I also get irritated that somewhere along the line of manufacturing for patchwork, the scale of the patterning is reduced, presumably to make the designs more marketable, whereas the originals were wonderful because of their boldness. Though it may be that they have realised that the very distinctive style and scale of the original Morris's patterns make them difficult to combine with other fabrics?
That said I am sure, just because I'm not keen, that they won't be popular - this is just my opinion and I'm usually off beam! After all, I dislike batik fabric but it has been enormously popular for many years now!
Many years ago, before William Morris prints had their great resurgence in popularity, I bought a remnant of curtaining in the Strawberry Thief pattern at Liberty's. I hadn't seen anything like it before and thought I would make a couple of cushions. They are still unfinished as I really don't need more cushions in this house. The one shown above is the simplest and worked best as I combined it mainly with Laura Ashley fabrics which I find go with most things.
I still like this particular fabric because its scale is close to the original and I was sad to see a subsequent Liberty Lawn pattern where it was miniaturised and I think, lost its integrity.
If you want to see William Morris patterns in their perfect setting I recommend a visit to Kelmscott which was his country house in Oxfordshire.
http://www.kelmscottmanor.org.uk/home
It is a magical place that I never tire of visiting and everyone I know who has been there has fallen under its spell.
On one of my visits a guide told me the of story of a Japanese gentleman. He had flown in from Japan one morning, taken a taxi from Heathrow to Kelmscott, did a tour of the house and garden, the taxi then took him back to the airport and he flew back to Japan! Now that's what you call a Morris fan?
