An Ode to Ravelry

An Ode to Ravelry

Hey guys, welcome back! I have to admit that today is a bit of a rough day.  I spent all day yesterday watching the U.S midterm election with high hopes only to see a few of them fizzle out super close to fruition. Today I’m trying to recognize that they still had very important victories but I’m still just a little disappointed.  Why am I so invested in an election in a foreign country?  Well I would love to say that it’s because what happens in the United States does impact our country but that’s not the only reason.  I genuinely love the optimism of people like Beto O’Rourke who believe they can make real and positive changes in their country and in the world and seeing him and his millions of voters disappointed makes me sad. When CNN announced his defeat, I’m not going to lie, my first thought was, good people just can’t have nice things.

(yes I perpetually have patterns in my cart - they're usually the patterns I feel guilty about buying right before I buy them)

So anyway, today I couldn’t find it in me to give you guys an upbeat yarn/knitting post but we can talk about something else going on in our community that’s kind of thematic.  Last week saw the launch of a new app in the yarnie world and Ashley and I were super curious, naturally.  An app to make things?  Of course, we were all over it. And then I found out it was $12 a month.  My outrage was quickly checked by Ashley who said that’s less than two patterns a month and you guys all know I DEFINITELY buy more than two patterns a month.  Something was still rubbing me the wrong way about it all and I couldn’t put my finger on what it was until I started reading comments and someone said something like ‘We don’t really talk about classism in this community but $12 a month is kind of steep.  This feels kind of exclusionary.’ And I said YES! THIS IS WHAT’S BOTHERING ME! 

This app was hyped soooo much it really kind of felt like this was going to take off and be huge and, possibly, just possibly, make Ravelry obsolete; the knitting community, thereby, divided into those who could afford to participate in the new thing and those who couldn’t.  Now, could I indulge in $12 a month for a fun, new thing? Yeah, probably, but that is not the point.  The point is that I love our community and I don’t want to see it divided any more than it already is.

(throwback to the time my shawl was featured and I was so excited I had to announce it to the world)

I love Ravelry.  More importantly, I love how democratic Ravelry is.  There is, quite literally, a place for all of us there.  It doesn’t matter if you only knit with organic cashmere and silk or prefer a paid pattern over a free one.  Ravelry makes room for all of us and connects us by craft and not by bank account. 

Ashley introduced me to Ravelry when I first started knitting and the value that it added to my life is real and measurable.  It was the first place that I felt connected to a community that I genuinely belonged to and it’s the place I go back to when I’m looking for that feeling again.  I’m sure that the new app is great and I’m definitely going to keep an eye on it to see if it’s something I’m willing to try in the future but for now I’m going to hold.  What I've got does everything I need it to and, while I openly acknowledge that change is good and should be embraced, it's only really necessary when it's adding value.

Anyway, that's my rant for this week.  Next week, I will be back in knitting mode and counting down the weeks to Christmas.  Until then PEACE to you and yours and happy knitting!

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3 comments

Ravelry – YES!!! It has allowed me to find “my Peeps” and opened the whole world of indie dyers and designers to me and allowed me to make friends all over the world. I spend more time on Ravelry than any other form of social media. I would be completely lost and feel cut off from the world without it. I hope Ravely continues to Thrive.

Joan S.

With Making Things you don’t own the pattern- so you need to keep up the subscription until you finish:) I would need to change my knitting habits for sure: e.g. the sweater I started in July that is squirrelled away in the closet until I have time to get back to it!! That would be 5 months @ $12 per month to retain access to that pattern. Kind of a lot. You just can’t ‘consume’ knitting patterns at that speed, at least I can’t.

Hazel Swoboda

Because of the high profile of Beto, Stacey and others , there were a lot of exciting down ticket wins that wouldn’t have happened without their energy and leadership. My state will now have a Democratic woman governor, and a majority in both houses of Congress. We’ve got lots of work to do preparing for 2020, but we got some great gains to pave the way.
And, as for Ravelry – oh yes! It has been such a wonderful powerful creative space for me. A necessary force in my life.

Amy C

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