Wow! It took 42 posts and just over 1 month, but I finally broke the 100 views in a day mark! Actually this blog smashed it. Yesterday 142 individual people viewed this blog. I would like to thank all of you for not only viewing the site but for your continued support and compliments. You all make a difference and inspire me to continue to post this blog. So to all of you, not just the ones that have been here from the beginning but the new ones as well, a HUGE HUGZZZ!
To show my appreciation for your continued support, this post is a collection of what I think are some of the best knitting related sites on the net. Since knitters are the largest group of crafters online, it’s impossible for me to actually view all the knitting related sites out there. Yes, there are omissions because I do have a life and I can’t spend the hours and hours per day that I would like to browsing the net and getting inspiration. So sometime in the future I will add to this list in another post, but for now I will tell you my 5 favorite sites online.
- Knitty.com – This site started in the Fall of 2002 and has grown by leaps and bounds ever since. They now produce a quarterly online magazine filled with patterns, features, a coffee shop and much more. Knitty is much more than an online magazine – it is a community where knitters of all levels of experience can get together and share their ideas and inspirations, contribute patterns, and just hang out and enjoy virtual and real knitting across the internet.
- Yahoo Groups – As we all know, there are almost as many facets of knitting as there are different nationalities on the planet. If you’re looking for someone that enjoys the same particular niche of knitting as you, then you need to go to Yahoo Groups and do a search for that particular niche. If you log into Yahoo and then click on the groups tab, you’ll be able to search knitting and/or a particular niche in knitting. I recommend you do both, but be forewarned, you might be overwhelmed by the number of groups there are in knitting alone. The reason I suggest it though is that you might find a new group you weren’t aware of before this. Inside the group itself (once you’re become a member) you’ll find like minded knitters wanting to share and expand their knowledge in that area. I belong to a few groups here because I have a varied interest in knitting with my main passions being fair aisle and cables. I have however discovered multi-directional, shadow, double, and illusion knitting to name a few. The other great thing is if you can’t find a group for your particular interest, you can start your own!
- Garnstudio.com – Quite a few years ago when i was working in my first yarn shop (LYS), I began seeing a pattern magazine coming in called Drops. Inside these magazines were some of the most exquisite and creative patterns I had ever seen. They were created to support the line of fibers being produced by the company – again some of the nicest fibers I had ever held. The only problem was that the books were in Norwegian (I believe) and very expensive to carry for the shop owner as they also came with an insert translated into English. This of course increased the price of the books and added to the shipping weight. Put on top of that that people often lost the inserts, and you had a problem, even though the patterns in there were well written and just begging to be knit. A few years ago, Drops came online and uploaded ALL of their patterns. While not all of the 31,564 patterns (as of the writing of this post) are available in all languages, they are available in 11 languages on their website. They also have a store where you can buy the yarns to go with the patterns. Did I mention that they do this for free??!! Not the yarns of course, but the patterns are all available for free. For me it is a constant site of inspiration and learning. I often refer to a particular pattern to figure out how to knit a particular detail into something or to get an idea for something else. I definitely recommend you bookmark this link and visit often.
- About.com – The about series of websites is probably the single most extraordinary collection of educational sites online. I know that You Tube and Video Jug are good ones too, but this collection of sites spans pretty much every category out there – from rocket science to raising children. Of course, not to be left out, is knitting. They have pages and pages of information about knitting including learning, instruction for more experienced knitters, links to yarn shops worldwide, distributors, fibers, and pretty much everything knitting related. While you’re on the sit you could also search to find out information about any other hobby you’re interested in. The address for the site is www.interest.about.com where you replace the word interest for whatever you’re searching for (in this case knitting).
- Meetup.com – So you’re a knitter and you’ve just learned or have been knitting for years and you want to knit with other people in real time over a coffee or tea or whatever. Where do you go? Well, the best place is meetup.com. This is an online gathering of people who have similar interests in just about any interest you can imagine. It is a worldwide gathering where people in your area have started regular meet up groups for their particular interests. All you do is search your desired interest to find a group near you (again in this case knitting). Once you’ve found them, join them, and you’ll be privy to the information about the group’s next meeting. If you can’t find a group then you can start your own. There is a nominal fee to keep the site up and accessible which are the responsibility of the organizer. I belong to a knitting group that charges $5/year to cover all the costs. Not a bad deal to meet with other knitters once a week for some stitchin’ and …tea.
So like I said earlier in this post, there are lot of other sites out there that deserve even a mention, but I obviously could even begin to scratch the surface. I’ll do another post in the future on some of my other favorites. Feel free to drop a comment on one or two of your favorite spots online where you like to go and surf.
Hugzzz 😎