Credit Where Credit Is Due

Yesterday I worked on the back of the Saints Quilt, getting that put together and the label inset.  I do so hate Labels, if you remember.  So I have come up with a plan.  I piece them into the back.  That serves two concerns.

1.  not having to put the label on later, which I hate because it involves all that hand sewing.
2.  the label is secure, with less of a chance of being taken off and credit for the quilt disappearing.

I have had a quilt "stolen".  It was a traumatic and bitter experience.

I offered to create a quilt for a friend's father who had recently passed away using his t-shirts and pajama pants.  She was not a quilter, nor did she own any fabric or sewing machines.  I designed and constructed the quilt using my fabrics as fill in pieces and my machines and notions and expertise.

At the local quilt show, the quilt was hung and I was shocked to see the label did not reflect my input at all.  I was willing to let that slip but when a reporter from the local paper came to do a piece on the show, which I was chairing, the quilt owner hijacked the reporter and took her to the quilt.  A long half page story was concocted about how the quilt was made, the feelings the "quilter" had for her family, the quilting of the quilt.  No credit was given to me for any work I put into the quilt.  Nor was any mention of the show or the guild made in the article.  The article was strictly about misinformation given by the "quilter" to create a story.

This is considered stealing.  I was very hurt by the low nature of the act by this person who took credit for my design and my work.  By working the labels into the back of the quilt, I will always be able to put my name on the quilt where it cannot be taken off.


This may seem like a small matter to some, but it is an important issue especially if you are working to help a quilter with an important quilt.  Or if you have done a large amount of work on the quilt, such as quilting it.  A quilt that has access to the public, like this one did in the show and in its ultimate destination, needs to have credit given to those who create and work on the quilt.

I hear from a number of quilters who do the quilting for a price, and receive no credit for the work they have done on a quilt.  It is a small matter of giving credit for the work done on a quilt.  So many people put so much of themselves into other's quilt, they really should be given credit for their efforts.

I no longer associate with that person, for obvious reasons.  The person seemed to have no clue that credit should be given to those who create a quilt for them.

My august advice for you is --- always give credit to those who worked on a quilt in the label.

glen