Six years of doing business selling online crochet patterns. SIX. I love what I do, but I don’t love dealing with PayPal. Matter of fact, I dislike them with a passion.

Cartoon courtesy of PayPalSucks.ORG

In the last six years, I’ve had to make several phone calls to PayPal to work out claims and disputes. Every time it’s involved someone making a purchase and not realizing one of the following:

1) They’re downloading a pattern, not an actual item (I kid you not, a few people have purchased thinking they were getting, oh, let’s say a $6.50 real shawl) and they want their money back. It’s no wonder why I have to put this on my site:

2) The link to the file was sent to them, sometimes landing in their spam filter. They had the email with the link, they just didn’t realize it. To solve this, I just forward it to them.

3) The link to the file wasn’t sent to them to the best of their knowledge. They checked their spam filter to no avail. And no emails landed in their inbox containing said link. This is another easy one to solve. I forward the email from PayLoadz (they are the sending source for the patterns) - because I’ve received it but they haven’t. It includes the link and they download the file. In a few rare instances, neither the customer nor I have received the email from PayLoadz. This is always PayLoadz fault as their system somehow didn’t pick up the receipt from PayPal. So I go into PayPal to confirm their purchase and then send them a link from PayLoadz manually.

4) They couldn’t open the file. Now this was caused by two things: a) their Adobe Acrobat software is out of date or 2) they didn’t realize there was a password involved (which was listed in the same email with the link to the file). I’ve gone ahead and solved that issue by removing the necessity for the open document passwords. But until now, the password has been in the same email with the link to the file just some people didn’t see it was there at the very top of the email. And then again in the second paragraph. No big deal though.

In each and every instance, I’ve had to call up PayPal to get the claim or dispute taken care of, otherwise, it could linger on for more than 30 days (Yes, I’ve had that happen before which means PayPal gets to keep my money for that long). In each and every instance I’ve been told that I needed to provide documentation that the item shipped, which I do. I send them the receipt of purchase, the receipt from Payloadz that the email was sent, and a copy/paste from my PayLoadz account showing the same. It’s usually taken care of right then and there.

A MATTER OF PRINCIPLE

Now, fast forward to three days ago when a payment made to me was flagged as a dispute a couple hours after purchase (that’s the higher tier of the two between claims and disputes, usually people put in a claim first then it escalates into a dispute). I instantly figured the scenario was one of the ones listed above. And I spent the next 30 minutes going through my emailed receipts and PayLoadz account looking for my documentation, taking screen captures, and uploading the pictures.

That was three days ago. I’d heard nothing from PayPal regarding this – not surprised – so I called them today. This time, however, I was informed that PayPal had flagged the transaction, and not the customer. I’ve never had that happen before. I asked the customer service rep why this happened to which I was told that it could be any number of things and that she wasn’t required to tell me why, as though this was a matter of international security.

So, I continued to press on about their non-existent virtual goods policy that gives all protection to the customer and none to the seller. I got the same has-been, regurgetated speech I got the last several times: “We apologize. We’re working on it. We recognize this is an issue and we apologize but as it stands, there is no policy. You have no protections.”

Sorry doesn’t cut it. I’ve been doing business – not so thankfully – with PayPal for six years. You mean to tell me it takes SIX YEARS or more to come up with a policy to protect both the sellers AND the customers equally? It’s time to embrace virtual goods as a real and viable form of goods that deserves protections. If that means that there’s an extra layer of security involved in the transaction, that goods can’t be downlaoded instantly but rather the transaction is checked and double-checked for authorization, I’m all for it. If it means I have to wait a few days for payment – and subsequently the buyer waits a few days for their item – just to know that it’s a valid transaction, then I’m all for it.

Back to the transaction, I was told that the money would be held for 10 – 15 days while they tried to contact the buyer to authorize the purchase. I asked what would happen if they said it wasn’t authorized. I’m sure you could guess the response. I don’t get my money and the buyer gets the goods. This kind of shell game is not cool in my book.

And they wonder why there’s an entire website dedicated to the disdain of PayPal several websites dedicated to the disdain of PayPal.

PayPalSucks.com

PayPalWarning.com

PayPalSucks.org

The Problem with PayPal

In the meantime, my account looks like this:

This has me puzzled because I was lead to believe the money from one single transaction was frozen, they were giving me my money back, and that the case was closed.

Nope.

When I click on all those cancelled fees, it leads to multiple transactions from different people, one of which I spoke to this week personally so I know it was a valid transaction! And the dispute? It’s still open.

This is a shell game of the worst kind.

