and appear to be having a great time so far. Check out their journal on the site for some spectacular Washington state scenery.

Just how sick do dogs get, anyway?

I am home sick. Again. In addition to hobbling through life (at which I am notably improving), I seem to now be suffering my second illness in just over a week. Last week's malaise cleared up just in time for this week's hideous cold. I finally gave up and stayed home from work today, after sleeping through the alarm I'd set on my phone, waking up with a start at 8:00 when something mysteriously fell down somewhere in the house (never have figured out what), sitting in the chair for 45 minutes trying to convince myself that I was starting to feel better, eating some breakfast and drinking a cup of coffee in an attempt to do more convincing, and failing miserably in both attempts. Hello? Immune system? Are you listening? Buck up!!

This all got me wondering about the origin of the expression "sick as a dog." I mean, just how sick do dogs get, anyway? Is it really that much more sick than any other animal? Here is a bit on the origins of the phrase, though it doesn't really offer that much clarification, other than essentially to say that the dog is a poor maligned beast, and this is yet another example of it. The part that I found most amusing were the historical alternative phrases. Sick as a horse. Sick as a rat. Sick as a parrot (yes, you read right). And, my personal favorite, sick as a Cushion. I really think I should incorporate that one into my repetoire. Y'all, I am sick as a Cushion. Send chicken soup.

But thanks to the beauty of the laptop and wireless internet connetion, I can blog from bed. Just as a Cushion might. Aha! The aptness of the phrase is becoming clear to me now.

Well, what better time to provide a knitting update, right? I haven't accomplished much knitting this week, but last weekend was a great one. Imagine my delight at spending not one but TWO lovely afternoons knitting, one with each of my beloved knitting groups.

Saturday afternoon was the first time that I'd managed to hook up with my Stitch n Bitch group in ages. There was just a small group of four that got together - Piper, Erika, Brooke, and me - all at Piper's house, and it was wonderful to see each other and spend a couple hours working on our knitting projects. In keeping with my resolve, when I wasn't eating the wonderful food that Piper had on offer, I spent my time weaving in yarn tails on the second Primary Children's Hospital charity afghan. I got quite a few done (though admittedly there are probably 50 still to go.)

Sunday was a very special knit-together indeed. For over a year now, I've had the good luck to gather and knit on a weekly basis at my LYS with one of the most marvelous groups of people. Now, obviously, knitters tend to be a great bunch of people in general, but these folks have always far outstripped my expectations by invariably being cool, funny, smart, enthusiastic, irreverant, and supportive, just to throw a few of their many positive attributes around.


Some of The Regulars wish Kim farewell

On Sunday we all came together to bid farewell to one of our own. Kim will very soon be abandoning us moving to Colorado, and so as many of us that could be there came together on Sunday to wish her well and let her know how much we're going to miss having her around. Kim even graciously hosted her very own party! As always when there is a potluck involved with this group, the food was divine. Good food, good conversation, gifts to be opened, and of course much knitting -- I can't really think of a better way to spend a Sunday afternoon. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, Kim -- you are going to be missed! I'm very glad you started your blog so that we can follow along with whatever knit-a-thon you institute next. After the great Christmas sock-a-thon of 2004 and now the baby-blanket-a-thon of 2005, I'm dying to see how you'll manage to up the ante next time. Elaborate fair isle sweaters for every member of your extended family in 2006? Heirloom quality counterpanes knitted on size 0 needles to cover king-size beds in 2007? Whatever it is, I know it will not fail to impress.

Speaking of which, here is a photo of Kim on the last leg of the baby-blanket-a-thon:


It's looking great, Kim!

The complete set of photos from our lovely afternoon can be seen here. Ah, why can't every day be as nice?

Oh, and I spent much of my afternoon subtly convincing my fellow knitters that they all need to knit themselves a Rogue, employing top secret Jedi knitting mind tricks like the one seen here:


I see that your Schwarz hood is as big as mine

Note to self: the human head is bigger than you're thinking. When you pick up stitches for a hood, please don't delude yourself into thinking, "Hey, I'm almost done!" You most assuredly are not.

I leave you with a picture of the mountains near my home. They were looking so spectacularly beautiful as I drove home from Kim's house that I kept trying to take pictures of them while driving. Since I just kept pointing the camera in the general direction without looking through the viewfinder or anything, most of the pics failed miserably, but I thought this one conveyed a little bit of the sights I was enjoying. And I do solemnly swear that I will put the camera down and drive next time. But it was just so purty!


Above the Fruited Plains

Holy sexy, Batman!

Okay, am I crazy to want to make this? I didn't think so...

Stupid Things I Do: A Docu-drama

That does it. Today I have been faced with far too many examples of my own idiocy. I present to you a photograph of the most recent item:


Who could possibly need TWO?

