CogKnition » Stitch & Bitch http://www.cogknition.org I knit (and crochet! and sew!), therefore I blog. Mon, 31 May 2010 04:28:58 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 Movement on the Stitch & Bitch Front http://www.cogknition.org/stitchnbitch/movement/ http://www.cogknition.org/stitchnbitch/movement/#comments Fri, 07 Apr 2006 19:18:21 +0000 Yvonne http://www.cogknition.org/uncategorized/movement-on-the-stitch-amp-bitch-front/ motion to amend their original petition to cancel. It includes many of the beliefs that knitters have held for the last year or so, that SFSE has made false claims about the origin and use of the "Stitch and Bitch Cafe" mark, and that both their registration of the mark and their sudden enforcement of the mark were opportunistic.]]> The Deb Stoller side has submitted a motion to amend their original petition to cancel. It includes many of the beliefs that knitters have held for the last year or so, that SFSE has made false claims about the origin and use of the “Stitch and Bitch Cafe” mark, and that both their registration of the mark and their sudden enforcement of the mark were opportunistic.

In addition, I’ve added six new references to the “stitch and bitch” database which were emailed to me by an attorney.

And finally, Bex, the fearless leader of the Sew Fast/Sew Easy boycott has been interviewed by the folks at Vogue Knitting. Stay tuned!

Please join us at the Sew Fast/Sew Easy boycott forums for the latest hubbub. Registration is now required to post, thanks to a spate of spammers.

Which included a human, who I suspect to be a SFSE employee, pretending to be a spambot. Unfortunately for said human, spambots are smarter than s/he is.

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]]> http://www.cogknition.org/stitchnbitch/movement/feed/ 0 Media Mentions http://www.cogknition.org/stitchnbitch/snbmedia/ http://www.cogknition.org/stitchnbitch/snbmedia/#comments Tue, 14 Mar 2006 22:38:45 +0000 Yvonne http://www.cogknition.org/uncategorized/media-mentions/ Free to Stitch, Free to Bitch posted an article by Ardeana Hamlin about the controversy. Thanks, anonymous guest user! Hamlin writes:

My group, which has no Internet presence, has called itself Stitch 'n Bitch - no capital N - for at least 15 years. By 1997 the founders of my group already had been stitching and bitching for a decade. For us, Stitch 'n Bitch is not only a name, the way we identify ourselves as a group, it's a description of what we do, and have done all these years, when we meet. We knit, sew, crochet, embroider (stitching) and talk about stuff - children, family, aging, empty nests, new babies, weddings, deaths, divorces, annoying situations, triumphs, tribulations and self-re-inventions (bitching). Our collective identity as a group cannot be separated from what we do with needles, yarn and fabric. Stitching and bitching is tightly interwoven into the friendships we have nurtured all these years. The phrase, stitch 'n bitch, is felted into us.

]]> An anonymous guest user at Free to Stitch, Free to Bitch posted an article by Ardeana Hamlin about the controversy. Thanks, anonymous guest user! Hamlin writes:

My group, which has no Internet presence, has called itself Stitch ‘n Bitch – no capital N – for at least 15 years. By 1997 the founders of my group already had been stitching and bitching for a decade. For us, Stitch ‘n Bitch is not only a name, the way we identify ourselves as a group, it’s a description of what we do, and have done all these years, when we meet. We knit, sew, crochet, embroider (stitching) and talk about stuff – children, family, aging, empty nests, new babies, weddings, deaths, divorces, annoying situations, triumphs, tribulations and self-re-inventions (bitching). Our collective identity as a group cannot be separated from what we do with needles, yarn and fabric. Stitching and bitching is tightly interwoven into the friendships we have nurtured all these years. The phrase, stitch ‘n bitch, is felted into us.

I think this passage pretty well captures why so many knitters are enraged by Sew Fast/Sew Easy’s efforts to prevent online knitting groups from using the term.

I thought about posting this article into the “stitch and bitch” database as a personal anecdote, but decided against it, since there’s no way to independently verify the story. However, I did create a page just for media mentions and stuck it there instead.

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]]> http://www.cogknition.org/stitchnbitch/snbmedia/feed/ 0 “Stitch and Bitch” Database http://www.cogknition.org/stitchnbitch/snbdatabase/ http://www.cogknition.org/stitchnbitch/snbdatabase/#comments Mon, 13 Mar 2006 10:41:11 +0000 Yvonne http://www.cogknition.org/uncategorized/stitch-and-bitch-database/ falls for Elissa Meyrich's line that she invented the term "stitch and bitch", you can just direct them to this handy-dandy searchable database of published "stitch and bitch" references.]]> The next time someone falls for Elissa Meyrich’s line that she invented the term “stitch and bitch”, you can just direct them to this handy-dandy searchable database of published “stitch and bitch” references.

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]]> http://www.cogknition.org/stitchnbitch/snbdatabase/feed/ 0 Bunch of Yahoos http://www.cogknition.org/stitchnbitch/yahoos/ http://www.cogknition.org/stitchnbitch/yahoos/#comments Sat, 11 Mar 2006 23:16:31 +0000 Yvonne http://www.cogknition.org/uncategorized/bunch-of-yahoos/ the girl from auntie has the scoop. Given that Yahoo has shown absolutely no interest in the rights of knitters, perhaps it's time to think about moving our groups to different services. In other words, perhaps it's time to boycott Yahoo too. I've been doing a little legwork on alternatives to Yahoo Groups, and here's what I've found so far: Option #1: The free and easy Move your group to Google Groups, as suggested by deety. The question is, of course, whether Google would behave like Yahoo if handed a cease & desist.]]> Sew Fast Sew Easy probably figured, “Hey, Yahoo has been such a willing accomplice in our campaign to harrass knitters nationwide, why not try again?” and had Yahoo send around another round of cease & desist notices for anyone who dared use their precious “Stitch and Bitch” in their group descriptions. As usual, the girl from auntie has the scoop.

Given that Yahoo has shown absolutely no interest in the rights of knitters, perhaps it’s time to think about moving our groups to different services. In other words, perhaps it’s time to boycott Yahoo too. I’ve been doing a little legwork on alternatives to Yahoo Groups, and here’s what I’ve found so far:

Option #1: The free and easy
Move your group to Google Groups, as suggested by deety. The question is, of course, whether Google would behave like Yahoo if handed a cease & desist.

I’ve read over the Google Groups Terms of Service several times, and they have no explicit statement on how they handle allegations of trademark infringement. I did send an email requesting clarification on their policy, but only received an autoresponse saying that they don’t respond to individual emails. However, there are things that I found encouraging.

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]]> http://www.cogknition.org/stitchnbitch/yahoos/feed/ 0 This Ain’t No Boston Tea Party http://www.cogknition.org/stitchnbitch/bostonteaparty/ http://www.cogknition.org/stitchnbitch/bostonteaparty/#comments Wed, 08 Feb 2006 00:34:16 +0000 Yvonne http://www.cogknition.org/uncategorized/this-aint-no-boston-tea-party/ Los Angeles Times printed a story about the Stitch and/&/'n Bitch controversy today. I am displeased with the article, finding it to be biased towards Voldemort sewing company.]]> Background info: 1, 2, 3, and 4

The Los Angeles Times printed a story about the Stitch and/&/’n Bitch controversy today. I am displeased with the article, finding it to be biased towards Voldemort sewing company. It begins with the title:

She’s Saying: Don’t Thread on Me; Owner of a New York firm has a knit to pick with stitching groups she says are using a name she trademarked

If you’ve had an American History survey course, you should recognize that “Don’t Thread on Me” is a play on “Don’t Tread on Me,” a Revolutionary War symbol of American independence. Right off the bat, the writer associates Voldemort with the image of spirited Americans fighting for their rights.

Might I suggest that it would have been more appropriate to use a play on “Let them eat cake!“? (Let them eat rage? Let them knit to gauge?)

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]]> http://www.cogknition.org/stitchnbitch/bostonteaparty/feed/ 0 The Swatch Thickens http://www.cogknition.org/stitchnbitch/swatch/ http://www.cogknition.org/stitchnbitch/swatch/#comments Sun, 29 Jan 2006 16:34:15 +0000 Yvonne http://www.cogknition.org/uncategorized/the-swatch-thickens/ girl from auntie. Let's just say that any doubts I had about their "marketing" "manager" being a complete hack are pretty much erased at this point, since I'm pretty sure that Using Spellcheck is covered on Day 1 of business school and Not Posting Un-Proofread, Potentially Libelous Rants About Your Legal Adversaries is covered on Day 2.]]> Background info: Stitch THIS!, Stitch Revisited and Revenge of the Stitch

Voldemort the sewing company posted an open letter to the members of the sewing, knitting, and crochet community, in which they attempt to gain people’s favor by writing poorly and defaming Debbie Stoller. Details are available at girl from auntie.

Let’s just say that any doubts I had about their “marketing” “manager” being a complete hack are pretty much erased at this point, since I’m pretty sure that Using Spellcheck is covered on Day 1 of business school and Not Posting Un-Proofread, Potentially Libelous Rants About Your Legal Adversaries is covered on Day 2.

