sewhooked blog

I don’t have a lot of frequently asked questions, but will do the best to answer the ones I have.  If there’s something you need to know that isn’t listed here, feel free to comment or email me.

Is your Harry Potter Quilt for sale?

No, I’m sorry.  The HP quilt belongs to my family.

Do you take commissions?

My schedule has gotten a bit crazy and I am no longer able to take commissions.   I do occasionally have handmade items available for sale in my etsy store.

Do you take requests for paper pieced patterns?

Occasionally, yes, but I am not currently taking requests for patterns.

Can I sell items made from your patterns or use them for non-profit purposes, like a swap or charity auction?

I do ask that you please do not sell items made from my patterns.  I share with you for free and if you use my pattern, you are accepting my copyright and agree not to sell.  This is standard for any pattern you’d get out of a book or magazine and also applies to internet patterns unless the patterns state otherwise.  I am more than happy for you to use my patterns and ideas in a swap, as a gift or for charity.  I do ask that you give credit either to myself or sewhooked.org and I always love pictures!

Do you have special software for designing your patterns?

This is a very popular question!  I don’t really have special software just for making patterns.  Because I’m an artist first, and came to paper piecing from that background, I find I’m most comfortable using Adobe Photoshop.  You can use just about any drawing software to design paper pieced patterns (or pencil and paper, if you like!) and while there are quilting-specific software available, I find that I’m more comfortable with the control I have in Photoshop.

Did you really work at The Leaky Cauldron?  If so, why in the world did you leave?

I’m not sure why this is a question, but I have gotten it via email a couple of times.  The answer is yes.  I was a Crafty Witch for The Leaky Cauldron not long after Harry Potter Crafts at Leaky was started.  I was on staff July 2006 – December 2007.  Leaky is a great place to volunteer and I still have many friends there.  There was no big dramatic reason for me to go, other than my time was limited and I needed to pursue other things.

Who designs and keeps up with your website?  Is sewhooked your first website?

That would be me, all by my lonesome!  I take care of all the editing, layout, upkeep, etc., including all the mistakes you might find.

I started playing with HTML in 1995 or 96, back when everything was written in a text editor like Notepad.  My first website was called Star Links and was a Star Trek fansite with reviews and links for, you guessed it, other ST fansites!.  It’s been defunct since about 1999, which is when I created Jen’s Crochet & Crafts, which eventually morphed into sewhooked.

I’m also the volunteer webmistress for The Linus Connection.

Will you post my crafts on your site?

I do have Guest Designers associated with the paper pieced pages on sewhooked, but I like invite the designers myself.  If you’re looking for a place to post your paper pieced patterns for free, <a href=”http://blog.sewhooked.org/paper-piecing-resources/being-a-sewhooked-guest-designer/”>read this post</a> and if you’re still interested, then by all means email me, and we’ll talk!

I only post crafts by myself and, in a few instances, family members.  If you’re looking for a great place to post your own tutorials and crafts, check out cut out + keep (especially awesome if you have tutorials and how-tos) and craftster.

Do you know where I can find Harry Potter fabric?

Sadly, Harry Potter fabric, as of the moment I type this, is out of print.  The licensing was formerly held by Spring Industries in the United States.  They printed fabrics for Sorcerer’s Stone and Chamber of Secrets.  To my knowledge, there has been no new fabric since 2003.

HP licensing is extremely expensive (the last I heard was $100,000), and it’s unlikely that a fabric manufacturer will want to invest that kind of money, especially now that there will be no new HP books.  You can find the previously printed fabrics on ebay, and occasionally in online stores, but they can get very pricey.  If you do shop online, be sure and double check the size you are getting.  I’ve seen fat quarters selling for as much as $13, which is an astounding $52/yard.

The scarcity and limited prints of HP fabric is what started my own sojourn into HP quilting.  I wanted to make a Harry Potter quilt and couldn’t find any fabrics locally.  Looking back over the last few years, I’m thankful that it was so hard to come by!