Yes, that's right, I now have two copies of the August 2005 Knit 'N Style. I already question the wisdom of owning one copy, and now there are two. Though I am typically not fond of most of the "Style," I always seem to purchase the mag when it comes out, and therefore a while ago when I received a subscription offer in the mail, I said to myself "what the heck?," and I sent in the card. Then I proceeded to forget this entirely, and I purchased the latest issue. So naturally the mail brought me a reminder of my subscription this afternoon.

If you want it, it's yours to the first person to e-mail me your address at aeberinger at gmail dot com. In its defense, the majority of the patterns in this issue are NOT as horrid as the design on the cover (no offense if you actually like it, but, well, let's just say I don't love it), and there are even a few in there I would actually consider making, including some sock designs. It also features a little article on entrelac plus a few other random things.

Of course, this was nowhere near the first bit of stupidity that I discovered today. This morning I wanted to put on my brown suit jacket. When I couldn't find my brown suit, a dim recollection of taking that suit to the cleaners at some historic time started to dawn. A call to the cleaners uncovered the truth -- I'd dropped the suit off back in mid-April, and then forgotten it entirely.

True, I subsequently had two business trips, a house sold, a move, knee surgery, and more doctor and physical therapy visits than you can shake a stick at, but it does make me start to wonder how many other semi-important things have disappeared from my head entirely due to lack of short-term mental storage space. I remembered another one at lunchtime when I dropped off a car insurance payment for my mom and realized I have never cancelled my homeowner's insurance despite the fact that I no longer own a home. Now this magazine. Well, never a dull moment, I guess. It's like coming out of a coma, or slowly returning to yourself after suffering amnesia. I wonder what new things I'll remember tomorrow?

Our beautiful roof

Dangerous beauty

This is one of the most oddly beautiful pictures I've seen in a long time, and ironically it is a picture of something that is very bad indeed.

This is our roof, with 3 to 5 inches of water standing on it. The water got high enough that it exceeded the level that is sealed against water, and therefore water was leaking into the living room around the fireplace. Not good. Tree debris had clogged some drains. Yes, as many of the other Utah knitbloggers have reported, we've had a LOT of rain around here lately. Luckily, the drains are now clear and impending doom has been averted. But I was so struck by this picture when Paul put it up on our computer that I decided to share it. At first glance, I thought it was a watercolor painting or something. And, oddly enough, I've been trying to figure out a way that I could take a photograph that would show just how gorgeous and enormous the sky seems around here. I think this one does a pretty good job.

I have lots of knitting news and pictures, which I will share very soon, but I wanted to show this photo in the meantime.

I should have knee surgery more often

Okay, well, maybe not. But I must say, if people keep bringing me yarn like this, I won't complain!!

Yes, that's right, I got STILL MORE new yarn, and once again, it was not at all my fault.


100% alpaca, baby!

One of Paul's best friends, Matt, was in town over the past few days, because he is a tax consultant for many of the people attending a national alpaca conference that was held in Salt Lake City. Networking, and all that.

Too bad I didn't really know about the conference in advance, because it would have been muy tempting to hobble my way around the convention center, giggling at how funny and cute alpacas are and groping yarn. But, lucky me, Paul conspired a bit with Matt, and when Matt came to visit us and mountain bike with Paul all weekend, I got the luscious stuff that you see above. Yippee!! Two 4 oz, 210 yard skeins of 100% huacaya alpaca in a natural, undyed color, from the New Era Fiber Processing Company in Dawsonville, Georgia. Such incredibly soft, gorgeous stuff. Probably not actually worth having knee surgery for, but a definite consolation whilst recovering.

In other news, today was my first day back at work. I went in for not quite a full day, as I had a physical therapy appointment in the morning. However, the great team of people that I work with bought me this ice cream cake, which we shared after lunch:


Feel the Love

Don't worry, I wasn't offended. In fact, this cake gave me a good laugh, which I sorely needed today. It's based on a couple of inside jokes, one of which is a reference to the movie Waiting for Guffman,which I highly recommend if you haven't seen it. Though I honestly think the cake is pretty funny without any knowledge of the inside jokes whatsoever. In good news, I am weightbearing on my operative leg as of today, though still using at least one crutch to get around. In bad news, due to a "misunderstanding" with my doctor, I should have been putting weight on my leg for like the last week and a half. I would swear on a stack of Bibles that he told me to keep weight off it for three to four weeks, but today he insisted that, no, I need to put weight on it, I should have been doing so already, it helps the ACL to heal, but he doesn't think I've done myself any harm by not putting weight on it. This was insanely frustrating to me, as I could have been spending the last week and a half (when I was NOT at work) getting stronger, getting around much more easily, and generally having a better life. Oh well. At least there was the timely application of cake. And tonight there will be knitting.

