CogKnition » Knitting on the Web

Mental Health Break

Yvonne — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 20:21:51 +0000

Found via a Remnants thread on Ravelry.

I’d like to refer the Doozers to the Knot a Problem Rav group.

By the Way

Yvonne — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 16:31:36 +0000

Anyone who wants to follow my day-to-day not-necessarily-knitting-related shenanigans while I catch up on work on put my life back in order can follow me on Twitter.

Alpacas are Subversive Creatures

Yvonne — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 23:17:25 +0000

Background at Danwei, translation and analysis from China Digital Times, and more commentary at my language learning blog!

Universally Covetatious

Yvonne — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 23:49:29 +0000

As the years go by, I do more and more of my Christmas shopping on Amazon. It works out well—as I lose tolerance for mall madness, Amazon increases the variety of stuff they sell. I can browse at my leisure, read reviews, usually get a good discount, and usually have it shipped free right to my front door.

Did you know that you can now buy yarn on Amazon? Most of it is Red Heart and the like, but sure enough, they’ve got a section for yarn in the Knitting subcategory of Sewing, Craft, and Hobby. Dig around and you just might find, oh, some alpaca and Cascade here or some Artyarns silk here…

But I actually came to blog about this:

That’s right, by adding a little button to your bookmarks bar, you can add anything from any store on the web to your Amazon wish list.

Here’s a peek at mine right now:

No yarn in that shot, but the possibilities are endless! And if your loved ones are anything like mine, they will appreciate being able to go to one place to find out that you want Project Runway Season 4, The Figs Table, this amazing amigurumi pattern on Etsy, and a button pack from Ravelry, without having to ask a bunch of prying, surprise-ruining questions.

Backup Your Knitting Patterns Online

Yvonne — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 22:32:10 +0000

‘Tis the season for traveling with your knitting. Like most people I know, I always travel with a laptop. The problem is, I mostly use my desktop when I’m at home and a different desktop when I’m at work. And so my downloaded knitting patterns get scattered across three computers and inevitably the one I want is not where I can get at it.

In addition to the access problem, there is also the backup problem. How much would it suck to lose all the patterns you’ve acquired over the years?

I would love for Ravelry to build in the ability to upload patterns you’ve purchased or downloaded elsewhere to Ravelry for storage. It’s on the list, but I’ve found a workaround in the meantime: Google Docs!

I already use Google Docs for a lot of things; I don’t know why it took me this long to see it as a way to store and organize my digital patterns. I created a folder called “Craft Patterns” in my main directory, and then a bunch of subfolders for different crafts and pattern types.

Then I started uploading my pattern pdfs. In a few cases where there was no pdf to begin with, I went to the original pattern web site and copied the pattern text and charts into a new document. I figured it would be good insurance in case the original site ever disappeared.

You will not be able to upload pdfs that have security restrictions (e.g., Rogue or the Brother Amos socks). This is a known issue and Google is working on it.

Now I hope this goes without saying for my readers, but this should only be used as a way to store and organize digital patterns for your personal use. Sharing patterns you’ve uploaded is a no-no.

It’s not an ideal solution (no thumbnails, for one) and I still eagerly await the knitter-friendly, pattern-specific version that will hopefully someday appear on Ravelry. Please go vote for it if you do too!

Knittingoogle Trends

Yvonne — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 22:01:23 +0000

Some points to ponder…

Google searches for “knitting” are clearly related to seasonal changes in the Northern Hemisphere. And yet, the #1 and #3 regions for “knitting” searches are New Zealand and Australia.

It also seems that knitting popularity peaked a few years ago and now we’re on a downward trend.

You see a similar pattern for crochet, but the peaks and troughs are less dramatic. Chile, Argentina, Peru, and Australia are #1, #3, #5, and #7 in the region list.

Knitting blogs, or at least Google searches for, seem to have hit critical mass some time in 2005. The #2 language is Turkish.

Enter Ravelry…

Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated.

DNF

Yvonne — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 21:18:40 +0000

The last project with tiny cables that I did were the Denmark Socks, finished nearly a year ago. Long enough for me to forget how much my wrists hate extended cabling with skinny yarn. Or really any fancy maneuvering with skinny yarn.

