I’ve realized lately that every time I check my social media sites, the first thing I do is see what WEBS is doing there. There is a rich treasure trove of websites that are devoted to putting people in touch with other people, and you can find someone, for instance, who is a left-handed crocheter who only does stuffed animals in the blink of an eye. Knitting is a pretty social craft, as is crochet; less so, unfortunately, are weaving and spinning. Weavers and spinners, I know you are lovely and sociable, but there aren’t many sightings of folks dragging an 8-harness loom to the local Starbucks for Craft Night. In that way, sometimes it’s easier for knitters and crocheters who don’t know each other to get to know each other. I thought I’d walk you through our social media sites so that you can check out what we post, and who talks to whom through our newsfeed. In this post, I’ll spotlight Ravelry and Facebook, and in some subsequent posts, I’ll walk you through some of our other social media platforms.

No mention of fiber social media is complete without Ravelry. This is the first place I look each day. I check our “All Things WEBS” group to see how the knitters and crocheters doing our Mystery Knit-A-Long and Mystery Crochet-A-Long are doing, what new yarns or needles have been added to our Anniversary Sale, or any information about store events that I might have missed. You can also search for Valley Yarns patterns, or see if anyone is knitting the same design you are, and if they made any modifications to the pattern. You can see how many folks are using Valley Yarns for different projects. And, best of all (to me), you can search for a group that might be tailored to your own particular interest. Once again, left-handed crocheters, I just searched and found not one, but TWO groups devoted to left-handed crocheters, both with large memberships. It’s a wonderful time-suck, and in my position as Education Manager, I’ve tracked down guest teachers, connected with students who’ve requested interesting class ideas, found some great designs to have our instructors use as teaching ideas, and lots more.

Facebook is a great place to find information but it’s also a fun place to find interesting blog posts from other designers and yarn companies, see some deals before they make it onto the website, and hear from our customers around the world. Dena, who manages our social media presence on all sites, manages to find the most beautiful images our in-house photo and video team has produced to complement each post. I love to read the comments folks post about what we share on Facebook; I’ve learned about locally-sourced, allergy-free yarn as well as some variations on Tunisian Simple Crochet stitch from various customers who chime in with their knowledge from time to time.

What groups do you like on Ravelry? Do you follow any designers or yarn companies on Facebook? Let us know!

It is amazing to us that we’ve reached 40 years in this business and we wanted to take a week to say thanks. Thank you to all our amazing customers, you are the reason we’re here!

Over the course of the next week we’ll be giving away one $40 WEBS gift card each day on a different social media site.

Winners will be randomly drawn and may only win once, though you can enter to win on each site.

At the end of the week we’ll be giving away a Della Q bag stuffed with 5 skeins of our Limited Edition Madelinetosh dyed Valley Superwash DK in our 40^th Anniversary Ruby colorway to one random winner selected from everyone who entered.

Participation is open between 12:00am(midnight) and 11:59pm EST on the day indicated. Any entries posted before or after that time period will be disqualified from entry.

Here’s the schedule:
2/10 WEBS Blog – And our winner is Michele, who commented, “I connect with Webs mostly via Facebook but also check the blog and Ravelry group.” Congratulations!
2/11 Twitter – And our winner is Kristen, who tweeted, “Love Color by Kristin! #WEBS40th ” Congratulations!
2/12 Google+ – And our winner is Heather, who said, “I love Tonia Barry’s designs. From sweaters and wraps to shawlettes and scarves her patterns are always an enjoyable knit, clearly written, flattering and have a great attention to detail. Doesn’t hurt that she is a super-wonderful person as well! There always seems to be at least a few of her patterns in my favorites or my queue.” Congratulations!
2/13 Ravelry – And our winner is jchant, who said, “Last year at the WEBS booth Stitches West I purchased a skein of Kangaroo Dyer BFL Fingering Hand Dyed specifically to knit Kirsten Hipsky’s Burning Branch Shawl. I am knitting the shawl now (I’m on the last leaf) and I’m really enjoying both the pattern and the yarn.” Congratulations!
2/14 Facebook  – And our winner is Shari, who said, “About three years ago my local knitting group became yarn enablers and recommended WEBS. I also found links to WEBS – America’s Yarn Store on Ravelry.com” Congratulations!
2/15 Pinterest – And our winner is Tracie, who said, “I love webs – so nice to have such a variety available and to hear them on their podcast.” Congratulations!
2/16 Instagram – And the winner is thepesin, who said, “#WEBS40th berrocco zazanna, almost done.” Congratulations!

And our Grand Prize winner is Kathleen who entered on Pinterest on Saturday and said, “I love WEBS discounts and the fact that I can find ANYTHING I need there! #contest #WEBS40th” Congratulations!