Ravelversary

Today marks a year for me on Ravelry. It might seem weird to bother making mention of such an occasion. Do people on other social networking sites notice when they have used those services for a year? Of course, I don't--and I suspect you don't--think of Ravelry first and foremost as a social networking site but as a one-stop shop for all things knitting, so that may explain the difference.

My Ravelversary seems like a good time, though, to heap praise on a site that plays a significant role in developing who I am as a knitter. I am an organized person, but sometimes my organization is in theoretical mode rather than in application. Ravelry makes it very easy to keep track of my projects, which makes it easy to find when I blogged about an FO and need some of the information from those posts. Really, it serves one of the purposes that this blog was semi-intended for.

Ravelry has also made it exponentially easier to find patterns that might interest me and direct me to knitting information. Remember the days of using search engines to find patterns and the like? Does anyone still do that outside of Ravelry?

It's also connected me with other knitters. I don't quite remember how I found out about the Wednesday knit night at the local LYS, but I suspect it was through a Ravelry forum. Later on I found another knitting group I'm more comfortable with and which fits my schedule better. It too came to my attention through Ravelry.

I've been attending fairly regularly for a few months now and don't feel so much like the odd man out (although I am, literally, the only male) now. I imagine my mostly quiet presence still befuddles many, but I've been welcomed in. I may feel like an interloper from time to time, but that's coming from me, not them.

Ravelry has helped me set goals, whether through site activities like Ravelympics or that nagging need to complete something because of the progress bars. I might finish the blanket I started making for myself if I would only add it to my project page.

Finally, I get a nice feeling of accomplishment when seeing the little hearts underneath my projects. Shallow but true. I don't know what draws these (mostly) strangers to look and leave their seals of approval or why this hat has been showered with far more love than this hat. (I prefer the way the kettle-dyed yarn knitted up in the latter.) Whatever the case, I'm pleased to receive such positive feedback.

Jess and Casey have done a remarkable job of filling a niche. The response must have exceeded their expectations. Ravelry may still be in beta a year after I joined the club, yet in my mind it is the definitive knitting site. If you aren't part of it, what's the hold-up?