PICK UP STICKS quilt block tutorial.
The contents of this post has been removed for the following reason:
I had written this tutorial as a block lotto for the Toronto MQG. I had seen a few pick up sticks quilts, had heard people chat about them, and thought it’d be a fun block lotto project. I tried to find an online tutorial that I could link to for our guild. I couldn’t find one so I wrote one, not realizing that the original was a pattern published in a book twenty years ago. I totally, inadvertently, knocked it off. My bad! I felt quite ill when I received an email from the very lovely Bill Kerr, who very politely and respectfully explained the situation, and requested that I remove the post. Clearly I had not done my homework thoroughly enough. Having had some of my designs ripped off over the years, I have “a thing” about copying, and try to do original work or credit designers when using their patterns.
Here’s the scoop on the original:
The designer of this quilt was Weeks Ringle, and it was published and copyrighted in 2002 in Color Harmony for Quilts by Weeks Ringle and Bill Kerr of Modern Quilt Studio. It was shown at the ICFF international design show in New York city, as well as featured that same year in Oprah’s magazine and other publications. If you like Pickup Sticks, have a look at their hundreds of other patterns in their books and magazines at www.ModernQuiltStudio.com
If anyone has used my tutorial to make one of these quilts, please credit “Modern Quilt Studio” when showing your quilt either online or in person.
I would like to apologize to Weeks and Bill, and also thank them for being so respectful in the way they dealt with this matter. Really much appreciated.
And lastly, I hope that others may learn a lesson along with me, as I have to say this has been a humbling experience.
happy sew lucky patterns & kits 
Great tutorial, clear instructions and beautiful blocks! Looking forward to seeing all the other blocks together, they will make a gorgeous quilt.
merci ! très joli !
De rien!
Lindo bloco, adorei !!!
Lindo bloco, adorei!
Vou fazer uns.
Grata pelo tutorial! Um abraço desde São Paulo/Brasil
Great! Tag me on Instagram if u post a pic of your block. (@happysewlucky) Always fun to see how everyone’s turn out.
I used this technique on the back of an elaborately appliqued baby quilt. They liked the back better than the front.
Bravo for you in removing the post, and for stating the reasons why. You’ve set a wonderful example.
The quilting community is truly wonderful in their sharing and helpful tutorials. The Internet, and sites such as Pinterest, have furthered the sharing and encouragement. Yet, this has also unfortunately led to more accessible and blatant stealing. And yes, as in your case, inadvertent situations.
I’m about to launch a website and have promised myself to always acknowledge the work and inspiration of others whenever possible.
Thanks Lisa. It was an awkward moment, but I felt like it was the right thing to do. Bill was incredibly gracias about it.
I have just stumbled upon your post and I too have been very humbled by your honesty and attitude. Thank you
Thank you for your kind note. I try to be honest as I find that is what sits best in my gut. And ironically I think they have had quite a bit of traffic generated to their site from this page, so my error had somewhat of a silver lining for them.
Hi Berene, I’m working on the blurbs for our quilt show brochure. I’m anal in that I like to fill out the design source the quilters record. My searching brought me to this post. I was also seeing this technique for “Chopsticks” from 2009. This lead me to wonder: what happens when a person is messing around with fabric pieces and comes up with something they think no one else has put out there to the quilting world? Is that person to do research into the quilt pattern world to see if somebody else has published it already? From the narrative you gave about this technique I realize your circumstance was different in what you published/posted. I was pleased with your explanation for content removal, very commendable of you. Jeanette