Tracey Posted September 30, 2011 Report Share Posted September 30, 2011 I don't know what to do.....I custom quilted a 9 x 110 barn raising log cabin quilt for a customer who needed it asap for a wedding. backing is pieced and she supplied the batting (100%) cotton. get the whole thing done in time, however have had bearding issues. Well, she came to pick it up yesterday and oohhhhed and ahhhhed over how beautiful it was. Then when we flipped it over...she freaked out. "How can I possibly give this as a gift? This looks like some amature did it. What are you going to do??? I can't give this as a gift!!! you get the picture. I was horrified and just turned into this blithering loser and I didn't have a clue what to do. Then I made the mistake of telling her that it was her batting. Holy crap...."IN ALL MY YEARS OF QUILTING THIS HAS NEVER HAPPENED TO ME!!!!" She clearly feels that I have ruined her quilt. She wants me to rip it out (Yes, that's what she said) and fix it. With the amount of quilting in this quilt I will be ripping for 6 months!! Then she left. So I proceeded to burst into tears and have a major meltdown. I have never had anyone react like that. I bought a fuzz shaver thing last night but it didn't do anything. What do I do???? I will send pics. I am beside my self. Everything I've read suggests that it is a combination of bad batting and the backng fabric. I know it wasn't my needle because she actually had two needles for her quilt. HELP!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracey Posted September 30, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 30, 2011 picture Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracey Posted September 30, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 30, 2011 the quilt is 90 x 110:( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Linda S Posted September 30, 2011 Report Share Posted September 30, 2011 Oh Tracey! I'm so sorry this happened to you. Did she provide you with the batting package? Some 100% cotton battings are not suitable for machine quilting. Did it have a scrim? If it did, the scrim side should have been down (towards the backing). 100% cotton with no scrim of any sort is a bit dicey in my opinion. Some have a binder inside the batting that holds it all together. Now, that said, I've had great batting beard occasionally. I did a quilt for my sister with Wool batting in it (supposedly an internal scrim) and it still bearded. The backing fabric was a flannel that, perhaps, had too loose a weave. If you determine that the batting (her choice) was not suitable for quilting, I'd give her an eyebrow trimmer and tell her that you'd be happy to re-quilt it without charge if she takes all the stitching out. I'm sure you have other quilts to do, so interrupting your schedule to tear out an entire quilt would most likely not work. Oddly enough, I have two quilts to "skin". They are both my own! Oh - I forgot to say - I know she is disappointed, but the delay of a quilt for a wedding is not the end of the world. She can give them a box with a picture of the top and let them know it is being especially quilted for them. Sure, it would be nice if she could present the quilt to them, but it's always the thought that counts, and they'll appreciate knowing they're getting a hand-made gift. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracey Posted September 30, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 30, 2011 I think this will work now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracey Posted September 30, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 30, 2011 one more Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IBQLTN2 Posted September 30, 2011 Report Share Posted September 30, 2011 how bad is the bearding and is there a chance that it would suck back in once it is washed. Washing usually helps but some quilts they dont like to wash before gifting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracey Posted September 30, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 30, 2011 part of the problem too is that people always give me either hobbs 80/20 or wool. I very rarely am given cotton batting. She is furious and says it isn't her batt. It's my fault. I have cried for hours over this. Should I give it to her no charge? Would that be professional? Then wash my hands of it? Unfortunately in the quilting community I am in, she is 'up there'. I have a really good reputation and I am afraid she will ruin it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracey Posted September 30, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 30, 2011 I already suggested that she wash it first and anyone would have thought I'd asked her to commit murder!