Ten - Oh Wait . . .

Yesterday I watched a group on Ravelry implode and completely unravel.  I had been a tangential member but left the group a couple of weeks ago because I had wondered for a long time if the group was on the up and up and I finally paid attention to that still small voice within and walked away. 

I received everything I ever paid for, but many other were not so lucky.  I - probably naively - believed that all monies paid for patterns were actually donated to the charities for which they had been earmarked by the designer/leader(s).  I don't believe that any longer, and it saddens me.  The things that the designer/leader(s) of this group allegedly did or possibly failed to do are so wrong on many levels and it bothers me that money I thought was going to a worthy cause most likely did not.

In fact, it bothered me so much that I went back and removed all posts I had made in the group.  Further, I went to my Ravelry download library and deleted all the patterns I had purchased (or gotten free) from this designer.  I'm about to frog two projects from those patterns that were in process and will reclaim that yarn, but I have one project that was finished and I feel so strongly that the energy attached to it is so wrong, that I'm going to dispose of it - I don't even think smudging it would remove the negative energy, which is why I'm getting rid of it rather than donating it - why should anyone else be touched by such negative energy?

It's another lesson for me in paying attention to my gut feelings.  The person who introduced me to that group about four years ago is no longer on Ravelry, and I wondered at the time . . . something felt a little off but I liked some of the members in the group, and I recognized others whom I knew to be real people because I had met them in person.  So I joined and mainly lurked (being a group member but not posting much).  I didn't join in on a lot of things because I'm already busy enough on Ravelry as a moderator of multiple groups.  Mainly I picked up free sock patterns that I thought I might want to knit, occasionally paying for a pattern when a coupon code was offered. 

I'm most saddened for those group members who are now kicking themselves for not "getting it."  Some of them were fleeced not only of money, but of their trust.  From what I've read, it appears that The Powers that Be at Ravelry and their legal team are now involved at some level in whatever way it affects them from a business standpoint, but group members are on their own to pursue whatever remedy they may wish to attempt to pursue.  I'm thinking PayPal got a LOT of email yesterday . . . 

It's a nasty, rotten mess all the way around - no matter how you slice it.

Live and learn, I guess - and, to paraphrase the late Maya Angelou - when we know better, we do better.  Well, most of us do . . .

This was supposed to be Ten on Tuesday, but the topic was of no interest to me this week.  I'll try again next time.

Comments

Linda said…
OK, now you've got me wondering what group this is! Send me the name if you don't want to put up in a public place.
Michelle said…
Just goes to show there are rotten apples in every group of people . . . even, sadly, knitters. I have no idea about the details, but they have to be terrible for you to react so decisively with knitted objects. I hope that the purging helps you move on without any baggage.
Anonymous said…
It is sad that there are so many people in this world that are dishonest and just downright disappointing. I've come across many that have used me for their purpose and laughed when I complained. Now I am not so trusting and not willing to put forth much effort to maintain a relationship. Just recently I had to end a friendship with a cousin's wife. Over a period of time I began to notice how self-centered she was and how she undermined other family relationships to get the attention she wanted, but when she tried to tear apart my brother and I, I had to say something and put a stop to it. It meant losing contact with that side of the family, but in the long run she was not worth keeping up the facade. Kudos for standing up for your beliefs. And unfortunately, the only way to be rid of the "crud" is to throw it away and fast. I've done it, too, and I feel so much better for having it disposed. We are all in a learning curve. And this is what makes us grow. Janice H.

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