I had 9 snowball blocks and extra 9 patches...from several quilts. I had two snail's trail blocks, 2 fishy blocks from a small quilt(Country Threads pattern) I had 2 of a block called Double X. I had 1 flower bud, 1 extra star block and 1 heart block. And lots of trapazoids. Did I use any one else's pattern...yes. The small fish..but I give credit to the pattern maker. Always. I tell what book, or what quilter, or what "hang" pattern it was.
I know all the basic information is included on all published patterns, saying they are for PERSONAL USE ONLY. Not to be copied or duplicated in any form other than the quilt you are making. Some say it's ok to share with friends but don't make a copy.
What I DON'T get is the idea that you need to get permission from the pattern maker or publisher to reproduce an image of that quilt.
Using (the words of) the Copyright information I'm somehow "stealing or borrowing or infringing" on someones published pattern if I take a picture of my quilt and show it to someone else???????????? Like all of you, my bestus and beloved blogger friends and readers????? On my blog?????
Why the heck does anyone think that we, as quilters would pay what patterns cost(the newer ones that give us an exciting take on an old block..(which I think are pretty much "free domain") if we then can't share the outcome?? Do you really think that I am going to pay $7,8,9,10, or $15 dollars for a quilt pattern and agree that we can't even take a picture to share with a penpal or quilting buddy in another state????Yes, the New York Beauty on the cover of a publication(catalog from VT) last month was $15.
What seem so stupid(yes I said STUPID) to me, is that they can't come up with a legible idea that allows us to actually OWN the quilt once we've interpreted it in our own way and with our own fabric choices. And done the quilting or not, that we choose to do. I KNOW that some quilters need to "reproduce" the EXACT quilt they are seeing on the pattern, but can't there be an exclusion for them? Why does everyone have to be denied? Because one person cheats, I have to be punished and denied a photograph to share? My quilt cannot be allowed to inspire anyone unless they go and buy the book or pattern? Basically that I can't scan or photograph the book or pattern that was my inspiration?
I'm NOT saying this in any way, regarding what happened or is happening with a couple of Bonnie H.'s Quiltville's patterns.
I'm saying this because I got the impression this a.m. that we shouldn't even be scanning a book page to inspire more "free thinking" for ourselves.
It feels like we are being "led(at quilt shows, guild meetings and in quilt shops and classes) down the garden path for slaughter"...all innocent and happy and not expecting any trouble.
If the copyright clause means what it sounds like to me......we could never post a quilt picture on our blogs unless it's something that we created for no rhyme or reason, in the depths of our sewing rooms. Or have to seek permission from someone like Freddy Moran who is super busy creating her quilts and patterns.
And while I totally DON'T have Bonnie, our fearless leader in mind as I write this.... an example of what I mean, am I violating copyright to have shown my bargello quilt on Wed? It's from her site and her directions...I sure never could have thought of that on my own!!! I totally understand the wonderful logic and gift of using Quiltville ideas. I thought we all did, and maybe, while we do, others don't.,,I don't know.
So, now I'm stepping down from my portable soapbox, and closing the post with the these words. "The Orphan Train Heading West" is my personal creation. The odd, unwanted, extra "stuff" is not so different from the thousands of children rounded up in New York City, Washington DC, and Chicago...and other large cities on the way west. They were placed on a train that then stopped in the small towns along the way. The town folk gathered on the railroad platform to see if there was a child that they could/would give a "home" to. This is not fiction, the Orphan Train traveled back and forth for nearly 20 years in the late 1800's...removing orphaned and unwanted children from the city streets. The kids were a by product of a huge immigration to America from Eurpose. The parents found out this wan't the land where streets are lined with gold after all. Many children were forced out of their homes and onto the streets to take care of themselves as the family size grew. As an adoptive parent, I have VERY strong feeling about this.
But what I am really saying today is, "This is MY quilt, and you may reproduce it any way shape for form you choose". Because as YOU make it, with blocks or scraps of YOUR choice...it becomes YOUR quilt. I would have merely been the inspiration, and I'm thrilled if I can serve quilting friends in that way....*VBS* And you don't even need to mention my name...*G*
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16 comments:
What a wonderful rant! (And a wonderful quilt!)
