[Bionic]

I know that SITN uses Ravelry quite a bit and I suspect that some of the rest of you do too. I joined it a while ago but am having a hard time trying to navigate my way round. Any tips?
thanks
Sally

[Alistair]

Ditto, can't fathom it, makes me ill, joined a couple of boards but don't what to do next sought of thing, maybe we should have our own board?, obviously someone else would have to set it up cos I'm crap.

[jaykay]

Well this is how I use it (and I'm living on there at the moment)

Find some active boards that are into the thing you're into. A lot of them are US based, sometimes that doesn't matter, sometimes it does.

Ideas to start with might be UK Spinners, UK Classifieds.

There's just chat and stuff going on on the boards, so you join in, or you start a topic and ask for help.
Most boards have 'pages' at the top (a tab at the top) which has info in for beginners, resources etc.

Then there's the very wonderful search option. For example, you can search for all knitting patterns, for adults, that you can knit with 500m of fingering (sock) weight yarn and so on. I find that's incredibly useful.
Much more dangerously, you can search people's stashes for yarn they're prepared to sell  (contributing to the SABLE we were talking about in Fleecewife's thread  )

Some people use it to record all their yarn, so they can see how bad their stash is 

You can search for people you know. SITN is Castlemilk on Rav and I am, unenterprisingly, JayKayG. Then you can see what they're busy with at the moment......

Before long you will spend more time on there than on your projects!

[SallyintNorth]

Ditto, can't fathom it, makes me ill, joined a couple of boards but don't what to do next sought of thing, maybe we should have our own board?, obviously someone else would have to set it up cos I'm crap.

Great idea.   

I would be prepared to be one of the Ravelry moderators for such a group, if we decide we want one.  But I haven't done it before, nor set up a group, so ideally someone with that experience will volunteer to do it or at least support me or someone else doing it...

I've posted a starting point conversation under 'UK Spinners' - linky.  I know that not everyone on TAS is in the UK, and that not everyone who would participate in a Ravelry TAS board spins, but hopefully it's a good enough generalisation to start a conversation in a suitable location.

Rosemary, Dan - do you have views on what such a board should be called?  Friends of TAS?  of Accidental Smallholder?  Explicitly not containing either TAS or Accidental Smallholder?

[SallyintNorth]

Oh, and anyone with an Ashford wheel, can I direct you to one of the friendliest, most helpful groups on Ravelry?  Ashford UK Spinners   Just started in September and only 17 members short of 200 already 


Pop into the Tea room to say Hi and make some new spinning friends...    (And meet up with some folks you already know, too  )

[Fleecewife]

I'm a bit like Bionic Sally and Alistair - haven't made myself at home on Ravelry yet, in spite of Sallyintnorth's help earlier.   This sounds a great idea though so I will try to be there.     Perhaps because I have spun mainly on my own for 16 years I have a load of stupid questions to raise 

[Bionic]

Fleecewife I have just joined the UK spinners and Ashford UK spinner groups. Still can't find my way round though   
If you think your questions are stupid you wait until I start posting 
I am Purpledrum on Ravelry
Sally

[Fleecewife]

I'll look out for you      I'm....tada....fleecewife 

[quiltycats]

Fleecewife I have just joined the UK spinners and Ashford UK spinner groups. Still can't find my way round though   
If you think your questions are stupid you wait until I start posting 
I am Purpledrum on Ravelry
Sally

  you have a reply on the Ryeland group

[quiltycats]

Ravelry got me a bit depressed this last week tbh. probably more to do with winter blues though if I am strictly honest. Sally, you know my vote already.

[Mammyshaz]

Hello  from another raveller 

[jaykay]

But if have a TAS forum on Ravelry, won't we post on here about crafts anymore?

[SallyintNorth]

But if have a TAS forum on Ravelry, won't we post on here about crafts anymore?

It's a risk - and it would be a great shame to lose the activity levels that have recently been achieved here. Judging by the response to my post on Ravelry (some of which has arrived as PMs) I bet we'll do as much directing Ravellers to TAS as we do TASers to Ravelry...

I hope we will post in both places because we'll all be in both places.  Won't we chatter in more Ravelling terms over there, and more about smallholding-related crafty things over here?

There'll be some TASers never go on Ravelry (I could be wrong but I somehow don't expect to find topics starting with a fullstop over there...  )

I don't know how much ongoing discussion there'd be in a TAS Ravelry group.  Maybe it would mainly just help Ravelling smallholders get across to TAS, and help TASers find their way into Ravelry amongst people they know and feel safe with... 

[Alistair]

I'm bandage on rav, can't remember why, think I'd hurt myself at the time

[Mammyshaz]

I think I'll still be posting on here as I just don't know where to go on revelry, it is so big. On here I feel part of the community  but on revelry I am just a little blip in a deep, deep ocean