I blame the Blunti Stumpos. Working cables in fingering-weight yarn with regular Addis is like folding origami with oven mitts on, but more painful. It’s frustrating, requires a lot of contorted finagling to do what I want, and it makes my carpal tunnel flare like no other.

I have thus resigned myself to withdrawing from the Ravelympics I never entered to begin with. I will finish the socks later this month, after I give my wrists a rest. So I leave you with this photo, taken right after I finished the gusset decreases and was on the homestretch to Olympic glory.

P.S. Part of this photo is faked.

I Totally Win the Slacker Olympics

Yvonne — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 22:34:15 +0000

Two weeks ago, I was all set. I would enter the Ravelympics. I would do the Sock Put. I would knit. I would win! I would sit there and bask in the glory (and warm feet) of gold-medal-worthy socks.

But yet it seemed like a copout. A mere pair of socks in 17 days? Sock Wars veterans scoff. Clearly I needed a high start value to make an impression on the judges. Thus, I would knit a pair of socks of my own design, a design that’s been swirling in my head for a while and requires charting a non-repeating cable pattern.

And then the move happened. In my packing haste (which made me miss my college days when it took two hours to pack and clean a dorm room), I forgot to set aside the sock yarn I intended to use. Right now it’s sitting in storage with the rest of the stash, to be retrieved at some unknown date. My knitter’s graph paper is in a box, maybe in storage, maybe in one of the as-yet-unpacked boxes in the apartment.

Time for Plan B. I’d wanted to knit the Bayerische Socks for a while, and this seemed like a good time. Teeny tiny cables should be worth a high start value. I made a trip to Yarns 2 Ewe for some suitable yarn and cast on during the opening ceremonies.

Of course, I cast on during the NBC tape-delayed opening ceremonies, which meant that I missed out on 13 hours of valuable knitting time.

Which isn’t going to matter in the end, because I forgot to sign up for the Ravelympics in the first place.

Which is just as well, because it’s one week into the competition and I’m still working the heel flap, even after shaving a few inches off the legs to make ankle socks (per my usual sock preference). It’s taken me two days to work maybe six rows of the heel flap.

In retrospect, it was a bad idea to pick a project that requires so much attention, as lovely as the socks are. It’s hard to work tiny twisty cables while Jason Lezak is running down Alain Bernard, y’know?

Robotic Sheep, Anyone?

Yvonne — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 16:30:12 +0000

Mows your lawn (on six legs), but alas, no fleece.

There are Real People on the Internet

Yvonne — Thu, 22 May 2008 22:22:46 +0000

My knitting blog and real life just collided at the yarn shop.

I was sporting the original Quinn bag, as usual, when I heard a voice from behind me in the checkout line.

“I recognize your bag! I made one!”

She had lots of nice things to say about the pattern and the bag. I was so busy being extremely weirded out that not only are you people on the other side of the internet real*, but y’all actually knit my stuff, that I forgot to even ask her name.

So, mystery Quinn knitter if you’re reading this…hi! Please out yourself in the comments! And feel free to describe how doofy I am in real life, hehe.

—
*It’s not like I haven’t met internet people before, but for some reason it never stops being weird to me.

This Creeps Me Out

Yvonne — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 01:32:51 +0000

Woman knits jumpers out of her dead dogs’ fur.

I love dogs, but…no.

If you love dogs (and love them in ways that do not involve collecting and spinning up dog fur), go visit Gnat and her adorable puppies at BarknKnit (all dogs are puppies to me). She’s got a great podcast, too!

That’s all I’ve got for you today. I’d meant to post some pics of my latest adventures in crochet, but some nasty upper respiratory thing has invaded my system for like, the fourth time this winter, and I think it’s nap time.

For Those Who Remember the 80s…

Yvonne — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 08:24:51 +0000

…and are old-school video-game nerds, be sure to check out Sprite Stitch.

I’d never thought of it this way before, but stitching really is the perfect medium for reproducing pixelated 8-bit graphics.

How d’You Like Them Economic Stimulus Packages?

Yvonne — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 18:24:01 +0000

This one gets my vote.

You Like Me, You Really Like Me!

Yvonne — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 16:29:17 +0000

So I’ve been on Ravelry for almost two weeks now. You know what I find the most addictive?

