D is for...

 Donner Memorial State Park!

This was one of our stops on our vacation last summer - Reno, Lake Tahoe, Carson City... Donner Memorial State Park is up in that area too, and being the odd history buff I am, we had to stop by.  (Please note, that is one who has an interest in unusual or obscure history, not an odd person interested in history, though that might also be applicable...)

For those who aren't aware of the story, the Donner Party was a pioneer party traveling westward through the Sierra Nevada mountains who, after one delay and another, became snowed in at this particular lake.  They became stranded at the lake in October, the first rescue party could not reach them until February, and the final travelers were not rescued until April the following spring.  The party suffered heavy casualties (42 of the 90 travelers in the party did not survive), and the last survivors were forced to turn to cannibalism to survive.  To visualize that casualty rate, look at the plaque below on the right - four columns of names: the first two columns are those who did not survive, and the other two are the survivors.  Almost one-to-one.  The Donner Party story itself is an average one of a pioneer party getting lost or delayed while moving westward, but because of the accurate survivors' accounts of the hardships, the cannibalism especially, the Donner Party has some renown in the public mind.

 An interesting note:  The stone base is the height that the snow depth reached the winter that the travelers were stranded at the lake - 22 feet!! 

 

Of course, traveling to the lake in August, sunburn is more of a consideration than 20+ feet of snow.  The park itself is beautiful.  Besides the history center, the park has a few nature trails, a little bit of hiking trails, and a mountain lake nestled up in the hills make for a beautiful day in the summer.  And being a smaller state park, it's not overrun with people.  We were there on a gorgeous day in late August and didn't feel like we were stepping over people to do what we want.  Part of going to a park is wanting to be near nature, not other people, right?  That wasn't a problem here.

 

 

The other thing I really remember about the park were the ground squirrels.  All over the park!  And very brave too.  Imagine a critter as cute as a chipmunk, but as numerous and brave as a grey squirrel (brave, not brazen - key difference!).  Those were the ground squirrels at the park - the Golden Mantled Ground Squirrel, to be exact!  There were about three that kept us very entertained through lunch :)

So, yes.  Some interesting history, set in a pretty state park.  If you're up in the Reno/Tahoe/Truckee area at the CA/NV border, this is worth the day trip to visit!

C is for...

Calico!

And, no, that's not the fabric, but the little ghost town between post and Barstow just off the highway. Zach and I went there soon after we arrived here, as it's the nearest 'site to see' where we now live.

If  you look closely at the building above, it also says Calico, across the upper part of the wall.  That particular house was actually built in the 1950's, to show a possible construction method of houses at the mine. Those are bottles embedded in the house walls to give it support and insulation.  It's the desert, so wood was (is!) scarce and therefore expensive, so miners, who weren't going to be there long and didn't want to invest in a more costly house, used whatever they could to construct their houses.  The bottle remnants were one method.  At least, all this is according to the sign on the building:

See?  :)

You can really see  in this picture below (the view from the town looking across the mine entrances) where the town and the surrounding hills received their name.  The land was very mineral-rich, and this gives the ground color.  Copper-laden mineral, for example, create those green patches.  The hills around the town are the Calico Hills, and that's what gives the town its name: someone at some point thought that the mottled colors across the hillside looked like calico fabric.

And if you're wondering what the town was during it's prime, it was a mining town.   A lot of those minerals giving the hills their color were worth something.  There were a great many mining towns around Barstow and up north into Death Valley, that were once mined for silver and borate minerals, among other things.  But, as the mines dried up, so too went the town, nowadays just a historic detour off I-15.

B is for...

Boston!

I have to say, that of all the major American cities I've been in, I think I liked Boston the best. I was lucky enough to be sent there in February 2007 for a job site nearby, so I took advantage of the time and saw a few highlights.  Please note - I'm saying I was lucky to be sent there, not that it was in February particularly.  It was freakin' freezin' while I was there, honestly, but I was determined to get out and see the town.  I missed the worst of the cold front though - 7 degrees in Boston the morning I flew back home!

I liked that the town was eclectic architecturally.  One of the things I liked about San Francisco too, actually.  In Boston, it wasn't just interesting architecture, but also the very old and the very new.  About as close as I've seen to London (my favorite major city) in the US.  Being a history buff, I like seeing the 300 year old churches and halls tucked away amidst the modern office buildings and townhouses.  And the parks and green spaces too (like the Boston Common, where I'm standing above).  A nice mixed city, not just an overwhelming oppression of skyscrapers.

I also liked that the town was so very walker-friendly.  There was a lot downtown on The Freedom Trail which was very easily accessible.  I know I only saw a tiny portion of the Freedom Trail, but the points on the trail were all within just a few miles of each other.  Tons to see, with good sidewalks to get there.  Granted, it was very chilly too, so it wasn't as crowded as it could have been, but it was still pretty convenient.  And it wasn't just the history that I walked through, but the North End (Boston's Little Italy) as well, as I was headed to Old North Church.  So many restaurants - the whole neighborhood smelled of garlic!  Awesome!

 

I realize that I'm saying that I liked the city based on a two and a half day business trip, but I did like what I was able to see.  And I know I still have tons to see too!  Fenway Park, of course, and  Harvard (yes, I  do know it's in Cambridge, not Boston, but they're adjacent towns, and I gotta see the 'competition' at least once...).  And the rest of the Freedom Trail, and Bunker Hill.  The Boston Public Library was the first large municipally funded library in America, so a professional interest there ;)  The New England Aquarium is one of the very acclaimed ones, and I am a sucker for a good aquarium.  The Boston Pops would be fun, and the Mapparium (a 30-ft globe you can walk inside of) seems like something Zach, the lover of maps, would enjoy too.  And the famous Duck Tours, and the Science Museum, and the MFA, and... I'm sure I could go on for ages.  Yes, yes, still much to see in Boston.  Gotta make it back there one of these days!

A is for

Appomattox!  Or, as my husband and his family drawl out, "Ap'mad'ox."  Location of Zach's family's farm!

I don't know if this really counts as "travel" since it's also considered Home for us, with Zach's folks still living there, but seeing as it's not where I grew up, I still think it counts as travel for me.  Certainly almost a foreign country sometimes to my little suburban self  ;)

 

And, strangely enough, I have yet to be to the Appomattox Court House, the town's (county's) whole claim to fame!  When we make it back east, we're too busy with family stuff (like learning to drive the tractors, as shown in the pictures above, Aug 2009) to spend time playing tourist!

A little belated, but here we go again!

Am tackling the ABC-along again this year - I just have too much fun with it!  It's a little belated start, but January kinda got away from me, so we'll have a few letters squeezed in quickly and then back on schedule :)  Again, the goal is to try and stay on track (I know I had a bunch of back-dated posts to the end of last year, as the holidays closed in on me!).  

This year, my theme will be travel!  Very appropriate as we finish up our time in CA this year and head to a new state this summer!

A January 1 -January 14

B January 15 -January 28

C January 29 - February 11

D February 12 - February 25

E February 26 - March 11

F March 12 - March 25

G March 26 - April 8

H April 9 - April 22

I April 23 - May 6

J May 7 - May 20

K May 21 - June 3

L June 4 - June 17

M June 18 - July 1

N July 2 - July 15

O July 16 - July 29

P July 30 - August 12

Q August 13 - August 26

R August 27 - September 9

S September 10 - September 23

T September 25 - October 7

U October 8 - October 21

V October 22 - November 4

W November 5 - November 18

X November 19 - December 2

Y December 3 - December 16

Z December 17 - December 31

Well, that's the schedule.  Since we're already in February, though, A-C will be posted in the next few days, and then rest, following as planned :)

Off we go!

Z is for...

Zimmerman sweater!  As in Elizabeth Zimmerman, grandmother of popularizing knitting.

This is the blue striped sweater that I made for Mom.  Twice, actually!  She liked it so much that when it stretched out over years of wear, she asked me to remake it.  I was happy to oblige.  Surprisingly, despite how often she wears it, I do not have any pictures of her actually in it.  So you'll have to deal with me struggling to take a picture of myself - see the little thinking wrinkle at my eyebrows?  :)

I really like the EPS (EZ's Percentage System) for making a sweater. I used the math for sleeves for my alterations to Cumulus in November, for example.  I didn't start as narrow as she does in her standard sweater (I don't think I ever do, as I don't like tight cuffs), but since I knew the final number of stitches I needed for the top of the sleeve according to the pattern, I used the EPS math for the increases to give me a sleeve line that I liked!

I do have to say I've some personal preferences, though, when it comes to her classic designs. For starters, as I mentioned above, I do not like cuffs as tight as she does.  If it has ribbing, it draws in enough for my personal tastes.  And I like my sleeves a little more closely fitting, so tend to start a little wider at the cuff, and then adjust the increases to what I want.  But, the EPS system certainly gives me the math to get to what I want.  I love having an easy starting point for customization!  :)

I haven't tried her other designs yet, but I'm hoping to make some Baby Surprise Jackets (from The Opinionated Knitter) next year (several babies expected next year in the Friends & Family world).  That design looks so interesting how it all folds together!  And the February Lady Jacket, very high on my queue, is an adult version of  her Baby Jacket on Two Needles (February in A Knitter's Almanac).  So perhaps more Zimmerman to come next year!

Y is for...

Yoga.

And no, I'm not talking about the "Knitting is the new Yoga" sort of nonsense, though that's what got me brainstorming for my Y.  I'm actually just talking about the abundance of knitted goodies for yogis that are out there.  Just search "yoga" in the Ravelry pattern database, and there are 4 pages of results!

Granted, a lot are variations on the same couple projects (really, how much gear do you need for yoga?) but it's amazing to see what ideas people come up with.  Yoga socks are a big one.  You know, the socks with no toes or heels, so that your feet stay warm, but can still grip the mat in poses.  The blue ones above are ones that I made, while the ones below here I received in a swap.  You can find cabled ones, lacy ones, ribbed ones, plain ones.  I loved these socks by Sarah Griffiths, with the Om on the sole. I think yoga socks make great starter socks.  You get a chance to get used to some techniques (working with DPNs or Magic Loop, for example), without worrying about the more complicated heels and toes.  And they are great one-skein-or-less, quick'n'easy sort of projects :)

And then there are the bags!  Some gorgeous designs for toting your stuff around. The one below is my own design, which I'm trying to write up (hopefully to be posted next year!).  There are several other bags that I like too.  I think my favorite is the Tree Pose Bag by Fiona Ellis (the cables look like a person in Tree Pose).  I also love the all-over cables of Namaste by Lisa Anderson and Kriya by Jennifer Fleury.  The lace in the Om Nava Shivaya by Miss Audrey is another one that caught my eye.

There are other yoga projects too, besides the major ones of socks and bags.  There are a large variety of wraps and sweaters, to keep you warm during meditations.  Even pillows, too, for meditations.  I think another of my favorites is the knit yoga mat.  Sounds pretty random, but they are good for 'hot yoga' classes.  They are knit in cotton so your sweaty hands don't slip on the mat.  I'm actually thinking of knitting one of those.  I try and do a little yoga after my runs, when I'm nice and sweaty of course, and I'd love to do those post-run stretching sessions on something a little more absorbent!

So yes, plenty of yoga and knitting overlap, without the trendy "Knitting is the New Yoga" nonsense.  :)

PS - I could have done Y is for Yarn, but I've already done that.  And my Ysolda Teague vest ya'll just saw in V is for Vest.  So this is what you get instead :)

X is for...

eXtra large!  Or, eXperience is the best teacher!

 

This was my second project ever.  Well, second project following a pattern (I'm not counting the doll blankets I made when I learned at age 10).  And believe it or not, I did swatch.  In fact, I'd already made the matching scarf the same pattern (ribbing) and same yarn.  And yet...

Looking at it later on, I think the biggest problem was that I really had no idea about sizing.  The gauge wasn't bad, but having never made a hat before, I didn't realize how you want sizing to run.  With hats, you want a certain amount of negative ease, right?  Well, I do.  I don't really make berets or slouchy hats.  I like the closer fitting ski or skull sort of caps.  This was supposed to be along those lines.  Except, being a new knitter (like I said, my second project), I was worried about making it too small.  Heads in my family run on the larger side, and mine is no exception.  So, I tried to err on the side of caution.  I ended up being VERY on the side of caution!  It was a very long, very large hat.  A friend in college with a head even larger than mine laughed that he didn't think it was possible to make a hat too big for even his head, so this project was noteworthy for that reason alone! 

This project has since been frogged.  I've already reused part of the yarn in my Traveling Woman shawl, and the rest is waiting to be reused as a cowl.  Still, a good learning experience about how much ribbing stretches, and about the importance of proper ease in a project :)

W is for...

Warm!

 

I know that lots of knitting is warm, but I'm specifically, I'm talking about the set I made for Zach back when we were still dating.  They are double knit in a wool-acrylic blend, because I wanted something to be a good wind-blocker for him, but at the same time something he wouldn't felt into a potholder either!  He's still wearing both pieces 5  years later, so I think it was a success :)

Yes, yes, I realize we live in the desert, but we do travel a good bit, so Zach does get to use it from time to time.  The scarf he actually does wear on post semi-frequently - the double-knitting means that it's basically 2 scarves you're wearing at once, so it's a good wind block.  And we certainly need that on this post! The hat is a little loose, he says, but he likes wearing it as a sleeping cap when we camp, so it all still works out.  He's wearing the hat on the left there at Spring Valley State Park in NV from our trip in 2008, and the scarf in the picture on the right is while we were snowshoeing at Sequoia National Park last January.

 

He does also wear the set when it's not as warm, but when it is seasonally appropriate.  And I mean sports seasonally appropriate.  This picture is from the day he received the set.  65ish outside, he's headed to work inside, but dangit, it's Game Day!  Nice to see your work appreciated though :)

V is for...

Vendetta!  I think that joke every year, but it's the first time it made it to post.

No, really, though... V is for Vests  :)

Living where we do, it's a very short season where you can really wear full sweaters.  Granted, it's windy enough that you appreciate the full warmth, but it's a relatively little section of the year that you're not overheating in any sort of knitted garment.  However, a little warmth is appreciated. So, since moving out here, I have developed a definite love of shrugs, small shawls (the type you can use as a scarf too), and vests.  Just a little warmth outside, but not so much that you overheat.  

And, as an added bonus, these are all small(er) projects and you can find a lot of instant gratification projects within these categories.  You can find more involved projects too, obviously, but if you don't have sleeves to worry about, it does cut some time off a project :)

 

The vests I've pictured here are all Raveled, of course. The one up top is the Cloud Bolero by Ysolda Teague, from  Yarn Forward Magazine's free web patterns (my project Raveled here).   I lengthened it, so instead of a cropped little cardi, it's more vest-ish. The middle vest is Abrazo by Laura Nelkin, Knitty Fall 2008 (my project Raveled here). The bottom one is Cable Front Tank by Charlotte Quiggle, Knit It! Magazine, 2003 (my project Raveled here).

U is for...

"Unblocked lace is so unimpressive!"

This is a running joke with Zach from when I was working on I Do for the wedding a few years ago (almost 3 now!!).

With the lace pattern being such a long repeat, I would get excited on a regular basis as I finished a set of rows or reached a landmark (the elbow, for example) or something similar. Being such a lacy pattern, it's hard to see the progress in the piece when it's just a scrunchy white tube.

I would show Zach and get that "I'm supportive but kinda at a loss about what I'm supposed to be excited about" sort of enthusiasm as a response. I would laugh, "I know, I know, unblocked lace is so unimpressive!" So, in the course of that project, he got to learn about blocking and life lines ("what's this extra thread doing here?") and other knitting odds'n'ends.

Now it's just a running joke, since I like lace patterns, and depending on the yarn, pattern, etc. you can't always see what's there to be appreciated. So, if it's one of those patterns that you can't really see the amazing lace that I'm so excited about, Zach will just grin and say in mock sympathy, "Unblocked lace is just so unimpressive!"

T is for...

Twisted Stitches!

This is a knitting-confession-time post, really.

Anyone who has knit with me and actually watched me knit, knows that I knit... oddly.  My own sister (who I actually taught to knit!) saw me knitting once and was perplexed over what I was doing.  To sum, I do several things differently:

1. I'm a lefty.  If I set up my pieces in the most comfortable working direction for me (right needle to left, not the other way round), I often end up reversing the image.  This doesn't really make much difference in the average cable or lace pattern (does it really make a difference which way leaves are cascading?), but it does take special concentration if it's something like a logo or lettering which HAS to be facing a certain direction :)
2. I don't actually turn my work (this is a BIG oddity).  I am always looking at the right side of the piece.  This keeps my hands from getting as tired, and it makes reading charts very easy, since I just have to make it all look like the picture!
3. The way some (most) people knit in English or Continental style... I don't.  If I'm being a little more 'normal' for whatever reason in a project (perhaps not wanting to reverse an image), or if I'm knitting what would be the wrong side row, I will knit English ("throwing").  If it's in the round, though, or if it's the right side rows of a piece, I use what's called Scottish style.  Realized that I was using a 'real' knitting style with the Interweave Knits Spring 2004 issue's article on different, less common knitting styles.  Scottish style is designed for long straight needles (so I'm a little slower on circulars), but it keeps all the needle control in my left hand - very good for me!  

Oh yeah, if you haven't read that issue of IK, you should - TONS of great patterns, and that awesome article on knitting styles.  Really one of their best issues!

A side effect of not turning my work was that I had to learn to read my knitting and how the stitches sit on the needle.  Very useful skill, especially when you drop a stitch, but you do have to make an effort to learn it.  When you turn your work, you're always facing the stitches in the same direction, your movements to create the stitches are always the same.  But when you don't turn your work, you are twisting the stitches as you are going one way, and then untwisting them by going back the other.  The combination of the two rows gives you the regular "v" shaped knit stitches (as you should create), so all is good, as long as you know what you're doing.  The problem was when I was still learning - I didn't always untwist the stitches on the returning (wrong side) row!  

So, after that long explanation - T is for Twisted Stitches!

I realized all this in my first project that had yarn clear enough to see the stitches: a big rugby-striped, "Harry Potter style" scarf in my college colors, green and gold.  Other projects I'd done were in boucle yarns or in really dark yarns, so it was very difficult to see the twisting.  Then came the gold in my W&M striped scarf, which was a brighter, smooth yarn.  Took the entire hugely-long scarf to figure out what I was doing to create the stitches I was getting!  And by that point, I just finished what I was doing through the end of the scarf.  So, this project became a learning project and a lovely example of how a mistake repeated across an entire project can become a design element!

S is for...

Socks! Or, equally appropriate, Second Sock Syndrome!

My first pair of socks! OK, so it's just one sock right now, but it WILL be a pair in the near future! I broke up the making of the pair so as to avoid SSS, knowing my tendency for Knitter's ADD. So, I took a break from my Clapotis at about the half-way point, made one sock, have picked back up Clapotis, and am giving myself a sock-related break before I'm ready to start No. 2.

This is my first full pair of socks, though in all honesty, it is my second attempt. I just don't really wear socks enough, hand knit or otherwise, to warrant the effort that goes into making them. Maybe it's the beach upbringing, but I'm in sandals even into fall when I'm wearing jeans and a sweatshirt! Not really much use for socks in that case, huh?

However, my best knitting buddy here on post is a hard-core sock knitter, and keeps trying to get me to give them a try. I saw this particular pattern and thought it was adorable, and found some fun colorways of Cascade Fixation, which I already knew I like working with, and there you have it: the final straw! So, I am now giving them a try.

For this first pair, I did the Varsity Sock, designed by another blogger, trekcelt. Like most patterns I do, though, the listed pattern was my starting point, but then I adjusted as I was making the actual sock. The biggest change was that it became a toe-up sock, not a cuff-down. There were a few other mods, too, that I'll go through all my changes below, for your edification and for my own notes when I make another pair :)

I'm using Cascade Fixation. I used this before for my Runner's Companion armband and a headband from the leftovers. Like I mentioned above, I enjoy working with this yarn. Once you get used to the tension of the elastic, it's a nice thick cushy fabric. And, it's nicely textured, so even if you have some issues getting an even tension, the texture hides it well :) I have heard that it doesn't hold up quite as well in heavy-usage socks, but like I said, I don't really wear socks. These are gonna be more bed socks or light slippers, not as much really heavy wear, so hopefully I'll still get some good use out of 'em.

To figure out the toe-up starts, I used an article on Knitty. I ended up using the Figure 8 cast one, and started with 8 eights (8 wraps on each needle). It did take me a few tries to get that one worked out, as I kept losing wraps from my needles at first, but it was pretty simple once it got started. And, since I didn't have waste yarn on me when I was starting the sock, I wanted to use that one :) Maybe for my next pair, I'll try the provisional cast on!

Several websites I used to help me figure out how to do a toe-up gusset. Wendy Johnson (the author of the above article on Knitty) has a pretty good article on a basic toe-up sock. Let me figure out the basic idea of toe-up socks, though I did a different toe start and heel. Mim's Blog has an INCREDIBLY helpful tutorial on how to do a gusset heel. I had found other websites for how to do toe-up socks, and even ones with a toe-up gusset, but hers has lots of pictures which help make it much clearer. Forward Motion has a good break-down of the math involved in the gusset, so that it's easier to customize to one's own foot.

Modifications I did compared to the original pattern:

• Toe-up. That's probably the biggest change. I tried it from the top-down first, but it came out waaaay big for my foot. Made that hemmed cuff and it ended up about 10 1/2 inches around! Since I don't know how many stitches I wanted my sock to be, being the first pair I've really made, I figured toe-up would be the easiest way to make sure it at least came close to fitting (the last time I attempted socks, they came out fitting Zach, who wears a size 12 or 13 - needless to say, I only made one...)

• Smaller foot - I knew I'd need to do this one anyway, since my foot's definitely a bit smaller than the pattern called for. I'm only a size 7 1/2, maaaaaybe 8, not a size 8-9 foot. I ended up with only 60 stitches going around my foot, not 64, and I honestly could have gone down another set of increases, i.e. 56 stitches around. Oh, and to get gauge, I was using size US 1 needles, not US 2.
  
• I changed the stitch pattern on the heel flap to be a broken rib - I just liked how it looked a little better than the slip stitch pattern in the original.
  

Changes I'd make compared to my final project:

• I'd probably go down to 56 stitches instead of 60 next time. Just make it a little snugger. The socks as they are now are fine for what I want to use them for (bed socks/slipper socks) but if I wanted to wear them under shoes, I'd need them a little closer-fitting.
  
• I need to be more accurate counting the short row heel. I think I have an extra set of rows on the heel, so it's a little pointy on this one sock. It stretches out when the sock it on my foot, so it's not really noticeable when it's on (a good thing), but it definitely looks rather elfin when the sock is not on a foot! I've heard of pointy-toed socks before, but pointy-heeled?

R is for...

Ravelry!

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 :)