Ravelry: Malabrigo March Madness, 2009

There seems to be a group (sub forum) for just about anything on ravelry.com. Yarn brands are definitely a given, and one of my favourites is the Malabrigo Junkies. It is a wonderful group where you can get help finding the perfect pattern for your lone skein of Malabrigo yarn, whether it is Merino Worsted, Silky Merino, or beta testing Gusanito (I really want to get some of that stuff!). Last March, the group moderators and owners decided it would be fun to see how far up the list of most popular yarns (ravelry keeps a top 10 list based on users projects) we could push Malabrigo Merino Worsted, by casting on projects starting March 1st. We are repeating the madness, only this year, it isn't limited to the Merino Worsted. They have created KALs (knit alongs) for a bunch of patterns, plus a couple of KALs that are more open ended. So here are links to the ravelry project pages for the projects I plan on casting on (and hopefully off!) this month! Merino Worsted Projects: Garter Stitch Mitts, in Peach Tree 50% done Foliage Hat, in Red Java Silky Merino Project: Darkside Cowl, in Indieceta Chunky Projects: Bella Mittens, in Brisa Cherry Garcia cowl, also in Brisa None of these should take more than a few days.. but I am also planing on spinning up a pretty rainbow 2 ply.. so hopefully I'll accomplish all of this! I'll post a picture of all the projects and yarn as soon as the Chunky in Brisa arrives. :)

LSG Traveling Scarves

This February is the one year anniversary of Lazy, Stupid and Godless group on ravelry.com. Don't let the group name fool you! Sure, some of us are lazy (I'd include myself in that category ;) and there might be a few who are stupid (not likely) and of course there are some who are Godless (not me). Why the odd name? Because we are also a group of ravelry members who love to be grownups. We cuss, and tease each other with epitaphs like 'twatweasle', support each other when we need a shoulder to lean on or an ear to bitch in.
From the group overview page:

This group heartily gives thanks to those who asked‘Is Swearing Allowed on
Ravelry?’ In this group you are allowed to talk about any kind of ‘bad’ behavior
you want, as long as you are usually funny.

Treat this group like a long weekend in Vegas, complete with hookers,
craps, and whole bottles of tequila. In other words, what happens in lsg, stays
in lsg.

To celebrate the one year of awesomeness that is lsg, some of us have decided to make traveling scarves. How it works, is that each person starts a scarf then mails it on to the next person, until each person in the group has knitted a 5 inch section (each group has less than 10 members- I think) and it gets back to whomever started the scarf. So not only will I have a finished scarf (actually two, I am knitting on a handspun group and a 'normal/scents ok' group) but it will have been knitted on by a bunch of awesome people :0 I'll have two completely original scarves to keep me warm next fall and winter ..
Here are my two sections I started:

malabrigo worsted Merino yarn in "Peach Tree"

knit on size 7us, cast on 37

Scrunchable Scarf pattern

handspun Merino, "Verdant"

knit on size 9us, cast on 36

Morning Surf scarf pattern

For Cynthia

Note: Apparently, "Cynthia" isn't who she says she is, and her asking this info is more likely market research, as opposed to some poor college student doing an article. I'm not going to alter this post, as I don't think I've provided any info "Cynthia" couldn't find by 1) searching my blog, 2) searching the internet, or 3) freely joining ravelry.com herself and getting the info first hand.

Thanks for asking, I hope I can help...

Thing is, I am writing a piece on Ravelry for my college magazine. Topic is WHY Ravelry is such a huge success. I need opinions from fellow Ravelers like you to back up this claim I am making.

These are the questions:

1) Why did you choose to join Ravelry?

2) How did you learn about Ravelry?

3) What does Ravelry give you that other sites don’t?

4) Absolutely anything else you’d like to share with me on this subject.

My quandary is this: I love the site and come here almost every week to look for knitting tips and ideas. (I haven’t joined yet, as I am too shy to talk of my own work…)

I want to understand why others do the same. Each person must have his or her own reason and I am very curious to understand this trend.

