lindasewsit Posted May 10, 2012 Report Share Posted May 10, 2012 Why oh why do fabric shops sell some of the batting that is out there??????!!!:mad::mad: AAAGHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ok.... now I feel better!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CindyT Posted May 10, 2012 Report Share Posted May 10, 2012 I know...it makes it harder for us to education our customers on the batting issue. It's probably one of those "you get what you pay for", "cheaper is not always better", etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Primitive1 Posted May 10, 2012 Report Share Posted May 10, 2012 Oh I know, as I watched my next customer come up the walk with two rolls of fairfield in her hands I cringed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltmonkey Posted May 10, 2012 Report Share Posted May 10, 2012 Ahhh... the joys of dealing with general public, customers, and various batting. Some things we cannot change. And with that,,, we learn to tolerate... ....same goes with those wonky quilts, friendly borders and such. We just deal with it. Part of the business. Me? I refuse to tell my customer "no" I refuse to use that word. To me, no is a naughty word. It hurts my ears to hear it and it hurts my heart to say it. My philosophy is... I just deal with it --- and I don't let batting or friendly quilts get me wrapped too tight around the axle. If you have that attitude it makes it all much more pleasant. Works for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltmonkey Posted May 10, 2012 Report Share Posted May 10, 2012 I have to share a story that recently happened to me a few days ago with a customer. She comes over to the house and drops off like 6 or 8 quilts all at once. She just wants a meander done on them. OK good. No problem. happy to do it. Meanders are fast money makers for me. Ka-$ching! She is a regular customer. Her quilts are not perfect. and her borders are friendly, and the quilt corners are dog-eared. Big dog ears. She knows that the dog ears are there and she does not care. They are big bed quilts. She just wants them quilted, dog eared and all... OK good. No problem! I can do that. Dog ears do not get me down. I just nail that puppy together. I don't remind her of this fact. She knows. She told me the other day that she appreciated that I do not "lecture" her about her quilt tops like the other longarm girls do in town... I smiled and told her that I am just the person you hired to quilt your quilt for you. You did not hire me to lecture you about your piecing. Anyway, just wanted to share. I have happy customers because I give them back their quilts -- finished and quilted without the customer feeling guilty like their quilts needed to be perfect.... And they aren't going to get a lecture from me, either.... Why? It's not my job to do that. I am just quilting their quilt tops for them. I have happy customers. It's all OK with all of us. Most of my customers do beautiful piecing but I do have a few that are not so perfect. I'm not the judge of that. I provide a service for perfect and not-so-perfect quilt tops. It's all money in the bank for me. It's just a quilt, anyway, that is going to be loved and washed and used by someone that appreciates it. In the end that's all that really matters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Primitive1 Posted May 10, 2012 Report Share Posted May 10, 2012 Shana, I know some quilts are more of a challenge and "learning experience" for us. I never lecture anyone about their piecing but if it is really bad and they continue to crank out tops, I try to give them some helpful info especially when it comes to borders, I say very kindly.... "because the border was rather full I had to take a tuck or two". I am happy to quilt their quilts for them but I worry that they will bring it to their guild (not the one I go to) and show and tell it. They may be very proud of it...and rightly so. But I also worry that it will show up one day in a local show or something with my name on it as the quilter...I work so hard on having a good reputation as a quilter since there are so many of us out there....it is a thin line between my reputation and them feeling good about their quilt. I don't know ...... but then again - most of them do end up on beds and are loved and washed by their owners! So then we are all happy! But - back to the original subject - good batting makes my job so much easier and helps their quilt to look it's best! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deb2bie Posted May 10, 2012 Report Share Posted May 10, 2012 Shana, You are a peach!!! We already knew that but once again you have shown it!!! You hand back their quilt and they feel so good!!! Nothing like it to make your day!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Linda S Posted May 10, 2012 Report Share Posted May 10, 2012 LOL - well put Shana. If a customer wants a show quilt and they've brought me a real dog, they might get a lecture. But, by and large, most of them just want a nice snuggly blankie for the family and I can provide that, even if the top is pretty wonky to begin with. Now, on the subject of batting. I just met a lady at the quilt shop she made a pretty special double wedding ring quilt. She sort of made her own pattern, because she'd seen what she wanted in Keepsake quilting, but the pattern was only for a bed runner. She brought it to me with Warm and Natural batting. Ugh. I convinced her that she might want a bit more loft and texture in this quilt, as she wants feathers, and she's not going to get much bang for her buck with W&N. We'll be using either wool or 80/20 - much to my relief. The quilt also has a few piecing issues. Not too many - she did a great job for making it up on her own, but I think a fluffier batting will help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltmonkey Posted May 10, 2012 Report Share Posted May 10, 2012 Originally posted by Primitive1 ....They may be very proud of it...and rightly so. But I also worry that it will show up one day in a local show or something with my name on it as the quilter... I work so hard on having a good reputation as a quilter since there are so many of us out there....it is a thin line between my reputation and them feeling good about their quilt... Ahh But... It's not about you... Don't worry about your reputation. Your reputation is already established. It's