They continue to get away with it. I’m not the only one who has had to deal with this. And some people have had it too as there’s a class action lawsuit against PayPal:

“The law firm of Freed & Weiss LLC has filed a lawsuit against eBay and PayPal on behalf of their clients, Ronya Osman and Brian Patee. The lawsuit charges that PayPal’s practice of “holding” funds for up to 180 days in the accounts is fraudulent because of the “systematic and arbitrary manner in which the freezing is done and the lack of information shared with affected customers.”

Freezing funds and not sharing information as to why? Hmm, SOUNDS FAMILIAR.

The day I can cut the strings that me to PayPal and PayLoadz will be an awesome day worthy of a red sangria toast.

Love the execution.

Hate the style.

FUG-et-about-it

In a nutshell, that’s how I feel about this tunisian shawl. I just spent a half hour the other day going through all my crochet stuff trying to organize the items into three piles: sell, donate, and needs pictures for pattern updates (that’s what I’ve been doing ad naseum for over a week now). This one didn’t exactly fall into any of those categories.

I don’t think I could sell it. It’s made with yarn that I ashamedly purchased at the beginning of my crochet career when frizzy, fuzzy, play yarns were all the rage. Don’t get me wrong, I’m also grateful for them. That’s right: GRATEFUL. Whether we like them or not, novelty yarns brought more people to the crochet and knit community. They got people to demand more yarns in big box craft stores like ACMoore and Michaels. They got people talking – not always in a good way either! Don’t be hatin’ on the fun fur (too much).

So a few years down the road from having made the Miami Scallop Shawl – and having fed into the novelty yarn rage by actually designing with it – I’m sitting here looking at this design pondering it’s revival.  I believe in the design. I really do. When looked at on it’s own, it’s really nice. And the garment does have great drape. But the yarn. Ohhhhh, that yarnnnnn! It’s hard to get past. Whatever yarn I replace it with has to have the same great drape as this does.

Anyone have an great yarn recommendations for a very drapey yarn, most likely with some silk or other organic content to help this design along? I might be pondering a variegated yarn. Thoughts?

I feel better now having aired that dirty laundry!

It’s been in my head for awhile now to update and revamp the layout for all the NexStitch patterns. With the last published patterns (Rhiannon Tote and Dandelion Neck Cuff), I had done some updating to the layout to eliminate the “intro” page and rework the materials page to include more product pictures and edit out some unnecessary graphics (a picture of a hook and the chosen yarn) that add to the workload when self-publishing. But more so than that, the amount of paper the written portion of my patterns take up has always weighed heavily on my conscious.

I’ve struggled to find a balance between providing enough instructional material while producing Earth-friendly patterns. I’ve often failed in the later department. My thinking has always been that I’m providing instructions in two ways: the step-by-step version with tutorial pictures and an easy-printing format that’s in black and white with no pictures; I’ve always guessed (read: hoped) that people would be like-minded in their thinking about being Earth-friendly and not print out the step-by-step version but rather view and refer to it on their computer if they get stuck. Who wants to spend all that money on ink and paper anyways?

All of which makes me wonder: If you purchase crochet patterns online, do you print out all or a portion of the directions provided?

So far I’ve managed to reduce the number of pages from 1 page for the smaller patterns to as many as 4 in the larger ones. I’m nowhere near done yet, but I’m happy to be saving some trees even if it’s a time suck on my end to make that happen.

I’m really happy to see print magazines like Crochet! magazine lean towards technology and open up online subscriptions. It’s inspiring, actually. I’m going to save my thoughts about the supposed or not so supposed death of print media in the crochet world for another post because I have more thoughts on that which are more germane to that topic than this, but just know I’m hoping to see Interweave move in the same direction. I love getting my Interweave Crochet magazine in the mail – there’s a sense of romanticism for that tangible moment when it hits my hands – but I’ll be amongst the first to applaud and sign up for the digital version.

How about you all? Would you stop buying the print editions of magazines if you could get your hands on the digital versions? No? How about if the online version gave you access to all previous editions? What if the digital version was cheaper? What would it take for you to bag print and move to digital?

I’m very curious about your thoughts!

Green.

Something about the color green triggers certain memories for me. Actually, colors in general do that for me. It’s how my brain is wired: a crazy juxtaposition of spoken words –  both from pop culture and my own experiences – and colors along with a heavy helping of loaded feelings. That’s how I remember things. I rarely can re-tell a story and give the play-by-play of it all, rather choosing to regurgitate it in a non-sequential order in the manner in which it was coded into my brain.

