I’ve been mulling over the issues of copyright as it relates to quilting in my mind lately. In recent years, there have been some pretty loud rumblings in the quilt world about this issue, as more and more quilters, artists, designers and companies become aware of the law. To me, most of the interpretation of copyright law has been pretty self explanatory and logical really, at least for my purposes. It’s the oft repeated “do unto others as you would have them do unto you” thing. When you purchase a quilt pattern or book you’ve purchased the right to make that project for personal use, or as gifts. Selling the project is generally not allowed, though in some cases, designers have expressly granted permission to make a certain number of projects to sell (sometimes up to ten) for profit at craft fairs and shows.

All that being said, I really feel that if I have made a quilt from a pattern in a book, and I want to sell that quilt, I should be able give credit to the designer and price the work accordingly, taking into account only the time and materials I put into the project. In other words, I would be charging for my time and materials, not for the originality of the design itself. If I sell a quilt that is my own design, I would charge for my time, the materials, and for the originality of the design as well. I would happily grant that privilege to anyone who purchased one of my patterns as well. That is not what the law says, though, so that’s not what we are allowed to do.

Recently I’ve seen more and more questions and issues about showing quilts made from commercial copyrighted patterns. This is where it gets sticky and mean sometimes, I think, Read the rest of this entry »

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These Folded Star Mini Ornaments were just too cute not to make. Takes about 10 minutes to make one, and you can use 2″ leftover strips from another project, should you have any around (and who doesn’t?). Perfect for tie-ons for gift packages as well. Visit Acorn Hill Quilts for the free instructions for these cute ornaments and there’s also a larger version made from fat quarters that makes the perfect last minute gift for quilters! What quilter doesn’t need more fabric?

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I was surfing the web today (feeling a bit ill, so not doing much else really) and found this absolutely wonderful site: FreeQuilt.com. It’s a collection of links to other quilting and sewing sites around the Internet with free patterns for download. In other words, mega legwork already done by someone else, and nothing to do but click and enjoy! I love all the cat quilts that can be found there, but I’d already found another that isn’t listed there: Cats in the Attic at Pam Bono Designs (you have to register there to download the pattern). This one might even make good placemats, if you just make the four blocks singly instead of putting them together into one quilt.

So now I’ve got ideas for more quilts! This is what happens when your body doesn’t feel like doing much, I guess. Your brain and creativity start up, and then you’re in trouble when you do feel better!

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