Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Traditional Scandinavian Woven Star

Hello, dear readers!  Are you all absolutely crazy busy?  If you are anything like me, you decide to take on a few big home improvement projects right before Christmas.  I feel like I've been neglecting the blog, not because I am not doing anything, but rather because I am so busy doing, I don't have time to write about it!  Does this happen to you?

I still have these woven stars I need to show you how to make!  I actually have the tutorial photographed -- just haven't had two minutes to type out the instructions.  Yikes!

Also, I've been doing a bit of research on the inspiration stars, and their history.  If you haven't seen the tutorials I did for these stars a couple of years ago, you can find the first one here. 


They are an old traditional design.  Of course, we all knew that, right?  Several people told me they looked like an old Scandinavian design.  Indeed, they were right!  This type of woven star ornament is definitely an old traditional design and is a part of our cultural heritage.


Here is a version that some of my Swedish friends hang in their window. This woven star is thought to be about one hundred years old!  Isn't it stunning?  This gorgeous ornament is a priceless family heirloom!   A sweet reminder of a beloved Farmor.

I've seen them called Finnish Stars, Scandinavian Stars, and Swedish Stars, among other names.  Some just call them window stars. Whatever the name, variations of these stars are part of a lovely Christmas tradition for many families.

Which is why it is so sad that right now, at Christmastime, some people are being threatened with legal action for sharing these stars, and for sharing how to make them.  Just ordinary people like you and me, who have figured out how to make versions of these lovely window stars, and have photographed and written their own expression of how they make them.  If you are one of those people, remember please that your own expression, as you publish in your own blog, is copyrighted by you.  It belongs to YOU.  No one has the right to bully you, or misuse their own copyright to force you to remove your own expression of an idea.  You have worked hard on your projects, and you deserve to be able to share them.  One of my favorite things about blogging is sharing ideas.  And did you know that ideas are not copyrightable? It's true.  Here is a link to the US Government copyright website  where I learned that. I also learned that processes are not copyrightable. 

I am not a lawyer, and nothing I have written should be construed as legal advice.  This is simply information that I have gathered, and a link to my source.  If you are one of the many people being intimidated into removing your own material, regardless of  whether it is a project like this one or something completely different, I would encourage you to know your rights and to seek the advice of an attorney.


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