I know a lot of people buy my stitch guides and I greatly appreciate it. I love being able to teach long distance to all my customers around the country. A few weeks ago, I saw someone post a picture on Needlepoint Nation of a piece they were working on, which was clearly my guide. Not just the stitches, but the exact threads, as well. All well and good that I wasn’t given credit for the guide, however, something didn’t sit right with me. I had never heard of this stitcher before. And for those of you who know me personally, you know I never forget a name once I’ve seen it in print. My photographic memory is a bitch sometimes. LOL!
So, I did some digging through my computer system at the shop to see if she was a customer. Nope. Then I thought, maybe the guide was purchased in the online store which is a different system so I checked there, as well. Nope . . .not there. It is not a guide that I sell wholesale so I would have records of every purchase of this guide in my systems. So, obviously this guide had been illegally copied, hence the copyright clearly indicated on each page of my guides. Copyright can get complicated. But, the simple definition is that it is illegal to reproduce someone else’s intellectual property. Simply put, you CAN’T make a copy.
I work really hard to create so many stitch guides. I do actually try to make a living doing this needlepoint thing . . .and it’s not easy. This isn’t the first time I’ve run into this problem, but I never wanted to address it here on the blog. I like to keep the blog fun and light, but I just can’t keep quiet any more.
I’ve debated about purchasing very expensive paper that is copy proof, but that would raise the cost of guides significantly. I don’t want to do that to all of the honest people out there. And I know most of you are. But all it takes, in whatever the situation, is one bad egg to ruin it for everyone.
I encourage everyone to be respectful of all of the stitch guides writers out there. Please don’t make a copy for a friend, or buy two canvases and one guide. Shop owners aren’t stupid when people do that. But it’s hard for us to say anything because we’re afraid the complaints will go viral on Facebook.
It is hard work keeping track of everything we do in a piece and writing it up so that it makes sense. . .let alone coming up with all the stitches and thread choices to begin with. But that’s the fun part. Sometimes I feel like I’m still in college and have to write reports for every project I finish. LOL!
I decided to put stitch guides on sale in the online store over the next few days. Use the discount code
guide20
at the checkout and you will receive 20% off any guide in our online store now through July 4th.
Click here to hop on over to the online store.
I trust you all to respect copyright when you purchase my guides or guides from any stitch guide writer. The guides in our online store are emailed to you with a link to download the file. You won’t receive a paper copy in the mail. The discount can only be applied at the time of purchase so make sure you enter the code. I can’t apply the discount later if you forget. The system won’t let me do that. Copyright also means that you CAN’T email a copy to anyone either.
Sorry I derailed from the usual fun here on As the Needle Turns. I promise I’ll resume as normal. LOL!
I have a question for you: I sometimes do multiples of the same canvas. why couldn’t I buy one guide and use it over again if doing the same canvas? Just wondering!
You absolutely can do that. All I was saying that it is for your personal use and can’t be copied. God bless you that you have the patience to stitch things more than once. I never could! Lol!
Ah – now I understand. Sometimes friends see something I have done and then want one. Or I do something with 3 girls for my son, sometimes myself and my very dear friends who also has 3 girl granddaughters. So what you are saying is that as long as I have purchased the guide, and I have purchased multiples of a canvas that I intend to do, then it’s ok to reuse the guide. Got IT!!
Yep!
Ive had this happen and I totally get your frustration. There is one other circumstance you may want to look into…there is the chance that this person purchased through a destash.
I started out in the industry as a charted artist. I self published and struggled to make a living. This has been going on forever. Now, many of our stitchers have been schooled via the Internet.
One hopes things will improve.
That’s a good point about it could have been purchased through a destash.
Infuriating! I would contact the person and let them know that you have a lawyer and a copyright and can sue. And what she did is illegal. I found my graph in a wholesaler’s stitch guide and was furious. Most needlepointer do not know how many hours it takes to do a graph/guide.
I would def let that customer know she is being watched.
Good for you for addressing this in the manner you did. All your points are excellent and spot on.
I hate that someone has stolen your stitch guide! Gave you mentioned this to Jsnre Chilly Hollow? She does not play when it comes to copyright and would probably take some action against this person.
As Anne says, I don’t mess around when it comes to copyright violations on the Facebook Group Needlepoint Nation. Repeat violators risk permanent banning from the group. I require proof, however. There are too many ways a person could legitimately come by a copy of a stitch guide. Anyone is free to email or message me with copyright concerns they have. I’ll get back to you probably that day, although I only go online twice a day so sometimes I don’t find a message until the next morning.
By the way, I don’t allow complaints about shops (or anything else) on NP Nation, either. We never hear the other side of the story, after all. So don’t worry about complaints going viral there. They are removed and the complainer warned of our policy about bitching and moaning. It doesn’t solve anything.
I do take copyright violation very seriously on NP Nation. A repeat offender will be removed from the group permanently and blocked from reading it. However, I do require proof. There are a lot of ways someone could get a stitch guide besides buying it from the creator. A one time violation generally gets the person involved a message about copyright and the implications from me. Most folks are horrified that they were stealing. They don’t think it through. If you have questions or a problem, do let me know. (Hope this isn’t a repeat. My earlier comment didn’t show up.)
Hi,
I bought my stitch guide at the same time I bought the canvas from my local LNS. Could this be one reason that you don’t see the name of the customer on your records? Rude, though, not to give credit for the stitches to you.
That’s a good question. But all our guides are sold individually and are rung up that way in our system under the customer’s profile.
I live in Arizona. Do you ever have a desert scene with stitch guide? Maybe cactus, quail, sw pots, etc.
Thanks,
Pam
We don’t typically stitch southwest designs. Try contacting Old Town Needleworks in Scottsdale. They have a ton of guides for southwest designs