Onebyone

At my age I don't give original quilt design a second thought.

tessagin

I agree also. It's like a base recipe with future varied adaptations.

RST

There are kind of two ends to this question, in my observation. There is the maker who wants to use a pattern or design, but make changes enough so that they can call their work original. And there is the designer who wants to make a pattern and hold ownership of that pattern and what might be considered offshoots of that design. And then there are a whole lot of sub-categories of issues under those two categories.

I've seen cases where a designer/pattern maker is miffed that someone makes a design, makes a ton of changes and adaptations, and then still cites them in the end result. It is kind of the equivalent of the people on Epicurious who give a recipe 5 stars, but then in the review say that they changed almost every single thing about the recipe.

And then there are the designers who make up a pattern straight out of their own head, with no outside influences, and they go to market their design and are outraged when people inform them that what they have there is a traditional Irish chain.

The nature of quilting as a craft and as an art is that it has history, it's collaborative, and it's flexible and constantly changing even as it draws on traditions. I have the most respect and appreciation for quilters (at any level of skill or artistry) who recognize this and who give credit for influences and input when that's due, but who are also humble enough to admit that there really is nothing new under the sun, and even the most amazing innovations are drawing on the works of other quilters.

I almost never buy or use a pattern, but I love looking at library books and photos and websites and quilt bloggers. Obviously all of the quilts I look at funnel into my brain and influence what I make up on my own. I can't give credit specifically to the influence, because not one maker or designer is the inspiration to the best of my knowledge. But on the flip side, when people ask me how to do something or how I made a quilt, I'll share my own process freely. For me, that's the beauty of quilting -- free give and take. Admittedly, I do not approach quilting as a potential source of income-- and I know that colors the issue for many. Even so, I think there are good examples of quilters who are generous in sharing their expertise and patterns and still make it as professionals. An example would be Leah Day -- free information on her blog and videos, yet she was voted teacher of the year and has a business that apparently is financially successful.

mjpEncinitas

I just put a quilt up on the pictures and I consider it an original design. However the applique Hawaiian flowers are directly from a book by Elizabeth Root and I give her credit. My quilt however looks nothing like hers. I have to admit I'm not too worried about the whole thing. I gave Root credit for the appliques and called it a day.
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Jessie R

To : Froggy, NJ & Yooper, may I just ad my amen to what you all said so succinctly. or "A rose by anyother name..."
May not be appropriate, but came to mind.

quilterpurpledog

Such a hard question to answer. It is not original if you copy in any way. But, we all recognize that not everyone ascribes to that philosophy. I never go to a quilt show that I do not see beautiful quilts that are said to be original that I know I have seen the elements used by others in their original quilts. Give credit where credit is due but be honest with yourself and others about it. I know I am not 'original' but I frequently use ideas that have obviously worked for others.

mimi=17

soooooooooooo true

AlaskaAlice

Everything is a copy of something.. the way someone puts those things together may be simulare..and usually there is in a life of 60-100 years you even see people who look like someone else and are no relation..yet are original in some way.. I see lots of designs I have seen before that are called original that I have seen somewhere before (if you look hard enough) yet were not copied at the time of their construction. I agree with all the above..Great Minds run alike!
RST has it right!