Think of my memory being like a long rope. Tied to the rope are smaller ropes that jut off in different directions, each coded with a piece of memory in no certain order. I can reach down and pick up the rope at any give point, tapping into just a part of something but not really knowing why it’s been placed there and if I’ll ever revisit it again.

Sometimes I can remember where I was standing or what I was wearing or doing when someone or something triggers that memory for me, never really recalling exactly what was said line-by-line, but rather how it made me feel and the general gist of the scenario. I’m not a gal of facts and history. I’d flunk at Jeopardy. Just sayin’.

So there I was two weeks ago trying to put together an idea of a pattern. I pulled out 7 skeins of “Luna” by Elann, a rich green color that I really loved.

Cypress Shimmer. What a great name. I quickly formed the idea to make a bag out of it because I was unsure if I had enough for a garment. It felt like a perfect Fall color. And I had a brown leather handle that would look awesome with the green.

Rewind a few days prior to this, I’d conducted a little online research about crocheters buying trends for crocheted handbag patterns. I’d quickly surmised that people might not be inclined to buy patterns that featured pre-bought handles. So I settled on coming up with something that was yarn-only and cool. But what to do?

Don't I look ridiculous trying to be serious?

I attest the rest of my inspiration for the Rhiannon Tote on subliminal messages because none of the thoughts for why I carried out this project the way I did were from my conscious memory. They were somewhere far down on that rope. In this case, you could say I started this project based on an inward motivation to do something, anything, and that I was moving towards my inspiration (Not the predictable order of things I suppose).

Braids. I had them in my head. Why? I didn’t know (at the time). I thought it would be cool to make a braided handle. It’d be sturdy. I could pad it for comfort. And it would be unique; I’d never seen a braided handle before.

Fast Forward to three days ago, I was struggling for a name for this newly created tote.

Inner dialog: “Green. GREEN!”

And then it was like weird science. I saw green. My brain spit out, “Rhiannon.” And then the lyrics came swirling in my head causing an earworm:

Rhiannon rings like a bell through the night
And wouldn’t you love to love her?
Takes through the sky like a bird in flight
And who will be her lover?

All your life you’ve never seen a woman
Taken by the wind
Would you stay if she promised you Heaven?
Will you ever win?

But why? GREEN! The cover of the Fleetwood Mac album is green.

And the braids? Rhiannon was a Welsh goddess. Celtic art is filled with knots and braiding. And why was this all on my mind? My step-father. He loved Fleetwood Mac and Stevie Nicks. He took me to see her once when she was playing solo. It was one of the few concerts I recall going to as a child but I remembered how much he lusted over Stevie. His birthday would have been two weeks ago. He would have been 60.

Love ya Joe. Miss you lots.

Twins! I had twins folks!

Two patterns in one day. What a busy day.

First up is the Rhiannon Tote, which I’m pretty stoked about because the graphics on this pattern are just fabulous (if I do say so myself). There are two stitch diagrams,  slew of step-by-step photos, and one additional illustration to accompany the text. Here are some product shots that my awesome husband took of me carrying the tote downtown. Click on the thumbnails to expand.

As well as the Dandelion Neck Cuff. Which for some crazy reason I can’t seem to put pictures of it in it’s own image gallery in the same blog post with the tote bag. Oh well.

The Meaning of Creativity

I find it fascinating to talk with other designers and ask them what makes them tick, what drives their internal engines to create and keep creating even in the face of self-doubt and frustration. The answers I get always lean towards an insatiable desire to put to real form what they’re seeing and feeling inside.

I went to a workshop yesterday for the Day Job in which there were two speakers giving a dual presentation, one talking about linear perspective (from the point of view of an artist) and one on how the human eye perceives perspective (from a scientific point of view). Oddly enough (or maybe not so oddly as I loved science in high school), I made the greatest connection with the scientific end of the conversation when the second speaker posted a photograph of someone’s pupil from the outside looking in. [Imagine a large circle filled with bright light and all around it dark brownish-red looking muscles surround it.] It was rather eery! I felt like I had traveled to an unrecognizable world I never thought I’d see. No, really. It was quite…humbling.

Anyway, the speaker was driving home the point that the human eye sees things backwards as it’s taken in and is reflected in the brain in order to look right side up, and that the world as seen is really quite orderly and beautiful. All things made from nature are so well designed. Think of a nautilus shell, or the structure of a beetle’s body. Or even the way a line of trees appear smaller as they go back in space and yet the trees furthest away aren’t necessarily smaller than those in front.

