I think a wonderful thing about blogs and one of the best things about Ravelry is the ability they have to make you reconsider patterns. A pattern which, initially, made no impression on you — or in fact, a bad impression — can suddenly be made to seem infinitely desirable. By seeing how a design looks in different colours, different sizes, different yarns, and on different shaped people you can see how the design could be for you.
An example, of this, for me is Mr Greenjeans from Fall Knitty 2007. This is a cardigan which really passed me by when it came out. I certainly didn’t hate it, it was nice, but not my kind of thing. However, today I came across a post on a random blog: Woolydoodles Knits, with a picture of this cardigan, and thought: wow, that’s a lovely cardigan, how did I miss it? Then I went to Ravelry, and looked at the huge number of variations on the Mr Greenjeans theme, and have come away with a great desire to knit it.
I suppose it is because we all have certain prejudices that make some things seem Not-Quite-Us at the outset, and lead us to miss their potential (or is it just me?). In my case it was probably because no matter how beautiful the yarn is, I prefer garments in solid rather than variegated yarns. Of course, I know, technically, that this, or any other, garment can be knitted in another yarn, but blogs and Ravelry allow you to see exactly what it could look like — and to see past your prejudices.
And now, thanks to these sources, I know I want to knit this. I know I want to knit it in either a dark or earthy colour. I know I want to knit it with more ease than otherwise. I know I want to make the sleeves slightly longer and slightly tighter at the cuff.
Although both blogs and Ravelry are really good from a knitting-community perspective, I think I love them (and especially Ravelry) best for the way in which they manage to perform this sort of knitting pattern alchemy.
