me on the set of a film where I was an extra
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YOUR BLOGGERI'm Karen Roy. I sew and blog from Portland, Oregon, on the West Coast of the United States. I enjoy vintage and historical clothing, researching whatever catches my attention, and designing unique things.
In the older posts of this site, you'll find projects from when I was a custom dressmaker, and lots of clothes I sewed for myself. I no longer sew clothes nor do work for others; my more recent work is quilting. I love learning something new with each project. Click on the "quilting" link in the menu to see a portfolio of finished quilts and works in progress. |
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My sewing machine is Boudica, because she's a warrior and a valuable ally. My serger gets less use, and is named Xena, to keep with the warrior princess theme.
My fabric stash is small and colorful. I recently had to sort and purge my stash so I could move to a smaller room, and I realized how little joy I ever got from most of what I had bought on speculation. So now it's my goal to sew from stash and only buy fabric as needed: I'd rather buy what I need and use it, than buy what I don't need and store it. |
Boudica
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PRIVACY, THE WEB, AND RESPECT
I am a private person by nature, and in the past have used the internet in relative anonymity, with usernames and abstract avatars and such. However, in recent years I've come to believe that it's a matter of integrity to be the same person online as offline, and using my real name creates accountability in that. So I've chosen to use my real name, and post pictures of myself. However, being the same person does not mean being completely transparent. Privacy is important. So what you see on this page is true and it's me, but it's not all of me. And I may change or leave out details which would reveal more of my life than I want to put online.
I wish to be respectful of other people in the same way. Therefore I never post a picture of someone's face without their permission. Likewise with names, locations, cats. When I do post someone's picture, I ask you as readers to respect that person by leaving the pictures here. Links are okay, co-opting someone else's face without their permission is not. I do not post pictures of children's faces, even if I've made something for a child. Children have little understanding of what it means to be posted online--the possibilities, dangers, loss of control of the image--so they can't consent to it the way adults can.
Sometimes I post pictures of celebrities, public figures, or historical figures. Obviously, in their case, I don't have their permission; however I seek out photographs which are in the public domain or which are available under Creative Commons licenses, and I provide links to where I found the pics. And that brings me to the subject of copyright...
I wish to be respectful of other people in the same way. Therefore I never post a picture of someone's face without their permission. Likewise with names, locations, cats. When I do post someone's picture, I ask you as readers to respect that person by leaving the pictures here. Links are okay, co-opting someone else's face without their permission is not. I do not post pictures of children's faces, even if I've made something for a child. Children have little understanding of what it means to be posted online--the possibilities, dangers, loss of control of the image--so they can't consent to it the way adults can.
Sometimes I post pictures of celebrities, public figures, or historical figures. Obviously, in their case, I don't have their permission; however I seek out photographs which are in the public domain or which are available under Creative Commons licenses, and I provide links to where I found the pics. And that brings me to the subject of copyright...
COPYRIGHT
The pictures, writing, and other content of this blog are my property unless otherwise noted. Feel free to link to, pin, or share these pages online, as long as you credit me, preferably with a link back. Please ask my permission before redistributing or reproducing them in any other way.
In my sewing, I attempt to respect the copyrights and licensing terms of others. If I use a pattern, I tell you which one. When I make things for others, I strive to be ethical by using patterns according to the terms of the companies, or by making my own patterns. Elizabeth Stewart Clark has a great guide to ethical dressmaking, which is worth a read if you contemplate sewing for money. When in doubt about usage rights, I ask; it's not hard to email a pattern company.
The beautiful Robes de Coeur calligraphy was done for me by Opus Calligraphy & Design.
In my sewing, I attempt to respect the copyrights and licensing terms of others. If I use a pattern, I tell you which one. When I make things for others, I strive to be ethical by using patterns according to the terms of the companies, or by making my own patterns. Elizabeth Stewart Clark has a great guide to ethical dressmaking, which is worth a read if you contemplate sewing for money. When in doubt about usage rights, I ask; it's not hard to email a pattern company.
The beautiful Robes de Coeur calligraphy was done for me by Opus Calligraphy & Design.
CONTACT ME?
As I only sporadically check the back office of this blog, I have turned off the contact form. People tended to use it for one of three reasons, so here's a quick response to each:
- You're a bot or you want to build traffic to your own site through cross-links with mine. You are offering me a "business opportunity" or trying to sell me a "guest post". In any case, you are reaching out to benefit yourself and not because you care about me. Time is precious: please use yours more wisely, because I will not waste mine responding to your messages. Much like your part of this transaction, it's nothing personal.
- You want me to sew for you. Depending on where in my site you landed, you have good reason to think I sew for people. However, I no longer take commissions or do custom work. Now my blog is more of a personal creative idyll. Please search elsewhere to hire a seamstress. A lot of dry cleaner shops advertise alterations, or have a collection of business cards for local sewing workers.
- You loved (or hated) one of my posts. You would like to connect and chat, or at least register your thoughts somewhere. You are cool! I like those kind of conversations. Please leave a comment on the post you liked. If you want me to contact you, include your email in the box labeled " Email (not published)", then ask me to email you in the message itself. Other readers won't see your email, but I can see it through the back office. I may or may not reply depending on my interest and whether I see your message in a timely manner, or a year late!