We're underway!

Thanks to everyone who took advantage of the special budget booster sale, the website build is underway with the new developer!

It’s been incredibly busy back-end as the new build gets underway. I’ve managed to get back some of the deposit paid to the previous developer, and I’m relieved that things there have ended amicably.

Since signing with the new developer, we’ve had several meetings about needs and requirements, and I have learnt so much! We’re getting regular updates to our Slack group and being kept in the loop about everything. That communication is going a long way to reassure us and honestly, all of us involved in the project management and data juggling that’s been quietly ticking away for the last two and a half years are feeling the relief.

The build is estimated to take 3 to 6 months, and that includes testing, so all being well we should be live for the coming winter season in the northern hemisphere!

I am SO looking forward to having closure on this. It’s dragged on way too long, occupied way too much brain space.

And honestly, I can’t wait for you to have a new site to use! To have access to hundreds of translated patterns - Czech is all done, Italian a good way through and French making progress! And all the reformatted patterns with their shiny new tutorials and download links - we’ve put an incredible amount of work into this, into updating the business and patterns, and we’ve not been able to shre much of it yet. I am seriously looking forward to getting all of this live. Once that’s done, I can dive back into getting select patterns ready for print distribution and start working on more large print and screen-reader accessible patterns.

And then, maybe then, I’ll have enough bandwidth left to start working on some new designs. Things are finally starting to look up.

Starting over

It’s been a few months since my last update on the progress for the new website. You can read it here, so I won’t repeat it all! You can also learn more about the new website via the blog categories and read the website aims here.

After much thought and discussion, I decided to continue with the original developer despite all the delays. Some progress had been made, and with the budget concerns and my own personal challenges, it made sense to try and move forward. Until it didn’t. As I said before, this is nothing malicious, no intent to string us along. But all said and done, we've been left hanging again.

To be totally honest, I'm gutted that we’ve reached this point and there still isn’t a shiny new website. Everyone in the team has worked hard to try and get this done, whether it be yet more project management meetings or organising and reorganising the pattern data. I've worked incredibly hard on reformatting each and every pattern, getting fresh pattern photos, developing new tutorials and improving old ones. My translators have been doing a fantastic job and many patterns are ready to go in several languages. We’ve made the most of the delays to optimise everything, and all of the back-end work is done and it's looking mighty fine, but I can't share most of it until the website is finished. And we're all incredibly disappointed that we, as a team, and you, my brilliant knitters and supporters, have been let down so much. I am so sorry that we've not been able to deliver the promised shiny new website by now.

I've talked about this before, how the new website is critical in being able to launch the updated patterns and translations. This is especially true because of the way tutorials will be structured, which means I can't properly share the updates and translations until the website is done.

It's impacting print wholesale too. My wholesaler, Deep South Fibers, have been asking for my single patterns to go into print for a long time, and I'm really keen to do that! I've got a clever alternative solution for including tutorials in the print patterns, but again, I need the new website for those.

A lot of planning has gone into all of this and we’ve used the extra time to refine and streamline as many things as possible. I’ve relied heavily on 3rd party services and platforms over the years and at this point, with so many books and patterns published, the admin has become unmanageable. Hosting everything myself, on my own website, not only reduces direct costs going forward but it’ll save me on indirect costs, time and brain bandwidth, all of which are in short supply!

So, the time has now come to start again with a new developer, as things can't go on like this any longer. You need a proper functioning website and we need closure on this project. The good news is that I do now have a new developer lined up! They came recommended and building accessible websites sites is their specialty.

As I mentioned in the last update, the quote from the new developer is understandably higher than the original quote - it's pretty close to double. And unfortunately, the delays have come with a number of hidden costs. I have the amount for the original quote, less the deposit paid - which I hope to get back! - parked safely. Yet the extra things - such as monthly fees for services I should have been hosting on my own site, not to mention costs in project management, lost time that could have been spent on new designs, loss of sales and lower website traffic - have chipped away at funds that were reserved for pattern translations and creating more accessible patterns.

Getting the new website back on track will help ensure that I can continue to have patterns translated, and more importantly, give me the space I need to host them and make them available. And to get the website over the finishing line, I need to boost the budget.

So how about a special sale to cover the extra needed to finish the site?

The code BuildIt has been created to give you 50% off between now and 16th March on everything in my Payhip, Ravelry and Etsy stores! There's no limit to the amount of times you can use the code, so go for it. And please feel free to share, because getting the new accessible website finished, with its native teaching platform and multi-language options, is long overdue.