My guess is that their lawyers will advise them to take it down as soon as they get wind of it so they don’t risk getting slapped with a libel suit along with the petition for trademark cancellation.

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]]> http://www.cogknition.org/stitchnbitch/swatch/feed/ 0 Revenge of the Stitch http://www.cogknition.org/stitchnbitch/revengeofthestitch/ http://www.cogknition.org/stitchnbitch/revengeofthestitch/#comments Thu, 26 Jan 2006 00:22:28 +0000 Yvonne http://www.cogknition.org/uncategorized/revenge-of-the-stitch/ Free to Stitch, Free to Bitch CafePress products for the boycott are available at www.cafepress.com/saynotosfse/. Proceeds from the store will either go towards legal defense (personally, I would love to see a class-action lawsuit on behalf of wronged knitters everywhere) or to the National Breast Cancer Foundation.]]> Background info: Stitch THIS! and Stitch Revisited

The official boycott web site is up:

Free to Stitch, Free to Bitch

CafePress products for the boycott are available at www.cafepress.com/saynotosfse/. Proceeds from the store will either go towards legal defense (personally, I would love to see a class-action lawsuit on behalf of wronged knitters everywhere) or to the National Breast Cancer Foundation.

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]]> http://www.cogknition.org/stitchnbitch/revengeofthestitch/feed/ 0 Stitch Revisited http://www.cogknition.org/stitchnbitch/stitchrevisited/ http://www.cogknition.org/stitchnbitch/stitchrevisited/#comments Fri, 20 Jan 2006 04:36:51 +0000 Yvonne http://www.cogknition.org/uncategorized/stitch-revisited/ Liv Liv is not short for Olivia, but for Livid, which accurately describes the emotional state of many knitters who have been personally affected by Voldemort's actions. Liv has a fraternal twin. I call him Spike, though I suppose there is no reason why he has to be male.]]> Jenna has a new post up about the Stitch and/&/’n Bitch/SnB case. It’s got a ridiculously active comments thread and Jenna’s been awesome about answering like, a billion and one questions. You’ll see me posting a few times in there (including once when I provided some not-completely-correct information; oops).

I suppose that I should state for the record that I am not particularly angered by the whole situation. I have a great interest in intellectual property law and I do think that there is something deeply awry here, but that feeling is mostly analytical and not emotional.

I do not belong to an organized SnB group and probably would not buy any of the knitting kits/knitting products that Debbie Stoller would produce under her trademark, if it is approved, nor would I watch her TV show. I don’t sew beyond finishing my knitting and thus have no use for Voldemort either, so personally speaking, I am thoroughly unaffected by the whole situation.

But if Voldemort is reading, it might do you good to hire a new marketing/PR person, because: dude.

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]]> http://www.cogknition.org/stitchnbitch/stitchrevisited/feed/ 0 Stitch THIS! http://www.cogknition.org/stitchnbitch/stitchthis/ http://www.cogknition.org/stitchnbitch/stitchthis/#comments Wed, 18 Jan 2006 05:54:02 +0000 Yvonne http://www.cogknition.org/uncategorized/stitch-this/ Stitch 'N Bitch. If only I knew whether this was a tragedy or a farce. These are the things that get me excited. Heart attack-inducing end to the Steelers game? Eh. Prolonged trademark dispute over knitting-related terminology? Edge of my seat, yo.]]> I’m an avid knitter and regularly cruise the web for interesting knitting-related reading. I found Jenna Wilson through her Big Sack Sweater pattern in Stitch ‘N Bitch and the popularity of her fabulous Rogue sweater pattern and her contributions to Knitty. I currently have two half-sleeves done on Rogue (knit in the fabulous Jo Sharp Silkroad Aran in Hemlock) and fondly refer to it as my “elf sweater”. The Peter Jackson Lord of the Rings elves, not Santa’s elves, which suggests an entirely different aesthetic.

I think I was persuaded to keep up with her journal because it wasn’t your typical knitting blog. She writes often on copyright issues as they apply to crafters and I’ve been interested in copyright issues ever since I started offering linkware web graphics back in oh, 1998. I recently discovered that Jenna is in real life an actual intellectual property lawyer, albeit one based in Canada so what she says may or may not apply to US law.

Anyways, that was a long and winding way of introducing the fact that I’ve been glued to Jenna’s journal for updates to a bizarre production involving Stitch ‘N Bitch. If only I knew whether this was a tragedy or a farce.

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