This is in replay to an earlier conversation about copyrighting. The article I was looking for is in American Quilter (AQS), Fall of 2006. 'Copyright Meets Quilter'. An interesting article about using patterns and showing quilts.
I think this is an issue that will always have questions around it. Best answer is to always ask permmission first. On the publishers page in the front of all my magazines is a small statement that gives permission to use the patterns for personal use only and NO reproduction for resale or manufacture is allowed. The article does say entering a 'small local show might fall within the implied permissions granted by a published pattern'. I think a problem might arise if you enter a big show that has a big money award.