« I’m addicted to knitting these little scarves! “Reclamation” Scarf Pattern available »
Knitting in the New Year « »
With posts like this one from Annie, and this one from Shannon, I can’t help but think about the fair compensation for designers issue. I’ll admit that when I received the same letter from SoHo that Annie did, I thought, “Well, I’d better sign this or I won’t see ANY royalties.” I thought it was a little curt, but my overall impression was, “this is just the way things are.”
I checked my Ravelry profile, and out of 96 published designs, only 6 are magazine patterns. What that means is that this issue is very important, but it’s not something that directly applies to me in the same way that it does to someone like Annie who is in the magazines all the time, or to Shannon who is editing a magazine herself. My opinion is that designers should be fairly compensated for their work, and that if online pattern sales are happening after the publication in print…designers should receive a residual. I think that a lot of progress has been made in this area, and that we will only move forward as time goes on, thanks to my outspoken friends and colleagues.
After reading the above posts and posts like Julia’s 2008 wrap-up, I’m thinking a lot about my knitting life and where I want it to take me in 2009. Again, looking at Ravelry, I’ve published 96 designs. 50+ are in my books, some are in other people’s books, some are on my website, and very few are things that I’ve made for myself.
The Fates have lately been presenting me with situations (in life and in knitting) that indicate to me that I need to really take time to sit still and think. I need to really eliminate some of the clutter from my headspace.
I want to take time to cast on with luscious yarn and see where it takes me. I want to watch my daughter toddle more. I want to not be away from my family more than I’m with them. I want to figure out what my dreams actually ARE and THEN strive to meet them, instead of just barreling forward. I want quality over quantity, and I want to be HAPPY.
**NOTE: I edited this post to remove some of the more specific rantings…it’s been a rough last couple of weeks.
This entry was posted on Monday, February 9th, 2009 at 5:30 pm and is filed under just chit chat. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
2 Responses to “Knitting in the New Year”
I think you all are absolutely right on target with needing to stand together on this issue. I don’t know what a standard royalty rate is in book publishing, but somehow I don’t think that this type of deal would fly there either. I’m glad you and Ysolda, Shannon, Annie, et al are standing up for your creative and business rights! I stand with you and will patronize Interweave and Ravelry and the other pattern sources that believe in providing fair and equal royalties!
I’ve always marveled at you saying “how does she do it all?” Indeed it is important that we, as moms of young daughters, do take time to enjoy their childhood and our lives with them. Knitting/crafting will fit into my life somewhere along the way…but those smiles and giggles sure take the cake on a day to day basis. You’ve got an army of friends and supporters – and always will!