quiltmonkey Posted June 22, 2009 Report Share Posted June 22, 2009 I am perplexed. I don't know how to handle this type of thing. I just completed quilting a double wedding ring quilt using Merry Jo's feathers. Well, the problem is, my customer lives about 100 miles away. When my customer left the quilt for me at the quilt shop, none of the seams were pressed. None! Nada, Zip! They were all just sewn together with never an iron touching it. THe seams were sticking straight out. Ugh!! There was no way I could quilt it that way, so I called her on the phone and left it at the shop telling her she needs to press the seams. So... fast forward four weeks later, I go to the shop and pick up the quilt to bring home with me. When I started to quilt it, I noticed the shadowing under the white background fabric. Apparently she did not press them the right direction (toward the arc (piecing) !! The background fabric is white and the patchwork is colored fabrics. So, when I was quilting it I could see shadows of the fabric underneath. So, the last thing I wanted to do was call her (again) and tell her she didn't press it right and that she needed to re-do the pressing. But, I didn't want to go there. I didn't think it was my place to continue to advise my customer about how to piece and press properly. So, I went ahead and quilted it anyway... I don't know if I did the right thing. Maybe I made the wrong decision. What would you do? How many times are longarm quilters supposed to advise their customers? Was I wrong? I am starting to feel really bad about this... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sspingler Posted June 22, 2009 Report Share Posted June 22, 2009 Hmmm! It would probably have been better to let her know from the start........press to the dark if you don't want shadowing and make it look like the wedges are thicker than they are......press to the light but will leave a shadow. Hind sight being 20/20 you know. I wouldn't worry about it personally. It's her quilt after all. But she may not know about such things. I try to educate customers as much as possible but as nicely as I can. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kennan100 Posted June 22, 2009 Report Share Posted June 22, 2009 Don't feel guilty Shana-babe. She obviusly has never been taught about pressing as you piece. Maybe she's. Never done a quilt where it mattered. Quilt it, give it back to her and consider your job done. She may,(or may not) realize the point when she sees it. It would be different if you'd done the pressing but she did it herself. She'll know next time...or maybe not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmcclannan Posted June 22, 2009 Report Share Posted June 22, 2009 If the quilt is already finished you probably will have to chalk this one up to "Lesson Learned". If the customer doesn't even understand they need to press the seams I suppose they need to be told HOW to press the seams. That seems so basic but ........... The positive side is she apparently isn't very attentive to detail so the shadowing may not bother her at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ffq-lar Posted June 22, 2009 Report Share Posted June 22, 2009 Sweet Shana--I believe you did exactly right with this dilemma. Educating a customer only works when they are open to it. After the first gentle instructions to her another call would have been "nagging". If she asks for help, well and good. If you can't quilt it as delivered, a bump back in line and perhaps more explicit instructions may help. I agree with those who have said she is a "careless" quilter in that she "doesn't care" if it is perfect. You have every right and perhaps an obligation to insist the quilts be in a quiltabe condition when delivered. A right since time is money, and an obligation since your quilting on a badly pieced/pressed quilt will stand as an example of your work as well as hers. I bet she was thrilled with your quilting! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seakitten Posted June 22, 2009 Report Share Posted June 22, 2009 I think you did totally the right thing. If she doesn't care, then why should you? Julie's right, detail is not her thing. Plus, it is probably much more noticeable to you than to anyone else., & most likely no one's eyes will ever be as close to that quilt as yours were. I f she is nice, though, I might, when she picks it up, give her a short lesson on pressing, without actually criticizing what she's already done (if you can). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LindaFritchen Posted June 22, 2009 Report Share Posted June 22, 2009 Asking her to press so you could do your 'thing' was completely necessary. Since she didn't know about pressing to the dark, she probably will not think anything about the shadowing. It's so hard...trying to make others meet our expectations. Can't always be done. I think give any advice they ask for, but she might have felt very corrected if you had called her again. Your lovely quilting is what she will be looking at. Makes me think of many years ago when our kids were little. We raised pumpkins so they could have a stand and sell them on the highway where we live. They would try to guide customers to the one THEY liked. But truly 'beauty is in the eye of the beholder' and when they learned to just stand back and watch....they found it was fun to see what some people would pick out. Would be surprised if you hear any negative comments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
witha'K'quilting Posted June 22, 2009 Report Share Posted June 22, 2009 I know she is not the gal form Nevada that moved to Alaska. I personaly taught her how to piece a quilt and use an iron properly. If she didn't know about pressing in the first place, and you helped her there, then simply tell her after she gets this quilt back, that it would be best to press to the darker fabric, when possible. Besides...I would guess that your quilting is going to "WOW" her...and she won't even notice the dark areas in the seams! Relax and call her to tell her that her quilt is finished. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sewlinzi Posted June 22, 2009 Report Share Posted June 22, 2009 If she has not bothered to press properly I don't suppose she will even notice since she doesn't sound like that careful sort of quilter... on my invoice I have a comments box where I will put things politely like "fullness in borders", "stretchy fabric", blah, blah where I can remind them of advice that they chose to ignore and I had to deal with as best I could. (Last week I even used this box to explain the costs of backing and wadding being cheaper from me than at the LQS because she doesn't like to part with $$! so she could realise that £72 at cost from me beat £100+...) I know it is frustrating that you feel the job is not as perfect as you would like but at the end of the day, you advised and she didn't do a great job of following it - you can write "note to self - be more even more specific and bossy" - but she will probably be thrilled with your work anyway! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alcote Posted June 22, 2009 Report Share Posted June 22, 2009 Shana: Sometimes you are better off just doing the quilt with blinders on. I have a very prolific customers who really doesn't make very nice tops, (no pressing at all, no matching of seams, no removing threads, and no measuring at all). She makes them from patterns and then adds border after border so they are HUGE and NEVER square. She has taken classes from us for years and never has progressed,(not that she hasn't been told and shown many times). BUT we love her and she spends oodles of money on fabric and quilting services. I have explained to her that she will have pleats,(some she has made herself) but she doesn't care. I once asked her why she makes them so large and she told me that she sends them to a remote part of Lebenon to her family. She makes them the size of the room so they put it directly on the floor and another on top of them for sleeping! I now understand and she is one of my favorite people with a big heart. I overlook all the mistakes in her piecing and enjoy quilting for her. As far as telling other customers the things they should correct on their tops I am always carefrul. I have had some customers blame my quilting for the pleats not believing that the problem came with the top, and I tell them before hand now that they can take it home and fix it (with instructions) or I can fix it for them or they can leave it alone and accept the quilt the way it will be done. Most people who do not measure or iron or match points usually don't care about that, they just want it quilted and think it is beautiful and so I quess I have made their quilt look the way they think it does,BEAUTIFUL! Go figure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracey Posted June 22, 2009 Report Share Posted June 22, 2009 Shana............Last year I took a class with Sue Patten and during one of our discussions on taking in quilts she was saying that she used to have a sheet on borders and how to properly attach them. If she got a wavy quilt she would explain to the customer that they will be difficult blah, blah, blah.... and hand the client a sheet and and her quilt and ask her to redo her borders following these instructions. Maybe in light of your dilemma we should have different instruction sheets for our customers? Maybe not such a bad idea. One for pressing just with the general hints and tips etc. We could actually call them "hints and tips for better quilting results"!!!! Holy crap I'm getting a brain storm as I type!!!!!!!!!!!!! Have these on hand. That way, we eliminate the need to "direct" the customer, 'cause some of them just don't know. I had a lady actually piece on the borders without trimming them to length first so I had all these flappy things hanging off the end of the quilt. UUGGHH. Anyway, I am not saying we need to write a book or anything, maybe just a few hints and tips sheets to hand out to those who are not that knowledgeable. Whaddaya think?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dtreusch Posted June 22, 2009 Report Share Posted June 22, 2009 I wouldn't worry about it Shana. I would have contacted the customer if I noticed it before I started quilting and ask her how to proceed. Otherwise I would keep quiet. Chances are that she will love the quilt and won't even notice the shadowing. Nobody is really going to care about it unless the quilt is in an show and is judged. I just finished a quilt for an upcoming book and there was a lot of shadowing on it. I had already quilting about 1/3 of the quilt so I just kept quilting and kept it to myself. Unless you had your nose down in the quilt, you couldn't see the shadowing. Linzi - I like your idea of the comments box. I use MQBM and it prints out a comments box on the invoice. I might have to start doing that. Great tip!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merryjo2003 Posted June 22, 2009 Report Share Posted June 22, 2009 Shana, I wouldn't worry about it. Nobody ever looks as closely at the quilts as we do when they're on the machine. We really scrutinize them with good light and look only at a section at a time. I doubt anyone else will notice! After all, she pressed it, so it's on her. I will press, but I charge for it. I give them that as an option. Even if it's a pain, it makes the quilting easier. I have and instruction sheet on the back of my brochure telling people how to prepare their top for a longarm quilter. I have a section on attaching the borders. It doesn't always help, but at least I can hand them one when I'm discussing options on the wavy borders. I'm sure they don't always read it. How many times do we get, "Just work your magic on it!" They know it's bad, but think we can quilt out the mistakes! I like the idea for printing out comments on the invoice. Kinda like when you take a car in for service and they give you a list of the things that need to be done in the future! Tires in about 15,000 miles, next oil change date, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quilting Heidi Posted June 22, 2009 Report Share Posted June 22, 2009 Shana, I wouldn't worry about it. If she says something then you can tell her how to resolve that problem in the future. It is unbelievable to me that people don't learn this in beginner courses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonnie Posted June 22, 2009 Report Share Posted June 22, 2009 Shana...I would have done the same as you first contact and then when getting back I would have gone ahead and pressed the correct way.... She knows how she pressed it and she will notice it when she gets it back...or at least I always assumed they would. I found that If I got to picky in the process I find I had chased a couple of piecers away...didn't mean to embarrass them or point out their mistakes, but some just don't want to be told...over and over that they just aren't getting it. A lot of my customers were the type that would read a book and think they knew it all and THERE wasn't anyone who could tell them a better way, because the book they read was the only correct way to do it. Mind you that only one book was read and only one way was correct....open minded would have made my life easier, but it wasn't to happen. I know you wouldn't have put it that way, but people seem to read between the words and they get embarrassed or whatever and seem to be offended...so I just fixed the fix and would go from there. Its worked better for me that way..the next time I got a quilt from the same person the seams were pressed the correct way. I wouldn't give it another thought unless it continues and then maybe refence a book that explains it better and with them reading they will get the message. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltmonkey Posted June 22, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 22, 2009 Thanks everyone... here is my post from yesterday... and a photo of the quilt. You can see some of the shadowing. Originally posted by quiltmonkey I thought I would share this customer quilt I just finished. It is a queen size, 100"x87" and is 15 rows long, 13 rows wide (total of 195 rings in this thing!!!) The rings are small, about 9" across in diameter. I used Merry Jo's technique and feathered along the inside edges. The melon pieces are small so I just feathered along one edge. I figured out a way to do one row continuously without stopping (eeked my way through by SID in the 4 patches) so it went fairly fast. When I finished, I turned the quilt and quilted the opposing rows of melons. The customer is not the best piecer in the world....(she needs some lessons on piecing and pressing) and she's on tight budget, she wanted it to be cost effective. This was a good way to quickly accomplish a custom job without it costing a lot of $$. Thanks for the great idea, Merry Jo!! Anyway............follow up... I did call my customer last night and told her it was finished and that there was some shadowing in the white fabric. She is totally OK with it and understands. She told me this is the second DWR she has made. Hmm... Anyway, she really is a sweet girl and I know she wants to learn. It's hard for me to teach her when I live so far away. I only see her a few times a year. She is open to learning and really wants to do a wholecloth. In our guild, many of us are aware of her lack of knowledge or awareness with quilting and we try to help her "learn" as she progresses. She's kind-of like a "little sister" to many of us in our little guild and we've taken her under our wings. She loves quilting and she is very nice and always open to learning. I would love to help her. She's got four small children (one is a newborn), too! Thanks, everyone, for your wise advice and support. You all mean so much to me; words cannot express my deep felt feelings for you all. Thank you so much for this!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoryJM Posted June 22, 2009 Report Share Posted June 22, 2009 Shana, I think the quilt turned out beautifully and I think you handled the entire situation quite professionaly and thoughtfully. I have a question for your though; why did you have to turn the quilt? Was it just easier, since her piecing was less than perfect? Am I just being dense (as usual;)) and totally missing something?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawaii Posted June 22, 2009 Report Share Posted June 22, 2009 Shana, That quilt turned out beautifully!!! And who will notice shadowed seams on a "galloping horse from ten feet out"!!!! You are an amazing quilter with a HEART as big as Alaska (or Texas????) my geography memory is gone - which is bigger???? I appreciate your transparency with these issues. It helps us all learn and gives us a wonderful insight and perspective in caring for others! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
witha'K'quilting Posted June 22, 2009 Report Share Posted June 22, 2009 Wow. What a gorgeous quilt. Love the bright florals against the white. Glad she was pleased with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sspingler Posted June 22, 2009 Report Share Posted June 22, 2009 It looks fabulous!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltmonkey Posted June 22, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 22, 2009 Originally posted by DoryJM ....I have a question for your though; why did you have to turn the quilt? Was it just easier, since her piecing was less than perfect? Am I just being dense (as usual;)) and totally missing something?? LOL! no you are not being dense, silly girl... I quilted the rows from left to right all the way through, except for the melon pieces that go north/south, because I figured out a way to do the quilting from left to right non stop without stopping/starting (except for bobbin changes). The only part I could not quilt with this "no stop/start" process were the melons that point vertically (north/south)... so when I got through the entire quilt, it was way easier to un-pin from the leaders and turn it 90 degrees and repin so the melons were now going horizontal (east/west) and I could quilt each of those melon rows in one start/stop. Way faster this way (and easier concentration for my brain), in the big scheme of things... I am always looking for the quicker/easier way to do something. Good question! Glad you asked it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoryJM Posted June 22, 2009 Report Share Posted June 22, 2009 Ahhhh....it all makes perfect sense now..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonnie Posted June 22, 2009 Report Share Posted June 22, 2009 Aren't you the smart one...I would have had a zillion starts and stops.... Sometimes is hard to teach a old dog new tricks,but I do listen and learn...so maybe there is hope for me yet. This quilt turned out gorgeous...love her colors, so bright and vibriant...as well as your quilting...perfect touch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stagecl Posted June 22, 2009 Report Share Posted June 22, 2009 I think the quilt is lovely and you did a great job quilting it. You can always add a charge for pressing a top or backing on your customer sheet...just a thought:D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltaholi_518 Posted June 22, 2009 Report Share Posted June 22, 2009 I have flipped those too, works great and worth the time to re-pin! It looks great, and I have several clients that SOOO don't care about their own work, and after the first time asking if they want something "fixed" (for a fee of course) and they say "oh, no. I don't care" The neither do I lol. If they ever were to ask how they could get the best result out of something, I am happy to share, but we are not babysitters. Don't get me wrong, I care very much about the quality of my work, I have just stopped caring MORE than the client, lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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