I can't show you the original because taking a picture would have been disrespectful. This is what I recreated from the image in my mind. The fabrics they used were much darker and more of the traditional Amish Colors. It was hand quilted and worth every penny on the price tag. I just couldn't afford it. I taught myself how to use a sewing machine, and attempted sewing on it. I had no idea that the 1/4 seam allowance rule even existed. Part was done by hand with the whip stitch, and the other part was done on the sewing machine with very inconsistent seams. Needless to say it was a complete disaster. I was watching Simply Quilts on HGTV with Alex Anderson. Here are pictures of my first quilt
We had Just gotten our Rescue Puggle Chance. He was 6 months old.
As you can see I didn't know the rules of quilting, and I didn't even know what a binding was.
I was into Counted Cross Stitch and Crocheting before quilting, so I wanted to enclose some counted Cross Stitch Projects that I had made. I used to get bored with both of them so I switched every so often. Once I learned Quilting, I was hooked and I never wanted to do anything else. One day when my neighbor was over with her young son I had an eye opener. I showed him the designs that I created from other people's designs, I just recreated them, and he said, and I will never forget.. "So basically you are copying other people's ideas, only joking"..I thought about it, and realized, he was absolutely correct. From that day I knew it was something that was going to bother me so I started creating my own designs. Using other people's designs is absolutely fine if you purchase the pattern and you don't try to claim their work as your own. I didn't have the money to buy their patterns so I knew that was wrong and that I couldn't feel right about using them. Using basic quilt designs to learn is the best way. It teaches you the basic concepts.
What is wrong is posting pictures and not mentioning the designer of the pattern that was used. Also if you have it quilted by someone else than that also needs to be mentioned. Stealing someone's designs and idea is the same thing as going into a store and stealing it without first paying for it.
Just because it is visible and out in the open doesn't mean it is yours to take. Also just because you buy the pattern that does not give you the right to claim it as your own design. You are only buying the pattern and not the rights to the design.
When I design, I lose all track of time.. The more I think about it the more I am unable to design anything. Art is something that can not be thought about it is something that just has to be felt. It is a feeling. I could never make the same thing twice because I can't think about it. Sometimes I wonder how I even created that in the first place after it is finished. Everything that I make is different and my work can not be categorized into one set category. For example modern, contemporary, or traditional. I think it is a mixture of all of them. I think having "Quilt Police" and people who love to label things is destroying the industry. Art is an escape to get away from structure, and the real world. There are rules on everything and people use Art to escape from it all. It is a feeling, and it comes from the soul of a person. There is no right or wrong way to accomplish it. All types of Art is amazing, and something that needs to be cherished, and appreciated instead of being critiqued and analyzed to death. I don't have a lot of money to buy a decent sewing machine, I quilt on a Brother SQ 9050 from Walmart. Yes I would love to own a decent machine since I do this for a living. We learn to work with what we have and what we can afford. People think you need this expensive fabric to be able to sew anything. You need to get the best quality fabric that you can afford. That is much more important than not creating because you can't afford expensive Quilt Shop Fabric. Expensive doesn't make it better. As long as it is substantial in weight and the thread count or weave is good then that is all that is important, not how much you paid for it. I have made numerous quilts for customer's and donations, and I have never had any reports of wear and tear or fading many years later.
That brings me to my last grievance.. the word "Charity" They are donations, not Charity items. No one wants to be known as someone's Charity because they are down on their luck. I have been there and I am there now, and I do what I can to help others. I believe it needs to be between the person that I am helping and no one else. I don't feel the need to announce it on Face Book or on my Blog because I helped someone. They know where to contact me, and I know who to contact. The only one that matters is the person that I helped. I don't care what anyone else thinks. Unless it is a client and it does come to my quilts, then yes, I care very much.
Last thought.. I am sorry for rambling, these things have been bothering me for way to long..
My ultimate dream is to be able to enter one of my designs and quilts into a quilt show. Right now I don't have the funds to buy the best materials and the means to get the quilt done to the best of my ability. I also don't have the funds to be able to afford the entrance fee, so in the mean time, I am going to do what makes me happy and what my passion is and that is to design more quilts and patterns. I hope you do what makes you happy and if that is quilting, then I hope you do it by feeling, and not by caring what other's think. Just remember that your Art is a reflection of your soul, and if they don't like it then they don't like you and they don't deserve to be in your life.
Thank You for reading! I am not good at writing because I usually analyze everything and critique my spelling and grammar which stifles my thoughts. I didn't do that in this case!
This is the Quilt that I made
This is my design for my next one!
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