Payhip have recently introduced the option to send a pattern or eBook as a gift, while also allowing promotional codes to be used at the same time, which is fantastic - that means you can send your friends a pattern and still benefit from the sale! So if you'd like to share the joy of a Woolly Wormhead pattern with a friend, whilst also getting a bargain and helping me get the new website built, Payhip is your best bet.

If you're thinking of other ways to support the website build, translations and accessible patterns, then Patreon might work for you - membership starts from $10.60 a year and you get exclusive year-round discounts and behind the scenes insights. And there's always the donate button, if that's your preference.

A long overdue website update

You’ll be forgiven for thinking the new website build had stopped or disappeared somewhere into the ether never to be mentioned again, but it hasn’t. Team WW haven’t stopped working on it backend and it’s taken up an incredible amount of headspace and time, and we still haven’t inched much closer to launch date.

Over the last almost 2 years since the new site was originally due to launch I have hinted at reasons for delays. The reasons for the delays are not necessarily my story to tell and I’m not at liberty to divulge reasons other than my own, but the short version is that the developer I hired hit a series of life-changing personal events and given my own continual personal issues, I made the decision to stick with the developer and wait.

Over the last 2 and half years I’ve been coming to terms with first my ADHD then learning that I’m also Autistic. And not just for me, for Aran too. Anyone who’s gone through such a diagnosis, especially if it’s later in life, will tell you how all consuming it is. It literally turns your world upside down before you slowly start to rebuild with a new understanding of yourself. And often, there are many parts of the pre-diagnosis life that you never return to. We’re all still going through that adjustment, which has meant me having very limited capacity to work, create, outsource or even talk to people.

One very clear aspect of my Autism is how hard it is for me to reach out to people, explain my needs and limitations, and build new relationships. I’ve always known this about myself, only it never had a label before. And it has without a doubt affected my decisions with regards to whether I look for a new developer or stick with the one I’d started working with. When the first big delay hit it I was in no position to start looking for a new developer, knowing how long it had taken me, and how exhausting it had been, to find the one I had found.

My website is huge. And my plans for the new website even bigger. I didn’t, and still don’t, want a replica of SquareSpace. I need a decent eCommerce site and a searchable database. A native teaching platform. Forums and member accounts. And the ability to auto-translate blog posts as well as pull products available in various languages. And on top of that, it needs to be accessible for folks with Autism and ADHD, and to visually impaired crafters.

These are no small tasks and finding a developer who has the skills and good references, and who has experience with accessible websites, is harder than you might think. Throw in them having some concept of the fibre industry and being willing to work with a team of neurodivergent folk who don’t think or work in a linear fashion, then it gets even more difficult.

So I made the decision to stick with the developer and wait; to make good use of the extra time to reformat all of my patterns, tidy up existing tutorials and create lots of new ones, and organise and edit all of the pattern data for the database. And between us we’ve done all of that, it’s all looking seriously polished! Except for some time now we’ve been taxiing on the runway, unable to do anything else, as delay after delay hit.

These delays, and not yet having the website I’ve promised, have absolutely affected my business. When you’re expecting something new interest understandably dwindles the longer you wait. My community has been fractured, split due to Ravelry’s harmful re-launch, and my moderators and myself have been trying to manage support across various spaces. I’ve been unable to run my annual Mystery Knit-a-Longs because I can’t physically support folks across different forums during a KAL, and I’m not willing to further exclude the folks who can longer safely use Ravelry. I feel like I’ve lost trust and I’ve certainly lost ranking and traffic, which in turn means a loss of sales.

And these delays have affected my mental health. The worry about things not being ready; about letting folks down and not reaching expected dates or targets. And with this huge website build and all the hurdles we’ve needed to navigate, I’ve been unable to think about anything creative. These are difficult circumstances to work under, especially with my disabilities; if I’m not able to give something my complete focus without interruption, it doesn’t come to fruition.

There have been other factors affecting my work and my ability to make firm decisions about the new website and whether I should change developer, too. I’ve had numerous medication changes over the last 2 years, which have been exhausting. We’ve been battling the various authorities to get the support Aran needs in school and arrange his disability benefits. There’s also been changes to our living situation and going into my studio comes with a risk of a panic attack, because I can’t trust that I’ll be able to work without interruption.

All of this has made things that much harder to find a new developer or otherwise move the project along. I’ve had help for which I’m incredibly grateful, but they’ve not been able to give this project 100% of their attention, either, because I’m not the only person they work with - I can’t afford to pay freelancers full-time and a number of folks who help me do so voluntarily. So as each delay has hit it’s taken us a while to pick up the pieces, work around them, and get going again because we can’t all just drop everything at once. It’s kinda like herding cats, and project management is a skill in and of itself.

