Friday, June 10, 2011

Ravelry Shares the Spotlight on Two Blogs....

I decided to share the blog entry from my Knitty Scribe blog here as well. If it weren't for Ravelry, neither blog would have stood a chance.

Peace and joy to you all....

The Green Girl.

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I Ravelry, Do You????

I suppose that many people that read this may already know what Ravelry is, but for those that don't here's the skinny. If you do, maybe there will be something new for you as well.

Ravelry is a knitting/crocheting web based community. I like to think of it as a Facebook type social network for knitters and crocheters. You have a Notebook page of your own, you can add your projects, stash , library, send messages, list your blog and website, befriend lots of lovely people and join numerous groups with specific themes. For Me Ravelry is a place where I have met some very dear people, learned tons of things in regard to my art, rekindled my love for other art forms, promoted my own designs (did I mention that you can sell your own personal designs - great way to get started) and basically made myself a village. Joining Ravelry costs you nothing - you can be as involved or not as you like.

Here are five things I love best about Ravelry:
1) the people- I've made some great new friends and they all have interests like my own. Yeah!!!

2) Being able to sell my original designs and get feedback on those designs before going public, from people with a similar interest (see a theme there?). You can offer your designs for sale or for free, which is fab!!!

3) I love the pattern database. This one function has saved me days worth of time in finding a pattern or a pattern book. Searching the internet at large can be a daunting task.

4) Being a member of group with a special interest that I share. For example: The Annual Dishcloth Swap. This swap is loads of fun and has a small time commitment. So, if you're really busy and how many of us aren't, eh?? - you can enjoy the fun and be done quickly and move move to the next thing on your To Do List. I highly recommend checking this group out - the moderators are awesome women and know how to have fun!!! There are other groups as well, things I never thought would fit into a knitting/crocheting social network, such as - IKEA Fans. Now, to be completely honest - next to knitting there is nothing more I love more than a trip to IKEA - I mean you should just see my home! And right there on Ravelry, I found a huge group of others that love their art and IKEA just like I do - and my goodness can we get chatty. There are other types of groups as well, things like design support, groups dedicated to specific people (The Yarn Harlot - Alan Dart or Debbie Macomber). You name it there's a group for it or you can start one of your own.

5) The fifth thing I love about Ravelry is the people that I've met. Yes, I know that was #1 on the list, but I'm using a literary technique here of book-ending. Start and end with the most important thing. If it weren't for the people and the developers of Ravelry, all the stuff in the middle wouldn't exist. So, "the people" is worth a double hit on the list.

I highly encourage anyone that's never taken a look at Ravelry do so. If you are a knitter or a crocheter, you will find yourself and your art opened up to a world made just for you and I don't think you'll be disappointed.

I've never done this before, but I love this site so much and it has meant so much to the growth of my art, my skills, my business, my social connections that I am also going to share this blog thread on the Green Girl blog.
If you do Ravelry, tell us what you love best. If you don't yet Ravelry, go - go now - spend some time on yourself and have a blast. Ravelry

Knit On, Read On....
The Knitty Scribe. 

2 comments:

Spinster Beth said...

I always describe Ravelry as Facebook for fibers. Not quite accurate, but descriptive. And I love Ikea and Ravelry!

Greengirl said...

I love that description - FB for Fibers - it rings!