You know you have hit the big time when...

What do you think? Is it:

1. you're featured on the Ravelry home page
2. everyone wants to have you as a guest on their podcast
3. your best, most popular pattern is being sold by someone-not-you on Etsy

And if you chose #3, sadly, you'd be "big time" me this morning and my An Aran for Frederick pattern.

(pics from my phone, as I was at the beach this morning when this all started to go down)

Ugh! Crap/shoot/sugar/effin effers/darn it to heck!*

How does this even happen? I got a nice message from someone on Ravelry (thank you, Inna!) who noticed and recognized my pattern being sold as an Instant Download on Etsy. And, get this: the vendor was charging more! Granted, only 22¢ more, but still. LittleNinni was using the Interweave/Jane Austen Knits photo, so my backup plan was to get F&W Media involved if necessary.

I reported the listing to Etsy this morning and crossed my fingers. I did also go back and read Hunter's post, since this happened to her not too long ago. I was ready to report the Intellectual Property theft to Etsy once I got home (difficult to do on a phone), but when I checked the listing had been taken down. Yay! (Don't worry - I am totally willing to file the IP stuff if it shows up again and will happily get F&W involved.)

"This Item is Unavailable"

I will keep an eye on the shop and add a scroll through some search key words on Etsy to my regular task list (aran sweater, cable sweater, lace sweater - let me know if you think of any good ones in the comments). I was aware that this happens sometimes - there are a few threads about it in the various designer groups I belong to on Ravelry - but somehow I never thought it would happen to me. Guess I still think I'm small-time or something.

Interestingly, most of the shop's patterns are for somewhat hoochie crochet bikinis and some pretty crochet beach coverups. Since I'm not a crocheter, I can't tell if those are original patterns or what the deal is. But as a knitter I immediately recognized another Jane Austen Knits pattern, which has come down since this morning. And I noticed a Vogue Knitting lace jacket pattern by Brooke Nico and the gorgeous Winter Wonderland Coat by Michele Rose Orne, so I paid it forward and dropped each of them a note on Ravelry, so they could get those patterns taken down.

What possesses people to do such things? My lovely Instagram and Facebook peeps got delightfully and righteously angry - it's good to know there are so many lovely people in my life who will rise to my defense! My answer to them (and you lovelies) is that some people are lazy and greedy, I guess. Or just plain stupid, maybe? How can you think that it's OK to sell someone else's work online?

Luckily, most people are kind and good. You all appreciate the hard work that goes into pattern creation, and you buy my patterns from me or the magazines in which they are featured or you support places like Knitty, which provides some of my patterns for free.

So, what can you do? Keep being wonderful people! Buy patterns from their designers (especially me, hehe) and support the publications you like. Don't make copies and give them away, even to new knitters who are freaking out about how much the supplies for their new passion cost. Loan them a book or pattern, if necessary, or gift them a pattern on Ravelry. If you can't afford it, save up. It shouldn't take very long to save up $7. Would you rather have an excellent pattern or a fancy cup of coffee? We can't all have everything we want in life without paying for it (much as my children might like that).

And educate other crafters in the ways of pattern creation. I wish I could create patterns and give them away, but I need to eat, too. If someone can't afford my seven-dollar-tested-edited-professional-layout-photography-graded-charted-written-calculated-yarn-amounts pattern, then they should probably consider another craft, since the yarn alone for one of my patterns is at least five to ten times that amount. And if you can spend, potentially, hundreds of dollars on yarn to knit one of my designs, you sure as hell* can spend seven dollars on my pattern.

Thanks for stopping by, keep being good people, and happy knitting!
xoxo,

*I try to keep profanity off my blog (even if I may have something of a passionate potty mouth IRL), but this issue really sticks in my craw. And, sometimes, a four-letter word is the mot juste. xo, k

KSA: Vogue Knitting Winter Sale Ends Today

Wow! 40% off books, 50% off patterns. Lost your copy of the Winter 06/07 with Norah Gaughan's Cabled Bolero on the cover? You can get a copy of the pattern for half off. It's in my queue. Is there a knitter in your life (perhaps yourself?) moving on from following patterns to designing their own? Get one of Nicky Epstein's "edge" books or a Vogue Stitchionary (Knit and Purl, Cables, Colorwork) on sale. Ends today (12/7/09). [Link]

KSA: Yarndex

Inherited some label-less yarn? Just curious to see all the colors Kidsilk Haze comes in? (Thirty-three shades available as of this writing.) Yarndex is the place to explore yarns. While they may not have every yarn ever spun, they cover a staggering number of yarns, including many no longer in production, which could help you figure out if that thrift store purchase is really a treasure (and if you'll have enough to make a sweater). Color cards, yardage and gauge information, fiber content, price, and so on. This is a very helpful site to have at your fingertips.

KSA: Ravelry

Just in case you're a fibery type that's been offline for the last few years (it's possible, I suppose), check out Ravelry, an amazing online community space for all fibertarians (knitters, crocheters, spinners, weavers, dyers, designers). Some say it's like Facebook for knitters, but I say it's more. The site is still, technically, in beta, so sign up now for your invitation (I'm pretty sure they've caught up with the backlog of requests, so you should get your invitation right away) and enjoy! Be sure to "friend" me (RavelryID: Purly) once you're in.

KSA: Knitter's Review

Just in case you've been knitting offline since 2000, a great place to find reviews of yarn, books, and tools is Knitter's Review, maintained by Clara Parkes, author of The Knitter's Book of Yarn: The Ultimate Guide to Choosing, Using, and Enjoying Yarn, which is an amazingly informative resource on fiber and yarn and how the one gets turned into the other, as well as some nice patterns. If she gives something a good review, you can be sure you'll be happy with the yarn. There are also some busy forums on the site. Sign up for the weekly newsletter and never miss another review.

KSA: Triangular Shawls (Knitter's Service Announcement)

Want to make a triangular shawl? Only have a limited amount of that delicious yarn in your stash? Check out the exhaustive list Vicki of simpleknits put together organized by yardage; free patterns are in boldface. Summer is the perfect time for a little lace, and there are still a couple of weeks left! [link]