Pattern credit: a must!

I always swore I'd never make an entry about this because I hate when others do, yet here I am writing about it, so we can all take it for what it's worth :)

A new friend of mine on Ravelry recently brought to my attention that there are multiple people selling hats made from my Bella pattern in their Etsy shops.  I don't usually have a problem with this because it's a pretty basic hat and I've always been more than thrilled that people loved the pattern so much that they enjoyed making it so many times, haha.

However, in some of the links she sent me, the sellers were claiming that they had created the pattern themselves.  Now, because of the differences between my rendition and the actual hat featured in Twilight, I know this is not the case.  For example, I double-stranded my hat to make it thicker, and the ridges appear in different spots (mine only have four vertical ridges, whereas the original has eight, among other differences).  I don't think it's "right" to exactly copy an idea, and instead I like to put my own twist on them, using the original as inspiration (thought with everything that's out there, sometimes it's hard to be completely original, I'll admit).

I just want to put this out there: I DO NOT MIND if you want to sell things made from my patterns unless otherwise noted in the pattern itself (something which I've placed in my purchasable patterns on occasion).  That said, I DO MIND when the seller claims credit for the pattern.  I don't think I'm asking for much by saying a link to my blog would be nice :)  Or at the very least not having a statement explicitely claiming that all patterns in your shop are original.  I doubt people will think less of you if you admit someone else came up with the pattern.  Saying so wouldn't change your work's quality, and if they like that enough, they will still buy!

I'm not a huge Etsy seller, and I'm not a famous designer, so maybe this sound a little crazy coming from someone in my position.

The fiber industry is super friendly, and if your work is good enough, you will fall in with some great people.  I've met or spoken with some awesome crafters because of this blog and I'm always amazed at the talents and creativity I find here.  So please at least give credit to the people who take time to come up with the amazing patterns we're able to find thanks to innovative networks like Ravelry!

Thanks for listening to my ranting :P  I should have some projects to share soon, which I'm really excited about since a lot of my posts lately have nothing to do with what I've been making.  Additionally, I found a great tutorial on creating your own sock blocking devices out of plastic placemats, so as soon as I can take my $2 to Big Lots and purchase some, I'll be able to post my results, too!

Swap #4 - Ravelry Favorites Swap

So last week, I promised you all a blog post by the end of the week.  I lied.  I'm making up for that now by posting a photo from my most recent swap (this is a long time coming, believe you me!):

Isn't it a wonderful package?  As mentioned in previous posts, the theme was Ravelry Favorites, and you had to go through your partner's Ravelry favorites list and choose one of their hats to make.  I had been drooling over this hat for months, but never had the time to make it (what with the house hunting, actually buying the house, then moving, not to mention starting my MBA, and a whole bunch of other stuff I'm sure you don't care about, so why am I rambling?).

If you'd like to make your own, here is the link to purchase the wonderful pattern: clicky!

The stitch markers are absolutely wonderful, as well.  I always get excited when someone sends me those :)  These particular markers are made with jewels to look like flowers - a perfect Spring package!  It's unfortunate I haven't had much knitting on my plate, but I'm hoping to have some time soon so I can use them.

And look at that bookmark!  I don't know how you people make those things.  Trying to crochet thread snowflakes for Christmas made my fingers cry in pain, and my stitches are nowhere near as neat and tidy as that when all is said and done (hmmm, maybe someday I'll get around to posting pictures of those, too :P)  Beautiful Spring colors!

Okay, enough gushing.  Suffice it to say I had an awesomely talented swap partner.  Many thanks!!!!

Swap #3: Favorite Holiday Swap (or Amazingly Awesome Awesomeness)

As mentioned in previous posts, I participated in a Favorite Holiday Swap in February.  The theme was that the spoilee picked their favorite holiday and your goal was to send them a package based on that holiday.

Being that it was just Christmas, I chose Halloween.  It's one of my favorite holidays because it kind of kicks off the holiday season, I love everything having to do with the Fall (heck, hubby and I got married in October), the colors are awesome, the weather is great, and Halloween is just a super cute holiday with all the kiddos.  (Sidebar: Hubby and I realized the other day that we might actually get trick-or-treaters this year, being that we own a house and don't live in an apartment, and I got really excited).

In any event, I maybe have just gotten the best swap package ever:

(Sidebar #2: notice our awesome new green couch - doesn't look green here, but I swear it is!  Also, some candy may or may not have been harmed in the making of this photo.  Looks like we're missing some Reese's Pieces and a Cadbury.  Oops :D)


We're talking tons of candy (nom nom nom), a sparkly tape measure, some pom-pom makers that I've sorely needed since losing all of mine in our last move, ADORABUBBLE stuffed toys, ghost story cards, a Nightmare Before Christmas Trivial Pursuit Game (it does exist, and it is awesome), some really cute scrapbooking supplies that are sure to get me right back into it (already planing on what my pages will look like, hehe), greeting cards, and just...  amazingness.

