Kay in Cal Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 OK, just got my account on Ravelry and joined the WTM group. Question--how do you use the site? What are the cool feature I can't miss? I'm halfway through my second dishcloth--exciting, huh??? I've been knitting a whole week now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CalicoKat Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 OK, just got my account on Ravelry and joined the WTM group. Question--how do you use the site? What are the cool feature I can't miss? I'm halfway through my second dishcloth--exciting, huh??? I've been knitting a whole week now! Yeah! What's your ravelry id? I love the groups, especially the one that on the books I have. I can ask specific questions about patterns when I get stuck. I'm calicokat there too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GailV Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 I love looking through patterns and adding them to my queue. Heck, I went through old issues of knitting magazines and put the patterns in my queue -- that way I don't forget what I want to make. I like putting my projects on there so I have a record of what yarn I used, how much, all of those details I should probably write down but don't get around to it. It's especially nice for Works In Progress -- if they reach that sort of unidentifiable state since you've left them beside the couch for several months you can look up your notes and see what it was you were doing, and what size needles you were using before you ripped them out to use in something else (although I've been pretty good lately about finishing what I've started and not having those UnFinished Objects hang around for years at a time). When I'm thinking about making a certain I LOVE looking through everyone else's version of it. How did those sleeves turn out on theirs? Did they make any clever alterations? How does it look in a variegated yarn? Has anyone tried it in XYZ yarn? I like seeing what my friends are doing, partially because I'm nosey. I look at what my friends have queued, what yarn they've stashed, what they're working on. One friend uses it as a quick way to check in on blogs. I've photographed part of my stash and put it on. It's handy to review stash that way without having to open all the ziplocs and boxes. It serves as a reminder to not buy any more sock yarn until I've done something with all I've already got. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astrid Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 Wait, there's a WTM group on Ravelry??? I"ve been there for about two years now. I"m "astridrobi" there. Off to find the WTM group! Welcome, Kay! Congrats on your dishtowel! astrid Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firefly Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 My favorite thing about Ravelry is all the patterns! Lots of free ones, too. I also like that I can keep a project queue with pictures and links to yarn that I like. Great site! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1bassoon Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 What a neat site! My dd16 is an avid, avid self-taught knitter. She's even developed a kids' curriculum for knitting - Is it appropriate for her? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CalicoKat Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 What a neat site! My dd16 is an avid, avid self-taught knitter. She's even developed a kids' curriculum for knitting - Is it appropriate for her? I think so. It's great for any knitter. I go there for inspiration for the next project. It's fun too to see some of the authors on that site. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kay in Cal Posted November 7, 2008 Author Share Posted November 7, 2008 My ID there is RevMommy--I even have a real (but not great) picture of myself as my avatar right now. Friend me if you have any knitting advice! Question--if I have a pattern I bought, can I post it? It's copyrighted, correct? I tried to take a picture of my dishcloth, but it hasn't come out well yet... I found a yahoo knitting group and asked about great yarn stores in LA, so tomorrow as my birthday treat I'm going to visit: http://www.unwindyarn.com/ and http://www.stitchcafe.com/ and http://www.thatyarnstore.com/index.html Sounds like fun, huh? I'm looking for supplies to help me move on towards socks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GailV Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 What a neat site! My dd16 is an avid, avid self-taught knitter. She's even developed a kids' curriculum for knitting - Is it appropriate for her? There are groups of teen knitters in the forum section. I don't know if it's patrolled in any way to keep out adults -- it might vary by group. I think there's even a group of homeschooled teen knitters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GailV Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 My favorite thing about Ravelry is all the patterns! Lots of free ones, too. I also like that I can keep a project queue with pictures and links to yarn that I like. Great site! I adore searching patterns on Ravelry. It's really easy. Just recently I was looking for baby stuff, so I just typed in "baby" and was able to browse all sort of patterns. I could specify I wanted free patterns only, if I wanted. I also browsed "toys" that day. Another time I think I was looking for patterns that were for cats -- easy peasy on Ravelry to find dozens upon dozens. Or crocheted hats. Or tshirts. Also, if you like small independent designers like Chic Knits or French Girl Knits it's a great way to keep up on their work. You can join a forum group about a particular designer, download (or follow a link to a download) a pattern for a small fee (or free), see how others knit up the pattern, ask the designer questions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firefly Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 ^^I haven't explored the forum area much over there, I didn't realize they had ones for particular designers! :lol: Thanks for the heads up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Georgie Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 Question--if I have a pattern I bought, can I post it? It's copyrighted, correct? I tried to take a picture of my dishcloth, but it hasn't come out well yet... Nope they have a rule, unless you are the person who copyrighted the pattern, you are not allowed to post it. You can tell where you found the pattern and post a picture, but you can not post the actual pattern. I agree the site is fantastic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MelaniePA Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 I love Ravelry. I don't post in the forums as much anymore(I read, but haven't posted in a long time), but the pattern searches are great, being able to save patterns into my queue is really helpful, and keeping track of my projects and sharing them is nice. As far as for teens, I know there are a few groups geared towards teens, I know the main forums have been asked to keep things user friendly since everyone belongs to those groups, it usually is ok from what I have browsed through, sometimes there is the occasional not so much. I know there are other groups to join that may be questionable. If you have a pattern that is yours, you can post it, if not you cannot, but if you got it from a book or magazine, there is a good possibility that it may already be in Ravelry anyways. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinder Posted November 8, 2008 Share Posted November 8, 2008 I'm cinderga there. My favorite features are the pattern search and being able to favorite things. I don't queue them up--that makes it seem like I'm actually planning to knit those things someday. Too much pressure! I also like looking at the project pictures--how different yarns in the same pattern turn out. I don't post much. Don't have any pics of my projects--no camera. :sad: I think I'll go join the WTM group now. See ya there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amyable Posted November 8, 2008 Share Posted November 8, 2008 I love Ravelry too, mostly for looking around for inspiration. I haven't posted at the forums there much at all. The small amount of time for knitting/crochet I have is usually actually spent doing those things which doesn't leave my hands free to type, LOL. I really feel like I've hit an impasse in my skills though. I'm already up to my ears in dishcloths and scarves (there's actually one on my lap half done as I type), but I can't seem to do the more difficult things with any degree of success. :tongue_smilie: So I lurk, and get inspired, and try again. (and rip it out, and try again :lol: ). Oh, I'm amyable there too. Feel free to friend me (how long has "friend" been a verb? :001_huh:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CalicoKat Posted November 8, 2008 Share Posted November 8, 2008 I love Ravelry too, mostly for looking around for inspiration. I haven't posted at the forums there much at all. The small amount of time for knitting/crochet I have is usually actually spent doing those things which doesn't leave my hands free to type, LOL. I really feel like I've hit an impasse in my skills though. I'm already up to my ears in dishcloths and scarves (there's actually one on my lap half done as I type), but I can't seem to do the more difficult things with any degree of success. :tongue_smilie: So I lurk, and get inspired, and try again. (and rip it out, and try again :lol: ). Oh, I'm amyable there too. Feel free to friend me (how long has "friend" been a verb? :001_huh:) entrelac! That's what I discovered my basic knitting skills were ready to do. I also got a kick our of doing the mitered hand towels in the new mason dixon book. Just enough of a skill stretch for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
runamuk Posted November 8, 2008 Share Posted November 8, 2008 I'm Run-a-muk on Ravelry but didn't know there was a WTM group. *off to join right now* I don't post much over there, but I use it to find patterns. I'm at a bit of an impasse, too, and I enjoy looking for projects that will challenge me but won't frustrate me to tears. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amyable Posted November 9, 2008 Share Posted November 9, 2008 entrelac! That's what I discovered my basic knitting skills were ready to do. I also got a kick our of doing the mitered hand towels in the new mason dixon book. Just enough of a skill stretch for me. I just looked that up - that looks cool but it's making my head spin. :lol: Maybe I should graduate to dishcloths in two colors first. :001_huh: :D Hopefully I'll be able to give entrelac a good college try when I make heads and tails of the instructions. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CalicoKat Posted November 9, 2008 Share Posted November 9, 2008 I just looked that up - that looks cool but it's making my head spin. :lol: Maybe I should graduate to dishcloths in two colors first. :001_huh: :D Hopefully I'll be able to give entrelac a good college try when I make heads and tails of the instructions. :001_smile: :D have you had a gander at the Mason Dixon books? I spend a lot of time in the first book. There's a couple project in there, including a 2-colored dishcloth, that are fun. I did a lot of the bibs too--garter stitch. The first one is the easier IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PariSarah Posted November 9, 2008 Share Posted November 9, 2008 Is it appropriate for her? I'm sure she'd love it. It's a lot of fun, you can find free patterns very easily, and she can post her projects and let people how wonderful she is. As far as mature content, there are content restrictions on avatars and postings on the main six boards. The individual groups have different standards, and not all of them are family-friendly. If that's an issue for you, you may want to browse it with her. They're trying to get "mature content" sections set up, but they haven't gotten around to it yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PariSarah Posted November 9, 2008 Share Posted November 9, 2008 Question--how do you use the site? What are the cool feature I can't miss? It's like life before kids--what did you DO back then?!?! Anyway, congrats on learning to knit! It's a lot of fun, isn't it? What do I use ravelry for? Well, I post my projects and let people tell me how wonderful they are. :D I've posted a few yarns that I'd like to sell. Mostly, I use it before I start a project or buy a yarn. I look through everyone else's version of a project to see how it turned out. Maybe I'll find a woman with a body type like mine, and think, "Oh. It looks different on her than on that stick-figure-for-a-model that was in the book!" Or maybe I'll find someone who did the project in a different yarn than was called for, and I'll get some ideas about what works and what doesn't. Or I'll look for the yarn colorway I'm thinking of buying, and see how it looks in a real project. Or somebody will mention how well or poorly a particular yarn is wearing. Or if I have a yarn I want to use, I'll look through what people have done with it--scarf? hat? socks? And I love browsing through all the patterns they have. Sometimes I just browse for the sake of browsing, and I put patterns in my queue. Then, when I get yarn money for Christmas, I browse my queue and see whether there's something I want to make. I just have a lot of fun with it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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