Ravelry

Recently when hunting for knitting information online I would hear vague whispering about ravelry.com. I would see it mentioned quietly and without fanfare, without much detail, without anything that would make me want to track it down and see what it was about.

 

Until I was bored a couple weeks ago. I decided to search for this mysterious website. And I found it (funny that). I looked around and was instantly excited. It's a knitter's paradise, and it's an exclusive one right now too.

 

First thing I did was put myself on the waiting list, which took a couple weeks to move up to my name. And when that happened yesterday, all hope of not spending large amounts of time on the internet vanished with the harmless little email they sent.

 

This site is amazing. I can: look at patterns (free, non-free, in books, anywhere) sorted by type, yarn weight, difficulty, popularity with other knitters, designer, or difficulty. I can manage my projects from in progress, scrapping, or finished. Rate them, rate the yarn, find others with the same project. I can manage my yarn stash, see what I have, find suitable projects for it, and possibly even get rid of the stuff I don't like. I can manage my needles to see what I actually have, what I need, and print it out to take with me. I can manage my books in the same way. I can talk to other knitters anywhere based on any search criteria you can think of, and affiliate myself with knitting groups and yarn stores.

 

This is absolutely wonderful and terrible at the same time. For while I am an organizational fiend, I am obsessive and don't have this much time to spare! Hopefully after the initial set up phase I will be able to sit back and use it when I need it, but right now it is consuming all my free time.

 

This is possibly the best knitting related thing to happen to me since I finished my first project. Now . . . back to describing my yarn stash . . .

 

 

A Plethora of Projects

I haven't been posting much, but I have been knitting up a storm. I have a ton of very recent;y finished items to post in this one. I am also working on a few news ones, or thinking about starting something new.

I think the thing I finished longest ago was a new sweater for Charlie. He needed something a little more distinguished. So I quickly knit this up for him. It's knit with Paton's Classic Wool Merino in Rich Red on size 7 needles. The buttons were scavenged from an old pair of cargo pants.


Then I resumed working on socks. The last pair were particularly involved with two color stranded patterning and small needles. They took awhile, but I finally finished them on the roadtrip north while we were in Port Angeles, Washington. Hence the name I gave them. I LOVE these socks, they are warm and comfy and pretty. Knit on size 2 dpns with Koigu Painter's Palette Premium Merino and Wildfoote in Black orchid from a pattern in Sensational Socks by Charlene Schurch.



On the trip I brought yarn I didn't feel like starting, so when I found a yarn store in Seaside, Oregon on the way, I grabbed some new yarn and knit a drop-stitch scarf which I intend to give to Jenn. It's a wonderfully soft handspun in orange, green. and soft cream. Lovely. Knit on size 7 needles in Magallanes wool.


Since that finished up in no time, I was forced to knit the pink yarn I'd brought along too. I knit the same drop-stitch patterned scarf in it and actually became extremely fond of it during the process. So now I have a similar scarf to the one I'll give Jenn. Knit on size 7 needles in Crystal Palace Fjord wool, Brandy.


After I got back, with new yarn books in tow from Powell's Bookstore in Portland, I began a few other projects. One which I will be continuing is knitting farm animals from an adorable book by Hannelore Wernhard called The Knitted Farmyard. So far I have knit a chicken which I love.

Then I began Brighton from Knitty. I used Borroco NaturLin in a pretty copper color. It is currently blocking on the kitchen table and when it is dry I will be constructing the rest of the bag. I need to find a nice lining fabric and some handles. I'm excited about this project, the first serious bag I've tried. Pictures to come.