For me I took from that conversation that the world is indeed orderly, but people and our thoughts, visions, and ideas are more chaotic, raw. Our insatiable need to design and always move forward is like a constant need to take the chaos of our daily lives and inside our brain and make order of it in the physical sense, take the orderliness of what we see in the world and reflect it back through our own senses, our own eyes.

The Creative Process

I posted a question to Twitter yesterday asking designers (knit and crochet):

“Looking through inspirational images & yarn stash to determine next project. DESIGNERS: How do you get inspired?”

I would say a lot of my designing is a reflection of my environment, of what I like. I’m a beach person by nature having grown up at the Jersey Shore. I tend to like a more subtle, subdued color palette. As such, I’ve created a lot of designs that evoke that part of my personality. My latest design is no exception.

My response to the question I posed on Twitter was that I rummage through my yarn stash to see what I currently have and find images that inspire me at the moment. I knew I wanted to make a large handbag that I could take to the beach, whose design was easy enough manipulate in order to change the size of the bag easily, if a customer desired to do it. And I wanted to play with a new fiber. I happened to have several spools of Berwick Wraphia in Oatmeal, Green, and Turquoise I had purchased a couple years ago online and that seemed to fit the profile.

I went searching online for some cool Amy Butler (love her aesthetic!) fabric on fabric[dot]com to go with the feeling of the bag (but not match it perfectly) when I found this one (shown below). Something about the playfulness of the flowers, the use of color, and the fact that it was called, “August Fields” and my birthday is in August drew my eye and I bought a yard of fabric.

I did some searching online for beach bags (regular ones, not crochet as I tend to look towards mainstream fashion first) and came across this bag which I thought was interesting. It had a knit-like appearance to it and I wondered about how that would translate to crochet. I like that the rows of stitches seemed to start at the center and radiate out and back in at the other end, creating a curved effect. I set out to mimic that effect.

In order to create the curved shape, I had to employ short rows and linked stitches (to join the short rows to the main body of the work). The bag had some stability to it but not like I had imagined. Later on in the design process, I used green wraphia and did some surface crochet to go over the portion of the bag with the short rows, adding structure to it. That solved one problem and helped along an aesthetic issue: before doing the surface crochet, the curved shape wasn’t as pronounced. Now it was.

The remainder of the design, done in turquoise wraphia, came from seeing embroidery on off-white Mexican style, beachy shirts I used to see women wear to the beach as a child.

Lastly, the name: I wanted something that took someone to a certain time and connected them with a certain feeling. Montauk is a beachy place that boasts both a casual and upscale lifestyle, and that’s what I wanted to bag to feel like: polished, fun, but functional.

And that’s how a big bag called, “Montauk” was “born.”

Here are some quick picture from my latest pattern release, “Montauk Handbag.” I’ve included a photo fan of the first four pages. You can see that there are a great deal of photos, illustrations, and diagrams to help the crocheter along the way. Don’t be afraid because it’s labeled “Intermediate.” I use a couple more uncommon stitches like linked stitches minimally and there are photographs to assist newbies of this technique. It’s really just a matter of sticking your hook in another spot before a stitch like a double or treble crochet is finished off.

I will be talking about the design inspiration in the next blog post.

Alas, the pictures!

SCRATCH THAT: But it here!

We’re oh-so close to releasing the 3rd and final volume of the Bag Book series from SFTD Online. (I will update this post when we go live).

Strapped For Bags, Volume 3 featuring:

A Crocheter’s Backpack by, Amy O’Neill Houck

Hip Hoppin’ Backpack by, Dee Stanziano

Knot Bag by, Doris Chan

Scrap Yarn Bag by, Marty Miller

Crochet Small Wire Bag by, Noreen Crone-Findlay

Felted Harvest Bag by, Tammy Hildebrand

Half-Double Half-Circle Handbag by, Vashti Braha

Here’s a sneak peak of a handbag pattern that I had started a long, longgggg time ago and finally finished this week. This bag is totally my style. I’m a beach girl through and though, so I chose to make it with raffia (Wraphia by Berwick). The bag has been embellished with embroidery and surface crochet. And it’s lined with some oh so lovely Amy Butler fabric.

Montauk Handbag

I enjoyed crocheting with Wraphia because it has a lot of stability. The stitches it produces are quite defined. The downside is that once you’ve worked it, frogging it back if you’ve made mistakes makes dents in the “yarn.” Re-working this frogged Wraphia is OK the first time or two, but after that many tries, it condenses enough that it affects the look of whatever you’re producing. So, if you’re considering designing something using it, I highly recommend that you buy extra to fool with.

I don’t have a sure fire date as to when it’ll be released (because I’m still working on getting some pics of step outs) but I’ll let you know when I do.