Rug Beat is here!

Okay.  The other day I received an email from Rug Hooking Magazine introducing their new online rug magazine called the Rug Beat.  It cost about $10 a year.  I said to myself, "Why not?"  So I purchased it and just logged in today.

Wow.  I am impressed.  This is not just another version of Rug Hooking Magazine.  This is trendy.  This is edgy. This is wonderful.  There are videos, pictures, sketches, stories, chats, and more. This is rug hooking pushing the boundaries.

I am so happy with this online magazine, I can't say enough about it.

Here is the link to sign up if you are interested.

http://www.rughookingmagazine.com/content/rug-beat-1-year-4-new-issues

My ATC from Rug Hooking Magazine exchange

I am so excited.  My ATC trade through the Rug Hooking Magazine event arrived today.  It is a wonderful card called "Best Bug Ladybug" hooked by Beverlery Theriault of Ladybug Creations in Lindsay, Ontario.  The letter from Debra Smith, editor of the magazine, said that they received over 60 cards most of which are posted on the rug hooking magazine website.  It was such a pleasure to open my little package and be surprised with the little rug inside.  Thank you, Beverlery.  I don't know if you ever read my blog or not, but I love your card.

The March/April/May Rug Hooking Magazine issue

I just received my issue of Rug Hooking Magazine and I was delighted to see two fellow bloggers featured! Deanne Fitzpatrick has a wonderful article "Twenty Years at the Mat" and Laurie Lausen has a delightful pattern for a bunny chair pad. Congratulations!

But there was a letter that I read that caused me distress - not the letter, but the content of it. What moved me to write this post is that the author is Tish Murphy herself who faces an uncomfortable situation, and I cannot imagine how bad the situation has become for her to feel so compelled to write to the editor about it.

It appears that the spectacular "St. Nicholas with Chickadee" which was designed by Tish Murphy has been repeatedly copied by readers of the magazine without purchasing Tish's pattern or kit. Tish was extremely generous with her instructions and shared a beautiful work with our community. This design is the creative work of Tish and is readily available to anyone who would like to create their own version, for $25 at Tiskkits@yahoo.com. Tish is asking everyone who copied her pattern without her permission to reimburse her for the cost of the pattern.

What Tish has learned from this experience is that it is not worth it for her to write informative articles for Rug Hooking Magazine like she has been doing. So because of this situation all of us have lost out. We will no longer benefit from Tish's generosity and instruction, and we will no longer be inspired by her featured art, at least not anytime soon.

Rug patterns are the intellectual and artistic property of the person who designed them. They are usually offered for sale at a minimal charge. Please respect the artists who work so hard to create their patterns and offer them to us for sale so that we can hook rugs we love and continue to have a thriving growing craft.