Sandra Darlington Posted September 11, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 11, 2011 Thanks ECMoore and Cindy. She still likes the quilting, her thread choice and panto design, it's just that the backing is not centered exactly, that is bugging her. If she asked me to pay for someone to unquilt it and to re-quilt it, I would even go that far to avoid a law suit. But, she hasn't suggested that, yet, at least. Money is not a problem for her; she seems to be quite well off, if I can judge that from her clothes, hair, nails, jewelry, car and address. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BethDurand Posted September 11, 2011 Report Share Posted September 11, 2011 Oh Sandra, I'm so sorry that you got stuck with a woman like this, and that hopefully we are all learning from this situation. You've gone above and beyond by returning her money. I hope that she'll leave you alone from now on. Enjoy that wine! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandra Darlington Posted September 11, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 11, 2011 Thanks, Beth. I actually decided to have a cup of "Sleepy Time" tea, instead of the wine. I am exhausted from this emotional eveining and will be heading to bed soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IBQLTN2 Posted September 11, 2011 Report Share Posted September 11, 2011 Man, people like that just get under my skin, I too would have given her money back and so to speak told her to get out and stay out. I would not want anything to do with a person who could be that nasty and hard hearted. There is no place in my life for mean, cruel, insensitive people. I wouldnt want her stinkin money either. I don't feel it to be an admission of wrong doing but rather get lost attitude. So sorry you got miss treated like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmilner Posted September 11, 2011 Report Share Posted September 11, 2011 Hi again Sandra, I am reading all of this in disbelief and I feel so badly for you. This person is a bully, likes to control and has very poor "self-esteem". The reason she doesn't want her money back is because she cannot elevate herself to that "high road" position - - You already took that away from her! After this gets out to your guild, noone will want to quilt for her. I'm sure, with the beautiful work that you do and the kind person you are that your reputation OUTSHINES hers!! You have a lot to be proud of.....she doesn't. And she is one of those people that is never happy. Thank you for sharing with us; I know I have learned a lot from your misfortune. (((((warm hugs)))) (((((((sunshine for tomorrow))))) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlnewell Posted September 11, 2011 Report Share Posted September 11, 2011 Hopefully she won't ask you to pay to have it unquilted and then requilted. Since it is batik fabrics, the original needle holes will show (I've never experimented to see if the holes disappear after washing a frogged and then requilted batik quilt), and for me, that would look worse than not having the backing centered. If she does want that done, I think "she" should be responsible for finding another quilter to do it and re-quilt it, and not expect you to. Hopefully this will all blow over and you won't be bothered any more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ffq-lar Posted September 11, 2011 Report Share Posted September 11, 2011 She will sue you?? Really? She will sue you for what? Unbelievable and you have my sympathy that this bullying unfortunate friendless woman has picked you as her next victim. Do not be afraid. You were more than generous in refunding her money and your obligation to her is over. It really is. In spite of whatever threats she may throw at you. Sheesh.... Email her that you have done much more than is legally required and any further "requests" will be forwarded to your attorney. Just tell her that even if you don't have an attorney! And that you expect to be not harassed by her any more. So sorry that this has happened and I hope tomorrow will bring a brighter day. Your real customers treasure you, I am sure! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltmonkey Posted September 11, 2011 Report Share Posted September 11, 2011 Originally posted by sandradarlington ..........She was very upset because if they decide to fold the quilt in half with the backing side up, someone might notice that it is not perfectly centered. Oh Brother!!! Puhhhh-Leeeeeze!! Originally posted by sandradarlington I also told her I just cut a refund check to return her full payment of $121.53 and I would drop it in the mail Monday morning, so to expect it during the week. Noooooo!! Call her back and tell her no refund. You will give here a 20% discount on her next quilt,,,maybe! but NO REFUND! And next time she calls wanting a quilt done, tell her you have a 6 month waiting list (and she has to wait her turn) Originally posted by sandradarlington She just wrote back and said I totally ruined her quilt. She also said to keep my moeny as that would not fix her quilt. Good! What a #### (explitive omitted) Let her sob her sad story as she snuggles under her "ruined" quilt!! Sheesh! Good riddance! Originally posted by sandradarlington I think I will be getting sued. I am really scared to death over this. Idle threats. She's not going to sue you. I am so sorry Sandy. You are probably the sweetest lady in the whole wide world (next to me of course) Where's Judge Judy when we need her? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
