Mary Beth Posted July 14, 2009 Report Share Posted July 14, 2009 I have a customer who could be a micro manager if I let her. She brought a quilt about 2 weeks ago and I measured while she was here, however, I only measured the length on one edge and across on one edge, and then the back. I determined the back was not going to be big enough and she would need to take it home and add on. Last night she called saying she had measured the back 3 times and could I remeasure the top because she thinks the back is large enough. I hung up, got DH to help me and we spread her top out to measure properly. Measuring across the quilt we came up with 82 1/2", 82, 82 1/4", I could live with that. Then we measured the lenght, 106", 108 1/4, 112"....can you guess how happy I am that we measured that quilt!! What a mess. I will be dropping that top back off at the customer's house and hope I don't see it for a long time. She has several borders that will be coming off and redone. She even asked me what I thought she needed to do to fix it. I explained measuring three times and getting the average to cut her borders. I then asked if I had ever explained this to her and she said that I had. If she already knew this....why oh why did she put the borders on wrong? I swear.....this is another reason not to take customer quilts. Just thought I would share.....thank you for listening Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stagecl Posted July 14, 2009 Report Share Posted July 14, 2009 I am so happy that I quilt only for myself after 5 years in business:D Your post and my friend, who LA's, keeps reminding me why I quit plus the burn out factor which makes working with problem tops a pain in the donkey's behind (to put it politely).:P:P:P:P:D:D:D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary Beth Posted July 14, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 14, 2009 Yes, dokey's behind...perfect!! I had to turn down 2 quilt jobs yesterday. I actually said "no" this time, I'm so proud of myself. I have one customer quilt, will be an edge to edge, then no more. I can understand people being picky about how we quilt their quilts, but they need to be just a picky about how they piece them. For the first time, my machine sits idle for a week at a time. She has needed this vacation too. I am almost finished piecing a log cabin quilt for my son's wedding present - 2 years ago :P What a relief it will be to have that one finished. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quilting Heidi Posted July 14, 2009 Report Share Posted July 14, 2009 Mary Beth, I can imagine how happy you were to discover this before you loaded that nightmare! I'm really lucky that most of my piecers are very picky about their piecing. I do keep my business very small though. I just don't have time to do too many. I'm working on one for my daughter that I pieced last year and it feels good to get it done. Of course at this point I've only managed to get it all marked! It will be on the frame for about 2 weeks I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Primitive1 Posted July 14, 2009 Report Share Posted July 14, 2009 I too have learned to be choosy, I returned 4 quilts to a person that did something funky to all of the backs, since it has been 6 weeks since I returned them to be fixed and he didn't say much at the time, I don't expect I will be hearing back from him which is ok... At first I took everything because I was just starting out but it is nice to get to a point where you can be choosy with your customers! :cool: Vicki Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bekah Posted July 14, 2009 Report Share Posted July 14, 2009 Mary Beth I am proud of you for getting that NO in your vocabulary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MastiffMomQlt Posted July 14, 2009 Report Share Posted July 14, 2009 UGH! That's a very good reminder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoleneK Posted July 14, 2009 Report Share Posted July 14, 2009 MB - I'm impressed, but not surprised that you were able to say "no". You've been working yourself up to this. Doesn't mean everytime you'll continue to say it, just that you have control of when you'll say "yes". Baby steps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinneaMarie Posted July 14, 2009 Report Share Posted July 14, 2009 I agree with Heidi! Thank goodness you discovered it BEFORE it was loaded! Whew! Me? I'm taking anything and everything! Even doing T-shirt quilts which are not my favorite thing to do!