Yesterday I was informed that The Gathering Room Quilt Shop http://gatheringroomquiltshop.com of La Grange, KY copyrighted a pattern, named Twisted Christmas in July of 2010, that looks just like my Twister Wreath.
I did not know of The Gathering Room Quilt Shop's Twisted Christmas pattern until yesterday.
One day, early in December, wanting to make a Christmas wall hanging with my Li’l Twister Tool (by CS designs www.country-schoolhouse.com), I sat down with the book, “Square Dance,” by Martha Thompson and graph paper and pencil, drew a circle. Within the circle, I wrote “R”s, “G”s, and “B”s for the red squares, green squares and background square placement to make a wreath.
Needing to complete other projects and with company soon to arrive for Christmas, I put my project away.
Around the middle of December I noticed a blogger buddy of mine had made a little wreath quilt with her Li’l Twister tool too. Hers turned out smaller than mine would and had only one border. I planned to have both an inner and outer border, as I do on most of my quilts.
When my sister arrived I set about making my wall hanging, but didn’t finish it until after the Holidays. I was very pleased with the results and posted the photo and statement on my blog.
I sincerely apologize to The Gathering Room Quilt Shop of La Grange, KY for failing to search for a pattern before making my statement. It was truly not my intention to copy your pattern. I would never do that. I respect the time, energy and cost that designers expend to publish patterns and books. I'm very careful to give credit where credit is due. I did not, have not and do not plan to profit from this wall hanging. Thank you for taking time today to read my post.
Jeanne
Jeanne, I know you and know you would never state someone else's idea as your own. One of the things our quiltdesigners yahoo board talks about periodically is how impossible it can be to know if the idea you came up with has ever been done before. A search for patterns, blocks, etc can be helpful, but it is not going to always be complete no matter how hard you try. I know of several designers who have very similar patterns out on the market....in any case - IT HAPPENS! Great minds think alike. Don't beat yourself up and know that it happens frequently. Would that everyone who accidentally stepped on the toes of copyright was as diligent as you to come clean.
ReplyDeleteDon't worry about it!! It is so hard to know if your design has been done before! How many look alike quilts do you see the designers making? There are only so many blocks and therefore it is quite likely two, if not more, people can come up with the same pattern using them. You are not marketing it, just making it for your own enjoyment. I like what the previous commenter had to say as well.
ReplyDeleteI was directed here by a friend and I just had to comment! I was in this exact situation last year when I designed a fabric Bowl that as it turned out looked very similar to one that was already published. I put up a 'free' tutorial on my blog and a few days later I recieved a comment from the other designer saying that I had stolen her idea and that I should take it down. I was a mess for days and I of course immediately took the tut down, but after chatting with my online group 'scquilters' and over 200 emails in suport, I realised that as I had taken my own pictures, my measurements were different and I had written my own instructions there was no copyright breach and she had no right to ask me to take the tutorial down. As a designer myself I can understand her doing so, but it still hurt. Keep your chin up as my grandmother always said 'no idea is a new idea'!
ReplyDeleteI was once told that if you are thinking of an idea you can he sure that at least one other person is thinking of the same idea at the same time. This applies to anything not only to quilt designing.
ReplyDeleteI would not even let that bother me. I have a knock off quilting tool that Im trying to launch that will be half the COST plus free shipping. Im not COPYING anyone I just get my own ideas, see things, and go from there. We all have a mind of our own. We are not cheaters. Why cant we all just be happy and share some things/patterns/ideas without someone getting their panties in a wad! Sorry! Don't sweat it girl. I would like to see you re-post it and I never would have apologized for something you did NOT do. By the way, here is a free tutorial for the christmas wreath: http://www.quiltinglinda.com/category-quilting/2011/05/30/twister-wreath/comment-page-1/#comment-748
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