belquilt Posted September 11, 2011 Report Share Posted September 11, 2011 Sandra, First off, I am sure that the quilting is awesome as we have all seen/heard about all the great work you do. Second, if this woman is willing to sue you for a quilt job that she waited TWO WEEKS to call you about and had told you when it was delievered that she loved it ... GOOD LUCK. If she does, email me - I will represent you or find someone up in PA to help you. Third - I GUARANTEE that she will complain about everyone that quilts her quilts. I have run into a couple like that here where I live and myself and most of the other LAers refuse to quilt for one particular woman, as she practially wants it done for free. Fourth - From the sounds of it - without having seen the exact emails - no more communication is necessary. I would be careful about sending this lady any more emails. You responded to the last one and that is all you need to do, FINALLY - Charge extra for centering!!!! Oh - WELL SAID SHANA!!!! I bet the quilt looks fantastic. You have done well beyond what you needed to do. DON'T GIVE HER ANOTHER THOUGHT!!!! You did not ruin her quilt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandra Darlington Posted September 11, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 11, 2011 Thanks, Jeanne. Thant's exactly how I felt about hre money. Donna, thanks, again for the support. My guild is large, but she may or may not know others in my guild, except for my customer that she works with who sent her my way. I quilted our guild's raffle quilt this year and they are all very happy with it, and in between quilt shows where is hangs to sell raffle tickets, the President hangs it the night of our meetings for the members to see. That will certainly help my reputation, if she bad mouths me to any members she might know. Debbie, If that's what she wants, I will not be the one to unquilt it and requilt it. I never plan on touching any of her quilts again. I could just see me putting a hole in the fabric if I was unpicking an entire queen size quilt! No way will I do that. If she insists, I will let her pick someone to do it and will pay them, if need be. I don't think she will go that route, but ya never know. Hi Shana, Thanks, girlfriend. My son dropped the check in the mail last night for me. He was heading out for the evening, so I asked him to drop it in the box 2 blocks away. I'm sure he did, as I explained the situation to him. He was shocked. And yes, you are a very sweet lady, indeed. Where's Judge Judy??? Beth, Thank you for that guidance. I sent you a U2U. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamu Posted September 11, 2011 Report Share Posted September 11, 2011 Oh my. I really sympathise with you on this horrid experience. Write it off, let it go..you have gone far beyond what anyone else would do to make her happy and no matter what you try to do, she will NEVER be happy. I agree with everyone else.... don't communicate with her anymore, it will just be upsetting to you and rest assured that she is out of line demanding anything more from you. I must give you my bad experience of the same type of person that I quilted for. I was working at a shop doing some LA quilting. The shop owner had someone else start quilting a quilt for a woman and then stopped about 1/3rd of the way through deciding that they were over their heads in trying to do this quilt. So, they took out all of the stitching and the shop owner asked me to quilt it for them. I started the quilt and where they had taken out the stitches, there was major stretching of the borders. Anyway, I finished the quilt ...had about 12 hrs into it and got paid $40 for my efforts. She picked it up and told the owner she was thrilled with it...took it home and a week later the phone calls started. She told the shop owner that she was very upset that the border quilting was off, ect, ect...I spoke with the woman and her complaints were very much like what you have been going through. She said that she made this quilt to sell and now she felt no one would buy it. The shop owner decided to purchase the quilt for $350. I took it to a quilt show about four months later and sold it for $475 and it sold within the first 3 hrs of the show! I guess perfection is in the eye of the beholder?...we are always hard on ourselves when we quilt for others. She is a person that is hating life and wants others to be as miserable as herself. Don't worry about her bad mouthing your work to other quilters...anyone who sees this quilt will know that it is lovely and those who know this woman will take what ever she says with a grain of salt...no value at all. We have all had bad experiences quilting for others, so I send hugs to you and please know that your work is lovely...she is the one with the problem, not you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrmquilt Posted September 11, 2011 Report Share Posted September 11, 2011 ROFLMAO, I am so sorry this is happening to you. I am only laughing because of similar situations that have happened to me. The woman who told me I distroyed her quilt and ruined it put it in a quilt show about a year later. She won a ribbon and lots of local people saw it and I actually got business out of it. LOL that is why I laugh but I was so hurt and pi----- when it happened. I have a huge story with another lady, spent over 2 hours with her. She brought thick poly batting. After it was quilted she hated it said is was to puffy. (not my problem) and her corners weren't squared. I actually found out at a guild meeting where she sent the quilt with a friend to find out what was wrong with it. LOL. There is more to the story but I called her and told her when all the quilting was ripped out I'd return her money. She wasn't going to get her money back until all my stitches were ripped out. I offered to put the binding on for her and she was happy with that. But I really took my time doing it. LOL. You will definitely make it through this. If she sues she can't get more from you than she has with you returning her money. Stand up for the principle and let her sue you, it will be small claims so you won't be out money just time. I don't think it will come to that. Don't quit quilting just because of this, that was my first reaction. I don't need the headache. Some people are just pains. Gotta get more coffee. Just remember you are awesome!! Michele Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Primitive1 Posted September 11, 2011 Report Share Posted September 11, 2011 Sandra, I am reading this with my mouth open, I am shocked and surprised at how mean people can be... two things I take from this... one - I would not even talk to her again - and certainly would not open myself up to more abuse by offering to have anyone rip or redo her quilt...she would be finished with me - just hit the delete button on the emails unless they start out with an apology... two - I guess on the intake and pickup sheet, I would add a line above their signature that they are completely happy with the quilting at the time of pick up. I too have gotten lax with this and it is a good lesson for all of us, thanks for sharing your unfortunate situation with us...I hope you are feeling better about it today! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QuiltFaerie Posted September 11, 2011 Report Share Posted September 11, 2011 Man, I am so blessed with the women I quilt for. I don't have a lot of customers but the ones I have are keepers. I just finished a top for my favorite customer that had big time issues and wouldn't lay flat. She tried to do on point and the center was unbelievably stretched out and full. I ended up quilting it from the center out with 4 layers of batt in the center with the fullness and two layers every place else. I am not a custom quilt quilter. I just don't get enough practice. I didn't even take a picture of it. Bottom line? She LOVED it and told me she half expected me to call her and tell her I couldn't do it. She is an absolute angel to work with and I adore her. I just love to talk and visit with her. She has become more of a friend than a customer. I have done all her tops from day one and she has never raked me over the coals. I told her on this one, if she hated what I did to it, I would only charge her for materials. She was ready to throw it out but I was able to save it for her even if it wasn't the best job. I did the best I could, but I need a whole lot more practice doing freehand. Another gal I quilt for is my Director at work. She gave me a baby quilt to do that I rushed to get done. She had pieced the back. You want to talk about a happy accident, the back ended up perfectly centered. I don't think I could do that again if I tried or on a bet. She was thrilled. If I hadn't been able to pull it off, she would have been fine with it. She is another Angel to work with. There are some customers that you need to run away from as fast and as far as you can. Fortunately, mine haven't been that way. Shana, I remember that one lady you did a wonky quilt for that you ended up ripped out all your quilting on. Did you ever hear anything more from her? Did she enter her quilt into the show like she wanted to? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fabric007 Posted September 11, 2011 Report Share Posted September 11, 2011 On the intake sheet unless your backing is a seamless backing ...I cant gurantee the the quilt will be centered Let the stress go...Can you imagine a judge hearing this lady say her backing is a few inches off..dismissed.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrandmaLKB Posted September 11, 2011 Report Share Posted September 11, 2011 I would keep ALL correspondence from her, but wouldn't answer any more............You have refunded her money and that's all you can do. I am sure everyone who knows this woman has her figured out and you have nothing to worry about. She may find it very difficult to find anyone who will work for her again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandra Darlington Posted September 11, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 11, 2011 Wow, thanks for the responses, Laura, Michele, Vicki, Gail and fabric007! I see that so many others have had similar experiences. It is so emotionally draining!!! After getting so much of the same feedback about not communicating anymore with this (former) customer, I will not respond to future e-mails from her, unless it is an apology, and then I will be extremely careful of what I write back. Fabric007, I was sitting here thinking about how to word the changes on my intake form and what you suggested is perfect. Thank you!!! Vicki, I actually do have a line like that above the customer's signature line, but having gotten so lax about the paperwork, I didn't even have her (or my other customers) sign it. I just wrote in there myself that the person liked the quilting. Duh! How dumb can I be? Well, I've just gotten a whole lot smarter!!! Thank you, for reminding me of that line and what I am supposed to use it for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helen G Posted September 11, 2011 Report Share Posted September 