Um, yes.  And the funny part about this photo was that as I set up the picture, I was like, "Good grief, I am the most spoiled spoilee in a swap ever," and then realized I hadn't even included the yarn yet.  Which, by the way, included some FREAKIN' NORO:

Just look at that amazing assortment of colors.  I've been so excited to get my hands on this stuff, but it'll have to wait until the craft room is organized and I finish some other projects that I'm sick of staring at, haha.

And let's not forget the cutest Halloween stitch markers ever (that she MADE!!!!):

So like here's the deal.... Mystique, you were a totally awesome spoiler.  I can't believe I received all of this amazing stuff.  Thank you SO MUCH, and I hope you had a great time witht the swap, too :D

And because I'm impatient and too excited to wait, here's a sneak peak (albeit a messy one) of the craft room:

I haven't been knitting - I've been homemaking!

I've been AWOL.  But I have a good excuse - really, I do!

Hubby and I bought a house!  YAY!



(Don't worry, that's his happy face.  And I look like crap, but that's fine, too.  It had been a long day at that point because we had just returned from a weekend in New Hampshire).

Okay, so I was slacking off a little before the whole house thing came into play, and I feel like a terrible person for not participating as much in the HPKCHC like I had planned, and now I'm running around trying to get stuff together for swaps (lucky for me, I knocked it down to one every month at the most).  Unfortunately, life happens and things go nuts and nothing ever goes as planned.

Except for getting the house we wanted.

In any event, I really need to get my butt in gear and start doing crafts again.  Although I'm thinking most of my crafts from here on out will involve things like... painting French doors and cabinetry.

The up side (other than getting a beautiful home in general) is that I'm getting an amazing craft room.  It's already been painted my obnoxious avocado green color, and the burgundy curtains have been hung.  At the moment (and this makes me sad), it's acting as a catch-all room for everything we've been lugging over from the apartment while we get the main rooms in order.  That'll hopefully change this weekend after a Friday night trip to IKEA to get the shelves I've been eyeing up.  And a comfy chair!  My mom is also passing down her sewing table.  Because I apparently need another craft to obsess over.

Enough of that.  In the Land of Yarn News, not too much has been happening.  The blanket I've been knitting has been put on hold.  Sad days.  But I do love the way it's coming out.  It'll look great as an accessory to the new couches we bought for the living room :)  I was also banging my head against a wall for a hat swap I'm doing.  The theme is "Pick a hat from someone's ravelry favorites and make it for them" and I loved all my swap-ee's hats.  I found an awesome one that I knew I'd be able to do really well, quickly, and was a fun pattern in a color she'd love, so I'm excited about that.  But it took me awhile to mull it over, haha.  And also to find the yarn I wanted in my strash that's separated into about 15 boxes right now.  Depressing or awesome?  You decide.

I also received the BEST swap package ever yesterday for the Favorite Holiday swap I joined.  I chose Halloween because Christmas just ended and I have so many Christmas things that any more right now would probably drive Hubby up the wall / out the door.  And... I got a little spoiled, hehe.  I'll be taking pictures and making a wonderful thank-you post over the weekend, so you'll just have to wait and see.  But I will tell you that I may have received some of this in the package (I need to reference the colors, which I will in my thank-you post).  I'm pretty sure Hubby thought I was having a heart attack because he could hear me squeeing upstairs the whole time.

I hope you all are enjoying your first glimpses of Spring!

Ravelympics Slackage

Just so we're all aware, this is what happens every time I try to take pictures of anything.  Especially if I have to do it on the floor.

That is a lovely photo of my current UFO.  It's been that way for almost a year.  I've recently decided to revisit it (which I never do - I'm the queen of starting projects, storing them away, then throwing them out a couple years later when I move just because I can't stand to look at it anymore) and completed the second panel over the weekend.  Why?  For Ravelympics!

The pattern is Frosted Waves, by the ever-so-talented Robyn Chachula.  I started it last April, and since then it's been sitting patiently in my craft corner basket, just waiting to be completed.  I can't remember why I stopped, but knowing me, it was because I started another project.  I've wanted to pick it back up a couple times since then, but was afraid to since I wasn't sure I'd remember where I left off last.

But after reading through the pattern again and ripping back a row or two, I finally figured it out.  I'm actually almost done with the first sleeve at the moment, though I had to frog almost the entire thing after realizing my gauge has changed in the past year.  The pattern calls for an H hook.  I had been using a G for the sweater's body, but ended up using an F for the sleeves.  Crazy.  I usually have problems with my gauge being too tight.  Maybe all the knitting I've been doing lately has loosened me up!  Haha.

Anyway, here's a shot of the front and back panels, sans kitties: