This just in…I’m now officially on summer break!

June 7, 2012

The last of my obligations – a dog safety class with Boomer @ the public library this morning – has now been fulfilled and I am officially off duty for the next two months. Woo-hoo!  Of course, we will still READ with the kids every other Wednesday, but that’s fun.  It doesn’t require a whole lot of planning and set-up.  We show up, read with the kid and visit for an hour, then go home.

I must share that the AKC has a wonderful educational program on dog safety for kids.   The Dog Listener is a 12 minute video starring pre-teens who cover the basics in a way that appeals to kids of all ages.  The accompanying activity guide can be found here.   Homeschool and community groups could also take advantage of the AKC’s offer to have a Canine Ambassador come present a program (most likely at no cost).  We’re not AKC Ambassadors since Boomer is a mutt;  however, he is a registered AKC Good Citizen and a registered therapy dog with Therapy Dogs, Inc.

The official start to my summer vacation was spent at the doctor’s office to see about a sinus infection that just wouldn’t go away. Glad I went.  With three prescriptions and $90.00 left at the pharmacy, I’d better be on the mend.  These marked the first actual prescriptions I’d had filled under my new health care plan with the increased copays.  OUCH!

Tomorrow will involve sleeping in, heavy petting sessions with Boomer and visiting with friends.

Get your summer on!

 

 

 

On the subject of copyright

June 6, 2012

On a recent visit to a local quilt shop, I noticed a sign near the books and patterns that read, “Due to Copyright Laws, patterns and books cannot be returned.”

Huh?

What a crock of hooey!

NOWHERE (and may I repeat NOWHERE) in federal copyright law does it specifically state (or imply) that a quilt shop or other retailer cannot accept returns of books, patterns, embroidery designs or software.

That’s a retailer policy – not state or federal law.  Most bookstores will accept returns of books and magazines that are still in good condition as long as you have a receipt.  Most fabric stores will accept returns of uncut and obviously unused patterns with a receipt.  Most retailers will also exchange the opened software if it is somehow defective.  This particular quilt shop simply does not want to fool with returns on these items.  They are free to make that policy.  I am equally free to purchase my books and patterns from other retailers with reasonable (to me) return policies.

As a librarian, I support and try to model the ethical use of information to the best of my ability.  I pay for or secure permission to use certain images before I post them, if I did not take them myself.  I give credit where credit is due (or I pay for the right not to have to fool with it).  When I teach a class, I make sure each student has his/her own copy the book we’re using (either in print or digital format).  I have refused to copy CDs and DVDs for coworkers (and made them mad in the process).   I make sure to have a valid license for the software I use – and any “evaluation copy” or other software is removed from my computer the minute the install disks and licenses are passed along to someone else.  (I am not an attorney, although I worked in the legal field as a legal assistant/paralegal and law librarian before moving to a school library setting.)

Copyright adherence is really simple:

If you buy a pattern, you shouldn’t copy and share it with all your friends or repackage and sell it as your own work.

Here are a couple of links for a well-thought out explanation on copyright law as it pertains to crafters:

Pattern copyright law 

Licensed fabric usage

Interesting discussion about the use of licensed characters in handmade items for resale isn’t it?  To avoid the hassle factor, though, it might make more sense to avoid using licensed cartoon characters and sports team logos altogether.  Put it this way, I would not mass produce items for resale using these fabrics;  however, if a friend commissioned me to make a baby quilt for her nursery using sports team fabric, I would be more than happy to do so.

Dog Rescue T-Shirt Quilt

June 4, 2012

Finished quilt size:  Approximately 62″ square

Enger’s heavily involved with pet rescue efforts at the Etowah Valley Humane Society in Cartersville, Georgia.  She also runs the homeless pet club at our school.  The t-shirts in the quilt are some of her favorites from a variety of past dog rescue activities.  It was a pleasure to work with colored t-shirts instead of the usual white or gray.  Judging from the big smile on her face and the interest from her 3 canine children (Shadow, Macy and Tinkerbell), I’d say I have a satisfied customer!

The finished t-shirt block size is 14″.  This meant that I had to add borders around three of the t-shirts to get them to the correct size.  The t-shirts were cut 12-1/2″ square and then 2″ borders were added all the way around.  The sewn blocks were then trimmed to 14-1/2″ before adding sashing and cornerstones. Enger specifically requested a “drapey” quilt and didn’t want a lot of quilting that would make her quilt “stiff.”   I used Pellon cotton batting with a 10″ wide quilting space and ditch quilted the blocks, followed by some quilting around the logo designs or merely a big X through the block.  I also changed the top thread color to match the t-shirt.  The binding was attached and finished by machine.

The quilt police are probably pulling their hair out with the fact that I didn’t finish the binding by hand.  This quilt is going to be washed and well-loved over time.  In my opinion, machine stitching the binding is the way to go for durability.  It also took less than an hour to glue baste the attached binding with Elmer’s washable glue, heat set and machine stitch it down.  I stitched s-l-o-w-l-y with my open toe walking foot.  I was extremely pleased with the finished result.  It also helped that my backing and binding matched and were a busy all-over print.  Machine binding also kept the quilt within her budget.

I liked working with the Pellon batting as I typically use Warm & Natural batting in my quilts.  It does have more “hand” than the Warm & Natural – almost as much as the bamboo batting I love to use (when I can get it on sale).

As usual, I learned something this on this project:  (1) the gluing method I learned in the applique class works quite well for temporarily holding the binding in place while you stitch it down by machine, and (2) if I use Pellon batting again with a wide border, I need to machine quilt at least 2 rows of stitching evenly spaced down the middle of the border if I do not do an all-over E2E design.