To copyright or not to copyright - that is the question...

Having got to the stage where I have begun to adapt crochet and knitting patterns to suit my own needs, my thoughts have naturally turned to thinking about publishing my own patterns.

On sites such as Ravelry there are thousands of patterns available for you to make and adapt for your own personal use.  The issue comes when you are looking to sell your finished products.  There are a whole world of technical and legal issues that arise from this and it's hard to know where to start!

Many crafters will publish their legal standpoint on using their patterns, whether or not you purchased it or downloaded it for free.  But what happens if there is no clear notification?  Do we make assumptions or contact the crafter to ask for their terms?

Some generous souls such as Nevada Mama and her wonderful doughnut pincushion and Josephine Wu and her gorgeous baby owls have clear policies that you can use and sell the finished products as long as credit is given and the pattern itself is not sold.

Having been a keen crafter for years I can completely understand the request not to make profit from someone else's hard work in designing a pattern.  I'm sure nobody wants to go to a Craft Fair and find their products gracing everyone's stalls, but perhaps is it question of degrees?

When considering what I would do, if and when I manage to make my own patterns and either sell or give them away, the first thing I will consider is making my copyright terms clear.  Some often quoted terms include:-

• no selling or reproducing of the pattern itself
• no mass production of goods (or perhaps setting a production limit)
• can be made for personal or gift use but not for profit
• can be sold profitably for charitable uses

But what happens in making a profit from something in a book or magazine?  This site from Creative Income gives some advice - contact the publisher if there is no definitive notification.  One way around this is to buy a magazine like Craftseller where not only are the projects there for you to make a profit from, they even give you a guide to how much to sell them for!

It's a very sticky topic without an easy answer - I don't think my patterns would make someone millions (otherwise I would retire right now!) but I would be interested to hear any opinions and stories about copyright...

Happy crafting.

Lou x

Spring into action!

After a busy week or so with floods and family members having accidents I need a few quiet days at home, especially after a manic week at work...

Finally knuckling down to sorting out my stash and getting subscriptions sorted to several craft, I then got a bit over-excited at the thought of some new projects.  Hence a virtual 'shopping trip' to Wool Warehouse for their gorgeous range of Drop Paris Cotton.  I think I now own enough of this fabulous yarn to open my own shop!

My ideas for this are around Spring - although sadly there is no sign of this yet for us (especially in the South-West of England where I live!) - so I have bought myself the most delicious looking combination of ice-cream colours and soft greys, neutrals and a little pop of colour here and there with some yellow and green.  I am planning some bunting and perhaps some Easter animals with this fabulous yarn.

Having spent the weekend with my amazing Mum, who is so talented and creative with her sewing and patchwork, then a second brainwave came upon me and I hastened to a new favourite online shop, Deramores, to buy some King Cole Magnum Lightweight Chunky.  

This yarn is slightly against my usual rules - I tend to work mainly with natural fibres and this is rather anathema to me at 75% acrylic.  However I have decided that when using for cushion covers, is is practical and easily cleaned and it still has a good wool content.  

Being out and about shopping with Mum this weekend has confirmed to me that animals, birds and the natural world is still a very big focus at the moment, so I will be coming up with more ideas shortly to make the most of this.

Most excitingly, I have booked a place at the Bath Artisan Market in March - I went to check it out in February and it is crammed with wonderful stalls, selling everything from organic handmade soaps and needle-felting kits to delicious chocolate flavoured with violets and roses.

So lots to do, little time and my cat Ella nagging me constantly for either food, cuddles or games.  How will I fit it all in!?

Happy crafting

Lou x   

Top 10 Online Resources for Beginner Crafters

As a relative beginner in knitting and crochet, I've been perusing many online craft resources and thought I'd put together a Top 10 of those that I have found most useful...  Please note most of these sites are UK-based (although not all!)

1. Ravelry - although this is is no particular order I keep coming back to Ravelry as my number one - for the knitter and crotcheter (beginner or otherwise) it has plenty of smart features.  As well as the usual free patterns, it has a brilliant advanced search which allows you to select a project by type, yarn, age, even by type of construction (for me this is great when avoiding knitting in the round at first!).

It also has huge databases of yarns, and can even suggest types of project suitable for that yarn you bought on a whim and have never known what to do with!  There are also forums and groups you can join and link with other knitters/crocheters around the globe.

But my favourite parts as an inveterate list-maker are the projects, stash and queue facilities - keeping a track on your current projects, your ever-growing stash of wonderful fibres and also those projects that you would like to give a try, if only you had the time/talent/patience!

2. Stitch Craft Create - this is a great site with plenty of ideas to keep you going.  Stitch Craft Create has wonderful patterns, inspirational ideas and covers other crafts such as sewing, cake decorating and felting.  There are a fair few free ideas - as a beginner I was very inspired by the free resources that came with registration which I have happily downloaded ready to try out.  Like Ravelry they also have a shop including beautiful fabric by Kaffe Fassett, the ubiquitous Tilda and my personal favourite, Tanya Whelan - see this beautiful paisley fabric on my Pinterest site...

