Moving forward

Fuss Free Festival Shawl

At the time of writing we are now 2 weeks since the launch of the new Ravelry site. Apart from a very inadequate non-apology no substantial progress has been made on accessibility and a significant number of people are either unable to use the site or have to use extensive modifications (using 3rd party coded skins, browser modifications or ‘classic Ravelry’ - note that the latter still has issues and is most definitely not the true ‘old’ Ravelry.)

So, we are where we are. Ravelry have issued a readability survey to selected users and have also issued a general feedback form (the latter is available on the homepage).

That’s about it. No acknowledgment of the impact this has had, or apology to the many people for whom the site is now unusable. But at this point I’m of the view that I have expended enough energy on this. Ravelry will either listen, apologise and implement meaningful change in an appropriate timeframe or they won’t.

I, like many other small-time designers have had to make alternative provision for pattern sales for customers who can’t or won’t use the site.

All of my most popular patterns are now available on Payhip - a clean and simple web interface for buying digital or physical products. It allows for the use of coupon codes so I’ll be able to conduct pattern sales in the usual way and also for the issue of revised files in the event of errata or pattern changes. It also takes care of the EU VAT system automatically, which was always one of my main reasons for sticking with Ravelry.

In terms of my day to day activities, all of my marketing links and links within my blog will be directed to my Payhip site rather than my Ravelry store. Until such time as the site is deemed safe for people with epilepsy/migraine to use I do not want to run the risk of a link from my social media inadvertently triggering a reaction in an unsuspecting knitter.

My Ravelry store is still intact and open for use should people wish to use it. I have taken the decision to use the site purely as a commercial rather than a community-based one however. I have left the groups I was previously a member of (albeit a very inactive one) and deleted my personal projects. My projects and stash will now be cataloged on a personal Airtable page - although I will share links to this as and when appropriate.

Do I want Ravelry to fail? Absolutely not. It remains an invaluable database and repository of information. Do I want to take part in it as a community member? No, or at least not in it’s present form.

Communities should be available for everyone, especially one which proudly badges itself as inclusive. And at present, Ravelry isn’t.

An update on pattern sales

I've always been a proud supporter of Ravelry. I've exclusively sold my patterns there ever since day one. I've been proud to call Ravelry and the community there my knitting home.

But the recent site changed has caused problems for a significant number of people. Visual disturbances, migraines and reports of seizures.

All very worrying.

But much more worrying has been the complete lack of meaningful response from the team. People have been left unable to run their businesses effectively and without a social support structure they have grown to rely on.

We are now a week into the change and all we have is a weak opt-out back to the classic version (hidden behind several screens of triggering imagery)

I'm aghast at lack of response, the gaslighting and the dismissal of very serious concerns. I've been watching with increasing incredulity as the days tick past, with no action. I keep hoping that there will be something put in place to fix this. A solution, a timescale, a plan - heck - even an acknowledgement at this point would help

All I can do is to add my voice to those calling for action and look to my own business and my own website. I can’t possibly go back through years of blog posts and remove Ravelry links but I will not be adding new ones here until a solution is found.

In addition I have cancelled my monthly donation to the site (I don't pay for advertising there) and as of today I will have another, alternative platform for pattern sales, for those who aren’t able to access Ravelry.

I don’t know what the long term plan is - a lot depends on what happens with Ravelry over the next few weeks and months - and for that, the ball is firmly in their court. I truly hope there is a resolution that works for everyone. But in the interests of my business and my customers I have to come up with an alternative means of selling patterns.

You can find information on the alternative platform HERE

In love with shortie socks

I’ve no idea how I have managed to be over 10 years into my sock knitting career and never knit a pair of shortie socks before. I’ve seen the cute patterns over the years - notably the Rose City Rollers- that at one time everyone seemed to be knitting. I saw them, but somehow thought they weren’t for me.

This weekend though it dawned on me that I actually wear that style quite a lot in the summer. And as I hunted for a pair that hadn’t been claimed by my sock-magnet sons I realised that I could in fact knit myself some - revelation.

