When it comes to copyright, it's dangerous to try to compare one thing with another. Patterns or designs for articles of clothing fall outside copyright laws. Lists of ingredients for making food (the major part of a recipe) can't be copyrighted either. Applying common sense to copyright is often an exercise in futility.
Yet, I think copyright is very easy to understand in regards to quilting. Don't copy someone's original work. Don't make copies of any published/printed pattern without written permission from the copyright holder. (If it's published somewhere, it's automatically under copyright protection.) Technically you're also supposed to get the copyright holder's permission to display a quilt made from her pattern, but that is seldom done except for major quilt shows. (I think it's unlikely that the copyright holder would complain about the display of a quilt made from her pattern, as long as you give her credit for the design.) That's about it.