Anybody else on Ravelry?

I gave in and joined after hearing about it for months, not really knowing what it would be. It's quite interesting.

I've been thinking lately about getting more connected to other knitters (and the general community of Portland, actually). Knitting has always been sort of private for me - not that I don't like to share it, the blog is proof of that. But I've never felt the need for any company. Actually, that can't be true either, because I read tons of knitting blogs, and I feel connected to those people, they just don't know it. Damn shyness.

I participated in a knitting group for charity last weekend, but it was a bit of a disappointment. Not many people showed up, and the ones who did didn't seem very interested in getting to know one another. There also wasn't any feeling of connection to the people we were making things for. Got me thinking about what one could do differently to make it a better experience for the knitter and the receiver. If I knew some more knitters, I would attempt to get the ball rolling. Which brings me back to needing to connect with other knitters.

I have one friend so far on Ravelry, and unlike my usual blog skulking, I got caught! I searched for people in Portland and came up with pages and pages of people, none of who I know (of course), except for Marnie, whose blog I have been reading for years. Not even sure how I found it originally, although she has published a number of patterns, so maybe that's how I came across her in the first place. So I clicked and added her as a "friend." I wasn't sure whether it was like Facebook or something where the person had to confirm they knew you, but no message to that effect showed up when I clicked. A few hours later, I was checking Ravelry and there was a message: "Marnie has added you as a friend." Caught! I got caught! I thought I was skulking and I totally wasn't. Apparently, it sends a message to whoever you add as a friend. At first, I was mortified about getting caught, but then I realized: I have a "friend." I'm connected, however weakly, to another knitter. Which is good.

Alright, rambling over. I'm not sure whether to bother adding all my old projects to Ravelry or to just start with the stuff I'm knitting now. My page looks really bare. But it would require putting all photos on flickr and filling in all the details that are already on the blog. Perhaps if I'm bored some weekend.