For whatever ridiculous reason, knitting is popular in America, and becoming more so. So of course there needs to be a social network around the activity, and Ravelry is going to fill that need.

The site is still in private beta and has a long list of knitter-types desperate to get in – 17,000 people have requested invites and they’ve let about 1/3 of them in so far. If you want to get a feel for the features and look/feel of the site, see the screen shots they posted here.

Needless to say, the idea is to build out a profile and then add friends, create a blog, add pictures and participate in the forums.

But users will also be encouraged to put up information about projects they are working on, and other users can participate by commenting, recommending, etc.

If you’re a knitter, join the waiting list immediately. Everyone else, nothing to see here.