That itty bitty symbol on the back of all patterns, books and other published works…a “c” with a circle around it. It stands for copyright and it’s a symbol of protection for original works in any form. In the quilting industry not much is known or understood about “copyright”, and until your rights are infringed on it seems rather unimportant.

I want to share the information I’ve gained during that past few weeks because it affects all of us, designers and consumers. It started with a phone call from someone who purchased a Bunny Hill block of the month pattern on eBay. The ebay seller has a perfect record, and the listing said it was a new pattern. The price was great, and the buyer used “buy it now” to purchase the pattern. No bidding required. Too good to be true? As it turns out it was. When the buyer got the pattern she questioned the quality and was brave enough to call me. How would you feel calling a designer and saying you were wondering about the quality of her pattern? I am so grateful for her courage!

Someone on eBay has been copying my patterns and selling them as new. The copies aren’t even good copies and if anyone has purchased one of these I am sorry. I worry that they will think this is the type of work I do and not buy another Bunny Hill pattern.

eBay takes copyright infringement very seriously and has removed the questionable listings. The most important thing I can share with designers is that you must REGISTER your pattern copyright. If you haven’t registered, you may think you are protected, but it’s pretty much an empty protection. Go to this link, http://www.copyright.gov/ , fill out the form for each of your patterns and send it in with your check, and the pattern. I knew that there must be a reason for registering, so I did this. I am protected from this type of scam because of this. You cannot sue without registering and do not get legal fees or costs if not registered.

I spoke with an attorney who is knowledgeable in copyright laws and he has promised to forward more information regarding this issue. He may even write something in the future to post on our blogs! If any designer has questions about filling out the forms, you can call the copyright office, or just send me an email. I will try to help.

To protect my customers, my new patterns will have a little sticker on the back of the bag that will tell you it is an official Bunny Hill pattern.

Auhhhhhh…how cute is that? (:

Today has been one of those days. My husband is in California trying to sell our house and still processing the shipping for Bunny Hill. I’m in Oregon sewing away. The right hand doesn’t know what the left hand is doing. Not that we ever do, but long distance seems to make it worse.

My first business call today went something like this…”Hi, I’ve received 36 Flowers for Emma and I ordered 8 Pumpkin Hill”. I wanted to suggest that Flowers for Emma is the perfect pattern for Valentines Day, but I didn’t. After hanging up I was left wondering who received the Pumpkin Hill? This was only one of several of these phone calls.

When you ship a wrong package to someone, it creates this giant monster that just keeps growing and growing and pretty soon you have more and more people with the wrong orders. I have to tell you MY HUSBAND IS OUT OF CONTROL! There, I feel better just saying it. I never found the missing Pumpkin Hill patterns. They’ll show up tomorrow, somewhere I’m sure. And of course I will blame my husband. One good thing did come from all this. Tomorrow my husband is driving to Oregon to spend a few days with me and the kitties. A much needed break for everyone! We’ll go out to dinner on Friday and Saturday I’m dragging him antiquing. I find that in my business and life, when things aren’t working I have to step away for a bit. This time I’m taking my husband with me (<:

Now, if I can just remember why we are doing all of this and whose idea it was. We are almost there and with every day we are a bit closer to moving into our new house. It has walls now! Walls! Who would ever think you could get excited about walls? Check out our walls…they’ve never looked so good.

See those windows upstairs? That’s my new studio!

Stairway up to studio, it’s amazing! Windows and lots of light! Must be heaven! I’m even excited about the wall plugs! I can plug in every known piece of equipment and not worry about blowing a breaker. Iron, TV, sewing machine all at the same time. It is heaven!

If you’re going to place an order, please wait until next week for it to ship. Your chances of getting the right one will be greatly improved!

I wanted to give you flowers for Valentine’s Day. We all need those and heavens knows we all deserve them. But outside, old man winter is still hanging around. So off to My Pictures I went to find some flowers to share! Look what I came up with!

My favorite antique store, Ruthie B’s is in Springfield, Oregon. I’ve been known to spend hours at this shop. Every single inch is filled with treasures. Open a dresser drawer and you might find stacks of vintage linens, buttons, trims and trinkets. Ruthie B’s has moved to a new location and I haven’t visited the new shop yet. These photos are treasures from her old shop. The backyard was a garden that was a treat for the eyes. So my sweet Valentines, enjoy the flowers. If you have an old truck around, throw some seeds in it!

Strawberry Hill in progress

It’s a rainy day and I am ready for spring! What could say spring more than a quilt called Strawberry Hill? The fabrics are cheerful and I am having so much fun! I wish I could show you more, but everything just before market is a secret.

I always say that inspiration is all around us, you just have to be open to it. Strawberry Hill is the perfect example! It was inspired by a customer who came into my booth at Fall market. By the time we were done chatting, I had a new quilt idea and a new friend. Kindred Spirits we are for sure, so Strawberry Hill is for Gloria.

I design my applique blocks using the starch method of applique. I can see it coming together as I work. By the time the blocks are all “prepped” I know what the finished quilt will look like, and then it’s off to be stitched. How fun is that? The stawberries are calling…gotta go!