Once I write the piece, I intend to send it across to Bob the dog. Maybe, he will post it on the site to encourage newcomers or even use it for other promotion purposes.

Thank you in advance


Keep writing, keep sharing, keep creating
Warmest regards
Cynthia

Interesting questions! I'd be happy to help :)

1. I decided to join ravelry because the pattern and yarn database seemed like a wonderful tool as a knitter. I had not planned on becoming immersed in the forums, as I am a member of knittinghelp.com as well. However, I prefer the forums on ravelry for a couple of reasons. First, being the ability to directly reply to a person, and them being automatically alerted about your replies. Second, the agree/disagree/education/interesting/funny/love buttons on the bottom of every post enable a person to 'reply' without having to type "Oh ME TOO!" I also like the ease of linking to patterns, yarns and people when posting in the forums.

2. I first heard about ravelry on knittinghelp.com. The owners of that site have always been supportive and helpful, even of ravelry, when some might view them as a competitor. To me, they serve different functions. Ravelry is a database and personal notebook and happens to have a great forum attached :) KH is a site that is awesome for videos to learn techniques as well as a great place to get help when you need it.

3. For me, I have found ravelry to be a great way to keep track of my projects, my yarn and fiber stash, as well as have a chance to see what others have done with pattern and yarns. I've connected with a lot of really wonderful people and it's massive forums, with an outstanding array of specialised groups, makes it easy to find just about any info regarding knitting, crochet, spinning, weaving and just about anything you can think of. It has been a great way for me to interact with others, as well as advance my abilities in knitting and spinning. With out ravelry, I probably wouldn't have joined my local Spinning and Weaving Guild (Moonspinners) or been so fearless in my spinning and knitting.

4. I never thought a hobby could expand and become such a big part of my life. I have always been drawn to creative arts. I used to draw constantly, and paint. However, painting takes up space, and with dogs and a little kid, it just doesn't seem reasonable to have an easel set up with a canvas on it taking up so much space. Someday, when we have our own place again, I'll get back into it! I love the portability of knitting projects, the texture and color. I love spinning for the same reasons. The incredible potential in each skein, roving and batt.

Overall, I think ravelry is such a huge success because of the way it allows its users to search projects, yarns, and forums. It provides SO MUCH information. The way Casey and Jess have set it up to be used in so many infinite ways. The way they are accessible and open to suggestions. The way a user can choose to participate in every facet, or none.

I do love ravelry. <3

Musings

I've been putting off blogging for awhile. Probably because I just feel like there isn't anything interesting enough to blog about. Oh well.

I've been thinking about what to do with my etsy shop. My current thought is that I am going to see if my LYS would be interested in selling my stuff on consignment. I am also going to switch over to rovings and batts, and maybe expand to yarns again, if it goes well. I need to get the roving here and dyed up, then approach my LYSO, if nothing else, I'll be listing them on etsy. Stay tuned.

I've also been getting out of the house more often :) Knitting at the LYS on Fridays, Moonspiners guild every 2nd Tuesday, and recently, I've started taking Peanut with me to meetup at Rachels home for a spinning group (there are 4 of us). It is a LOT of fun to spin together, chat and let the kids play together! I even got the Mr. to come along this past Saturday. He admitted he had a good time, and Rachel asked if we'd be interested in joining them next time they have a poker night. :) MORE grown up time! WIN! I'll also be starting to go to a Tuesday night bible study with my sister at our chuch. Hopefully it won't be too crazy. I prefer my christianity simple (Love one another, golden rule type stuff, not 5 million rules).

Also, I am realizing what generous, wonderful people I've met and have in my life. Friends I have met through knit night (Hi Lee, Lana, Rachel, Kimberly ect. ;) and friends I've met through ravelry (Hi LSGers!) Some of these friends are people I get to meet up and hang out with IRL, and others are people I talk to on ravelry and have become a tight group. It's amazing to me how having such a simple hobby (knitting; and from that, spinning) has made my life so much richer and emotionally satisfying.

Now, fingers, and stuff, crossed that it works out doing consignment at my LYS!

