Rave, Revel & Ravel

Just over a week ago I got my invitation to join a new group called Ravelry, a place for fiber artists and enthusiasts to bring their particular interests into a community with others who share those interests as well as others. I have to say I'm a bit lost over there at this point, but I think once I figure out how to get around and get things accomplished I'm going to like this group a lot. The possibilities it offers seem endless.

The My Notebook area offers tabs that allow me to do everything from cataloging my stash, projects, hooks and books to keeping track of friends and groups and future projects. Having my stash catalogued for instance will make it a lot easier when I'm contemplating new projects because I'll be able to tell at a glance if I have the proper yarn or an adequate substitute for any given project I am interested in creating. The site gives me added opportunity to hook up with people I already know online and a chance to meet new people from all over.

There are groups of every sort you can join, forums where you can interact, get questions answered, keep tabs on what others are doing and learn in every area you might have an interest in. I've started a group in the hopes of getting to know more local fiber enthusiasts and possibly getting together for meetings and crochet time together. Who knows? While this new venture is taking a lot of my time at this point, (there is soooo much to learn yet) I believe it will prove to be extremely beneficial for me. I'm hopeful that before too long I'll be bopping about the place like an old hand.


I have more projects to show off as well.

This past spring I posted pictures of some bucket hats I had made, loosely based on this Basic Bucket Hat pattern. I stated then that I wanted to adorn them because I thought they looked too darn plain. It took awhile but I finally trimmed them and have pictures to crow about.

Really liked this lavender hat but I thought it needed something more. I made this flower chain from a pattern I found online here using some Sinofina a friend picked up at Hobby Lobby and gifted me with.

Now, here is the same bucket hat with the flower chain but in brown with a salmon thread I picked up at the thrift store one day.


For this blue bucket hat I wanted to do a little more so I created a freeform leaf chain and made individual flowers from the flower pattern and stitched them on at random around the leaf chain. Turned out really nice I think.
The white and green are both Sinofina thread.

I had a couple leftover balls of some trellis yarn laying around that I wanted to use up and so I freeformed this shawl. Pretty simple, but just lovely looking. The trellis yarn always seems to make even the most basic things into something special.A view from the front.

And now the back.