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August 30th, 2007 at 10:14 am »
Comments (0)I was pleased to read Carol Ventura’s recent blog-a-mentary detailing on her view of “Free” patterns and information.
Carol’s commentary opens the door to an important discussion and I would hope one that helps us all to understand the difference between that which an author/teacher choose to gift to Stitchers and that which is taken with only the most base of rationalizations.
So what is the issue?
It is about the MIS_USE of Complimentary Patterns, Charts, & Instructions
And, how often, almost innocently damage is done by that Mis-Use through a desire to “help”
Usually not realizing, but all to often simply not caring, if by helping some, you are hurting others.
It does not matter what the craft, but for today, it’s Crochet.
At the core of the discussion has to be and is the shared basic belief of the importance of “passing on the traditions”
To name just a few others, and in no particular order other than alphabetical by first name
Darla Fanton, Janet Rehfeldt, Jean Leinhauser, and
Kim Guzman
All of the above, like Carol, give of their time and expertise not just thru their publishing and teaching, but by their participation “on line” helping others to “learn the craft” and by offering help in a dozen other ways.
Aside from excellence in teaching and a dedication to producing quality patterns another thing all of above share is that they have been victimized by those who improperly share their work, both what is for sale and what is offered via the web on a complimentary basis.
When an author or publisher offers knowledge on their website, in a “group” or through “A-Longs” on their blog for your personal use, that is truly wonderful and you should take advantage of that offering for your personal use.
We need to distinguish what and how we can ethically share the information and knowledge offered for so tiny a price as to be considered free.
First, Personal Use does not grant you right to copy and distribute
Second, “Education” does not, unless you are a licensed educational institution, permit copying and distribution.
This means:
It is NOT OKAY to duplicate and distribute it without specific permission of the author.
It is not okay for another teacher to take that and share it by using it in their own classes without specific permission.
It is not okay for a shop owner to download and print out patterns – with or without charge
What is OKAY is to provide a link and then the “Personal User” will be obtaining the information in a fair and ethical manner.
Why, because as Carol so correctly pointed out in her blog
” Back to reality. Free patterns are part of my answer to (gaining) increased visibility – and it’s working. My books are not flying off the shelves, but they are slowly making their way into loving homes. “
The very small price these sharing individuals are asking is that the individual visit their websites, groups and blogs to obtain their gift to you the stitcher. They sincerely hope you will find the information and instruction they share for your personal use is helpful.
It is also, as Carol pointed out, their hope that as a result of that visit you will find their style and presentation will lead to your investing in one of their publications or taking a class with them.
Don’t we owe each of these sharing individuals that iota of courtesy and respect?
Shouldn’t we be willing to pay the tiny price of a moment of our time for all the instruction and inspiration they freely offer to us?
P.S. My thanks to Carol for raising this issue, and more importantly for that class at South East Fiber Forum so many years ago that taught me Tapestry Crochet – I happily recommend all of her books.
July 12th, 2007 at 14:33 pm »
Comments (0)
“My heart found its home long ago
in the beauty, mystery, order and
disorder of the flowering earth.”
Lady Bird Johnson
22nd December 1912 – 11th July 2007
Dear Mrs Johnson
You will be remembered for many things, but as a “child of the 60’s” it was your work as an environmentalist that most impressed me then and throughout your life.
Without you and your efforts one of the small pleasures of life might not exist for those who find themselves “required” to spend time driving along our nation’s highways.
Thank you for understanding, as you wrote in your diary…
“Getting on the subject of beautification is like picking up a tangled skein of wool..All the threads are interwoven — recreation and pollution and mental health, and the crime rate, and rapid transit, and highway beautification, and the war on poverty, and parks — national, state and local.”
I promise to continue to take a moment to admire and be inspired by the simplicity and beauty of the wildflowers and to remember this simple pleasure would not be there without your efforts that have led to highway beautification, first in Texas and now throughout almost every state in the Union.
But most of all thank you for understanding
“Ugliness is so grim,…A little beauty, something that is lovely, I think, can help create harmony which will lessen tensions.”
You will be in my thoughts each time I drive one of the highways already benefiting from your work and even more so for those that have not.
Wheat
June 21st, 2007 at 00:00 am »
Comments (1)
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One of the most commonly asked questions for any one who does hand work, is WHY you do that.
The next time someone asks me WHY I donate to military support groups, |
I will be pointing them to the bittersweet, but beautiful tribute created by Lizzie Palmer.
I don’t know who 15 year old Lizzie Palmer is, but I want to meet her. Heck I want to start a college fund for her,
Note, if you are even the tiniest bit emotional about those who serve, I suggest you grab a box of tissues first.
Wheat
May 13th, 2007 at 00:01 am »
Comments (12)It’s Mother’s Day – I’ll be fixing all her favorite things for mine
But there are always other women who influence our lives, so I thought I tell you about one who just might be responsible for my addiction to string
Crochet is probably the very first fiber art I learned as a child. With two working parents it was a wonderful gift from a neighbor that “got me started” So here is a thank you to the late Shirley Eustis for taking the time to share a craft she loved with the little girl next door. I think she enjoyed teaching me, since she had only boys and in the early 50’s fiber art was not done often by boys. Still, the “cookie lady” had plenty of fans among all the boys & girls in the neighborhood (and many of on into adulthood coveted her baking talents.) When the Eustis family moved to West Nyack, although our families still visited often, so cookie cravings could be assuaged, there was a definite void in my world of string.
