Wednesday, October 5, 2016

An irksome thing

I have kvetched about this before - and I suppose there will never be a time where I can see myself clear to just letting it go (and more's the pity) but there may be an explosion in my future if I can't.

There is a quilter whose work I like very much, to the point of admiration, really.  And she has only very recently chosen to walk away from her acclaim in the machine quilting realm.  She is fed up with (as she put it), "...the bullshit in the industry."  She will not quit making quilts, but will simply do so only for herself.  Huzzah, and more power to her.

So? I can hear you bellow.  What's your gripe?  What about that has you near boom-boom level?

Well, it isn't really Krista's decision to bow out of the quilt making spotlight so much that has my hackles up, but it's the quilt she is currently putting together that has me fuming. Some other quiltmaker/pseudo designer has decided to rename a glorious - and fairly straightforward - quilt 'pattern' something entirely new, just to make it seem as though she developed the pattern and instructions for others to follow.... AS IF IT'S NEVER BEEN MADE BY THOUSANDS BEFORE HER, for Pete's sake.

Heck, I've made my own string quilts by sketching out the desired size of the finished block so that I could readily duplicate and piece the silly thing accurately.  It didn't require much time or heavy thinking - and I certainly didn't rename the quilt pattern because it was something I drew up.  I looked at a few photos of older "Spider Web" string quilts before diving in, just to get some ideas of possible color placement and angles, and then I went to work.  

I totally resent J Sampou thinking it's OK to rename a standard, and well known, pattern; what an incredible ego trip she must be on. "Octagon Shimmer," indeed!  Shame on you for trying to cash in by using something that is in NO WAY your "original" creation, tagging it with a different name and calling it your own design.  I hope the people who follow you like sheep can eventually see through your flimsy veneer. 

Okey dokey - rant's over, but I am still steaming around the collar.  Has anybody got a few ice cubes handy?


No comments: