amy butler « *Snippets and Blabbery*

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Does Amy Butler have a say in how we use her patterns?

I have always been confused about pattern designers saying what I can and can’t do with things I make from their patterns. I think this is such a murky area, that like the tags on mattresses, people are afraid to act because they don’t fully understand that ripping the damn tag off is fully within their rights after purchase. I’m intrigued by this site, www.tabberone.com, that outlines case law and what is really covered by copyright law. Here is a particularly interesting part about Amy Butler, who has been listed in their Hall of Shame.

So, does anyone have experience with this? It does seem that if I use her patterns to make stuff, I should be able to sell it. But I’m still afraid. Anyone else? And yet, I wouldn’t hesitate to sell something I made from a Burda or Simplicity pattern, because I almost always alter the pattern in some way.

I’m curious how other crafters feel about this.

gems on the web

Heather Ross Mendocino from Free Spirit

Exciting things are happening in my craft world. First of all, I just ordered the whole Mendocino line from PurlSoho.com…I CAN’T WAIT for it to arrive. You both (as in, my 2 faithful readers) know that I don’t need any more fabric, but who cares?! Life is short, and Heather Ross fabric disappears and never returns. I’m still searching for a yard or two of that sweet gnome fabric!

So not only is her new Free Spirit fabric available for purchase, but she has a new blog! So here’s a link: http://heatherross.squarespace.com/

I think she is an amazing artist. Her fabrics include her sweet illustrations, they are witty and fun and super creative. Not to detract from other designers, but her lines seem so much more thoughtful than a lot of what’s available. Anyway, I’ve also added her to my blogroll, so you can always find her from there - under Heather Ross.

Also on the way is new fabric from Heather Bailey - purchased directly from her new web shop. Awesome. I took her up on the early bird offer and got some free trash ties. We’ll see how well I do with those :)

You know what? While I was shopping around at Purl, I found Denyse Schmidt’s upholstry weight line, County Fair. Did you know about that? I almost bought it all up, but then I remembered that I have a whole bin of upholstry weight stuff that I haven’t used and have no real plan for, so I held back. Good for me! I’m proud of me. I also saw Amy Butler’s new upholstry weight line, August Fields. Beautiful. But again, let’s be realistic. How many huge-repeating-image fabrics can you use?

Also, I had already spent $200.

What?!! Good thing my husband doesn’t read this :)

I also found these fun sites:

http://www.trueup.net/

http://alabamastudiostyle.blogspot.com/

http://blog.lenacorwin.com/

http://www.melaniefalickbooks.com/

Insipration abounds! Get crafting!

22 Feb 2008, 1:11am
amy butler Crafts iPod Nano quilting sewing: amy butler amy butler belle ipod ipod case ipod case pattern iPod Nano minkie sewing
by Blabby

ipod cover

I made this goofy iPod cover…I’m not so great at planning out all the things that have to be sewn into pieces before they’re sewn. For example, I did not sew on any kind of closure, so the finished thing doesn’t close. You might be thinking, “why not sew on a closure now?” Well, the answer is that I could, but not the closure I wanted. I wanted to use these cute little pearl snaps. They must be applied to the fabric before the fabric is all sewn up and you have no access to the back. Make sense?

So anyway, the thing hold my iPod, but it’s flimsy, and I prefer the store-bought case with the clip so it stays in my pocket.

Anyway, here’s what worked:

The think clear vinyl made a cool pocket, and my paper circle punch (1 in. diameter) cut a great circle for accessing the buttons.
The minkie makes a nice inside for my precious nano.
The basic design was pretty successful, although I think a little smaller would be better.

Here’s what didn’t work:

I forgot the snaps.
I forgot the openings for the earphone cord and the keylock switch. It’s funny, I had the flap drawn on my sketch, but when I went to cut the fabric, I couldn’t remember what that flap was for, so I left it out. Turns out, it was my bottom closure that left space on either side for the keylock switch and the earphone cord.
Turning the whole thing inside out messes up the vinyl, and since it can’t be ironed, I think it would be better to put that pocket on last with topstitching, rather than putting it in the fabric sandwich that gets flipped.

iPod cover 2

19 Feb 2008, 8:19am
amy butler Crafts sewing: amy butler amy butler belle Crafts fabric messenger bag pattern sewing
by Blabby

1 comment

sew what?

my new messenger bag I made a new bag. I like it. I made up the pattern. It was pretty simple - your standard sew everything backwards and flip it all out through a little hole. The problem is that that flap is backwards. I took it apart and sewed it back together twice, and still, the flap is backwards. On the other side, there’s a perfectly good, now upside-down pocket.

I’ve got a lot of ideas and not a lot of sewing time. I may need to try some energy pills or something. Or maybe I just need to get off the computer and go to sleep. Tomorrow, we’ve got a big day at the park! Then Wednesday is gymnastics - our third and final class. Let’s hope there are less tears this time.

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