Until, what really got me “hooked” on yarn like string, was the generosities of a “Real” yarn shop owner Mrs Phyllis Goldman Even the NY Times thought it newsworthy when Goldman Yarns closed in 2006
This time last year I had the great pleasure to speak with the then about to retire owners of Goldman’s Yarn. They were retiring after SEVENTY YEARS “in the business”
These shop owners NEVER made that child feel that her choices in techniques were inferior.
Mrs Goldman also never made me feel bad when I chose “practical” yarns.
What she did was to instill in me a respect for the craft and a belief that I should always use the best materials I could afford and do the work to the highest standard I was capable of.
She knew, that in order to spend time (cause the Lord knows I did not have very much money) in her store I was giving up another special treat. Twice a month, if there was a show we could agree on, my brother and I were allowed to take the bus to the theater and see a movie – about a block from her store.
My brothers ‘covered’ for me. They went to the movies after escorting me to the store, and came back for me after the show. We never lied, but eventually we did get “caught”. Once we could sit down again, and after my Dad visited the shop, I had permission to continue.
Mrs Goldman took the time on more than one occasion to show me more advanced stitches, the basics of Knitting, how to read BOTH Knit & Crochet symbol based patterns –
If you are finding my reference charts useful, you can thank Mrs G – she also was quite the believer in swatching
Mrs G is the person most responsible for my determination to be an excellent craftsman in whatever needlearts I choose to pursue – she made it important to know the tools and techniques – to practice them until I got it right -without making it a chore – She taught the joy of accomplishment.
Did I mention my love of Needlepoint started in Goldman’s? (I still have that piece, a bargello done in shades of blues – I remember she was not completely happy with me substituting something for white but she could see it was what I wanted – to this day you will rarely find white in my concoctions other than whip cream.
I could recite a long list of small kindnesses this lady and her staff provided but you get the idea – like helping me find the exact yarn in the sale bin – looking back I even wonder if it really belonged there or was just another example of how a wonderful lady made me her customer for life or at least a hefty portion of the life of her business. I don’t think I have ever purchased a Needlepoint Canvas from anyone else
After 9/11 everyone talked about how they did not know there were nice and caring New Yorkers. But for those of us who lived there, we know that Real NEW YORK Attitude can be found every day in the Millions like Mrs G.
Somehow TNNA will be the poorer without a chance to greet this wonderful couple.
Happy Mother’s Day to all the women who influence our lives
Wheat
December 20th, 2006 at 10:40 am »
Comments (0)Today, in Quilt Art, the always inspiring Karey Breshenhan began another of her wonderful ideas about something to do for our military – more of that another day.
In response, Tomme Fent shared a poem she had received.
After a bit of research, I located the poem and a tiny bit about the author in Ziplo’s pages
For a less graphically intense “read” you can try the Black Five blog
A Soldier’s Christmas
The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.
My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
my daughter beside me, angelic in rest.
Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,
transforming the yard to a winter delight.
The sparkling lights in the tree, I believe,
completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.
My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
secure and surrounded by love,
I would sleep in perfect contentment,
or so it would seem.
So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.
The sound wasn’t loud, and it wasn’t too near,
but I opened my eye when it tickled my ear.
Perhaps just a cough, I didn’t quite know,
then the sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.
My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
and I crept to the door just to see who was near.
Standing out in the cold, and the dark of the night,
a lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.
A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,
perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.
Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.
“What are you doing?” I asked without fear,
“come in this moment, it’s freezing out here!
Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
you should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!”
For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts,
to the window that danced with a warm fire’s light ,
then he sighed and he said “Its really all right,
I’m out here by choice. I’m here every night”
“Its my duty to stand at the front of the line,
that separates you from the darkest of times.
No one had to ask or beg or implore me,
I’m proud to stand here like my fathers before me.
My Gramps died at ‘Pearl on a day in December,”
then he sighed, “that’s a Christmas ‘Gram always remembers.”
My dad stood his watch in the jungles of ‘Nam,
and now it is my turn and so, here I am.
I’ve not seen my own son in more than a while,
but my wife sends me pictures, he’s sure got her smile.
Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,
the red white and blue…. an American flag.
“I can live through the cold and the being alone,
away from my family, my house and my home.
I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.
I can carry the weight of killing another,
or lay down my life with my sisters and brothers,
who stand at the front against any and all,
to insure for all time that this flag will not fall.”
“So go back inside,” he said, “harbor no fright,
your family is waiting and I’ll be all right.”
“But isn’t there something I can do,
at the least, “Give you money,”
I asked, “or prepare you a feast?
It seems all too little for all that you’ve done,
for being away from your wife and your son.”
Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,
“just tell us you love us, and never forget,
to fight for our rights back at home while we’re gone.
To stand your own watch, no matter how long.
For when we come home, either standing or dead,
to know you remember we fought and we bled,
is payment enough, and with that we will trust.
That we mattered to you as you mattered to us
Written by
Michael Parks
copyright © 2000
Michael wrote: was thinking about our servicemen overseas this Holiday Season and wrote the following in hope of bringing a small bit of Christmas cheer to active
duty and veterans alike … just a humble thanks and “God Bless.”
Flame of Life
