Mary Jane Socks download-a new era

When I wrote Fiber Gathering, it was an undertaking.  It took months of travel, and constant juggling of responsibilities for my professor, so he could manage the photography and his actual work as a professor.  We had to hire dog sitters and house sitters and work hard to make it come to fruition.  In many ways, it was worth it.  I am extremely proud of that work.  I look at writing my two books as some of my most important career achievements.  I love it when Sammy (one of my twins) says that his mommy writes books in her office.  I hope to be able to get back to that reality when the twins are older and I have more time to actually sit in my office again.

However, the small advance I was given for writing Fiber Gathering just covered our travel and expenses.  I did not make any money from writing the book at all.  Despite what look like reasonable sales of the book--I have never earned anything past that advance on royalties.  Since we travelled all over the US to write the book, most of that advance went, plain and simple, for airfare, car rentals, hotel reservations, and eating while we travelled.  (For those that met us on the road, you know we weren't living extravagantly, either!)

So, when my publisher, Wiley, sold off parts of its catalog to a different publisher, I took the opportunity to ask if that new publisher would grant me some of my rights back.  I am happy to say that my requests were granted.
 
What that means is that I now have permission to publish and sell a few of my patterns online as pdf downloads on Ravelry.  I also have rights to make audio books too, and that is also exciting. Time allowing, I hope to put audio book versions of both my books online for sale as well.  Since I will be recording them myself, it may take me a while to do this.  However, it gives me hope that there is still an audience for the content of these books in a different medium.  (I will record the text only, not the patterns, as it would be hard to follow a pattern in an audio book!) 

This is all to say that my first pattern download from Fiber Gathering is now available on Ravelry.  The Mary Jane Socks pattern is one of my favorites.  Designed to use every last inch of a special hand dyed sock yarn, this toe-up pattern can also be used for any sock yarn that knits up at the gauge of 30 sts=4".  Since the book came out, it has been knit in Patons Kroy and other widely available yarns.  I know it is a versatile pattern, and it is one of my favorites.  I have worn out 2 pairs of handknit socks from this pattern myself!

If you read this blog and tweet, blog, or use social media in some way, I would be really honored if you might pass along the word that this pattern is now available as a download.  It is a small step, this one pattern, but it goes towards a long overdue launch of some really hard work.

 
(And, if you were wondering why I haven't been online much, we've had weeks of -40F weather, some serious dates with the plumber over our sewer line, and a bad virus.  I've been trying to think of something non-stinky to say about sewers, viruses, and extreme cold...but now I have something positive to say! We might just need to sell a few patterns to save a few bucks towards a new sewer line in our future. :) 

Check out the new Mary Jane Socks download here! 

More patterns soon, I hope!