Now though, I’ve tentatively started talking to one or two new developers to get quotes and time estimates. Unfortunately the new website is probably going to cost double the original quote, given the 2 years delay, the affects of the pandemic on online businesses, and the strength of the dollar. So now I’m facing some very tough budgeting decisions. The original developer is still working to get things back on track, but I can no longer continue without a back-up plan. I still don’t have any dates yet but for the first time in a long time, it’s starting to feel like we’re no longer taxiing.

I’m incredibly disappointed that what promised to be an amazing new website project has taken this long, and I am so sorry for asking you all to wait so long. I’m pissed off at having lost so much trust and business, and dread the amount of work it’ll take to rebuild all of that. And I’m exhausted; CPTSD and Autistic burnout are not to be taken lightly. Mostly though I’m incredibly sad because you don’t yet have the website you need from me. None of this is anyone’s fault, it’s a very unfortunate set of events caused largely by the pandemic and a series of life-changing incidences.

I realise this may read as a list of excuses to folks not accustomed to large projects like this or to living with various disabilities, but these are reasons and explanations about things that couldn’t have been avoided. As I’ve said, I’m not willing to compromise anyone’s privacy or talk about events that have happened to anyone other than myself and I hope you can appreciate how difficult and nuanced the circumstances have been.

But, we’re working on getting things turned around as soon as we can. A new website, freshly reformatted patterns and a new teaching area awaits. Thank you so much for your patience and sticking with me through it.

The Elemental single patterns, updated!

Yesterday the English language files for the 5 Elemental single patterns - Azula, Katara, Korra, Opal and Toph - had written instructions added.

Azula pattern from the Elemental collection

Katara pattern from the Elemental collection

Korra pattern from the Elemental collection

The patterns were all originally presented as short row maps only as written instructions for this many short rows increased the risk of errors, and made the pattern much longer. The short-row maps were a new method of charting I developed that are simpler than traditional charts, and more concise and straightforward than written instructions. Now that I’m moving over to the new pattern template and am able to break out of the previous 4-page template that had been set for print patterns, I have the room to allow longer patterns. The panel maps are staying, I’ve just added written out instructions to go with them.

They’ve been in progress for some time, as I needed help in both transcribing the short row maps and in tech editing, and that’s all done now! The few other patterns that are presented as maps only - e.g. the Lateralis patterns and the Rhinebeck Hat - have been transcribed and are in the tech editing queue.

You’ll also notice that the maps have all been converted to greyscale. One of the aims of the new website build, and subsequent great pattern reformatting, has been to improve accessibility and consistency. If all of my patterns have greyscale charts, which most of them did anyway, they’re both colourblind friendly and black and white printer friendly.

Furthermore, if all of my patterns have written instructions and some charted, instead of some either or both, it’ll make for a smoother database and clearer pattern searches. I know I’ve said elsewhere how I’ve made changes to the charts generally so I won’t talk on that for too long today!

Opal pattern from the Elemental collection

Toph pattern from the Elemental collection

Right now, only the English language versions have had the written instructions added. The files have now gone into the queue for translation, and I hope to have most languages switched over in due time. That said, it’s possible some of the translations may not get updated, as it’s been a while since I worked with some of the translators, but we’ll do what we can. Translation on this level, with hundreds of patterns and more than a handful of languages, can get complicated very quickly so we have to take our time!

I’ve no plans yet to update the eBook or print versions, as that will require huge layout changes. On Ravelry you have the option of using the bundle discount to get the single patterns as well, i.e for the full price of the eBook you can add the singles to your cart and checkout for free, otherwise it’ll ask you to pay the difference. The other platforms don’t offer that same kind of feature but I’m hoping to offer something along those lines on the new website, and I may be able to transfer your purchases then - that’s not a promise but it something I’m looking in to!

If you purchased any of the single patterns via Ravelry you’ll have received an update notice already. Folks who purchased any of them through Payhip can use their original download emails to get the latest version. LoveCrafts hasn’t been updated yet. Etsy has, but I don’t know if you can access the latest files - if you purchased through Etsy message me there with your email address and the names of the patterns you bought and I’ll find a way to transfer your purchase to Payhip so you can get the latest versions that way.

Phew! It’s been an incredibly busy few weeks. Few months and years, to be honest. Can you believe it’s almost 5 years since these patterns were published? Blimey.

Received a 'gift' pattern via Ravelry today? Let me explain...

