Give credit where it is due

I read other people's blogs - usually ones that have something to do with quilting. Lately I am seeing a lot of problems with theft. Quilters post free patterns for people to use - with limits. People are copying them and selling them or representing them as their own work. Aside from the legal aspects, this is just so wrong. I used to belong to a couple of guilds. Now I don't. I was involved with a fund raising project for a presidential home to reproduce an antique quilt. The lady in charge of the group -and I use the term "lady" loosely here, took one of my working drawings of a quarter of a large applique block, copied it to make a whole block drawing and proceeded to put her name on it. She didn't stop there. It got much worse and no one could stop her. The guild finally had to inlist the aid of a lawyer to tell her that she couldn't copyright stuff that (a) wasn't even included in the final pattern - that would be the working drawing that she copied from me - and (b) was other people's work. My husband and I actually did all the work (text, graphics and drawings) on the final pattern that is sold in the gift shop. We have all the Auto Cad computer files to prove it. Not many quilters work in Auto Cad. (We gave the copyright on everything to the guild, by the way. ) However, this "lady" just couldn't be stopped. She has taken that quilt from one end of the country to the other and never mentioned the small group of people that actually did all the work or even the guild that funded it. What do you think of such a pathetic person?

Here is my point: If you put something on the internet and expect that no one will steal it, you are very optimistic. I can guarantee you that someone will. That is just the way it is. And to all the people who are trying to take the credit for other people's work, I have the following to say:

If you are so devoid of talent that you are stooping to theft, people who know you (or even people who meet you and talk to you for a few minutes) will realize that you are too stupid to design a quilt. Also I would like to point out that information flies through the internet any more and each day the odds get better and better that you will be found out. Then your reputation will go from a quilt expert to a liar and a thief. This recently happened to someone who is selling patterns and that info has made blog news.

People, people, people, do the right thing and give credit to the person who deserves it. People who take the time and make the effort to give you something nice for free just want you to recognize that and give them the credit for it. This is not a difficult concept.

That is the end of this rant.


Sheila