OK, this has grated on me for some time now. Some internet domain troll (read: someone who buys up domains they think will be worth money someday and sells them for exorbitant prices) has their hands on the domain doubleknitting.com. The domain is parked, meaning that it’s not being used for any productive purpose, and is currently selling for $1349.00 You know, I’d be OK with it if someone had legitimately beaten me to that domain, and was using it for their own knitting-related business — but to have the domain just sit there unused is an insult.
I can’t justify the cost on my own — but maybe with some help I can put it to better use. For example, if everyone in the Ravelry double-knitting group threw in a dollar, I’d be just about there after Paypal takes its cut.
I understand that, as a donor, you get nothing out of this deal except the satisfaction of taking a domain out of the hands of an internet squatter and back into the community that rightfully owns it. I promise that, should I ever decide to abandon the domain, I will sell it only within the knitting community and at a reasonable price. Most domains go for about $10 or $15, depending on where you purchase them.
So if you want to help, donate any amount you see fit here. When the money gets to the amount needed, I will purchase that domain. If someone grabs the domain before me, or they raise the price much higher (it was at about $2000 last year, so I’m optimistic), or something else happens that stops me from being able to attain my goal, I will remove the donation link and I will redirect whatever money has come in to a knitting-related charity of my choice.
Have you considered double-knitting.com or double_knitting.com or some spelling of double-knit?
Sure — I have double-knitting.com already. It’s just that if it were a single word, it’d be easier to tell people in person (instead of “double hyphen knitting”). I get enough of that spelling my own name for people :>
Why not pre-sell downloads of a couple of your patterns to help raise the money? Other designers (Kristin Omdahl, Debbie Stoller) do “freebies” of their patterns in magazines (and even in store flyers) to promote their books. I’d pay $5.00 for the pattern of the Vasily hat! Maybe someone else would feel the same about the Falling Blocks hat or the Feather & Fan hat. E-mail me if you decide to do that!
Anyway, think your designs are cool and can’t wait to buy the book. Good luck!
A good idea — I’ll check with my publisher and see if it’d be OK to do that with Vasily. Falling Blocks is already for sale on Ravelry.
Did you know that doubleknitting.net is available. I have used .net with no problem.
It’s true … I probably should buy up the .net, .org, etc. Thanks for the heads-up! I’m probably going to try offering the domain troll half his asking price to see what happens.
Alasdair ~ love all your videos and patterns. I’m taking your Craftsy class now and I’m learning so much. You are an excellent teacher.
You may have already thought about Kickstarter.com? Great place to raise funds and this link is to Kickstarter’s three rules:: https://www.kickstarter.com/rules
Thank you for all your hard work in designing and teaching double knititng!
Thanks; I’ve thought about Kickstarter but the fact is that I don’t have the time to put into lots of different rewards, which seems to be the norm over there; not to mention the significant cut the site takes out of my proceeds. I just want people to be able to buy my book ahead of time to help me fund the initial print run, and I think I can find a less onerous way to do that. I’m glad you’re enjoying my work so far!
I tried to go to the link to donate. However, when I click on the “paypal” link, it goes nowhere. Have you raised the funds yet? If not then I can go directly to my paypal using the address that you have listed to donate.
It works… sorry
Martha
Martha, thanks much. I just got a note from Paypal that they were revamping the donation system so that might have been why it didn’t work the first time. I’m still collecting funds but it’s been a long time and the company that has the domain now has lowered the price by a few hundred dollars. It’s still pricey, and if I’m going to use donations alone I’m still nowhere near where I want to be. But at some point I may just have to take the bait and buy it regardless of the price. Thanks for your help!
I’m new to all this but would love to expedite your getting a domain. Why not go with double-knitting.com (or net or whatever)? Use the hyphen to advantage. Since it’s already a part of your name, it almost makes sense that it would be a part of your domain name. Just a thought that could be economical. Good luck.
Yes, that’s what I did, quite a while ago. I’m still thinking about getting my hands on doubleknitting.com but I’ve been collecting donations for years and the total is barely a dent. OTOH, I’ve got more funds these days so I may just end this soon and buy it anyway.