Do you....?

or

How about paint, sew, quilt, take pictures? What about Facebook?

I had to take a minute and put my thoughts in a blog on the matter. In recent weeks, there has been an uproar on Copyright infringement, theft of ideas, and horrid Civil and other threats regarding Pinterest, Blogs, and Facebook.

I am a quilter. I sew with Fabrics that I myself do not design. I use blocks many of us know. I recreate quilts from patterns I have bought, magazines I subscribe to, patterns I download from others sites, etc. When I lable my quilt, I give credit if it is not my original creation. I do sell my quilts, I do donate my quilts, I do give my quilts as gifts. I own EQ7 with the intent of creating my own patterns to make and resell.

I also post my work online, knowing when I put it out there, 99% of those that see it will re-pin it correctly, give me credit, praise my efforts. And I know there is that 1% that may "take" my idea and make it their own. That is the risk I take when I release my treasures to the World Wide Web. I take full advantage of the free advertising that Facebook, Blogger, and Pinterest have afforded me, and those like me that want to make a small living doing what they love, on a budget.

I don't label every quilt with the Manufacturer/Fabric Designer/Thread Color/Batting Lot Number. No one wants a quilt with the ENTIRE back written on. Crazy? Dramatic? Yes, absolutely. But so is our legal system. We live in a litigation addicted society where lawyers eat each other at the chance of a huge payout, often as a result of some poor soul being scared into a settlement because they lacked the funds or gumption to take it to court and win.

I am making a beautiful quilt right now. I am using scraps I cannot name. Many were fat quarters cut at the store so I have no selvages to verify that I cannot use it unless it's for personal use. The pattern idea came from Bonnie Hunter's amazing site, and it's called Pineapple Blossom.

To make it my own version, I am adding a sashing border with applique. Free handed, but it might look like something someone else has done. I'm sorry if I don't credit you, but great minds think alike. I might sell this quilt, I might keep it since it's my first one with applique on this level. If you copy me, I take it as flattery that you like it, and if you buy it, I will have money to make another one. (Just remember to credit Bonnie for the Pineapple Blossom blocks....)

Sorry for the tone of this blog, but as a fellow quilter, and a fabric obsessed crazy woman, I wanted to add my two tarnished pennies to this madness.

Puppy Blankets

Sometime back, I received a "free" pattern in the mail, included in a buy our magazine mailer. It looked neat, and I figured it would be a great way to get rid of some of my older fabrics, the "what was I thinking" fabrics, fabrics that didn't match ANYTHING. Yeah. No. Ugly is ugly no matter what you try and do with it. And the more I worked it, the more I hated it. So I boxed up the partial UFO and figured I would send it to my mom so she could make kitty quilts for her local shelter with it.

I also, in the spirit of Bonnie Hunter, keep every little drop of fabric. Until it's too small to hold, I figure there is some use for it. I had made a quilt some time back that used a ton of sawtooth stars, and I had all those paired half square triangles. I had sewn them together, pressed them, color sorted them, and saved them for that someday project.

Move to this past week when we discovered Blue, our new pup. After the whirlwind process of adding him to our family, I realized how much I had missed rescue work, and how closed minded I was being. Just because I don't run a rescue, or foster, or volunteer directly, doesn't mean I can't help.

Walah! Dogs are color blind for the most part. They don't have much opinion past it smelling good, tasting good, or feeling good. Here ugly fabric....poof! Doggie Blankets.

I have decided for the remainder of 2012, every quilt I make, the drops will go to a doggie blanket. And between human projects, I will whittle down my uglies, and convert them into blankies for the rescue pups of Clarion Pups, PA.

 If you want to help, but don't have the time, send me your scraps, your uglies. For the pups! I will be adding a note to my website and a link on my facebook page for the cause. People get 1 million pretty pillow cases, so why can't the puppies have blankies????

 Post a comment if you want to help and I will send you a mailing address! Postage is a small price for a HUGE help!

A non-quilt moment

Most of my close friends and family know I am a full blown animal lover. In fact, if I ever won the lottery, they also know the first thing I would do (after taking the kids to Disney) would be to buy a farm with as much land as possible and become my own animal sanctuary.

Since living in Vermont, happily married to a man that loves animals also, we have had our losses as well as our gains. And our newest gain is Blue, the beautiful Aussi mix from Clarion Pups, Pa.  I want to give a shout out to these human angels that take the time to help the 4 legged victims of human cruelty that there are good people to own and love.

If you have room in your home, please adopt. If you cannot, but want to help, please support your local shelter or animal rescue. I was a VP for one for 8 years, and I miss it. But now, I can experience the satisfaction (again) of knowing I am giving a home to an animal I hope I am worthy of.

If you want to know more about this rescue, please check them out at: https://www.facebook.com/ClarionPups