Yes I agree 100%! How can a quilt not be MINE to share as I see fit if I've bought the pattern/book/magazine, picked my own fabrics, and maybe changed things a bit to suit me better. It's not like I'm going to then take a picture of my quilt and publish my own pattern based on my interpretation of their quilt. Even though that is what MOST new patterns are now. Because I truly believe there is nothing "new" when it comes to quilting. So didn't they who put these insanely worded copyrights on their patterns just copy something they saw somewhere before? Maybe not exactly but in the back of their mind there was that quilt they saw one time years ago that inspired them.
Look at many of Bonnie's patterns. Not to be picking on Bonnie cause I think she's great! But so many time her quilts are made because she was inspired by an antique pattern. She's always up front about that. So her DIRECTIONS and ILLUSTRATIONS and her UNIQUE setting of public domain blocks may be copyrighted but the basic concept belongs to some long ago quilter.
I rarely follow a pattern exactly and I always give credit for someone else's design when I know who it is. But many times I just make quilts from my head that are often inspired by one I've seen before. And I seldom know where that was or who the pattern designer was because it might be years before that quilt perculates to the top of my consciousness and says, "you have to make me NOW!"
And what I REALLY have a problem with is being told what I can do with my quilt after I've made it. You've already covered "no photographs". But I've also seen "not for sale" and "not for entry into a show". Will "not to be be used as a gift" follow? Since once it's gifted the recipient might take a photo, or sell it, or put it in a show?
Personally I will continue making quilts using whatever inspiration I find whether it is a purchased pattern or a picture I've seen on someone's blog. And if the quilt police (or the real ones) want to come lock me up for that then this country is in a very sad state indeed!
You have just found the exact words to express what I feel about all that stuff ! BRAVO !
They really take us as "Kindergarten" children. Here in Belgium we say : "as long as the cow is giving, let's milk it !"
You'll see that, one day, some people will claim royalties about block patterns created by their great-great-great-grandmother!
(don't laugh, I'm serious!)....
Most quilters are sharing people. They are generous and not "profit-seekers". They are quilt-fabric-pattern-addicted. The "baracuda's" (sorry) have pretty well understood that and they'll "milk" us to the last drop !
BUT....
Don't worry, quilters are ALSO clever and supportive ! (What if we all stopped buying patterns for -even a short-while ???
PANIC ON BOARD !!!!!!
MARKETING campaigns!!!!!!
BARGAINS !!!!!!!
CHARMING operations !!!!!
To conclude :
YOUR quilt is YOUR quilt !
It is not only made of patterns. It contains a lot of work, effort, love, imagination, colour choices, nights and days, patience,......
and you can SHARE your work, efforts, love, imagination, choices, days and nights, patience, etc... with ANYONE you wish !
"A QUILT IS A LABOR OF LOVE " and
LOVE IS SHARING !
(Aaaaaaaah ! feeling better now !)
Kind regards
Your sharing quilter friend
NADINE in Belgium.
I have to admit I don't fully understand the copyright issue when it comes to quilt patterns. I seldom follow the directions exactly because the fabric generally speaks to me some other way. However I always acknowledge the maker of the pattern when I show the quilt.
If anyone ever figures out what a copyright does and doesn't allow please let me know. Also, other than Bonnie's situation, has an everyday quilter like us ever been accused of copyright infringement?
I love your quilt. What a great imagination you have.
Finn, your quilt is just delightful -- what an inspired way to use up orphaned and abandoned blocks.
I agree with you on the subject of patterns, directions, photos, etc. They are in the world to provide instruction as well as inspiration. Quilt designers would not go from guild to guild, retreats, seminars, etc., if they didn't want their work made available to us. Of course, credit where credit is due should be the rule of the day. And purchasing the book or pattern is the right, proper and fair thing to do.
However, I should not be limited in the number of times I create from a pattern or restricted in how I display and share my work with others. Everyone must remember to be reasonable no matter where you view the issue from - designer/publisher or quilt maker.
Thanks for your great rant. I love it. I was also blessed with the reappearance of this beautiful quilt. I say this quilt posted on your blog before and just fell in love with it. Thank-you, Thank-you, Thank-you for sharing againg and for speaking my mind for me also. I will continue to make the quilts I want and share all the quilts I make. I try to follow patterns but I do have to make it my own, just a we all have done with the neat pattern Judy L shared with us. Look at the different quilts that came out of this one pattern. What a variety of gifted ladies, not afraid to interpert the quilt as their minds eye saw the pattern and share where their creative juices have lead them. Thanks again.
Finn! What happened to prompt this!? This is definitely a tricky issue.
If most shows allow pictures, then we should be able to share those pictures with friends who weren't there and use those images as inspiration for our own work. The really important thing is to try to save the booklet from the show and to share the name of the quilter with the photos, in my opinion. With digital cameras we should be able to take an extra photo of the sign with this info next to the quilt if it's provided.
Books of antique quilts are more difficult - I think sharing one or two images (with proper credits) should be ok - obviously copying a whole book isn't! In these books it's the current owner who claims the copyright (and/or the publisher) - but the copyright should really belong to the original quiltmaker, no? How many women in those generations wouldn't be absolutely flabbergasted and flattered that people were still looking at their quilts today?!
Most patterns are really recycled ideas themselves. Something totally and completely new is very rare. If I buy a pattern (or a book), I consider that I am paying for the instructions and thanking the person for the inspiration - I admire people who take the risk to turn quilting into a job that supports them. I think the quilt becomes ours when we choose the fabrics and tweak the pattern with our creativity.
As a teacher, I think that including the name of the person and pattern and any other relavent information whenever who share the quilt or its image is just like having a bibliography on your paper citing your sources for quotations, new information, and seminal ideas.
Well said. I am just now finishing up some UFOs that are made from patterns. But many years ago I decided that I would not purchase patterns. Here's why: I used to have one of those web sites that you get from your ISP (we're talking years ago, folks). I had a picture of a sweet little wallhanging I had made and a short discription of technique, fabric, size, etc. The phrase I had used for the technique was "flip and sew". Not paper piecing, foundation piecing, sew & flip or any of its varients. The next thing I know, I'm getting this nasty email saying basically to cease using that phrase as she had it copyrighted! Huh? I let myself be intimidated and I took the whole thing off my measly little site. Now it is a moot point because it is like kleenex or xerox and become a slightly generic term. I am now very, very aware of copyright issues and do my best to not infringe. /paula
I understand copyright when it somes to written instructions and detailed info about the technique for constructing the block... buy the pattern, learn the technique. But photographs of MY work somehow feel like MINE. If I were to post photos of your work, it would be "stealing" your work, but to make something myself based on a photo of your work that you posted seems like my best guess/interpretation of your work. Sounds like flattery through copying, as I know there will be differences in the details... If someone gives me instructions for their quilt I'm free to make it following the instructions, but not to give thier instructions away without their permission. Seems fairly straight forward to me -- if I do it, its mine, if you do it ist yours. If you share, you allow the recipient to "copy" and show their work, but not share your work (pics or instructions of your quilt)...
Finn, I'm like Hedgehog - what prompted this rant? Did someone accuse you of copyright infringement? I can't imagine who. Almost everything you do is so uniquely yours. The only thing I can think of that you posted lately that isn't yours is the old Paul Bunyan pattern by Country Threads.
The copyright law is hard to understand, and unfortunately it really does prohibit us from doing some things that we think we should be able to do. The good news is that most all quilters who publish books and patterns don't hold quilters to all the fine points of the law. I think most of them just want the recognition of "this quilt made from a pattern by *****" or "this quilt inspired by a quilt made by ******" No and then you find a pattern with every little thing spelled out on it, and requiring permission to give the quilt produced as a gift or put it in a show or anything else other than strict personal use. My solution is simple - I just don't buy that person's patterns.
Something important for us all to remember is that msot of these quilters are struggling to make a livlihood with their quilting. Believe it or not they get very little income from pattern or book sales. In my mind the important thing is that we don't do something that cuts into that income like copying books and patterns for our friends, or loaning them out to anyone who asks.
Love your orphan quilt, Finn. There's so much personality and character in each of those blocks. Quilts can become almost *human-like* to us, can't they!
I suppose I was infringing on the pics that I posted of the QTW show in Duluth, wasn't I. A person can hardly have fun anymore without the threat of a lawsuit. It's a sad world, isn't it.
