If you are a member of Ravelry, you know by now that the infamous forum Remnants has been retired for good. You can read, if you haven’t by now, Casey’s poignant announcement here. The loss of the Remnants forum makes me feel kind of sad, to be honest. I know and understand why it had to be this way, and I support the very tough decision TPTB had to make. But while Remnants had become this huge and unwieldy thing, it was also the kind of thing that was unique to Ravelry. At least it felt that way. I know in my heart of hearts that Ravelry itself, what Ravelry really IS, is not going to change that much, if at all. Already at least one group has sprung up to take its place. And even though I didn’t even spend a lot of time posting there, I did spend an inordinate amount of time reading it. I am really going to miss it. For realz.
Category: ravelry
The Paradox of Ravelry
I have been extremely obsessed lately with looking at patterns for felted slippers on Ravelry. So much so that I’ve spent more time doing pattern searches and clicking through the results than I’ve spent knitting anything. I’m especially taken by the ballerina style slippers (especially the ones available only in German, damnit!) and these extremely cute crochet’d ones. Then again, these ones are nifty too. If I spent less time on Ravelry I could have knitted (or crochet’d!) dozens of pairs of slippers by now, but if it weren’t for Ravelry I wouldn’t know all those patterns even existed. Erg. My head hurts.
I did it again.
I realized this evening, after checking the Ravelry forums again and getting sucked in (again!) to some drama on the Big 6, that I might have a problem. I’m a member of 20 groups, not counting the Big 6, which every Raveler is a member of. I’ve spent so much time on Ravelry the last couple of days that I haven’t had any time to knit. Or blog about knitting. Or do the dishes. I think I’ve hit bottom. Excuse me while I go leave some groups and get my head out of my ass so I can function in life again. Damn you, Ravelry! Why do you have to be so awesome?!
Wasted Time
I love browsing getting sucked into wasting time on the Ravelry Forums, but sometimes its a lot like this:
That is all.
Across the Ravelverse
(Apologies in advance to John Lennon and Paul McCartney…)
I am queuing up the
Projects that I want to knit the most
I have the yarn at least, that is, according to what’s it my stash
Should I cast on now or wait
Until tomorrow I don’t know
I guess that’s just the way it goes
Jai Bo—-ob deva om
Ravelry has changed my world
Ravelry has changed my world
Ravelry has changed my world
Ravelry has changed my world
Now it’s time to check up on
The forums and see if there are replies
Or if someone clicked on agree or disagree
Copyright and nudity and swearing are still topical
And then there are random groups that
Make their way across the Ravelverse
Jai Bo—–ob deva om
Ravelry has changed my world
Ravelry has changed my world
Ravelry has changed my world
Ravelry has changed my world
Browsing patterns stalking yarns
And searching for that perfect hat
Exciting and inviting me
Knitting less but Ravelry is like a drug I don’t want to stop, yes
It calls me on and on
Across the Ravelverse.
Jai Bo—–ob deva om
Ravelry has changed my world
Ravelry has changed my world
Ravelry has changed my world
Ravelry has changed my world
Jai Bo—ob deva
Jai Bo—ob deva
etc…
I (still) Love Ravelry
Cassie over at the Mario Scarf blog is wondering what the point of Ravelry is and I’ve heard others voice the same sort of questions. I’m not sure if I’m more organized or if Ravelry changed my life, but I certainly enjoy using it. So, rather than commenting on her blog directly, I thought I’d post here about why I love Ravelry and what I do with it (and encourage others to do the same).
Although Ravelry is also a good way to see what others say of their experiences with certain yarns or patterns, I can’t say that I’ve ever decided to (or not to) buy a yarn or do a pattern based on what someone has said in a Ravelry forum. Frankly, I find the groups and forums to be a huge time suck and I try not too spend much time in there. It’s all to easy to kill an entire morning or afternoon day in the forums. The last thing I need is to spend that much time and energy debating knitting vs. crochet or the merits of various yarn weights or the finer points of copyright law. And I don’t want to get sucked into discussions of politics or different TV shows/movies/books or get into any “big issues” debates. Blah! But, even if there were no Ravelry forums, I would still be using it.
I often use Ravelry to find patterns for yarns I have in my stash, but that have never had a clear destiny (I tend to buy yarn because it called my name and is smooshy/soft/brightly colored). So, I go into “yarns” and see what others have knitted with it. Or, if I’m looking around for another project to cast on (likely because I am bored with my current projects), I spend entirely too much some time browsing “patterns”.
I try to keep my queue organized with projects that I REALLY am going to do. For those projects I love and fantasize that maybe I’ll do some day, I use favorites. While I only have listed a few of my yarns under “stash”, I do document each of my projects. I like to have a record of items I’ve knitted since much of what I do is given as gifts. I’ve found that I really do enjoy going back and reminiscing about projects I’ve done and thinking about where they are now.
You’re not less of a “hard-core” knitter if you don’t use Ravelry or are just not that into it. You’re just not that kind of knitter. And that’s okay. Knitters come in all flavors.
Any other Ravelers out there? Do you still like it? Blog about your experience and link back to Cassie (and me if you want)!
Funniest. Tag Cloud. Ever.
Sorry folks, it’s a Ravelry link. I just couldn’t resist. Probably Definitely nsfw/children/the elderly/unicorns.
BFF IRL
I really, really want to ask the Yarn Harlot to be on my Ravelry friends list, but I fear the silent, online snub. This is, with the dozens of social networking websites out there, apparently a growing issue. The Situationist recently featured an article about the “etiquette pitfalls” of online social networking.
With networking websites such as Facebook and MySpace expanding expedientially, the rise of cyber friendships has brought with it a new set of social niceties, conventions and potential embarrassments.
Such sites are designed to set up an online network of friends to keep in touch and to exchange gossip but, as in all social situations, the results can be fraught. How can you separate friends from mere online acquaintances? How do you tell someone that you don’t want to be their friend? What do you do when you discover that you suddenly have countless “friends” whom you either don’t know or don’t like?
(link to the complete article)
Maybe I am taking the whole friends list thing too seriously. I’ve never been on MySpace or FaceBook or any of the others, so maybe it really is about quantity not quality. Although, I think I would prefer to have a list with just a few people with whom I’ve at least exchanged emails than to have a list with hundreds of random people that I don’t even know.
I would consider it the greatest compliment to have the Harlot on my friends list and to be on hers, but I don’t want to be that person: the annoying, awkward friender on Ravelry.
OMG
Ravelry is probably the best thing to happen to the knitting (and crochet) community since the invention of the blog. Talk about making the world bigger! Not only can you keep a notebook of your entire knitting (or crochet) life–including what’s in your stash, what needles (or hooks) you have, what you’re knitting right now, what you want to knit eventually, etc.–but you can also make connections with other knitters (or crocheters) out there in cyberspace. You can see what others are working on, what’s in their stash, read their blogs, etc. Or, you can find a pattern, or see what yarns are popular, or find a knit-(or crochet)-along or local fiber festival.
This is huge, people. Ginormous, even. It’s like joining your local guild/social knitting group, but members are all over the world. It’s awesome. I can’t even form a coherent thought about this because I am so blown away by how seriously amazing this is. I can’t wait for it to be out of beta so everyone can join. I mean, wow.
In other knitting news, I will turn the 2nd Monkey’s heel today
and finish my first sock for Summer of Socks.
I know, I know. It’s kind of a cheat to knit a baby sock, but c’mon! Babies need socks, too!
I Might Pee Myself
I got my invite to Ravelry today. Will blog later.
Knitting Interrupted 