11, 2011 This is one of the best threads I have read in a long time! I have bee quilting for over 30 years, and long arming for 3 years. I have seen many, many quilts in my day....Gone to lots of quilt shows and admired beautiful work. I have never ever checked out someone's quilt to make sure the backing is straight! Some ladies bring me quilts that have 5 seams in their backing fabric, I do the best I can and they keep coming back. Please don't pay someone to unquilt her quilt, you have done more than enough! I believe that you are a very caring and conscientious quilter....and there are some people that cannot be pleased. It is done, she got her money back, end of story. Did you ever notice that there are people who leave a trail of negativity behind them? After a while you notice that they have less and less of an audience because they are not very credible. Go on to your next customer and enjoy all the warm fuzzies they give you! Sometimes I think we should have a bulletin board of nice comments our customers have given us, because one like that can sure pull you down. You did your best Sandra, close the door on it, open a new window and breath some fresh air! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmcclannan Posted September 11, 2011 Report Share Posted September 11, 2011 I think I would not communicate with this woman any further. You have gone above and beyond already. Your conscience should be clear and just refuse to let her upset you any longer. So sorry this happened to you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandra Darlington Posted September 11, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 11, 2011 Thanks, Helen & Julie, It helped me to unburden my thoughts and receive everyone's support on this. But, more importantly, I know it has taught me an important lesson and hopefully others reading this will learn from my mistake of being so lax where paperwork and signatures are concerned. We are all very trusting people, but we have to protect ourselves, too. Some people are just not as nice as we are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustSewSimple Posted September 11, 2011 Report Share Posted September 11, 2011 Sandra, I sense that you are most afraid of either her bad-mouthing you or suing you. She has no leg to stand on with a suit. You did your best and I am sure it is beautiful. Now, you have refunded her money so she has a quilted piece AND her money. Just stop worrying, sweet girl! She would not have been happy with any quilter. She had a vision and no one could have matched what was in her mind. Just move on and forget this ever happened. You deserve better and when this gets out no one will quilt for her. Blessings Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandra Darlington Posted September 11, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 11, 2011 Thanks, Sylvia. I am trying to move on. It may take a bit of time as I keep thinking she is going to call me or e-mail me and I really don't ever want to hear from her again. You are right that I am woried about getting sued (#1) and about getting bad mouthed (#2). I have done many quilts for guild members and also many charity quilts for the guild, plus this year's raffle quilt, so I know the bad mouthing won't go too far. Fortunately, she's not part of our guild, but I did invite her to join it and gave her all the information when I met with her the first time to pick up the quilt. So, she might decide to join. Well, I can't worry about that now. It may never happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kloar Posted September 11, 2011 Report Share Posted September 11, 2011 Sandra, I am so sorry to read all of this. She would not have any suit and it would cost her far more than the quilt's worth to do that. She's just being a bully! As far as your guild, they know the type of work you do and they won't listen about a backing being not centered by a few inches. I always tell them verbally that I won't promise their backing will be centered but since this has arisen, it will go on my intake form too. Geezzz.. are they going to display her quilt with the back up?? She needs to get a life! Bet she cashes the check- I wouldn't have any more contact with her or her quilts! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandra Darlington Posted September 11, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 11, 2011 Thanks, Kim. Beware...she lives about half way between us. I am meeting with a new customer (but a lady from my guild) this afternoon. I just finished printing out my revised intake form, and I will stick to my guns about having her sign it, if she wants me to take her quilt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DL Semmens Posted September 11, 2011 Report Share Posted September 11, 2011 Sandra this is my worse nightmare. That and a fire, or a customer falling on my property. It is really to bad that we have to live our lives based on the WHAT IF MOMENTS. You did exactly what I would have done. I would not have liked it, but I would have done it. I hope the bully does not proceed with any legal action. That also would not compensate for her time IMHO. Does make me think that I need an intake sheet.... I don't have a clue what I need on it. Up until this last year I only quilted for friends, somehow since I retired it has become a parttime business. Guess I need to treat it that way also. Good luck and try not to let this ruin the rest of your day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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