Modern MarvelI have a friend who is just getting back into knitting and was having some trouble trying to find the right baby yarn for a project. So I sent her a link to Red Heart's Yarn Weights table (http://redheart.com/Default.aspx?tabid=127) I keep a 1-inch 3-ring binder for stuff like this near my pattern books. Saves having to search the computer for it. Now here's the thing... I remember back when personal computers were just getting started...yeah, I'm that old. Get over it. Those HUGE desktop things were marketed as a great time saving tool, wonderful for organizing and saving information in a small, compact space, neatly and unobtrusively. And they were. There it sat, taking up nearly the whole desktop. You pretty much HAD to enter all your information into it because there was no room on your desk to store papers if you'd wanted to. And it WAS nice, to have the Internet, and all that information at your fingertips, and what felt like nearly unlimited space to save patterns, and articles, and patterns, and reference material, and patterns... Soon, though, the computer became full (of patterns, and articles, and patterns, and reference material, and patterns...) So they came up with external hard drives, a wonderful place to back up your patterns, and articles, and patterns, and reference material, and patterns... Once backed up you had a nearly empty computer so you could start filling it up all over again with NEW patterns, and articles, and patterns, and reference material, and patterns... But now, here's the thing. I have SO MUCH in the way of (...all that information...) that I can't find it when I need it. Yes, it's filed, but is it filed in drive c or d or e or f or.... I got so I was spending so much time looking in my files for stuff, that it was easier to look online for it all over again. (Bless you, Google and Ravelry!) And then save it again, someplace I actually might be able to find it next time...but I wouldn't, of course, and repeat as needed. But here's the thing. If I'm sitting at home with a few minutes to craft, and want to know what size hook and yarn to use with a particular (new-to-me) pattern, and the yarn is discontinued, and the weight isn't mentioned, I want a find a simple way to begin swatching for it based on gauge or hook/needle size, or even yardage requirements. SOME WAY to find a starting point. Enter the Modern Marvel, the computer, right? Well, no actually. My computer is kept off unless I'm using it so turning it on, waiting for it to go through it's waking up routine, waiting for it to check itself for viruses and other nasties... And THEN trying to find that one reference page in ALL THOSE FILES, or sorting through pages of Google results, or heaven forbid, going to Ravelry and trying to get the information and avoid getting sucked into a cute pattern, or fiber swap details, or the latest hoopla in the crafting dynasty, only to come out HOURS LATER with bloodshot eyes, a fuzzy place where my brain was, and no more time to craft...and probably not the information I went there for, either, because I'm so suggestible that I chase my tail in there Every Time I Visit... What was I saying? Oh, yeah,... So what I started doing was printing off a few pages of reference material that I tried to find most often, and keep it in a small One inch ring binder by my crafting chair. I can quickly find yarn weights, kitchener stitch directions, and a few basic patterns to riff off of, all without leaving my chair. I'm getting so much more crafting done, now that I've gone back to the old fashioned way, and left the Modern Marvel off. Yeah, so I'm weird. But then, you already knew that, right? *grins* | 
