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I'm reading everything everyone has to say here and I didn't realize you could plug in a yarn and see what everyone had done with it! :jumpyay I have some very pretty yarn that I really didn't know what to do with. I had trouble knitting with it because it was a boucle and I'm just too new to knitting to work with any fancy yarns yet. But I CAN crochet with it, just didn't know what to make. I do now because I looked up the yarn. Ravelry has it's uses, at least for me. :cheer

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I joined Ravelry because I had seen it on here and a friend of mine, a knitter, said she liked it. I think it's a personal preference thing that you have to find out for yourself. I don't use it much. Only forum I need is this one, so never checked theirs out. For me, I'm not going to use the organizational thing because it's like my embroidery threads, takes to long and I'd rather be :crocheting:lol

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I've joined a few groups and am in a Block a Month crochet along group that I'm enjoying.

 

Wow I am in the Block a Month CAL also and I am also enjoying it.

 

I like Raverly for I am a newbie knitter so I am really learning a lot by asking questions pertaining to the patterns. Many designers are part of the CAL/KAL and they also give input concerning questions you may have about one of their patterns. I love looking at all the patterns and seeing all the new crochet/knitting books that are out. I even belong to a Jane Austen's reading club where we are reading through all of Jane Austins books. Before that I never even thought of reading a Jane Austen book. LOL Raverly is mainly a knitters world and at first I was disappointed in that fact but I get to look at yarn that I didn't even know exist and also I am now interested in learning how to spin yarn. LOL

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I like it mostly to link my finished items to the pattern. I use flickr to post my pictures so when anyone calls up that pattern, they see my finished object. Plus, I get to see what everyone else did with the pattern.

 

The project queue is a great tool to keep me on track to work on my projects in priority order.

 

You can decide how involved to be in the forums and groups.

 

The pattern browsing option is very helpful. Recently I was working on some sweaters for my sister's chi so I went into the browse function and clicked on free, crochet, pets and there were all the patterns listed, with photos. I just had to go thru a few to pick the patterns I wanted to try! :clap

 

The collection of patterns and the convenience of having them all in one place is reason enough to create an account, even if you don't use all the other options.

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i guess it might just be my age showing but I find all the navel gazing to be a bit tedious. Who in the world really cares about every hook, needle and marker you have. There is a need in every human being to find significance and I guess I just think that is not the way to get it.

 

I joined but I asked to be excused before they even got past the initial rush of invites. i joined the Ville group and I was amazed that no one had anything to say... at all .. after seeing all the enthusiastic chatter here.

 

This is my crochet home. I know the language will not offend and the members are all supportive. What's not to love ? Once you have the best, why keep looking elsewhere?

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I joined mainly to try and promote a pattern of mine. But as it's made from stash yarn I couldn't make all the specifications needed to post it, I gave up.

As for the organizing, I preferr to do it manually.

 

I do occasionally search patterns, but that's it.

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Darski, I hear what you're sayin'. Frankly, I have zero interest in posting my relatively meagre stash or putting pictures of ordinary knitting needles and crochet hooks up — this seems a tad obsessive and bizzare. And if I did choose to catalog those things on my computer it would be in a private, not public, file. I am, however, interested in patterns. I decided to take the advice of many here and join with reservations. (Too bad you can't formally join on that basis, LOL.) If it's not worth it to me, then out!

 

Thank you all for your advice. It will be a few days before an invitation comes and I still may back away. :badidea

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Who in the world really cares about every hook, needle and marker you have.
Frankly, I have zero interest in posting my relatively meagre stash or putting pictures of ordinary knitting needles and crochet hooks up — this seems a tad obsessive and bizzare.

There are a lot of OCD people out there and people who like to make lists.

I love making lists. I like their hook/needle chart. I filled mine out and the other day I was GLAD I had because I kept thinking I had a C hook and just couldn't find it. I looked on my chart and low and behold, I do NOT own a C hook. LOL

Yes I could put a list on my computer but computers crash, disks fail.

Also if I was out in a store and needed to know what hook to buy or what yarn for a pattern, Ravelry would be accessable by phone net.

 

I haven't put my yarn up yet. I'm too lazy I guess. However I did read that someone else did and had something sitting around that another member saw and needed to finish a project. The one member wasn't using it so sold it to her.

I think that's pretty cool myself.

 

This is my crochet home. I know the language will not offend and the members are all supportive. What's not to love ? Once you have the best, why keep looking elsewhere?

To me, comparing Ravelry and Crochetville is like comparing apples and oranges. Both have their plus but both are different.

Even if you never use the forums, the place is a great resource.

If you don't like a forum or two you joined, unjoin theforum and find one that you do like. It doesn't have to be about crochet. Again, it can be about your favorite move or tv show or book or pet or store (non yarn or yarn), etc.