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheri Butler Posted July 14, 2009 Report Share Posted July 14, 2009 MB, I think even you would be proud of me. About 2 weeks ago I rec'd a phone call from a lady who said she had 15, yes "fifteen" quilt tops that will need to be quilted. She got my name from a local quilt shop (didnt say which one, and I forgot to ask her) and that she wanted me to do ALL OF THEM. My first thought was, WOW..15 x $$$$ = ( ) Then before I could think further, she began saying that she had 3 ready to go now, and after the 3 were finished, she'd be giving me 3 at a time. I dont know what provoked me to ask her but I did...."Wow, very nice. Have you had these for a long time, are they vintage? Or, do you just love to make quilt tops?" Her answer: They are not old, and I LOVE making quilt tops. I use my serger, and they are ALL serged together perfectly. There are no dangling threads to get in your way. I politely said I would have to pass up this opportunity to quilt her 15 tops. I then explained that if my needle happens to "not" want to pass thru the thicker seams caused by a serger (you know, where 4 corners come together, for example), that I could not only break the needle at that point, but also knock out my timing on my machine, and I wasn't able to risk that. She said....Oh, Ok. Then she said no one had ever mentioned anything like that to her before. I told her I was just speaking on behalf of myself, and no one else. (I didnt want to cause a riff with any other quilter she may use in the future, or may have used in the past). I politely told her that if she had any tops that were not serged, that I would LOVE to quilt those for her, and hoped she understood. She was very very nice about it, and said yes, she did. She said I think your machines are quite expensive, arent they? I wouldn't want to have that happen to any of my sewing machines/equiptment either. She was very very nice and understanding about it. Sometimes, you just have to take the initial plunge and use the NO word. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PattyJo Posted July 14, 2009 Report Share Posted July 14, 2009 Good for you MB - No is a very hard word to say sometimes, but you did it!!! And that quilt could have been another nail in your quilting coffin! We all want to enjoy what we do, not dread it so GOOD GOING THERE MISS MB!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dtreusch Posted July 14, 2009 Report Share Posted July 14, 2009 I remember one customer where the quilt was so bad, I ripped it out several times trying to get the thing quilted. I finally called her and explained the problems. (humps and bumps in the 18 inch blocks, the quilt was anything but square, wavy borders, sashings of various sizes and she had pulled and stretched the corners to fit the borders. She argued that another quilter had done her quilts with no problem and why was I having problems? I finally told her that it was my inexperience and left it at that. A description of the quilt: 18 inch embroidered blocks. The embroidery was done through the quilt top, several layers of thick cotton batting, and then a piece of muslin. Sashings, cornerstones and borders were then attached to just the quilt top from each block and she wanted SID around the 18 inch blocks, no quilting inside the 18 inch blocks and the sashings quilted down. I advised her about leaving an 18 inch area unquilted and then quilting down the sashings, especially with batting already embriodered to the blocks and then adding another layer of batting under it. But she insisted that she wanted no quilting inside the blocks. It's no wonder it didn't work!! She came and got the quilt. I laid it on the floor and showed her the problems and she basically said that she agreed that I was too inexperienced to do her quilts. I was glad to get rid of her!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stagecl Posted July 14, 2009 Report Share Posted July 14, 2009 Mary Beth, It is good to get your sons wedding quilt done. I waited too long on my daughters wedding quilt and it became a divorce quilt:o. Not that it would happen to your son, but my DD has never made good boyfriend choices:o (this is my eldest daughter). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltmonkey Posted July 14, 2009 Report Share Posted July 14, 2009 Originally posted by Mary Beth Just thought I would share.....thank you for listening Oh I am so glad you told us. I am going to measure carefully from now on! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merryjo2003 Posted July 14, 2009 Report Share Posted July 14, 2009 Mary Beth, she put the borders on wrong because it's easier! Not that putting them on right is that much harder......people just "do it the same ol' way" because they think they will save time. I think they kinda lose interest after the center is done and think the borders are a chore. Well, needless to say, doing it over IS a chore and very much more time consuming than doing it right to start with. Sending it back a time or two, should fix the problem! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheri Butler Posted July 14, 2009 Report Share Posted July 14, 2009 LMAO Debbi! Good 4 U! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carolinequilts Posted July 14, 2009 Report Share Posted July 14, 2009 I saw a note on the Internet by an LA quilter that is written right in with her instructions to her customers. She measures the quilt top to bottom, side to side from the center and the edges. If there is more than 1 1/2" difference between a center measurement and the edge measurement, iit will not be quilted and she calls the customer to come and get it to fix. I thought that putting right in the instructions is a good way to head off some of these problems before they arrive. I plan on adding it my instruction sheet too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary Beth Posted July 14, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 14, 2009 Originally posted by Stagecl Mary Beth, It is good to get your sons wedding quilt done. I waited too long on my daughters wedding quilt and it became a divorce quilt:o. Not that it would happen to your son, but my DD has never made good boyfriend choices:o (this is my eldest daughter). Everyday I wonder if I should finish this quilt for fear of it being in a custody battle Not sure this marriage is going to work either, but I have to finish the quilt, no matter my thoughts. And BTW, it's not finished yet....still 6 blocks to finish for a total of 36, then the borders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
April W Posted July 14, 2009 Report Share Posted July 14, 2009 When I first read this topic then looked to the right to see whose it was (Mary Beth). I thought "Oh No! What happened now." So glad you didn't have any new mishaps personally. Close call with the quilt though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dtreusch Posted July 14, 2009 Report Share Posted July 14, 2009 That's a good idea Caroliine. I've had to return several quilts because of problems they needed to fix before I could quilt it. I let my customers know that they may lose their place in line if they wait to long to fix the problems. Several of the quilts I've returned they brought back 3 months later and expected me to drop everything to get it done. When I explained that they needed to wait behind other quilts I was currently working on, I got a response that she didn't know it was a "real business". Maybe I'm just too much of a hardnose sometimes, but it can be irritating at times when customers don't think of this as a "real business". One time I had a customer that was upset her invoice didn't come out to an even dollar amount. I explained that I am a business and I am required to charge sales tax and just like going to the grocery store, it will seldom if ever come out to an even dollar amount. She wrote out the check, but wasn't happy about it. I wanted to tell her that she was more than welcome to round up to the next dollar if it was that big of a deal. :P She still brings quilts several times a year and hasn't complained since. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carolinequilts Posted July 14, 2009 Report Share Posted July 14, 2009 I have a written a sheet (a word doc) for attaching borders that I hand out to my customers. If anyone wants a copy, just email me. It will have to wait until tonight though as I'm at my day job just sneaking a peek at the forum during lunch. :cool: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ffq-lar Posted July 14, 2009 Report Share Posted July 14, 2009 I have a friend and prolific quilter who brings me a quilt a month. Her stuff is well pieced, she uses great fabric, has a stash up to here, but she scrimps on the batting and backer. That is fine. I have told her no more pieced batting--hers would have several types, colors, and sometimes have poly and cotton mixed. Usually fastened together with a big zig zag with whatever thread was on her DSM at the time. To make my life easier, I now only take backers with parallel seams. No chunked together stuff with intersecting seams and leftover blocks--unless it is very well-pieced and lays flat and is square. I have also posted in my studio a large sign stating unacceptable batting types. I am getting more no-nonsense. Setting boundaries only makes a quilter look more professional. You know what works for you and the quilts and what doesn't. Debbi--that story about the dollar amount not being even makes me laugh! That is why I always tell new longarmers that a professional-looking intake sheet that is signed by the customer is so important. It tells them you ARE a business, sets forth the expectations of both sides, and the signed sheet is a contract of sorts. Of course--it doesn't work if your customer isn't paying attention! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary Beth Posted July 14, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 14, 2009 Kudos to you guys that can put up with these people for a lifetime. I have handouts for my customers, but it seems like they don't want to pay any attention. You talk to them about the back being square, and they give the deer in the headlight look. Now, I'm sure they square up their fabric before cutting a strip set. They don't seem to make a connection that it is the same process. They also don't seem to get it that my time means money. If they bring me fabric straight off the bolt from the store and I have to measure, cut, seam, press, square....all the stuff they should be doing...I'm going to charge them $15/ hour to do it. I was not in this business for free. And, as you my friends know from watching my posts, you can get a resentful attitude. I can understand being excited about being finished with a quilt. I get excited when I get to that point too, but a 6" difference from one side of the quilt to the other? That is crazy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terri S. Posted July 14, 2009 Report Share Posted July 14, 2009 And just where are the quilt police when you need them? 6 INCHES!!! That should be a felony. Terri S. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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