widgets, gadgets, and things that are fun

i'm forever tweaking my blog, trying to make it aesthetically pleasing to both myself and my viewers.

one of MFB recently held a "best blog"contest.  i didn't enter it, but many did, and i perused the blogs that were up for awards.  i wondered - what made them so great?  what made them award worthy?  what did they have that my blog didn't?  i've always wondered what makes or breaks a blog.

i prefer a relatively clutter free blog.  i don't like a lot of gadgets or buttons, bells or whistles.  i'm not one for putting up patterned papers on my background.  last year i dallied with music on my blog, only to find that not many liked to be greeted by blasted music, so it was wiped from my blog pretty quickly.

that's not to say i like a spartan blog.  i enjoy blogrolls and links - i like to see what other bloggers like to read.  i like blogs with pictures.  i like to see what other knitters are working on - thanks to the magic of ravelry, many craft blogs have project bars.  i added a small flickr picture widget of my projects, just to switch it up a bit.

many of MFB have "linked within if you liked this story you'll enjoy these" widgets under their posts.  at first i didn't understand how it worked, but i found one that was easy to install on my template.  it's a new thing for me - i'm not sure if i'll keep it, becos i'm finding that many of posts they refer to often have nothing to do with what i've just written about.  now that i have a related post widget, i wonder if i should get rid of my "label cloud".  i kept it, just in case someone had a burning desire to look up something.

a lot of bloggers have "followers" widgets that show viewership.  i'm positively petrified to add one of those.  first off, i don't have many followers.  i'd feel embarrassed if i had that widget, only to show a handful of viewers, while some blogs have hundreds.  i'm not sure i'd get more viewers that way anyway.  (and yes, i think i have a following that is more that just 5.  i can thank/blame google reader for that).


i wish i could add a calendar that shows the days i blogged, not the just a flow chart of months and how many times i blogged.  i haven't found a calendar yet that does that, so if anyone has a suggestion...pass it my way!

i tried placing my tabs at the top, but i had too many, and the titles were too long, and it looked really dumb.  so that's why my tabs are at my side.

i like my ravelry buttons - they stay.  as do my multiples buttons.

i even toy with changing the color of my blog.  i tried it once, trying for a fall theme, but it just felt weird.  i'm happy with being periwinkle.  it's good to have a signature color, right?

lastly, i changed the name of my blog yet again, to knit one, knit two.  get it?  ;)  i think this title better describes my life as a mom with a big kid and twins.  now, if only i could change my domain from divamcknitster to knit-one-knit-two, i'd be golden!


as always, i welcome suggestions, complaints, or general discussion on the appearance of my blog.  i try to do my best to make my blog appealing, and appreciate any of the above.