UFOs under the bed...

So I pulled my under-the-bed box of unfinished objects out tonight. I like to visit them occasionally, open their zip lock baggies and pet them a bit. It gives them hope that they may indeed see the light of day and be finished at some point in the future. I currently have approximately 14 UFOs -- not including projects on needles that I'm actively working on. (In my defense, everything in my UFO box is not mine...there are some projects my kids started and never finished. Just sayin'.) Tonight I made my UFOs feel extra special and took their pictures, too. I'm trying to get my Ravelry pages up to date, and pictures are essential.

I applied for membership on Ravelry back in early August and got my invite in early October. I've been smitten ever since. It is such a cool site. A great way to keep track of all of my projects, both finished and in process, as well as those that have been relegated to hibernation status (hence the box of UFOs). And, as an enabling tool, you can also queue up projects that you want to cast on in the future!

And I'm slowly working my way through my stash, taking pictures of all of that yarn, too, so I'll be able to easily see on my Ravelry stash pages just what I happen to own in all of those storage boxes and bags. (You'd think it would make it easier to NOT buy more yarn...but no. Ha!) I'm almost caught up with my project pages, but it's going to take me a while to get all of my stash inventoried and online.

Then there is the community aspect of it all...you can connect with other knitters in various groups. There are a lot of well known knitwear designers on the site, and it's very cool to be able to e-mail them and say, "Hey! Loved this pattern!" or ask a question about something you don't quite understand.

Just to clarify...Ravelry (which I was mispronouncing for months as "Raverly"...as in rave parties or something...with yarn?) isn't paying me for this endorsement. But if you're a knitter and really into your craft and want yet another way to feed the obsession, check it out. It's still in its Beta stage, but you can still sign up and get on the waiting list.

And speaking on online communities...I was going hot and heavy on MySpace for a while, but I've been sidetracked by Facebook instead. Facebook is a warmer, fuzzier MySpace kind of place...more comfortable for me, anyway. There are a lot more people I actually know (versus virtually know or "know" because I follow their bands or other art) on Facebook, so that makes it nice, too. And I can play Scrabulous with my friends on Facebook...what's not to love about that? LOL

Ok...so that ends my infomercial on web sites that allow you to have a fulfilling social life from the comfort of your own chair (or, in my case, exercise ball, which is what I sit on when I'm at my computer). Who needs real life when you can just live it all online? Heh....