One of the beauties of these types of socks is that they use small amounts - just over half the amount of yarn needed for conventional socks. So I grabbed some suitable yarn from my stash (this is from Travelknitter - although I fear I have long since lost the ballband) - and cast on.

What can I say? Instant gratification is the order of the day. I cast on over my morning coffee and my mid afternoon I had a wearable first sock.

I don’t want to jinx things but it looks as though my sock mojo is back.

Inner Zen

Inner Zen

Sometimes we all need one of those projects - one which is soothing without being too plain. A bit of detail without needing too much concentration.

Say hello to your Inner Zen - a sideways shawl designed to restore your peace and harmony.

Knit during the Covid-19 outbreak and the resulting turbulence I needed something calming to knit that wasn’t just acres of garter stitch.

This side to side shawl proved to be unexpectedly therapeutic. Starting from just a few stitches it is worked in sections - weigh your yarn first - with an increase section, a long straight section and then a final short decrease section.

The end result is a reversible, elongated crescent-ish shawl. Easy to wear and with negligible leftovers - always a bonus.

If you subscribe to my newsletter please check your inbox for a discount code.

If not, there is an early bird discount code for the next 7 days - with 25% off when you use the code InnerZenEB

Going with gut instinct

As I’m sure you’ll know about me I’m a girl who loves to plan. Give me a notebook and a pen (or even the back of an envelope) and my first response to pretty much anything is to write a list.

But if this year is teaching me anything, it is that the best laid plans don’t always work out. My lovely 2020 weekly planner sits taunting me from the bookcase, with a lovingly laid out list of goals, deadlines and ‘Things to Do’ - not much of which has actually been done, for all of the current ongoing reasons.

At the beginning of the year I sat down and planned out my Temperature Blanket in detail - the colours I would use and the temperature ranges I would work to. The blog post is here if you want to read it.

And so far it’s been going really well. But this weekend I hit a stumbling block. Hitting a new temperature high of 23c I excitedly reached into my stash bag for the new colour and realised that the allocated yarn was a drab olive green which didn’t exactly thrill the senses.

But, never one to listen to my inner voice I ploughed on regardless, dutifully adding in most of the days stitches (about 2000 - if we are counting). It was at that point that I realised that I really (really) didn’t like the colour. It was way too dark and too jarring in the overall colour scheme. With hindsight it would have worked far better down with the cooler colours but hey ho. We live and learn.

So I spent a fun evening ripping it out and then decided to move the warmer colours up a bit. So the lovely sunny yellow (Butterscotch) is now covering ranges 22-24c . The next range up will be the warmer Tumeric (orange/brown) and so now I just need to look for another shade to fill in the top temperature range.

And I’m so much happier with the yellow - it sings perfectly and does exactly what these warmer sunny days should be doing. Lifting our spirits and giving us a good old dose of colour therapy.

And lesson learned (probably) - trust the gut instinct - it knows what it’s talking about.

Three good reasons to knit a sideways shawl

The KISS Shawl - pattern available on Payhip

Just my personal opinion but sideways shawls are vastly underrated, and I’m always surprised that there aren’t more of them available .

This is my KISS shawl (short for Keep It Simple Shawl) and I think this is the only true side to side shawl I've ever knit. I’m not quite sure why this is as there so many advantages to this way of knitting a shawl. If you’ve never knitted one before allow me to offer a few advantages to the calm, zen-like experience that is a sideways shawl.

1. There is absolutely no risk of running out of yarn making it perfect for one-off special skeins. As long as you have a reasonably accurate set of scales (ideally ones that measure to within 1g) you can weigh your yarn at the start, increase to the halfway point and then start the decreases secure in the knowledge that you won’t end up playing a fraught game of yarn chicken.

2. You can flirt with a little bit of lace patterning at the edges but there's plenty of plain garter stitch for relaxation purposes. Nothing too stressful and only a minimal bit of chart reading required.

3. It makes a perfect elongated, wrappable shape which is definitely my favourite shape to wear.

In fact, they are so much fun I think I've convinced myself that it's time to knit another one.

This one is in Turbillium from @theuncommonthread and I've worn it a lot, but I'm thinking I'd like one in a lighter colour for spring/summer.