3. Craftsy - there are many quality patterns and projects on Craftsy but also video classes which you can download and learn interactively - it's a little bit Open University!  The thing I love about Craftsy most are the unusual and quirky patterns - check out this knitted acorn - how cute is that?  

4. Folksy - as a Brit alternative to Etsy, Folksy seems to be incredibly popular, particularly with those crafters wanting to buy supplies rather than a finished item.  Slightly cheaper, and perhaps less likely for you to get lost than in the enormity of Etsy, I have been lusting after this print by Sandra Igbodo...

5. Pinterest - this is a recent discovery for me - although I had heard of it I couldn't quite understand the need to 'pin' everything I saw.  Now I have tried it, needless to say, it's pervasive and has permeated every waking moment of my life...  Come and have a look at my Pinterest site - I've only been on it for a month or so and have already nearly 60 pins to my name.  Imagine what would happen if I actually had some free time, I'd never leave the house!

6. Craftsforum.co.uk - although the layout is stuck in the dark ages, Craftsforum.co.uk is full of helpful crafters who are very willing to share their experience and advice with us newbies.  I've found many things answered here when I've been wandering from site to site.  So now it's my go-to place for anything needing a speedy response or feedback from others.

7. Etsy - seems a bit of a no-brainer to avoid Etsy - they quality and vast array of stunning crafts can be very overwhelming, but also motivating and inspiring - check out this gorgeous Siamese cat (as well as the beautiful felted cat cave by kivikis - if my cat Ella had my password she would be ordering several of these to adorn her boudoir.  And who can blame her?

8. Flickr - this one is a difficult choice for me, although I'm not bad at taking photographs, David Bailey has nothing to worry about.  I'm learning bit by bit how to photograph my products to best effect and for this I can attest to the creative encouragement of Flickr (this is my Flickr site).  As you can see I have a long way to go!  

9. Twitter - I must admit I railed against using Twitter for a long time (as I did with CDs, look where that got me!) and have only just really taken up with it.  Now I can see the usefulness and appeal of it, but I still struggle with the whole # hashtag daftness.  I keep seeing this Youtube video of Justin Timberlake and have to stop myself going #crazy. 

Twitter does seem to bring interesting and random folks together and already I have 24 followers (yes I know, how can I calm my excitement!) so if you would like to follow me please feel free...

10. Not on the High Street - so I come to NOTHS as I like to call it (OK, so I'm a lazy typist!) - again a UK based craft and gift emporium - I have bought many lovely items here and their Christmas brochure was to die for.  I find it beautifully laid out and presented and a joy to search and dream in.  This lampshade from Rosie's Vintage Lampshades ticks all my boxes at once.

I'm sure there are many sites I have missed out, I would be interested to hear your opinions...

Happy crafting!

Lou x

The benefits of crafting with others

I have been lucky enough to find a friendly fellow crafter at my first (test) event, sadly I can't link to her website / blog yet as she doesn't yet have one.  But Emma makes lovely rustic/country looking hearts and bunting out of natural textures such as raffia and hessian.

We both attended a Christmas Fair in my home town, which was not particularly craft-orientated, but we admired each other's stalls.  We swapped numbers, bound together by the fact that we both had the same business card design from Vistaprint.  We obviously both have similar and very good taste!

Since then we've done our first Craft Fair together, which is great to have a buddy to watch your stall whilst you peruse the others or take a break.  We have put some time aside for joint crafting sessions which have been great fun and very inspirational for both of us and shared hints and tips of what we have found useful.  Her two dogs and five cats also wanted to be a part of it, at one point I had three animals jockeying for position on my lap, whilst trying to knit, of all things, a pet snuggler!

At home my lovely Ella is a constant companion to my crafting, she has relatively no interest in my sewing, but as soon as the wool or crochet cotton comes out she makes an appearance, usually taking up residence somewhere she is definitely not meant to be!

My Mum has always been an inspiration to me in crafting - we have always enjoyed doing courses together, and making things together for Craft Fairs when I was younger and still living at home.  Now I've decided to start doing Craft Fairs again, she has been happy to share ideas and get together when we can to craft like mad.  Sadly she lives nearly 3 hours away so I don't get to see her as much as I would like!

I always find I'm more productive and less distracted when working alongside someone else, as well as the benefits of their knowledge and perspective on what I'm doing.  A little appreciation when you're doing well and constructive comments when not so well, go a long way.

Do you like working alongside someone else or prefer to work in isolation?  Do you seek feedback as you are going along or at the end?  I would be interested to hear any comments...

Happy crafting!

Lou x