not all about me (the quilter) anyway... it's about them. If they are proud of their quilt and want to show it off. GOOD FOR THEM! :cool: I do not worry about my reputation as a quilter. I already have a good reputation from my years, and people have seen my work, and frankly, worrying about one wonky quilt in a show or at a guild show & tell is not going to ruin my reputation of the hundreds of beauties I've done in the past. Hey...It's not about me anyway, is it? Hey, if someone is so proud that they want to show their wonky quilt in a show? I say... well you just go and show it off! Be proud! It's one quilt in one quilt show. ... it does not define you as a quilter. It's her quilt. It's not yours. Don't worry so much about things like this. Most people really don't care... or don't remember anyway.... Those that do care and do remember will remember HER. It's all ok. I try not to make it all about me. Because it's not about me. It works out fine. And if anyone is a quilt snob and starts to get the magnifying glass out and nit picky about who quilted that godforsaken wonky quilt and starts to gossip... well... I could care less about those snitty snobbers. They can gossip all they want and wallow around in their own misery if that's all they have to gossip about. Good grief! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Primitive1 Posted May 10, 2012 Report Share Posted May 10, 2012 I guess I need to not worry about the gossipers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoseCity Quilter Posted May 10, 2012 Report Share Posted May 10, 2012 Shana, I love your attitude! :cool: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KathyA Posted May 10, 2012 Report Share Posted May 10, 2012 hahaha. i have a 'wonky' peicer as a regular customer and she always brings really bad thin cheap poly batts. when i saw about 6 of her quilts hanging in a local show, with my name mentioned, I just took a deep breath. She loves her quilts and I'm okay with it. But I will say I still stomp my feet when I get those poor quality batts - and I think with the bad economy they have become fairly common with my customers. Sad but true. Bottoms of my feet are starting to hurt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aleksich Posted May 10, 2012 Report Share Posted May 10, 2012 Well put Shana, that's how I feel:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltmonkey Posted May 10, 2012 Report Share Posted May 10, 2012 Originally posted by KathyA hahaha. i have a 'wonky' peicer as a regular customer and she always brings really bad thin cheap poly batts. Yeah I hear ya sista! Just last week, this customer of mine... I have done many beautiful quilts for her -- with really nice batting. (she is a psychologist -- doctor PhD) Well, this time she brings me a quilt and she had pieced poly batts together and it was so thin ---- so thin and ewww it was so thin you could read the newspaper through it. It was yukky and so fragile.... I would barely handle it and it tore. I know... I just dealt with it --- quilted it and gave it back to her. It was a college graduation gift. She was happy. The quilt turned out fine, even with the that thin batting. I just did it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltmonkey Posted May 10, 2012 Report Share Posted May 10, 2012 Originally posted by Primitive1 I guess I need to not worry about the gossipers! Agree! They will find something to be miserable about. If they are so desperate to find a topic of discussion and stumble upon gossip about me I say Go Ahead... BRING IT ON! Sheesh don't they have better things to do than talk about me? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little House Creations Posted May 10, 2012 Report Share Posted May 10, 2012 I just did a quilt for a customer that was so very wonky, and not well pieced, and not well pressed . . . and just not well made - BUT, she loves it, and just wants it finished, so I do these for her . . . easy free hand designs, and yes, a few tucks here and there, but actually, I'm getting good at hiding them! This lady has severe arthritis, and just enjoys making quilts for her friends and family - so I'm happy to quilt them for her. She knows they are not perfect - so it's OK. Now - back to the original posting - yes, batting - I've been dusting and sweeping for the last fiew days after all the lint the last customer supplied batting created . . . but, it was her batting, so I just deal with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neher-in-law5 Posted May 11, 2012 Report Share Posted May 11, 2012 Fun thoughts on here. As one of those viewers going to a quilt show and seeing what quilts are there, I don't really look at the quilting "job" of the displayed quilts unless a particular design sparks my interest. I also don't read who made or quilted most of the quilts either. There are time that I notice that a particular quilter has quilted a number of quilts in the show but not what kind of a job was done. The way I view most of the quilts are the pattern designs or the quilting designs that catch my eye. I usually go to the local sized shows and even when I hit the state sized or a couple of the bigger ones, I just don't even think about what you have done as much as how the whole look catches me, then if I like it, I check to see the how it's done and if I could remember to do it for one of mine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Judy Bland Posted May 11, 2012 Report Share Posted May 11, 2012 Hey Shana, you just made my day!!! New customer, just been diagnosed with the big C again, this is for her daughter and maybe her last quilt, piecing is very average so I spent quite a time flattening out the huge turnovers on 1/2" seam allowances just to make it easier for me, and I feel sorry for her situation too, a panto is out of the question, just too many full and wonky blocks. I'm stood there thinking, how can I quilt this and gave up to come look at the forum and there is my answer to lots of things. A simple meander, busier in the full bits, no hints or tips for next time, there may not be one, she has made it with love for her daughter who I'm sure will treasure it, my job is to quilt and bind it to the best of my ability, how simple is that!! Thankyou for your wise words and your wonderful attitude. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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