Friday, August 27, 2010

Sunset Strip Revisited

What a fantastic version of Ricky's pattern that was in the August issue! Other than a few fabrics used in the houses, TQL reader Sue Ann Vannoy of Huachuca, Arizona, used all hand-dyes from her stash. That sounds like a good reason to go out and get more hand-dyes, Sue Ann. I love the way the waves of color flow from top left to bottom right. Thanks for sharing! If you've made a quilt, or a block, from a TQL pattern or the Cook-Off thanks-for-voting blocks, we'd love to see it.

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Rights and copyrights

That pesky copyright question about what your rights are as a quiltmaker and as a copyright holder always creates confusion, doesn't it? Bonnie Browning, the AQS show chairman, has a very helpful post on the AQS website that addresses some of the questions. As an editor, people frequently question me about copyright law, thinking that it must be part of my job to understand it. And it is, to a certain extent, so I'm always eager to add to my imperfect understanding, but I must leave the legal advice to the experts. It's good for quiltmakers educate themselves, though, to prevent disappointment, as in "You mean this quilt of mine that was 2 years in the making can't be displayed? Or published? Or sold?" Bonnie's post is one that I'll keep as a reference. It even links to a chart. Check it out here.

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Do you know these characters, oops, I mean caricatures?

TQL's esteemed expert on collecting antique quilts, Laura Fisher (who writes the regular feature For All It's Worth), sent over a request for our readers: have you any information you can share about this 1903 quilt from New Hampshire? The blocks have inked caricatures of folks that she thinks might have been real people in the Keene area at the time. The one shown below is inscribed "Thou art my own love. —Burton J." Laura is hoping to find out "the who, where, and why" of this quilt. I'm always amazed to see the unique examples that Laura comes up with for her TQL articles. Those one-offs must still be out there for today's collectors to scout out. Her column is like the Antiques Roadshow for antique quilt collectors and dealers. When I grow up, I'm want to travel the country hunting up treasures like these. I hope there are a few left when that time comes! Coming up in the October issue: a very unusual House quilt, pieced, showing the little "village" at night instead of the bright white of a daytime background. Look for it later in August on the newsstand.