Lots of people do it. Good people, even. Because they don’t think it’s a big deal. It’s hard for me to even call it what it really is.

Stealing.

I’ve been mulling something over and over in my head the last couple of days. I was pinged on Ravelry when “verypink” was mentioned in a group. Usually I visit these groups and I’m pleased with what I see. People I don’t even know saying nice things about my patterns and videos! This, of course, always brings a smile to my face.

But this time was different. I went to the group and read a post from a woman who purchased one of my patterns + video tutorials, found it helpful, and offered to share the file (for free, presumably) with anyone reading the post. All of my patterns are copyrighted and this isn’t okay – and it’s even worse in a public forum.

I didn’t know how to proceed for a few reasons. First, this woman isn’t really a thief at heart. She offered the pattern up to be NICE to the other folks in the group, not really thinking that it would impact the person selling the pattern. Second, I have to assume this sort of thing happens all the time, so I can’t really control it. Third, to say something in the forum against this could make me look like a raging bitchhog, and that’s not an image I want to be associated with me and my business.

Then I got pretty annoyed with myself. Why would I worry about looking bitchy when I’m only asking people to please not steal patterns? These same people would never consider stealing yarn or needles or row counters or stitch markers for a project. But emailing a copyrighted pattern to their friends feels different than a real five-finger discount.

So I ask on behalf of all of the designers that sketch an idea, buy yarn for it, swatch, cast-on, knit, rip out, re-knit, take notes, measure, calculate, bind off, block, size up, size down, type out, photograph, publish, and post. If you enjoy knitting our patterns, tell the world about it! But please don’t share copyrighted patterns with your friends. Even though it seems like no big deal.

I imagine most designers (myself included) would not be able to afford to do what we do if everyone continues to think it’s okay to share. This issue is huge for me as a designer, considering the weeks of additional work it takes to shoot just one video tutorial.

A follow up to the story – I asked my friend Kelly for her opinion on the matter of the woman on Ravelry offering to share her pattern. Kelly is a friend, a regular student, and a moderator on the Verypink Designs group on Ravelry. Kelly jumped into action right away, and posted a nice reply in the forum, reminding everyone that copyrighted patterns are for personal use only. I checked Kelly’s post a few hours later to see if there were any replies, and two people had hit the “disagree” button.

Makes me sad.

Okay, off my soapbox. Here is a handsome photo of Ike to lighten the mood. 🙂

Yesterday was my birthday, and the whole adding another year to my age never seems like a big deal to me, but I like to make it a bigger deal by using that time to stand back and take a good look at my situation. Even more than New Year’s Day, my birthday is a time for evaluating what is and isn’t working, and making sure I’m on track with what I really want to be doing.

So, that’s what I’ve been doing the last few days. I’m relieved to say that most things are going pretty darned well. I feel pretty lucky, in fact.

The end of April is an ideal time to have a birthday if you live in Austin, Texas. It’s easy to feel optimistic when it’s sunny and warm and gorgeous outside. I love waking up in the morning and sliding my feet straight into flip flops instead of warm slippers.

The dogs love it, too. (Ike and Abe – Tippy was being camera shy.)

I did, of course, think of a few things I’d like to change in the upcoming year, and one of them is how I use my website. A few months ago I reworked the site to make it easier to navigate, and to allow me to easily blog without making it difficult for folks to find videos and patterns. Well, the website is reworked, but I never started blogging again. I also hardly take any photos at all anymore, and I’d like that to change, too.

Lookit me taking action! I’m posting something other than a knitting video! With photos!

This pile of unblocked knitting is my current project, which I started because of several requests from people who want this lesson. I’m finally creating a pattern and tutorial for learning to knit a women’s sweater. The pattern is nearly finished, and we’ll probably start shooting videos in mid-May.

Ah, there’s Tippy.