Nina presented a picture of what she saw. Not all of it was 100% accurate from the perspective of those of us who have been doing this a while, but discovering the whole of quilting is a long process and is doubly difficult to do via the internet. There's nothing wrong with her being excited about the parts of it she has discovered and wanting to share that with others. It's what makes quilters a community.
Even if some of her views of the parts she has not yet discovered fully are a little...negative, I hope that will change for her as she gets to know our community a little better.
This definitely has merit, but, to be fair, non-free data on the actual quilting process is fairly sparse as well. There are a few books and DVDs for sale but not nearly as many as there are piecing patterns (which is what I thought the article was about).
re: Nina's comment - I can definitely believe this. Quilts are difficult to capture well in a photograph and art quilters are a minority in an already small niche market. Often even professional photographers have a difficult time capturing quilts well unless they have experience with quilts specifically. There are also always going to be some who don't want to share their ideas and I imagine that is likely to be more common the more artistic the work gets.
re: Anonymous Coward - There is a lot of free in the quilt world, but the free that I have seen IS mostly in the traditional quilt world and not the art quilt world. Most of the large quilt companies manufacture printed cotton and there is less payoff for them in providing free art quilt patterns because art quilts tend to be small and not to use much of their product.
Traditional and art quilters tend to group separately and have very different focuses. Sad to say, art quilting is often not well accepted in the larger quilt community and often does not have the same level of support traditional quilting does. I have heard quilters express an opinion that art quilts aren't really quilts at all and shouldn't win the big prizes at shows. It is a sad blindness held by many who are otherwise wonderful people.
I have been a quilter for 17 years and my mom has been a quilt shop owner for 7.
While it is true that quilt patterns offered for sale are under copyright, usually only the ones distributed for free specify that they cannot be used for commercial purposes and I have never heard of anyone having to ask permission from a pattern designer before entering a quilt show.
There are disagreeable people in any group, but I have found them to be more the exception than the rule in the quilting world.
I am less able to offer links to art quilt sites because I don't do much of that, but my mother-in-law has been an art quilter for 20-25 years. I have asked her (via e-mail) if she has any links to provide and either she or I will likely post some later.
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Re: You have to love it.
Nina presented a picture of what she saw. Not all of it was 100% accurate from the perspective of those of us who have been doing this a while, but discovering the whole of quilting is a long process and is doubly difficult to do via the internet. There's nothing wrong with her being excited about the parts of it she has discovered and wanting to share that with others. It's what makes quilters a community.
Even if some of her views of the parts she has not yet discovered fully are a little...negative, I hope that will change for her as she gets to know our community a little better.
Nina, it appears that you do not live near me, so I cannot offer IRL support, but the California quilt community is pretty active and http://www.suite101.com/content/san-francisco-art-quilter-joyce-goode-a330871 seems like it might be a place for you to meet some local art quilters.
Re: To explain...
Re: Re: Wow. This article surprises me very much
re: Anonymous Coward - There is a lot of free in the quilt world, but the free that I have seen IS mostly in the traditional quilt world and not the art quilt world. Most of the large quilt companies manufacture printed cotton and there is less payoff for them in providing free art quilt patterns because art quilts tend to be small and not to use much of their product.
Traditional and art quilters tend to group separately and have very different focuses. Sad to say, art quilting is often not well accepted in the larger quilt community and often does not have the same level of support traditional quilting does. I have heard quilters express an opinion that art quilts aren't really quilts at all and shouldn't win the big prizes at shows. It is a sad blindness held by many who are otherwise wonderful people.
Wow. This article surprises me very much
While it is true that quilt patterns offered for sale are under copyright, usually only the ones distributed for free specify that they cannot be used for commercial purposes and I have never heard of anyone having to ask permission from a pattern designer before entering a quilt show.
There are disagreeable people in any group, but I have found them to be more the exception than the rule in the quilting world.
Many of the fabric manufacturers have sections on their website devoted to free patterns. www.hoffmanfabrics.com, www.robertkaufman.com, www.konabay.com, and www.ttfabrics.com are a few examples.
I am less able to offer links to art quilt sites because I don't do much of that, but my mother-in-law has been an art quilter for 20-25 years. I have asked her (via e-mail) if she has any links to provide and either she or I will likely post some later.
Techdirt has not posted any stories submitted by Kathlyn.
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