 

:)

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I hear ya Empress Busy Bee! I used to have to print out my 'stash' and carry a list (which needed reprinted whenever I bought new yarn) so that I wouldn't overbuy a particular yarn, or so that I'd know what I should pick up if I caught a good sale. If I ever need, I can look up my Ravelry stash now using my phone.

 

Plus it helps me to see my yarn listed to keep me honest about how much I really have and what I really shouldn't buy anymore regardless of type unless something very specific is required for a gift. It's too easy to stuff yarn in a closet and forget you have it!

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To me, comparing Ravelry and Crochetville is like comparing apples and oranges. Both have their plus but both are different.

 

:)

 

My thoughts exactly! They are, IMO, entirely different types of sites, that each serve their own purposes. To say you like one, and therefore don't need the other, is like saying, 'I like coffee so there's no need for me to ever drink soda.'

 

I couldn't do without either one. I love browsing the messages here at C'ville every day, even if I don't talk much myself. And Ravelry has become an indispensable information resource to me, even if there are many functions I still do not use over there. Other than having a bunch of patterns in my queue and PDF's stored in my library, I have yet to utilize much of the personalized sections. I *really* want to get my stash online, but haven't taken the time yet, but if I ever do, it will be so helpful.

 

Some of the things I've done or make continual use of, that make Ravelry helpful to me : of course, just generalized browsing through patterns & projects can always be fun & inspirational...

 

Pattern search - the searching options are so outstanding. If I just want to browse through all free crochet sweater patterns, easy. If I want to look only for crochet patterns that call for a bulky-weight yarn and are either afghans, kitchen items or shawls, click - there's only those patterns If I have a pretty yarn but don't know what to do with it - I can search all patterns or projects using that weight/size of yarn regardless of brand, or I can narrow it down as much as I want, maybe only baby items made using that specific brand of yarn.

 

If I see a project I like, but I don't have the yarn that's called for, I can click & see what other different types of yarn people have used to make that same project & how they turned out - that's been helpful sometimes when I was perhaps wondering if I could use a lighter or heavier yarn on a project, but wasn't sure how it would work out.

 

If I run out of a yarn for a project I'm making, I can do a quick search of stashes - filter it by the exact yarn & colorway I want, narrow the search to only trade/sell stashes, and voila, there's someone with the yarn I need for sale/trade. (I've been saved a couple of times with this, when I needed just one more skein of a discontinued yarn!) LOL - I've even gone 'shopping' a few times, when I decided to give some 'exotic' yarn a try, but didn't want to invest much - found someone I could trade with,or buy one skein from, just to sample something new & different.

 

If I want to substitute one yarn for another, I can find the pertinent info to help with that.

 

I could go on & on - it's been useful in so many ways & I don't even make use of a lot of it, but to me, it's just an invaluable "library" full of information, all very neatly indexed & cross-referenced, and I've always found it very easy & fast to use.

 

So, to repeat the start of this - in fairness to both Crochetville & Ravelry, you really can't compare the two sites to one another - it's apples & oranges. Crochetville is a *message forum* -- a very large, very active, very wonderful forum, with all kinds of stuff going on, but at it's core, it is a *message forum*. As such, there's much more socializing, talk, chat, etc here - that's the primary purpose of any message forum - communication between members. Ravelry is not a message forum - the website contains a handful of forums & a million special-interest groups, but that's not the primary focus over there. Access to multiple databases of information & sharing of information is more the focus of Ravelry, IMO.

 

Makes me think of the huge Borders store we used to love to go to in FL before we moved -- we could spend hours in the bookstore itself but then also spend hours over in the wonderful coffee-shop with friends afterwards. Both were equally enjoyable, and we couldn't have tried to choose one over the other - both had their place & both added to the overall enjoyment of the evening. That's how I feel about Crochetville & Ravelry - both have their own special place & both have become irreplaceable to me.

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I don't like it. I was really quick to join up because everyone on here said it was so great. I can't find anything on it, I have no need to keep track of what yarns I have, what patterns I am using. It is beyond my brain on how to navigate the site. I don't even go on there any more. JMHO. Sorry if it offends anyone.

 

Same here, and when I first joined I found a few things I wanted to make, but one of them the pattern was in Japanese, and the other couple were like here is the pattern, but there wasn't a pattern to be found and nothing to click on, yet it actually said here is the pattern for it. I gave up on it, I don't even bother looking at the site anymore. If it works for some people, more power to them, but for me, it's just a time drainer.

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Carla, Hang on to your account, even if you don't like it initially. Mine sat untouched for ages, but then I discovered how nice it was to do a search on a project (most recently chemo caps for charity giving and vests for my granddaughters) and see photos of various patterns and yarns used. It's a great way to browse if you have no idea what pattern to use.

 

When I have a specific pattern in mind, I really like looking on there to see how that pattern turned out for a lot of people, rather than going by the picture on the pattern alone. It's so helpful to see it made in various yarns and colors.

 

So you may not use Ravelry a lot, but it can be quite valuable when you do. I'm still trying to figure out transferring pictures, because it would be great if more of us crocheters started entering our work.

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I did finally get around to joining Ravelry just to see what all the fuss is about. I was really surprised at all the local groups there. Even one for my dinky little town! I'm still finding my way around the site. I much prefer the 'ville! Don't have to weed through to get to the crochet stuff!

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I am on the site and I love the place just to keep up with the few projects I finish, and the books that I buy. I have not taken pictures of my stash or hooks and neeldles. I like to vist a few of the groups to see what peolpe have to say on so many subjects. They have groups on a lot of stuff. Poltics and relationships, knititng, crochet everything.

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I joined last year because everyone was doing it...but I really didn't even know what I was joining! I put some pics on there and I did enjoy looking at other people's work. I got some ideas from there and bought some patterns, but that is about it. I haven't even been on there for months and months. I don't care to spend time putting things on there to organize myself...I can do that at home without being on the computer. It's an interesting place, but I so much like Crochetville and that is all I have time for. :manyheart

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I use it half heartedly, I LOVE browsing patterns and seeing everyones differing versions but I don't add all of my WiPs and FOs like I intended to as I already track then on my blog it seemed pointless. I don't have enough of a stash to have to keep track of it and that I do have is odd balls of none branded stuff. I also don't use the forums, I chat to crochet friends here and other crafty friends on Craftster.

As its a free site to join though I'd sign up and have a look around if I was you, you don't have to stay if you don't like it :)

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I am also a member of Ravelry and love it. I had trouble in the beginning learning how to navigate there, but I stuck with it and now I belong to the Knitters in Belgium forum, and use my notebook to keep track of my projects. I filled out the needles/hooks chart and printed it out. It's very helpful when I'm shopping. Since I'm not that computer lit, it always takes me some time to learn how to navigate, etc. I'm still learning at CrochetVille as well.

If you decide to join, hang in there and use Ravelry the way you want to.

antwerpnative

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I have an account on Ravelry and I love it. I do not use it to put my stash, books or hooks on it. I have found some really nice patterns on it tho. I like the idea that you can click on say bags, dishcloths, or whatever you want to find patterns for. That is all that comes up then.

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For those of you who are intimidated by the number of groups/forums on their they have some stuff to make that more manageable. For one thing, if anyone replies directly to a post you've made or they use your username in a post, you'll get a notice. That way you don't always have to keep track of everywhere you've posted. There's also a "rearrange" tab that lets you arrange the boards in to different tabs to make it easier to find what you're looking for. I've got the main boards in one tab, all my local groups in another tab, a tab for amigurumi groups, and another tab for crochet groups.

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It took me a while to get used to Ravelry but now I love it.

 

I haven't yet used it to post stash/yarn but I have some projects on there.

 

A couple of the things I like best are

 

 

  • If you're planning a project from a pattern, you can see pictures of the finished article as completed by other crocheters - You can get an idea of how it turns out in differnt yarns, for example, or of the changes that others have made to it.

 

 

  • Browsing finished articles made by others is good for inspiration - and if you see something you like there's often a link to the pattern, or at very least info about where to get the pattern. You can browse by item, by yarn, by colour - it's easy once you get used to it.

 

 

The forums are fine as forums go - there are loads of them, often dealing with similar themes but with time I've built up a list of those I like best. There's more scope for general discussion - OK it's often trivial but there don't seem to be any bans in place on discussion of poliics, for example.

 

That said, I think there's still a place for crochetville. It has its own special feel and I still visit often, even if I don't post much.

 

Ravelry's membership is much bigger that C'ville, and there are always far more users online. How many of them are crochet-ers though, I don't know.

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I have an account. I don't really care for flicker - I have everything on photobucket and for the life of me - I just can't figure it out.

 

Definitely check it out tho. At least if you have an account you can follow the links that are left here and check them out there.

 

BTW, Rose Red, you can now load your photos up from photobucket (it just is not the default option... you need to click over to the photobucket tab in the photo upload area...)

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Well, I joined. The first thing I saw when filling out my profile was "Fave curse word". Huh?

 

To be honest I just clicked right out and had to let that one settle a little bit. I am sorely tempted to just forget the whole thing. This is absolutely, totally inappropriate, but I tell you what it does do: it lets me know I do not want to get into their forums. I have poked around in patterns a little bit. There are some pretty ones. Most of the freebies I can find elsewhere on the Net. Got to think this over some more. And yes, I am thinking of sending a letter to the owners.

 

I'm disgusted.

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I like the free patterns (of course), but I think the best feature (for me) is to look up a yarn and see what projects people have made with it. It helps me use stash.

 

I don't catalogue my stash, books, or my hooks online, though. I don't feel a need to do that. I have a tendency to make life complicated enough without adding that sort of obsessivness to the hobby that is supposed to be relaxing! :lol

 

If it helps you to log all that, then go for it. I just can't be bothered. :P

 

Oh - and I don't use their forum. I prefer Crochetville for all things discussion! :cheer

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