![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/me21.jpg\" "\\"me2\\"")
<\/a><\/p>\nWell, I never thought I’d say this, but I should have hit 200 a lot sooner than this! LOL. Seriously though, this is my 200th post, and as all things must adapt in order to keep up, I too am going to make a small change. If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you’ll know that I once (okay, maybe more than once) said that I would always keep this as just a knitting blog – period. Well, I have had a slight change of mind. I’m going to include a little bit about me from time to time. No, I’m not going to stop blogging about knitting, this is It Takes Balls To Knit after all, but I will include some information about me as well. It will still be at least 90% knitting and the information about me will likely come as a result of how it affects my knitting.<\/p>\n
Why the change? Well, aside from turning 200 (and probably as a result of), I have come to realize that you, the reader, have become a family to me. I mean that wholeheartedly. In the beginning I simply wanted to blog about knitting and if you got something useful out of it, then great. Then as I realized that you were getting something useful out of it I wanted to create posts that you wanted to learn about. In the process, I have created several very dear friendships with you. There are quite a few of you that I communicate with outside of this blog (and hopefully that number will grow) and that I know more about than some of the people I associate with in my daily life. It occurs to me that it is a little selfish for me to keep myself hidden as much as I have. And besides, you have asked me to as well.<\/p>\n
So I guess the big question is who is MrHugzzz? Well, the name says most of it. My real name is Steve and my designer name is Barrington (my middle name – look for some big things with that name coming soon). I’m all over the net as MrHugzzz as I have grown to really like that name – it fits. I really am a connoisseur of hugzzz and love to give and receive them.\u00a0 First and foremost I am a knitter. I love knitting (as you can tell) and luckily for me I have big balls with which to do so ;-). I’m also a lot of other things and have lots of other interests – from aerodynamics to zoology. I guess I was bitten by the knitting bug years ago though – about 17. I saw a sweater that I wanted (I have always loved sweaters) and went to buy it. The sweater was a machine knit one and cost $500. This was in ’94 when $500 was a lot of money – especially for me for one sweater. I didn’t get it, and was very disappointed when I went back to get it and it was gone. I decided then and there to learn to knit so I could make my own. I bought the Susan Bates Learn To Knit book and the rest as they say is history …<\/p>\n
So that’s me with regards to the knitting – not entirely, but enough for now. The rest of me is as varied as knitting is. I really do have interests ranging from A to Z and plan on indulging in all of them. When I don’t have needles in my hands it may be a baseball glove, or hiking poles, climbing gear, a kayak paddle, a dance partner’s hands, scrabble tiles, cards, a great book, the remote control, a volleyball, or whatever. I like to learn and try new things and if I like it, well, I’ll definitely go back for seconds. I currently reside in British Columbia and am moving to New Westminster in 2 days – still in the Greater Metropolitan of Vancouver, BC. I want to travel around the world but think I may end up calling Vancouver home – unless I am wowed by somewhere or someone else. Yes, I am single ;-). I don’t think this move will affect my blogging too much but there may be fewer posts over the next 2 weeks while I actually move. I take possession of the new space on the 15th and may take off to Jamaica for 10 days or so in between. That’s where I am from originally and there appears to be some good deals going there right now. If I can get one I’ll be blogging from there!<\/p>\n
So I’d like to close by thanking all of you who have been with me from the beginning and for all of you who have just started to read. Thanks Kat for sharing the news about becoming a grandma for the first time, and for your friendship that you have extended unconditionally, and Antoinette for pushing me to teach and correcting my mistakes, and J for your support and promotion, and Susan for your contributions that find their way here,\u00a0 and Sandi for our conversations on FB (your yarn will get there soon), and Eleni for helping me get organized and telling people about me even though you’re not a knitter, and Dorota and Quilteroo\u00a0 and the entire Ravelry gang, and Chris from Men Who Knit, and everybody else who I can’t possibly mention in one post for helping me get to 200. I look forward to getting to 300 with the way things have gone so far!<\/p>\n
The hugest hugzzz to all of you!<\/p>\n
This is me …<\/p>\n