Bravo! Good for you in your reply.

Thank you everyone for your responses. I do feel as if I did the right thing with my response to her. Many of you agreed with me, others would not have bought that pattern and figured it out for themselves. For me, I'm typically a "sewer" who has several charm packs and jelly rolls. I wanted the correct measurements so that a special fabric could be used and additional fabric would not have to be purchased. The $8.50 for the pattern gave me that piece of mind.
Thanks again.

You are correct, my husband had a printing business and he and his employees were always very careful with coping things and always checked for copyrights.

OMG.....how do you figure out all the intricacies of a block from the finished size? Selllers always tell you the finished size of the block or quilt, so why would you need to buy the pattern if you would then know the size of the pieces? Sounds like a lot of work and guessing...better to buy the pattern.

But it's still wrong.

Who judges what is "worthy"? Taking the time to write out even a simple pattern in understandable format, add illustrations, etc. makes it "worthy". There are beginners who do need their hands held and look for patterns for even the simplest of designs. It's work to write out a pattern and include illustrations, and those particular words and format are copyright protected, even if the design is not. Those who need the pattern help will be glad to buy it, and those who don't will just take the idea from the photo and make their own way with executing it. But there definitely is a place and a market for even simple patterns, and those who go to the trouble to write them are "worthy" of their due.

No you weren't. I think she was bold to ask you.

If I see a pattern that I like, I would figure out the measurements myself and make a quilt....quilts don't have to be the exact size...but I have bought many patterns and having the pattern on hand makes it a lot easier....and if someone takes the time to write out patterns for us then yes they are worthy....

Because of Copyright laws, of course you did the right thing. A lot of younger people don't know about copyright, so they need to learn the hard way. It did remind me of a time, back in the day when I was almost 30 years old. We didn't have a cent left over after at the end of the paycheck. We owed credit card charges. We lived on a teacher's salary, which in 1972 was just at the poverty line.

An acquaintance (We weren't what you would think of as friends even) started going to Weight Watchers meetings. How I wanted to lose weight, and I desperately wanted to go on Weight Watchers too, but I couldn't financially. I phoned her every week and asked what she learned in her meetings. I needed all the details, and kept her on the phone much longer than she probably had time for. This went on for weeks. She was very gracious, but towards the end I sensed that she was a little miffed, and rightly so. She was paying, going to meetings, and I was getting all this information free. I only wish I had made sure she knew how much I appreciated her patience with me, but, me, young and dumb probably just said "thanks" and that was the end of that. She never did tell me "no more."

Now at age 71, I could have at least given her a little appreciation gift. I have grown up finally, and when I get upset with my grandkids, I have to remember back when I did some of the same stupid things they are doing.

Maybe that FB lady is young and doesn't yet realize protocol. It is a good thing for her to learn now though.

Doing the right thing is always the correct response in any situation, although usually not the easiest and sometimes not the most popular thing to do. In this situation you did the correct thing. The perceived complexity of a pattern, skill of the artist creating the pattern, value of courses on a website - these issues have no bearing on the question at hand.