Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Professional?

XRX is having a sock design context, Think Outside the SOX. I'm intrigued by a couple of the contest categories: Bearfoot's "Not Cuff Down," and Universal Yarn's "Most Masculine." (Shut up. My knitting is very butch.)

The hitch is that it's an amateur contest. The rules say, "If you are paid to knit or crochet, teach knitting or crochet, design knit or crochet garments, or sell yarn, you are defined as a professional." While I can't get into TNNA because I've never published a design, and in most cases I haven't earned enough money to pay for the gas I use driving to class, the truth is I have been paid to teach.

At the risk of sounding Clintonian, whether I'm a professional might depend on what your definitions of "are" are. On occasion, I have been paid to teach knitting, but this is an irregular thing; I do not think that I am paid to teach knitting.

What do you think? I accept that I'm an evil sock genius, but am I a professional evil sock genius?

8 comments:

No Wine Untasted said...

IMHO: Professional means a degree (yea, I'm a librarian, had to stick that in!) and a paycheck and--most importantly--a W2 at year's end.

I'd say if you are not paid in the eyes of the IRS, you are good.

yarmando said...

No W2. I haven't filed W9 with the store(s) as a vendor, and haven't earned enough for them to provide me with a 1099. So at least bureaucratically, I am not a professional.

Michael said...

And in most cases, if you have any money left after gas expenses, it goes right back to the store to buy yarn, right? You may be professionally evil, but I think you can argue that you are not a professional knitter.

Jeanne said...

I think you're safe. If you were the Yarn Harlot, selling books about knitting, or Cat Bordhi, then no. But teaching people to knit once in a while does not, to me, constitute being a "paid professional knitting instructor". GO FOR IT!

Matt....... said...

as far as I'm concerned, you are helping, not teaching, and what you make only gets you to & fro......

Cat Herself said...

Not a professional knitter/teacher/designer. If the industry doesn't let you into their own professional conference, then you're not a professional in that industry. Also, if your income from the teaching doesn't even constitute having to pay taxes or even report it, then you're amateur.

knittingbrow said...

I think you're fine. Just go win the contest so I can say "I knew him when he was a young evil sock genius

FiberQat said...

To me being a professional is you get paid regularly for designing or teaching. The IRS rule works for me. I don't report income for my knitting or deduct my knitting expenses on my 1040. If I were to apply XRX's rules, I'd be a professional even though I've been paid for one pattern and taught at most 3 classes (and that several years ago).

Go for it, my mighty minion.

SockMistress Duffilina
Denizen of the Dark Side