Well the new year began with a blast- a zest- a powerful surge of ideas and creativity. Until the other day.

I started receiving emails about  people on a website/forum posting my patters. This normally does not bother me. I mean it does, but I have been doing it so long it kind of goes with the territory- that it will happen and that I just need to follow the steps to fix it. Usually that entails contacting the person. Sometimes if that doesn’t work, contacting the forum owner. And then beyond that if no affect, then just working up the chain to where the website/forum is hosted etc. Most often, it is someone who does not realize he/she is doing wrong. So many are still ignorant when it comes to copyright issues and such.

Then why am I so down?

This one is different. It *cannot* be taken down. This particular website is out of the country, in multiple languages, free for the masses to register and begin sharing. This is so devastating.  I have always just followed my little steps when I find my patterns around the internet. But this time, I am handcuffed. I am stuck. I researched this site a little more, and it seems it has been up since at least 2009. That is 4 years. I found many designers around the internet complaining about this website, trying all means to get it taken down. I feel really discouraged that in the last 4 years, nobody has been successful.

When I did a search for my name- “Crochet Garden,” I came up with 21 hits. All were posted by the same person, in December. However, there was a few other patterns that did not come up in the search, and posted by others. There is no way for me to contact these people. I cannot send a message or do anything without gaining points, per se, to get benefits, without sharing.

With such a site, it is only a matter of time before everyone knows about this place. It will be the first place someone stops to get their patterns, to see if it is available. Not Ravelry, not Annie’s Attic, etc. Why purchase it when you can get it for free?

Of course, I know many support indie designers, but there is not enough of you out there to support us, unfortunately.

Maybe it is the shock that there is nothing I can do. Is there anything I can do? I do not know. The last couple of days I have had to push myself to look at my designs in progress and work on them. I look at them and think, wow, I spent a month on this. Put up the pattern for sale, and tomorrow, I could see this pattern available for free on this particular website, available to all.

What is worse, now, is that it has been posted on facebook, and the link is spreading like wildfire. I have had countless of emails coming in, alerting to me that my patterns are up there. This morning I wake up and open my email, countless more emails about this website. So you can imagine.

All I can do is ask, if the person or the person who knows of the person posting my patterns, I am humbly asking if they can please take them down.

It would be so different if there was something I could do. Report it, send messages, etc. I see 4 years of people before me doing all that and more, and it has been futile. I am just really discouraged right now.