victoriasews Posted January 16, 2012 Report Share Posted January 16, 2012 I am so frustrated with quilting books! The last TWO patterns I have tried to make have had major mistakes in them. The first was the Island Chain, though not too hard to remedy, a frustration. The next pattern came in a book that the entire block was shown pieced in the wrong order on a diamond log cabin. Now, if I hadn't made a single block first, I would have wasted ALL of the fabric I had bought because the logs would have been the wrong size. Someone had pieced the quilt because there was a picture in the book of it but the instructions must have been made after that. I had to keep referring to the picture to make sure the logs were right because the diagram was wrong. This book was almost $30! Arrgg! Can't add all pics to this post. See pics are at the end of the comments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newmillie2010 Posted January 16, 2012 Report Share Posted January 16, 2012 share name of book so that we can make correction notes. thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonnie H Posted January 16, 2012 Report Share Posted January 16, 2012 What I do when I get a new book is go to the author's site. Sometimes they have posted corrections for their books. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrandmaLKB Posted January 16, 2012 Report Share Posted January 16, 2012 Originally posted by Bonnie H What I do when I get a new book is go to the author's site. Sometimes they have posted corrections for their books. It's too bad we should even have to check their websites for corrections. Those books aren't cheap and should not be printed until they are sure they are accurate. I've noticed in a few books I have read lately that there were several typo errors or the wrong spelling of a word for it's use (their/there), etc. I guess proofreading is "old school"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoriasews Posted January 16, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 16, 2012 I even emailed one of the authors and sent pics of the book pic and the correction. My email was never acknowledged or was a correction made on the website. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheri Butler Posted January 16, 2012 Report Share Posted January 16, 2012 Victoria, that IRKS me to no end when that happens. I feel your pain! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newmillie2010 Posted January 16, 2012 Report Share Posted January 16, 2012 thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltmonkey Posted January 16, 2012 Report Share Posted January 16, 2012 Viki, I'm sorry that happened to you... I feel your pain cuz the same exact thing happened to me about 8 years ago when I was still very new to quilting. The book errors in the pattern -- I didn't make a "test" block before I cut all of my fabric up and it was not worth using after that. I contacted the publisher and as a consolation, they gave me a $30 gift certificate to buy another book from them. Still, ruining your fabric is not a good way to learn a lesson. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferret Posted January 16, 2012 Report Share Posted January 16, 2012 As an author who tried very hard to catch all errors I can give several reasons why this happens, and why it isn't always fixed. I write my pattern as I make the quilt, my hand writing isn't always great and sometimes I type things up wrongly too. These patterns then go out to at least one tester. Some testers follow exactly what you say and report back all your faults accurately. Some do what you meant and others make the correction but don't hurt your feelings by telling you so. ARGH! Once I have the corrections I make the alterations. Then Tet makes the quilt as he does the typesetting, usually finding at least as many more errors as we have already fixed. If you use a publisher the chances are you don't get this last chance to fix things. I also know of one writer who was well aware of errors that had crept into her book during production but that the publishers didn't see as urgent to fix or publicise. They may look at the problem if they decided to produce a new edition, a reprint will not have corrections made. Even with all our efforts people still find errors in my patterns. So far they have all been small things that don't stop you making the quilt but they are still really annoying. The patterns that make me cross are the ones that are written after the quilt has been made but never tested. It is just too easy to make mistakes. Then again, testing takes time. It's why my patterns are slow to come out. It's worth it in the long run but very frustrating short term Do let the authors know, some of them will both care and have a way to do something about it. Ferret Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyJack Posted January 16, 2012 Report Share Posted January 16, 2012 Thanks Ferret for the explanation its nice to know some people care about what there doing. I know making a pattern must not be a easy thing to do so we do apperciate those who can. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyJack Posted January 16, 2012 Report Share Posted January 16, 2012 Thanks Ferret for the explanation its nice to know some people care about what there doing. I know making a pattern must not be a easy thing to do so we do apperciate those who can. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busy Quilting Posted January 16, 2012 Report Share Posted January 16, 2012 Having just written a pattern, that will be published, after the quilt was finished. I made myself a test block from my own written instructions just to check. Usually I would write most of the instructions first, make a block the quilt from the instructions and make corrections on the instructions as I go. I found it very difficult to write the instructions after the making! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ffq-lar Posted January 16, 2012 Report Share Posted January 16, 2012 While it's irritating when you find (and have to fix) an error in a pattern, it is a frequent problem. The big names with many books published will have an Errata list for their patterns/books. A friend doing a pattern with a system where a zillion small pieces are pre-cut for paper piecing, luckily went to the Errata page of the pattern maker's website and saw four corrections in just one pattern. The instructions in the pattern had a disclaimer that talked about how in spite of double-testing of the pattern, sometimes errors creep in and directed the purchaser to the Errata page before they start cutting fabric. It saved her some frustration and a lot of fabric. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DB Posted January 17, 2012 Report Share Posted January 17, 2012 I have one book with alot of floral patterned pieced tops in it, wall hangings that are truly different than anything I had seen on the market. I was sure that I was going to make each and every one of those wall hangings. Well I made one. It had so many errors in it that it wasn't even funny. Measurements were off, directions for cutting angled set in pieces were missing. I had friends of mine, experienced quilters look over the instructions and they were scratching their heads. It was a real exercise in fustration. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sammi357 Posted January 17, 2012 Report Share Posted January 17, 2012 Dittos to Bonnie's comment about going to their site, or googling for corrections to the book/pattern. AND, do a test block! I once had cut all the pieces for a quilt with two complicated blocks, using every scrap of stash, and started stitching, only to find that the next instruction said to trim that block to 1/2" less than it was! HUH? The first piece was an Hourglass shape, it required trimming on all four sides! I was at a retreat, and I groused about it, so the ladies there came over and measured my SEAM ALLOWANCE! (which was right on the money, I might add! lol!) I was really frustrated, because if I didn't do it, the subsequent pieces would not fit, I did the math and calculated that my square was exactly where it should have been for the cut measurements, and I did write to the pattern maker. Their answer was "oh, well! We just assume that everyone's piecing will need to be squared up" ...as I was standing there looking at all the wasted fabric in the pile of trimmings! not to mention the hours that it took to trim them all. I'm not made of money, so that bag of trimmings sits as a reminder to make a test block. I'm susceptible to quilt fever when I'm starting and don't always want to test, but I do now! (ps, the quilt top now has 'provenance' because I have the pattern, the letters, etc. but it's still not finished.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoriasews Posted January 17, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2012 Corrected block. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoriasews Posted January 17, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2012 As you can see in the picture, the flag block starts with a navy diamond. A Blue piece is added next, not white like the illustration, thus making all the logs off in size. The final strip is RED, not blue as the illustration shows. I've attached the larger quilt picture so you can see how many blocks are involved. The pattern actually has 3 eagles but this is a patriotic challenge for guild with size limits so a couple of eagles had to go. The pattern is from Not Your Grandmother's Log Cabin. The author has been contacted and she was very nice. There will be changes posted on her site. Now if I could just find those wasted hours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoriasews Posted January 17, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2012 Completed top. There are 8 blocks that had to be corrected. There would have been 10 if I'd done the whole pattern. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ffq-lar Posted January 17, 2012 Report Share Posted January 17, 2012 What a great pattern, with the eagle--but what PITA that the instructions were bad. I have been a beta tester for a local pattern designer. She is very analytical with the emphasis on "anal". I do her testing because I catch those areas that need more explanation than she provides. She assumes a knowledge of piecing similar to hers and I remind her to say it three times for the rest of us! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferret Posted January 17, 2012 Report Share Posted January 17, 2012 Originally posted by VIVIANMABLE It's too bad we should even have to check their websites for corrections. Those books aren't cheap and should not be printed until they are sure they are accurate. I've noticed in a few books I have read lately that there were several typo errors or the wrong spelling of a word for it's use (their/there), etc. I guess proofreading is "old school"? Any suggestions on how to achieve this would be appreciated. Multiple proof readers and testers isn't catching everything. I don't think anyone wants to have any errors in their books but is there a way to be certain there aren't any? Anyway to be sure the printer won't have a glitch on one chapter and not be able to print the inch symbol for one chapter that you don't find after printing 5000 copies? (yup it's happened and it was a fault with the printer itself). It's a great ideal, but it just isn't possible to be that sure. Ferret Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferret Posted January 17, 2012 Report Share Posted January 17, 2012 Hmmm, I have a copy of this book I will be very careful when I make anything from it. I can entirely see how the diagram error got in. The diagrams are usually drawn by a specialist in diagrams and they drew the right shape but got the logs on in the wrong order, try drawing them, it's very easy to do. It's also very tricky to spot. I've made that error on a couple of foundation pieced things and fortunately spotted it. The chances are that neither the artist nor the editor are quilters, so are unlikely to spot the problem or realise the implications if they do. It is something I will be very careful about when doing the final check of my books though. Thanks for the heads up and the quilt does look great. Ferret Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marsha Nichols Posted January 18, 2012 Report Share Posted January 18, 2012 I bought a book and the templates for paper piecing were on a CD. I wasn't going to make the blocks for awhile but decided to print the pattern templates anyway. Lucky that I did as one was missing. I contacted the author and she quickly e-mailed me the missing pattern. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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