It is not:

Abusing the fantastic organizational tools to log all my projects back into stone age and link them to blog posts from stone age.
Hunting around the project pages for my patterns to see who’s made them and what they look like. Mostly I just like confirming that my pattern directions are understandable and able to be followed by People Who Aren’t Me.
Stumbling across fabulous new projects that I must knit or I will die. Also, I like finding that someone else has already designed the exact item from my imagination that I wanted to knit. Saves me the trouble of having to design it myself.
Discovering a surprising fondness for the most Facebook-like tools: friends and groups. It’s been fun to have some of my non-commenting readers “out” themselves. I’ve also enjoyed joining groups for all sorts of knitting and non-knitting esoterica. I actually went a little group-crazy for a while and had to pare myself back down to 11. I love Grey’s Anatomy and all, but I decided that I will stick to talking about it on TV-centric web sites.

There are two things I find addictive, but both boil down to other people stroking my ego:

Finding my posts have been flagged educational, interesting, or funny. Especially funny.
Finding that my projects have been favorited. There was a point where I was literally checking Ravelry once an hour to see if I’d gotten any more of those little hearts.

Hi, my name is Yvonne and I have a Ravelry problem.

I’m In! I’m In! [Updated]

Yvonne — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 00:42:13 +0000

I got my Ravelry invite today. I didn’t even know until I went to check the impatient alpaca, who told me my invite was sent TODAY. A search through my spam trap quickly turned up the invite.

There’s nothing in my profile right now, but I’m registered as cogknition.

The first thing I did was to check if any of my patterns existed in the database. And guess what, they’re all there! Cool! I found a few more finished projects that I will add to the pattern pages.

Question for existing Ravelers: Do you find it helpful to have the photos from Flickr posted with the projects? I’m guessing the answer is an overwhelming yes. I ask because I don’t currently have my knitting photos posted on my Flickr account—I just host them locally here, and I would have to upgrade to Flickr pro to have the space to do so. I’ve been thinking about upgrading my Flickr for a while, and this may push me to do it.

Ok, off to add stuff to my profile!

Update: OMG OMG OMG *head explodes with the amazingness*

I found a group titled PhD Procrastination. Fantastic!

I’m definitely going to have to get my pics up on Flickr and then up on Ravelry. In the meantime, if you’ve friended me, could you drop me a note saying who you are? I just kind of want to know if I know you under a different username, or if you read my blog, or if you’re just super friendly to newbies. Thanks!

Holy Moly!

Yvonne — Sat, 22 Sep 2007 17:29:29 +0000

Behold what the Ravelry antsiness pacifer threw at me today:

You signed up on August 10, 2007
You are #24663 on the list.
8396 people are ahead of you in line.
10196 people are behind you in line.
46% of the list has been invited so far

8396!!! That number only has four digits! The ravelry blog says they’re now inviting 500-600 users a day, which means I should be getting my invite in a little over two weeks at this pace. Woo!

In other news, I can’t seem to keep a single piece of lace I knit. I took the curved shawl to show my grandma when I went home to visit last weekend and…it decided to stay there.

But I should have FOs to show you guys soon. ABC is airing the Badger game tonight and football games make for great knitting time. On Wisconsin!

If Everyone Jumped off a Cliff…

Yvonne — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 22:02:27 +0000

…apparently I’d watch. And keep watching until everyone had jumped. And then, after carefully thinking about every possible pro or con of jumping or not jumping, I’d still wind up jumping simply because everyone else is doing it so therefore it must be awesome.

Or that’s what I would do, if my relationship with Ravelry is any indication.

Found you!

You signed up on Today.

You are #24663 on the list.

15986 people are ahead of you in line.

0 people are behind you in line.

34% of the list has been invited so far.

I am nothing if not chronically behind the times. I first heard about Ravelry three months ago during Episode 48 of Cast-On and finally decided to join today.

I normally refuse to join social networking sites. I don’t do Friendster or Myspace or Facebook, despite having lots of people tell me that I should. They just seem like scary places to me. I’d sooner jump into a mosh pit of poisonous spiders.

But Ravelry seemed different. A lot less drunken photography and being tracked down by former bosses and people you don’t remember from 2nd grade, and a lot more, y’know, knitting.

So I jumped. And now I get to wait.

CogKnition » Knitting on the Web

Mental Health Break

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