I’ve been so shy.  I don’t know why.  I’ve had this junior-high feeling lately:  I just want to be cool like the other kids, but there’s a lingering fear I won’t get picked for dodgeball.  You know the feeling I mean.

It’s time for me to put myself out there more and get to know other knitters - weirdly, it feels a bit like flinging myself into the dating pool.  Why is that?  Why have I been such a wimp about introducing myself to people online who are clearly very nice and non-scary?  Since when am I such a wuss?  Buck up!

One good really really great thing that will help here is Ravelry.  I’m in love with Ravelry.  First, from a personal project standpoint, it’s a lifesaver for unorganized me.  The more I use it, the more helpful it will be, and any time I can spare to roam on Ravelry increases the likelihood of me whipping myself into gear with archiving and labeling things in storage (instead of losing track of what I’ve managed to leave all over the house).  In terms of contributing, I need to do a better job of logging my stash and projects to share, and I can knock that out in a weekend if I settle down to do it. 

Then there’s the people part.  For the most part, I feel like I’m just scratching the surface there, and I want to come out of my little shell, say, “hello, world” and start making friends.  There are so many fabulous profiles to peruse, with knitters of all kinds who would probably be very happy to extend a hi-how-are-ya. 

Through Ravelry or otherwise, part of what I need to do is comment more on blogs I find really inspiring.  I don’t know why I don’t do this regularly.  I think in some respects it seems like I’m crashing the party with my newbie comments when an established group of blog-followers is in the process of commenting on a new post.  Pish posh!  The whole spirit of this community is welcoming and collaborative, which is a big part of why I’ve become so attached to my cherished network of delightful knitters (even if I’m still in the category of unheard blog-hoverer to most).

I must give props to a few ladies who haven’t known how much their impressive blogs have inspired me (because I’ve shyly kept my yapper shut):

  1. It never crossed my mind to have a blog - ever, on any subject - until earlier this year.  Although I was grateful for the wealth of knitting information that was out there to stumble upon, I just wouldn’t have pegged myself as ever having the desire (or ability, frankly) to throw another log on that fire.  Then, during a web search for a review of a Webs closeout yarn, I stumbled on Amanda’s fantabulous blog at Fancie-Pants (love the Fancie-Pants nickname).  As I was reading through the relevant post I became hooked and ended up perusing her site that day for, well, a long time.  I read her post about the day she got her invitation to Ravelry, and I asked myself, “Huh? What’s Ravelry?” (never fear, I was on the waiting list by the end of the day).  What I learned:  in addition to being a very talented (and fast!) knitter who tweaks patterns confidently (sharing the juicy details and providing awesome photo documentation), she frequenly gives kudos to and examples of projects from other blogs she enjoys.  So, in addition to learning a lot of interesting things that Amanda shares about herself (including other crafting talents like sewing and jewelry-making), I’ve learned about other great bloggers from her as well.  There are a lot of nice blogs out there, but for whatever reason, Fancie-Pants won my heart that day with her friendly ways.  Her blog made me want to live nextdoor to her so I could bring over a bundt cake and introduce myself, then bring my yarn over and hang out.  While I was getting to know her virtually, a light bulb came on, and my life suddenly seemed incomplete without having a similar outlet to share the knitting love.  That’s it.  Sassy Does It was born.

    2.  



    Hilarious story here
  2. Lickety Knit is such a fine, fine blog, and the twins-expecting Rachel is just wonderful.  I admire her ability to create an almost tangible circle of friends.  We can all relate with her self-deprecating humor, although her obvious skill and creativity have us all shouting, “Crazy talk! You’re fabulous!”.  Her extended family of handknits-appreciaters makes me wish I had my beloved kin closer geographically so that we could unwittingly turn heads when going out en masse with our Pointer-Sister versions of the perfect winter wooly hat.  In addition to her talent with creating people-sized knitty goodness, check this post out:  it pretty sums up the BFF-caliber fun Rachel is.  She’ll be an awesome mom!  Rachel, congratulations on the two tiny and lovely buns a-baking!  I know you’ll have even less time for blogging, but your fans humbly await the first pics of the double-bundle of joy.

    3.  

  3. Cyn at Half-Assed Knit Blog is my hero.  She’s a designer who shares her ideas and free-spirit commentary on what she’s up to.  Not only is she very talented with impeccable taste (her yarn selections make me drool), she’s bloody great at making me laugh.  Cyn’s sassy twist on everything makes any topic a thoroughly enjoyable read.  On top of that, everything she models looks fantastic on her, and I end up inspired to be funky and adventurous and frankly, as cool as she is.  This is the first blog entry of hers I read; my favorite quote from which was, “Yes, I love me some nine foot scarves.”  That was when I bookmarked her.  Isn’t the scarf pictured here (called Serpentina) simply fab? I want to wrap myself up in it.  Check out her half-assed free patterns as well - ah ooga!  Love it - love the whole blog.

Anyhoo - I’m forging ahead.  I’m quite a boisterous bigmouth in person, so I’m just going to start in friend-making with a big virtual handshake.  Want to share!  Want to compliment!  Want to ask questions!  Want to connect.  This post is a way to kick my booty into gear and acknowledge that my hesitation is just silliness.  I’m going for it.  Taking that bull by the horns, because, you know, I’m not in junior high anymore.

Soooooo….

You can find me on Ravelry - I’m sassydoesit - Amy to my friends.

Where my stitches at?  ;)