Glad you have spoken freely about this on your blog, Finn.
Okay, I throw my 5 cents in the ring with this. I have said numerous times that I don't undertsand how copyright works. I don't see how almost anyone can claim that it's an original pattern because most all patterns are simply made from old blocks used for centuries. I understand that the instructions are yours and the picture you used on the cover. But it means that I can't reproduce that picture and sell it on my pattern.
I don't normally buy patterns because lets face it...we are all very samrt women and we almost all have EQ5 in our computer. I can take a picture of a quilt and see where the seams are located. I can draft that block myself in EQ and get what approximates to the same pattern with MY dimensions and how I want the block to come out. I also don't buy patterns because I can buy a yard of fabric for the same price and I like the fabrics more. But there are some that I will buy. I look over that pattern very well to see what it says and if it mentions limiting me in any way I put it back! Most that I read don't say anything about gifts, or shows, or anything other than not to copy the pattern or share. If they did they would have no business.
I will continue to make my quilts and I will continue to post pictures of those quilts on my blog because this is my PERSONAL JOURNAL and it is for my personal use. I just allow others to read it. So sue me. Because I can bet you that my lawyer in court will show that you don't have a leg to stand on when it's over and done. If a pattern is bought and there is no wording about these issues then you have no real legal right to assume that I understood your implied rules. If it isn't expressly written on the item before I buy it...the outside of the package...then I am not bound by it.
I love the Orphan Train. It is amazing the way you were able to put all those blocks together and make it look like they all belong. Bravo!
Amazingly, I was JUST telling someone all about those orphan trains today!!! It is a very little spoken about subject and I find it amazing how many people don't know a thing about them.
About YOUR quilts - I LOVE them all! About copyrights - it is a deep, dark issue that happily employs many attorneys.
Cheers!
Evelyn
Seems to me that they are just shooting themselves in the foot with all these copyright do's and don'ts. Make us all mad and we won't support the industry, quilt shops will close and now don't you wish you were so restrictive about the use of images. Give credit where it is due and when it is due, yes but sheesh, lighten up, people. It is just geometric shapes that have been twisted and turned around for centuries--techniques for getting to that point may have changed but the end result is the same.
Finn, I love the Orphan Train. I read a book long ago about it. What a great name for your orphan block quilt.. I agree with you on the copyright issue. I just want to be able to share my joy of quilting with my friends. and I will always give credit to those who have inspired me whether it's a blogger friend or a published designer. I would hate to see quilting and quilters get sucked into the black hole of legalese. I agree that people who come up with an original idea should get credit for it and profit from it if they choose, but they also need to understand that quilting has been around forever and no one "owns" it. It is a feeling, a love, a concept that has been shared for generations. the basic tenet of quilting is the SHARING and it should remain that way.
Maybe I am being naive but I hate seeing something I love so much become complicated.
Finn...this has been a wonderful rant and is something that even bloggers who are not quilters are also struggling with.
I consider my blog as a personal journal and always try to give credit where credit is due. I personally try not to use pictures that are not taken by me because of the copyright laws...but then I take pictures of something someone else has manufactured (like Cucoo & all his friends). I see this as free advertising for their makers. But I am probably infringing on someone's copyright in a manner of speaking.
I think once you make the quilt it becomes yours and that you are free to photograph it to show it off to your friends. I've read your posts and you always give credit where credit is due. This is a form of free advertising for the orignal quilt block designer and possibly helps sell more of their quilting books. Did these people expect that no one would share their patterns by posting a picture of a finished quilt? Also...What's wrong with posting a picture of a book you liked and recommend? It's your own personal opinion and free advertising to them.
If I post a picture of my bookself, with all the copyrighted books in it, am I breaking the law? If I made a jacket using a copyright pattern and posed for a picture while wearing it and posted it on my blog, am I going to be taken to court?
A fellow blogger was asked to delete certain pictures that were used on their blog (although credit was given to the artists)or risk prosecution. The pictures were deleted from their posts. So some artists don't want their pictures reproduced even when you give them credit.
I'm sorry I used your comment area to rant...but sometimes I just don't understand the logic behind some things.
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