I don’t have anywhere else to write this, so I will leave this here in the hopes that the people who need to see it, will.

I found Ravelry at a time in my life where I needed the community, the connection, and the support, as a knitter, and as a person. I met some of my best friends here, and can honestly say that Ravelry lead me to a better life. I became a knitwear designer, I published patterns here and in print, and I know that this would not have happened without Ravelry. Several years ago, I decided to go back to school to become a teacher. I gave up designing and tech editing because I didn’t have time, and was ready for a new challenge. I am still very proud of my designs, and have been happy to see that people are still using them. I haven’t been posting much on the forums, but I have been reading, even when during my busiest times. Now, though, to say that I am disappointed with Rav and the way TPTB have been handling this site redesign would be an understatement. I am one of the people who was affected by the changes. I can barely spend time here now, even using the OldRav skin, as I still get blurred vision, optical migraines that last for days, and regular headaches. Today, I am toughing it out to download my patterns and to post this. I will leave my patterns up here, because I don’t have anywhere else to put them. Most of them are available on LoveKnitting, if you prefer to shop there. Ideally, I would set up a site myself, but like I said, I am a teacher. I barely have the spoons to figure out how to keep my immunocompromised-self and kids safe at school, I can’t handle that chaos and this one at the same time.

I know that some people have been posting that only the designers who have been vocal about their plans to sell away from Rav should be supported right now. Yes, please do support them. If they can get Rav to make changes that will allow everyone to safely use this site and feel welcome to do so, I will be very happy. Please though, don’t assume that those of us who aren’t vocal in the fight don’t care. I wasn’t able to access the site to see that there were surveys being taken, and didn’t have the spoons to start an email campaign because I have to do that already with my government who has been handling the COVID planning very badly. I have had to prioritize my fighting, and while I am appalled at the lack of inclusion here, and devastated that I wasn’t even aware of the possibility of low vision pattern when I was publishing, my job and my kids take up all of my energy right now. Not to mention the fact that I am one of the people so badly affected that I couldn’t access the site. Using the Old Rav skin helps, but only for short times.

Anyway, I will be disabling my pattern sales for now, until I am able to make a site for myself. I can’t promise to do that soon, or at all, because these are very uncertain times.

Please forgive any typos. My vision has gone dark and very blurry during the typing of this, and I can’t read it back to double check the spelling and word choice.