Caroline and I are quite honored to have been given this blog award and I'd like to thank all the little people... except that there aren't any little people. You guys are all BIG people to us!

Seriously, it's always nice to know people enjoy our ramblings. This blog was started so that two sisters could share a common interest from miles apart (623 to be exact). And though you couldn't tell it from our infrequent postings we love the give and take, the sharing and the reactions.

There was a bit of discussion with this last run of "blog awards". If you've been in the blogosphere (love that word... seriously, fun saying it... try it... blooooogospherrrrre. Cool huh?) for any length of time you'll see several awards making the rounds. Sometimes it can make folks feel like they're not part of the cool kids and that's unfortunate. 'Cause award or no there are a LOT of cool kids out there!
So this is what we want to do...
1) Express our thanks for Beverly's noting her enjoyment of our blog.
2) And suggest some really cool blogs you might want to give a looksee to.
My bloglines reader has almost 200 feeds. Needless to say I couldn't name them all. And some of them have plenty of readers and others nominating them. I thought about what these awards do offer to all... and they offer, in the listing of other "nominees" the chance to find new sites. So my suggestions are smaller, or less well read, for the most part... but seriously interesting sites you should explore sometime. A few aren't so small, but they're still fabulous eye candy. And a couple are just plain fun.

A Little Yarn on the Side ... Toni made a vow to knit only from her stash and to knit only WIPS for a year each. But here's the crazy thing... she did it! And the finished items are lovely! Check out her projects... and her cat Theo's water physical therapy. Talk about crazy!
Yarn in my Pocket ... knitting and sewing. Check out November's full 1770's Marie Antoinette outfit. From underpinnings to gown... gorgeous!
Knitting on an Island ... Janine is a designer and knitter living on the Isle of Guernsey in the middle of the English Channel... I love how big the world is!
SusinOK ... Susan recently got into dyeing and she's going for it big time. She just opened an etsy store and her colors of sock yarn and roving are gorgeous. She spins lovely yarn and she knits wonderful sweaters!
Stitches of Violet ... wonderful sweater and sock knitting and amazing photos of birds!
Beadknitter Gallery ... Wonderful knitting, but check out her beaded flowers (for her daughter's wedding bouquet) and her beaded beads in (February and March)!
Field Trips in Fiber ... Every week Vicki does a round up post of eye candy and finished objects and tutorials across the blogosphere (blogoooospheeeeeere...heehee). Mostly a quilter her quilts are amazing! And she tie-dyes better than I've ever seen someone do so.
Stitchworks ... a textile artist... her work is intimate in scale and layered with depths of color, texture and meaning.
Tini's World of Fiber Arts ... a knitter and garment maker living in Germany... she had a photo essay of her sock which traveled through Europe recently. It was mostly in German but you could see the joyous grin on the sock's face... er foot...
Yummy Goods ... A fabric designer, artist, store owner living in Cape Cod. She collects and thrifts lots and lots of coolness! shapes! colors! the textures! A feast for the eyes! Her studio is featured in the most recent ClothPaperScissors issue of Studios...
The Textile Blog ... An erudite and witty blog with information about designers, trends, styles (and more) in cloth, interiors, rugs, tiles (and more) through the past hundred years (and more). I learn something every time I read an entry... and I enjoy it as well... every time.
Bent Objects ... okay, not a knitter or sewer or textile person in any way (much) but what a funny sense of humour! Love the... well, bent objects he creates!

Caroline here - My blog reading has been much closer to home, lately. If you look at the left sidebar you'll see the ManchVegas Knitters. That's my group. These were my first blogs (other than the Yarn Harlot) and it was with these people that I first experienced that odd feeling of knowing complete strangers. Happily, they are strangers no longer. I have enjoyed both their knitting content and the bits of their lives they have shared in their blogs. Check them out, they are not all regular posters but they are fun.
A second shout out to Toni. She has a second blog, A Little Off The Beaten Path, in which she is documenting a year of no processed foods. If that doesn't take creativity then I don't know what does.

I suppose I should alert these blogs that Ive mentioned the here. I don't think of this as a nomination really (though if you wish to claim the award... go for it!)... just a recommendation. Surf a few of the photos. Read an entry or two. Explore and discover... there's so much to enjoy and learn!