Dirty Little Secrets

I feel like I need to confess a few dirty little knitting secrets. I decided to put together a listing of works in progress for my sidebar, and that's when I realized that I have about three projects that really ought to have been finished long ago. Considering the very small amount of finishing left to do on each of them, it's pretty ridiculous that I haven't gotten them out of the way long ago.

Exhibit #1:


The seedy underbelly of the Son of Charlotte socks

The knitting itself on these Stashbuster Spiral socks was completed quite some time ago. But weaving in the tails. Oy. Still hanging over my head.

Exhibit #2:


Cowl Interrupted

I can't even really remember when I finished the knitting on my lace cowl. It's been a while. Now all that remains to do is weave in two ends, block it, and crochet the edging on. So of course I haven't touched it in ages. This is my "swatch" for the matching camisole, as well, so as soon as it's blocked, I can determine how I'd like to proceed with the camisole. If I can even remember what size needles I used at that point. Heh.

And, finally, the most embarrassing UFO of all,
Exhibit #3:


Long-term charity afghan project

About three years ago, I had the brilliant idea that my Stitch n Bitch group should make some charity afghans to donate to Primary Children's Hospital in Salt Lake City. It would be so easy! Everyone could make 10" x 10" squares, and we would sew them up, and voila!

We had tons of participation at first. The squares poured in, and we had enough to make two afghans. Some were, um, gaudier than others, and some were, well, not 10" x 10" by any stretch of the imagination, so we ended up with one crazy-ghan and one more sedate. Unfortunately, she who initiates the charity project gets stuck with the finishing work, and between that and waiting for a few straggler squares (because I wanted everyone to have a chance to contribute), these afghans have taken an embarrassingly long time to complete. After teaching myself to crochet in order to fill in the gaps, much sewing of squares, weaving in a nauseating number of yarn tails, and crocheting a border, the wacky-ghan was completed about a year ago (scroll down on that link to see it). But somehow, though all the remaining squares for the second afghan came in, and though I managed to sew it all together and start to weave in the tails, I have not yet had the fortitude to finally finish the damn thing. A friend from work took it for a while, volunteering to crochet on a border and weave in all the tails. She had the afghan for quite some time, and though she did crochet the border, she didn't manage to do the tails, and then started having some health problems, so I collected the afghan a month or two ago and now it's hanging over my head once again.

Perhaps now that I have confessed, I will be able to overcome my laziness and finally finish these projects up! Then again, maybe all that tail-weaving should just wait until I've stopped taking all narcotic pain killers for my knee, because, really, weaving that many tails should only be undertaken with a glass (or perhaps a whole bottle) of wine.

No, wait, I've figured it out. I have new resolve, at least for the afghan. I haven't managed to get together with my wonderful Stitch n Bitch gals for quite some time now, but I hope that life will be settling down somewhat and that I will be able to start meeting with them a little bit more regularly soon. So I decree that every time I get together to Stitch n Bitch from now until it is finished, I will ONLY work on the Primary Children's Hospital afghan.

Well, at least it's a start at clearing my conscience...

Mergers and Acquisitions

Hooray, a Rogue milestone has been reached!


Ladies and Gentlemen, we have shoulder seams

Yes, I finished the front and back of Rogue and seamed the shoulders together with a mattress stitch. I think the seams turned out well enough, despite my lack of proficiency in the finishing arena. I have just had so little practice at seaming that it still feels awkward to me, but I feel like I am improving slowly, and I'm much less intimidated by it now.

Next up: the hood! It is starting to feel like I'm in the home-stretch on this sweater, since the hood is the last thing I have to knit. I knit the sleeves first (and long ago), so I just have to do the hood, graft it together, and attach the sleeves, and then I'll be done. Hooray!

In addition to knitting progress, I thought I'd show off a few recent acquisitions. Here they are as an overview. You would doubtless be amused if you could see the precarious position I got myself into to take the picture. As I spend a lot of time hanging out on a bed, usually strapped that fun Continuous Passive Motion machine that bends my knee for me, that's where I've been doing a lot of knitting and blogging lately. Anyway, I wanted to photograph this stuff from above, so in order to do so, I ended up kneeling on my right knee with my left leg, which is immobilized into a straight position and which is not supposed to bear my weight, stuck out precariously to the left, forming a sort of rickety triangle with my right leg. All that, and I ended up with this rather badly-lit photo:


New stuffsies, poorly lit

Now, I realize that the more yarn I acquire, the more I risk running into SABLE (stash accumulation beyond life expectancy), especially considering how much lovely yarn for excellent projects I already have, but it couldn't be helped. In the first instance, it wasn't even my fault:


Kool-Aid dying, here I come

This is the Knit Picks Color Your Own merino sock yarn that I got from Kim as a get-well present, along with directions for Kool-Aid dying that she printed off for me from Knitty. I can't wait to try it out!


