Guest Post: "How joining Ravelry changed my Knitting"

Guest column by Victoria Masters

I have been knitting, on and off, since my grandmother first taught me at age five. I grew up on box-store acrylic yarns and plastic needles from my mom, but had put down the hobby a few years ago to pursue other arts and crafts endeavors. When Bella Luna Knits opened, I stopped by to support my friend on opening day and was amazed to see how much softer my cherished acrylics had become over the years. I was amazed by the other natural fiber yarns, too. There was more variety than I ever remember seeing growing up.

During the course of a Friday night Sit-N-Knit at Bella Luna Knits, the topic of Ravelry came up. Ravelry is an online community for people who knit, crochet, spin, weave, dye, and generally enjoy the fiber arts. The website allows a user to track their yarn stash, their projects, patterns they want to use, and connect through forums with other like-minded individuals. I initially rolled my eyes- I didn’t need another social media platform to log onto! But, being curious, I created a free account and explored the site.

So- six months have passed and I have 19 projects (most of them complete), 118 stashed yarns, 242 patterns bookmarked, and my hooks and needles cataloged. I can honestly say it has changed the way I look at knitting (and now crochet!) for the better. I can see, while shopping at Bella Luna Knits, what yarns I have purchased so I don’t accidentally buy duplicates. I can link yarns in my stash to patterns I want to try and make sure I have enough to complete the whole project before I even begin. I can use the pictures of my stash purchased elsewhere to guide buying complimentary yarns in the store. If I’m on the fence about WHAT to do with a yarn, Ravelry has hundreds (or thousands) of patterns that link that yarn!

Ravelry has changed not just how I knit (their forums have helpful advice that I can access during hours no shop is open), but how I buy yarn, how I pick patterns, and how much satisfaction I have in my final item (and who doesn’t like to share a nice finished project?). I’ve also learned new knitting terms- LYS, FO, KALs, frogging, etc., that I NEVER heard my grandmother or mother use, and connected with people I would never usually meet.

If you want to connect with me on Ravelry, I welcome new friends: http://www.ravelry.com/people/Victoriamasters and connecting with Bella Luna Knits is just as easy: http://www.ravelry.com/people/BellaLunaKnits