Imitation is the Sincerest Form of Flattery

 Hello Everyone,

Using the magic of EQ software, I updated my Country Charmer pattern which I wrote in 2011.  This version uses Cozy Christmas fabric designed by Katie Solberg for Marcus Fabrics.

Here is a close up of the corner.

I love this fabric line so much because I'm crazy about the plaid.

This quilt pattern has been around for quite some time.  I was contacted by Robert Kaufman as they wanted to showcase one of their lines using my pattern.  Of course, I said "Yes", and their beautiful version was on the cover of Keepsake Quilting a decade ago. I literally sold thousands of patterns from their recreation of my pattern.

I've made Country Charmer three times, and I love them all, just as I love all three of my children equally. (Although that love is on a rotating basis depending on what mischief or good trouble they are up to at the time!)😘  Love you kids!

I also hosted a Country Charmer quilt-a-long in 2013 and have an extensive tutorial on my blog for this pattern located HERE. I used up so many scraps when I made this version.  I find I can put together many different colors if I separate them with black in the sashing. 

I've gone back and forth on whether to write this post, but it’s time to address something that’s been coming up and quite frankly has been bothering me. Several quilters have reached out, asking if a pattern they saw in an email from a well-known online quilt shop is my Country Charmer. The answer? Yes—and no.

The design they’re offering is strikingly similar. The block construction looks the same, but their squares are larger and the borders have been changed. By industry standards, a design typically needs to be at least 20% different from the original to be considered distinct. How that percentage is calculated is anyone’s guess, so I’ll leave it to you to decide where you think the line falls.

Now I'm trying to decide whether or not to purchase more bolts of Cozy Christmas fabrics and make kits for MY version and re-do the pattern with the new fabric line. I would be very interested to read your feedback. Time is the big issue as I'm entering the busiest time of the year with three more retreats and I'm vending at one quilt show.

You know the old phrase, 'Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery'.  

Soon,

Lynn in a quandary

P.S. I'm offering my Country Charmer pattern at a discount as my pattern of the week in my Etsy shop HERE.