Praise for ravelry

Just wanted to babble about some random thoughts. I'm sure I will have many in agreement with me when I say, ravelry is fun! I joined/was invited a while back, but haven't really been seriously spending time in there until very recently. I think I was a tad overwhelmed with all that was involved with just putting a project in there that I sort of left it and wandered off. But, I think they've actually streamlined some of it since I was first in there and it's much easier now. I've also made a personal decision to only list projects that have actual published patterns...the kind I can search on in there and actually find (for example, I'm not bothering with putting my plain roll brim hats or other "personal patterns" in there). It's quicker and easier that way, and just adds to the wonderful cross-referencing that ravelry is all about. I figure, I've got the blog on which to post photos of random hats and such, why not use ravelry for what it's intended.

It's so great to be able to go in there, click on a pattern, and see photos of all of the ones people have made. Helps me decide what yarn to use, or what color to do...that's how I decided on making pink and white Anemoi mittens...(no, I haven't started them yet, but I do have the yarn!)

Also, remember that swift I was trying to get rid of? Well, I sold it through ravelry! Very cool. I went onto the forums, happened upon a post from someone who was looking for one, and a few PM's later, we'd agreed on a price and I mailed it off! That's also the first time I've used PayPal to sell something, very easy and cool. And my thanks to Dee too for her help as I bounced ideas off her. :)

It's also kind of fun to join the groups in ravelry, and to add friends to my list. I've never even been on Facebook or any of those popular networking sites...to be honest they kind of freak me out. But somehow a whole site about knitting and crochet and yarn and patterns? It just seems cozy and friendly and safe.

But I think one of my favorite features is the project queue. I am a HUGE fan of lists, and love to be able to find a pattern, and with just one click add it to my list and never forget about it or wonder where to find it. Fabulous!

And I swear every time I go in there there's something new to discover. I just noticed how you can see what your friends have queued or made or what yarn or books they have in their stash. That does serve to remind me though that every thing is out in the open, and whatever you put in there can be seen by anyone in ravelry!

So there. That's all I wanted to say! Just wanted to give my two cents about the site.

Oh! One more thing...on a completely unrelated topic...remember the hat I made for my FIL for Christmas? Well, my husband was talking to his mom the other day who told him that his dad leaves the hat on a table by the door and every time he comes in from outside, he will switch from his outdoor hat (a baseball cap type) to the hat I made him! And apparently he wears it constantly! How awesome is that?! Made my day, I can tell you. (Of course, my funnyguy husband then tried to trick me by saying the story wasn't true and he'd made it all up! humph. But it really is true...he promised it was.)