Noro Goodness

The other yarn IS my fault, however. I decided to stop in at KnitCraft in Ogden yesterday when I was on the way home from my physical therapy in order to indulge in a little retail therapy, and I came away with three lovely skeins of Noro Kureyon in the #88 colourway, with which I plan to make a Booga Bag. I have never felted a single thing in the entire course of my life before, not even accidentally, and I finally decided that it is time. Does that justify the purchase? Probably not. But maybe the lovely purple, gold, greens, and browns in the yarn do...


I succumbed to Socks, Socks, Socks

Finally, to round out the retail therapy, I purchased a copy of Socks, Socks, Socks. There are so many great sock patterns in here that I am a little surprised I didn't buy a copy of this book sooner. However, I think it was probably the less-than-appealing cover photo that deterred me. What is this woman wearing?? Yes, I can appreciate the cool funkiness and interesting technique of her socks, though I must say I think the color choice doesn't do the pattern justice, but really, c'mon, who would wear that outfit in that manner?? Ah, well, to each her own, I guess.

Hiding under the new book is a copy of Knit 'n Style that I picked up at the grocery store a few days ago. I really have no idea why I persist in buying this magazine, but I always do. In fact, it seems that I am powerless to resist purchasing any knitting magazine, even if I think that the patterns are all hideous (as I most often do when reading Knit 'n Style). I guess I just like to keep up on the articles, techniques, and even the advertisements. I like to know what kind of new yarns are out there, and one of the major ways they seem to be promoted is through patterns. And I like to think that, even if I might not ever make the patterns that I find so ugly, perhaps I might learn from them and be able to take elements from their design in the future if I ever decide to start designing my own clothes, as I'd like to.

Happy weekend, everyone!

The Consolations of Knitting

I have been thinking a lot over the past few days about how comforting knitting is, and on how many different levels it is comforting. The act of knitting just soothes the spirit, like a form of meditation or even therapy. It reassures, it distracts, it even lends a sense of control and accomplishment in a world in which those things sometimes seem hard to come by.

But of course, it isn't only the process of knitting that is comforting. Far from it -- the products of knitting can become some of the most comforting objects in our lives. So far in my knitting career, the two types of items that get the most frequent use, and which are the most comforting and beloved (by me and others) are socks and afghans. It seems that many knitters shy away from knitting afghans and throws, perhaps because they are so large. For me, afghans are the ultimate in comfort knitting, and several that I've knit for myself and for relatives receive almost daily use. As I've been largely stuck at home recovering from my knee surgery over the past couple weeks, I have been enjoying the comfort provided by some of my hand-knit items:


Socks and a throw to see me through

I currently have three pairs of Cozy Armchair Socks (from Weekend Knitting by Melanie Falick, which is one of my all-time favorite knitting books), and I wear one or the other of them on an almost-daily basis when my feet are cold around the house. Knit on size 6 and 7 DPNs out of worsted weight yarn, they make great comfort knitting too, when you just want something easy, mindless and quick to work on. They are also great beginner socks for those who want to delve into the sock world. I've made them out of a Tahki Tweed yarn, Cascade 220, and out of the Artful Yarns Jazz called for by the pattern. I have to say, the Jazz is the winner -- a lovely alpaca/wool blend. True, they are handwash, which is a drawback, but I think they are worth it.

The throw in that picture is made of good ol' Lion Brand Thick n Quick chenille, using a throw pattern from the Lion Brand website. True, the yarn isn't much fun to knit with, and it STILL sheds little fibers around the house, but this throw has been much used and much loved (not to mention the fact that it perfectly matches my sofa). Not only that, but the throw itself was definitely comfort knitting -- I dubbed it "The Break-Up Throw" when I was knitting it about three years ago, because working on that throw, while watching the Pride and Prejudice mini-series repeatedly, was one of the best things that helped me get over a relationship that ended very badly.

Hm. I wonder if I'm starting to see some sort of correlation here? Many of the items that have been most comforting to knit have also turned out to me the most comforting to use on a daily basis. I'll have to pay more attention in the future to see if the correlation holds up.

I've come to the conclusion that my posts are getting too long because they are too infrequent. I have more things to say and show today, but I think I'll hold it in reserve in favor of posting more frequently. So check back in the next couple days for more.

I'll leave you with a pic of my Rogue progress as of two days ago:


Rogue-ing it

Oh, and let me not forget, I made myself some dorky little buttons for KnitterPatter. They're over there on the sidebar, so please feel free to use one if you'd like to link to me on your blog. But do please save me bandwidth by copying the button to your own photo host rather than linking to my picture. Not that bandwidth is much of a consideration for me at the moment, considering how few readers I have, but it's just good blog etiquette to practice in general, or so I hear.