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadyLake Posted September 30, 2011 Report Share Posted September 30, 2011 Buy yourself a set of Sharpie Markers in the colors of pink, blue and gray that will match the quilt. Lay the back out on a table with good light and start dabbing the cotton spots. They will disappear and the back will look great. Within 24 hours the marker will be permanent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quilting Heidi Posted September 30, 2011 Report Share Posted September 30, 2011 I am 100% positive it is a batting problem and/or combination of the backing fabric and thread. Looser woven fabrics tend to be more likely to have this problem. It could be the combination of thread and cotton but essetially what probably happened is that the thread grabbed the cotton on it's way through. I have had this very thing happen with batting from my customer and hobbs 80/20. Usually as soon as I notice it I call the customer and tell them the problem. OK so now we have to get to your problem. You have the quilt done and she isn't happy. You could do as Joan suggested but I would not do that unless I talked to the customer first. You might also want to show her different posts where other professionals have had this problem and perhaps you can find it published in a book. You need to not beat yourself up over this. The other option is to skin it and be done with it. I would not personally re-quilt it after her reaction. You could also hand it back to her as it is but I would worry more about that as then she has the quilt and will profess to everybody that you ruined it and here is the proof. JMHO. I"m sorry you are going through this, certainly no fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boni Posted September 30, 2011 Report Share Posted September 30, 2011 If it makes you feel any better, I think your quilting is beautiful. This is certainly not your "fault". I'm sorry you didn't notice this before you got too far in the quilt to turn back. Wow. I've never seen it this bad either. If this is bearding, this is a real Rip Van Winkle! We women are so emotional....why can't we just be sensible and think with the brains God gave us. If she could settle down a bit, and you pull yourself together, talk this out and come to an agreement that you can both work with. I'm not much of a "cover-it-up" quilter...I'd rather start over from scratch or rip it out and do it again. My suspicions are as hmerrill said, "batting and backing" issue. Cheap fabric, coarse weave, bad batting, 100% cotton with nubbies that poke through, typical textbook picture. Yes, it will take a while to "un-quilt" it, but if it's the coarse weave backing, this will suffer a bit. To quilt it again will produce the same results unless she provides a different backing and batting. You could just un-quilt, hand it to her and be done. I sure hope you can work it out either way. Bless you! (((Hugs))) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stagecl Posted September 30, 2011 Report Share Posted September 30, 2011 It isn't your fault. It is the batting and backing combination. I agree with trying to wash it. Sometime you can poke the batting back in with crochet hook, a fine one, but it would take hours. Next time a customer brings you this brand of batting, tell them you have had bearding problems and you won't quilt with it. This only helps with next time. Take a deep breath, relax and weigh the options before you do anything. If you decide to skin it, I agree with Heidi, hand it back and let someone else quilt it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiltsinmotion Posted September 30, 2011 Report Share Posted September 30, 2011 Tracey oh my I feel so bad for you ~ dang it all I believe that the bearding is not your fault but getting your client to understand that may not be easy Wish I lived closer I would come over to help you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janice Posted September 30, 2011 Report Share Posted September 30, 2011 The bearding is not your fault. I did a charity quilt for our group that sends to the soldiers. The group gave me batting and backing. I had bearding all over the back. I refused to use the backing again but did use the batting. Several others used the backing and their quilts were also bearded. They decided to use the remaining fabric for piecing but not for backing... I am so sorry this happened. I feel badly for you. I am positive this is not your fault. I wish there was a nice simple answer for you. Best of luck to you. Janice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bekah Posted September 30, 2011 Report Share Posted September 30, 2011 I am so sorry Tracey that you are going through this. I had the same situation on the last two quilts, but luckily I discovered it before I had gone too far. I ended up using my mustache trimmer and skinning both of them and getting new batting and requilting. One turned out okay, the other bearded again so I assumed it was the backing fabric. I am blessed in that I have wonderful understanding customers who didn't yell at me. I sure hope you can work this out with her. Please let us know how this turns out. Sending you a cyber hug. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KDquilter Posted September 30, 2011 Report Share Posted September 30, 2011 I agree with those above, if you are worried about your rep you could skin the quilt and then hand it back to her and tell her you are sincerely sorry, but that you are unable to work with that batting and backing material because it will just happen again. If you just want to be done with the whole thing, just give it back to her and explain to her again why it bearded and that she will need to take it to someone else. Personally I wouldn't want to skin all that beautiful quilting. Maybe the sharpie markers will do the job! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nanbrug Posted September 30, 2011 Report Share Posted September 30, 2011 Tracy so sorry to hear this your quilting is beautiful!!!! If you were closer I'd run over and help. Do you have any quilting friends that would be willing to come over for coffee and help? I'm with the others unfortuneatly it's alot of frogging but when you hand it back to her unquilted for the wedding perhaps she will get the picture. I would not opologize one bit to her being Heidi says its the batting when you return it. Heidi knows her stuff!!!! Put in a movie and a bar of chocolate and frog away. Again so so sorry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibbyG Posted September 30, 2011 Report Share Posted September 30, 2011 Didn't someone say you could put it in the dryer for 15 minutes with a wet washrag to see if that helps. The binding has to be on, but if you sew the edge all around the quilt, that shouldn't be a problem. This happened to me with a wall hanging and a black backing and I used a marker on it. You couldn't tell, but you have to be very careful that you are only getting the white backing because you don't want marker on the quilt. I like the idea of finding articles that explain what happened and then telling her what you're willing to do. If you decide to skin the quilt tell her it will take six months to get it done. Maybe she'll be more reasonable after she calms down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Judy Ingram Posted September 30, 2011 Report Share Posted September 30, 2011 This has happened to me as well and the backing and batting were from reputable companies. I dabbed the spots with color too. No way would I take all of that gorgeous quilting out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustSewSimple Posted September 30, 2011 Report Share Posted September 30, 2011 Well, IMHO, she should have brought you dark batting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave-Jane Posted October 1, 2011 Report Share Posted October 1, 2011 I agree - it is a combination of the batting and backing. We use cotton batting, but it must have scrim. You could try spraying the backing with water and letting it dry over night - sometimes that will work - but you must not fold the quilt before it dries. I would not take out the quilting. I would try the sharpies, etc ----- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mestuart Posted October 1, 2011 Report Share Posted October 1, 2011 Ooh Tracy, couple of questions, have you quilted for this woman before? Has she had other quilters work for her before? Did you discuss the batting and backing material before???? ie: ask her to wash the backing material? How can she say it's not her batting? can you show her how you store the backing, batting and top until they are quilted. Do you have a comprehensive intake form/. Sure makes me rethink what I will have on my intake forms. I used to quilt for others, then life got in the way, but I am considering going back to it. Good luck with the outcome. Your reputation with other quilters is as valuable as anything, but don't let her bully you into something you'll resent later. Hugs. Marion in BC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmilner Posted October 1, 2011 Report Share Posted October 1, 2011 Tracy, I am so sorry to hear about your "Unhappy customer". Here is a link to a recent thread that gave some excellent advice: I hope it may help in dealing with this "bearded lady" or with your business in the future. (How sad that we have to protect ourselves against bullies.) http://www.apqs.com/quiltboard/viewthread.php?tid=29666&page=1#pid380272 My guess is that the fabric and batting came from one of our cdn fabric chain stores...you know the one.....they carry poor quality cotton and batting & members get 50% off! Your quilting made it look like a million dollars but "you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear!!!!!" Hold your head high Tracy, now that you have both calmed down a bit, call her and talk to her about her options; 1 - her washing it, 2 - using the markers 3 - ripping it (on your time frame, not hers) and handing it back to her. In sticky situations like this, I don't think well on my feet, so I like to write down the key points I want to discuss and I stick to my agenda. (((((((((((hugs))))))))))) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ecmoore Posted October 1, 2011 Report Share Posted October 1, 2011 Oh, hon. First off, call Carol Cunningham. She's really, really good at making people feel better, and IIRC, she's the dealer for all of Ontario. She's *very* resourceful, and though I haven't seen her be very active on the boards, she's been tremendous help when I've had issues, and she's got a good head for business. Second, what I'd try first of all is using a sticky lint roller, the kind with the paper that peels. See if that eliminates a large chunk of the problem - when I used the BSR on my bernina, I'd sometimes have issues, and that would take off a vast majority of the fuzz. I'd also try throwing it in the dryer, and finally a combination of poking the big stuff back in, and tinting the little stuff. Try all of that before breaking out the seamripper. I've been told that W&N will do that to some people, but I haven't experienced problems with it *yet.* Weddings really do bring out the best and worst in everyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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