Since I stopped using Ravelry’s cart on this website and switched to Payhip, whilst we wait for the new website build, one thing I’ve been keen to do is merge my 2 Ravelry stores. I’ve managed to do that today, albeit not in the most straightforward way, by gifting your purchases from one Ravelry Pro account to another.

Before I go any further, let me provide a bit of background information.

I used to have a Ravelry shopping cart on this website, but I removed it when they launched their new site which caused migraines, seizures and more for many users. The current cart runs alongside my Payhip store but that’ll eventually be replaced when the new site is ready.

When I used the Ravelry cart, and because I wanted to sell in €€ on this site and $$ on Ravelry, I needed to create a 2nd Ravelry Pro account - what’s known as a ‘publisher account’. I really didn’t need most of it’s features but it allowed me to offer 2 different currencies which was mighty helpful to a lot of folks, although it wasn’t without it’s issues.

These 2 Ravelry Pro accounts - what essentially is my designer account and my publisher account - are not connected at all. They’re entirely separate back-end. Which has meant 2 lots of uploads for me, 2 lots of coupon codes, 2 lots of fees, 2 lots of updates and more. It was worth it to maintain the option of an alternative currency but that 2nd account is now completely redundant.

Fast forward to now, with me having reformatted all of my single patterns in their shiny new layout with their fancy new ISBNS, I’m needing to merge these 2 accounts before I start updating all the files. This is often talked about on the Ravelry forums and designers are advised to email staff to request a merge. Except when I emailed in I was told it simply wasn’t possible and forum users were misinformed.

Which is a shame, as I didn’t want folks who’d purchased through that account to miss out on the new pattern versions, or any updates for that matter.

Logistically, I can’t maintain both stores. Our internet isn’t great at the best of times and I’m one of the folks affected by Ravelry’s new site. I’m not affected as badly as others and yes I use some of the free skins that generous coders have created, but none of the options - whether they be Ravelry’s native options or the skins or browser plug-ins - do much for the Pro area. And the Pro area is where I spend most of my time when I’m on Ravelry.

And briefly to pre-empt any questions: yes the accessibility issue is real, no Ravelry haven’t fixed it, yes I’ve tried all the options and no we’re not Maga Trolls. There’s a lot been written about this already by many folks more knowledgeable than me :)

And so the only way for me to realistically manage this - to ensure customers who purchased through the old €€ account get their updates - is to manually transfer all of the purchases with Ravelry usernames to my main $$ store. It’s a big task, but much much easier than trying to maintain 2 stores in the long run.

I’m only doing this for active Ravelry accounts as these transferred purchases appear as gifts from me and I don’t want to be sending download emails to folks who’ve closed their accounts because they no longer can use the site. Many folks may have purchased via the old cart without using a Ravelry username but unfortunately there’s no way for me to know the difference, and so I’m being cautious and only transferring and sending updates to active Ravelry accounts, not email addresses.

I’m able to send an item to many recipients at once although the system is a little slow when there’s hundreds of purchases for one pattern. And it’s likely that you may receive several gift notifications but I’ve no real other way, besides posting here and in my Ravelry group, of letting everyone know what’s going on with their Ravelry purchases. Please accept my apologies for the extra emails or any concern!

If you’ve received a download email and you don’t remember purchasing the pattern, it’s possible you used one of the newsletter coupon codes that gave you a free pattern of mine. Or maybe a friend bought it for you as a gift. Or maybe you purchased it a long time ago and don’t really remember. Unfortunately I can’t help with any of that, but I can assure you that that pattern or eBook was already attached to your Ravelry username. All that’s happening here is that the pattern, that you already have in your Ravelry library, is being transferred from one Ravelry store to the other to ensure you get the latest updates. It’ll appear as a duplicate in your library and you’ll likely get a fresh download email but you won’t have been charged anything extra :)

eta/ I’m looking at options for folks who can no longer use Ravelry, or didn’t have active accounts when they purchased, to receive the patterns and therefore updates they’re entitled to. I haven’t forgotten you at all, I promise!

That’ll take a little more work and it’s not something I can really do until I’ve got the new website functioning properly. Once that’s in place, we may set up a google form or something so that you can tell us how you’d like me to proceed. Everyone who purchases a pattern through the Ravelry system signs up for updates via the Ravelry system, so this was easier to do on that front.

I do hope this is all clear, my eyes are mighty sore already from doing so much back-end on Ravelry today!

eta2/ I’ve updated this post to re-iterate that no-one’s getting charged anything extra for this. I appreciate this has concerned a few folks and I am very sorry about that! But the download email is showing “you’ve received a pattern from Woolly Wormhead” and not “you’ve purchased a pattern from Woolly Wormhead”.