A recently finished yarn:



handdyed, handcarded, handspun
2ply romney with angelina
180ish yards, 4 ounces

trying to be organized ...

leaves me frustrated. I totally lack the gene that makes someone want to organize (you know, color coded closets and always perfectly made bed- like Martha Stewart). I want to be more organized. Just imagine how much more time in the day I will save if I know exactly where X is, instead of the current method of "where did i leave it? I know I was wearing Y when I last had X..." Trust me, it would be HOURS!

In an attempt to be more productive, I am putting myself on a task schedule (at least, for starters, on the computer). This will entail one hour in the morning to check messages and emails, check any ravelry.com and knittinghelp.com forum threads that I am currently researching, and delete the eleventy-seven spam messages I get every frackin' day. Then I am aloud a second hour in the evening to update my blog and etsy shop (if needed) and then just browse on the forums (ravelry, knittinghelp, and cafemom..)

Think this will work? I am hoping by being a little more strict with my time it will actually give me more of a push to get my knitting projects done, my housework done, and eventually lead to me having a clean, organized and productive living space. Baby steps. Also? I signed up for the flylady.com yahoo group. I won't be starting with "Shine Your Sink!!1!!!!" but using it as a template.

Also... I am hoping to find a means to help with the family bills (since etsy isn't *sad sigh* ) and still maintain being at home with Peanut. Right now, this is my biggest priority (staying home) but I want to ease some of the financial burden from DH (not STASHING yarn and fiber will help too *blush*)

(*heehee*- last night I had a little dream that I was asked to dye-for pay- tons of yarn for my LYS. Wouldn't that be awesome? I wish we could afford for me to buy a huge order of wholesale blank yarn to sell in etsy. But at this time, it's just a pipe dream *very sad sigh*)

So, for you destashing fiber artists, how do you decide when it's time to destash something? I love all of my yarn, and most of it has a specific project in mind. It's hard for me to decide if I should sell some of my yarn or keep it. I do not plan on buying any more yarn until I have significantly decreased my current stash (barring buying yarn to knit DH Cobblestone. This is something that will happen as soon as I decide on the perfect yarn) and spun up my fiber stash, not counting the cotswold fleece as that I have no idea what I will do with it.

Thanks for stopping by, I know this posts isn't too thrilling ;)

ravelry Hat Attack

I was killed.
I knitted furiously over the weekend, finished the very lovely cabled Binary Hat(ravelry link). I used my Denise size 7s, and handdyed Lambs pride. I mailed my hat sunday (really monday)
and sadly, i received my hat wednesday. So now i am dead, but i have a lovely hat to show for it!

bad for bloggin'

i'm just sayin'.

I love ravelry, and KH.

why are they baaaad? cause i spend my time updating my stash, my projects, and keeping up with swaps (for fun and for destashing), and then there are the forums and pattern browsing. *sigh*

it makes it awfully hard to update the blog as far as knitting goes. but here are a couple of recent Fo's:

the curly purly soaker. Plan on making lot's of these :) already started #2

dd in her halloween costume. she was a piglet (not the Piglet) I knit a 2x2 short cuff, then plain hat. I added craft felt ears, stitched into place. very cute. very warm, and she wore it all night! and she was cute sayin' "thank ewe", and "welcome" when she got candy. :)

I am on the look out for a nice simple coat pattern. I have about 2600 yds of a nice light mint DK weight yarn. I want a sort of feminine 'pea' coat. minus the long length, and not too fitted, as i'd like to wear more than a t-shirt under it. also, i don't want to felt or full a jacket. just a nice tight gauge.

and i have 4 skeins of louet riverstone chunky. i think i'd like a top, but i don't know if i have enough yarn to make one to fit ME. it may end up as another soaker, and some handdyed to sell in my etsy shop. I already dyed one skein for a soaker. It will be #3, the colorway name is 'Perfect Peri". I will take pictures tomorrow, as it's still drying ;)
I am hoping to actually sell stuff, but apparently i am crappy at self promotion, or sumpin'. I want to start a stole, with beads. problem? i need to sell at least one more yarn and then i can buy beads. *sigh*