Any knitter knows what Ravelry is, I think. For my not-so-fiber-crafty friends, Ravelry is like Facebook and a reference library combined for fiber folk. The last 5 years of my life, I have lived in areas where there weren't a lot of knitters, or where there weren't knitters I could easily meet up with. My job schedule over the past few years has prevented me from meeting up with knitting groups, and then we moved to the middle of nowhere, where our nearest 'local' yarn shop is an hour and a half away (the second closest is 2 hours away). Means that I look online a lot more for support!
Ravelry opened up a lot for me. I can search patterns, search yarns, see what other people have made with yarns I have in my stash, see how the same pattern will look on different body types, in different yarns, with different modifications. And there are tons of patterns to download, too, either free or for a fee. If I lived in an area with a LYS or two (or 5, like VB), then I might not have depended on it so much, but given where I've been...
And it's a social site too. Lots of groups to join - knitters who run, who are men, who travel, who are fans of particular TV shows or movies or sports teams, who have preschool kids, who don't have kids, who have red hair, who have had cancer, who knit for different charities, who live in certain areas... anything and everything probably has a group on Ravelry. It's actually how I met one of my best friends here on post too! One of the groups I'm in is for military-connected folk (service members, spouses, kids, whatever) and we were swapping who lived where, so that we could meet up with folk in our areas. There wasn't anyone on my post at the time, but Sarah found me and was moving out here soon! As soon as she moved out here, we met up, and that was nearly 2 years ago! Having a knitting buddy has definitely helped us both stay sane in this crazy place we're in!!
Ravelry will have events semi-regularly too. The Olympics are a big one. That started in 2006 after the Yarn Harlot suggested it as a way to challenge ourselves as knitters (or crocheters, not to discriminate) while we watched all the international athletes challenge themselves. In 2008, Ravelry allowed it to be an even bigger event in the knitting world (and again in 2010, for the Winter Olympics). I participated in 2008, on the Futurama group's team (Team Robonia- "Hail, Hail, Ro-bon-ia! A land I didn't make up!"). My schedule was too crazy this winter to do the 2010 one, unfortunately. 2012, though, I'll be there!
I know some aren't as fond of Ravelry. Anne and a friend here each have mentioned that their minds and project organizational systems just don't coincide with how Ravelry works. That's totally OK. I know sites like this aren't for everyone. I just know that it works for me, and anything that helps me keep an eye on my stash and queue is a good thing :)
Ravelry opened up a lot for me. I can search patterns, search yarns, see what other people have made with yarns I have in my stash, see how the same pattern will look on different body types, in different yarns, with different modifications. And there are tons of patterns to download, too, either free or for a fee. If I lived in an area with a LYS or two (or 5, like VB), then I might not have depended on it so much, but given where I've been...
And it's a social site too. Lots of groups to join - knitters who run, who are men, who travel, who are fans of particular TV shows or movies or sports teams, who have preschool kids, who don't have kids, who have red hair, who have had cancer, who knit for different charities, who live in certain areas... anything and everything probably has a group on Ravelry. It's actually how I met one of my best friends here on post too! One of the groups I'm in is for military-connected folk (service members, spouses, kids, whatever) and we were swapping who lived where, so that we could meet up with folk in our areas. There wasn't anyone on my post at the time, but Sarah found me and was moving out here soon! As soon as she moved out here, we met up, and that was nearly 2 years ago! Having a knitting buddy has definitely helped us both stay sane in this crazy place we're in!!
Ravelry will have events semi-regularly too. The Olympics are a big one. That started in 2006 after the Yarn Harlot suggested it as a way to challenge ourselves as knitters (or crocheters, not to discriminate) while we watched all the international athletes challenge themselves. In 2008, Ravelry allowed it to be an even bigger event in the knitting world (and again in 2010, for the Winter Olympics). I participated in 2008, on the Futurama group's team (Team Robonia- "Hail, Hail, Ro-bon-ia! A land I didn't make up!"). My schedule was too crazy this winter to do the 2010 one, unfortunately. 2012, though, I'll be there!
I know some aren't as fond of Ravelry. Anne and a friend here each have mentioned that their minds and project organizational systems just don't coincide with how Ravelry works. That's totally OK. I know sites like this aren't for everyone. I just know that it works for me, and anything that helps me keep an eye on my stash and queue is a good thing :)
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