I Don't Get It (Pet Peeve)!!

Having been a member of Ravelry for years, I noticed something I don't like. Swap groups that claim to be active but are really ghost towns. A lot of the time it's the owner that doesn't keep up with listing the swaps but it's also that no one wants to do it.

I really don't get why people sign up for a swap group and then never participate. I belong to several and participate in every one of them (that are still active). Not every one every month, but enough to keep active in the groups. Mostly what I see from other members of the groups is how they would love to but can't. And while I understand it can be tough, especially if you're like me and joined several groups, do one a year, geez.

In most of the groups I'm in there are only about 4 people each who say yes in any given month. The groups have 200 members but only 4 ever do anything? All the others are quick to say they'll pass though, so you know they read the posts.

If I ever get around to it and get approved to start my own swap group, I'm kicking out "members" who never participate.

I'm Just Getting Started, What Do I Do?

If you're just getting started, the hardest thing you're going to have to learn is how to hold your hook and yarn. There is no right or wrong way to hold them. If someone tells you otherwise, they're lying.

My advice to you would be to get a skein of yarn and an I (5.5MM) or J (6MM) hook. Watch some Youtube videos on how to make a slipknot and chain. Then just chain. Chain the whole skein if you have to. Get comfortable with holding everything and the movements to make the stitch.

A lot of times the foundation chain can be the hardest part of starting a project, so you want to be comfortable with it. If you find your starting chain is smaller than the rows you crochet into it, try using a larger hook to make the chain, then switch back to the hook you need.

If you have any tips to add, please comment!

"You Can't Sell Items Made From This Pattern" And Other BULLSH*T

"Items made from this pattern can only be used for personal or charitable use'" "You can not sell items made from this pattern," "You can only use items made from this pattern as gifts or for personal use," "By buying this pattern you agree to not sell the items for personal gain."

Did you know that's all bullshit? This is a subject that really gets my hackles up. Even though I have never had any personal problems with this myself, I've seen people who have. I cannot write a post about patterns and copyrights that anyone could stand to read, so I had my husband do it for me. He's farther removed from the subject and wrote a post you wouldn't be embarrassed to read to your grandmother:

"It’s pretty easy to get started on crochet or knitting – all you really need are some hooks or needles, a skein of your favorite color, and a pattern to guide you.  And while you can get all of that at a local craft store, it’s easy to have some confusion on what you can do with your new handmade treasure after you’re done.  It’s an easy question to ask – what exactly is and is not legal to do with an object that you’ve created based on someone else's pattern?

Fortunately, the answer is pretty simple – you can do anything you want.  You can sell the object online, with or without your own changes, and make a profit in any way you see fit.  Despite what a pattern’s author may tell you, it is fully legal to create objects from their patterns and distribute them however you like.  While there are some restrictions on the pattern itself, once you have gotten the pattern from a book, Ravelry, Etsy, or any other source in a legal way, you can make and sell anything you want.

Certainly, you’ll do a service to the community if you credit the source of your finished good to the author of the pattern.  The more attention a pattern author gets, the more likely they are to make more patterns to be enjoyed.  From a strictly legal sense though, you own the object and all of the rights that surround it.  The U.S. Supreme Court even sent down a ruling on this very issue to explicitly state that it is OK to alter and/or sell your items.

You can find lots more information with answers to all the questions you might ask at this great page:  http://www.tabberone.com/Trademarks/CopyrightLaw/Patterns.shtml

So get out there and get hooking!" 

Just to be clear: You CANNOT claim a PATTERN as your own and distribute it in any way.

Granted you'd probably get a bad reputation in your yarn art community for selling things you made. Crochet and knit communities seem especially bad about harassing people for committing perfectly legal acts, when in reality they don't have a leg to stand on.