Long Arming "Hot Mess" Quilts

[HelenS]

I occasionally longarm quilts for friends. Most are exceptionally put together and I truly enjoy helping friends out with very low rates.
We are all seniors on fixed incomes.  
One friend absolutely loves what she's doing, pretty much all needle turn applique, and often leaving open seams, raw edges showing, etc, and require somewhat custom quilting, time consuming anyway. She NEVER measures, NEVER squares up blocks, borders and sashing are ALWAYS at least an inch or more too long, creating excess fullness, and because blocks are not squared up, no seams meet, seams are all pressed in different directions that create big wads of fabric where they "meet", added to those wonky borders, the quilts never turn out well. Her quilts take at least twice as long to complete as similar quilts made by others. I've even "fixed" some parts of her quilts, but have stopped doing so, even though it creates more work for me in the end. 
My predicament is this:
How to tell her that she needs to do much better or I don't want to do any more of her quilts. I love this woman dearly, (80 yrs old), but don't want to squash her enthusiasm in doing something she seems to love. I hate to make excuses to avoid working on her quilts, I've tried commenting on how to fix these problems but she just doesn't seem to care, and when I work on one of her quilts, I keep remembering something my seamstress mother always said. 
"You can't make a gold purse out of a sow's ear". lol 

I'm now considering doing a mini class with my applique group on how to measure, square blocks, etc, even though she seems to be the only one with this problem. 

Maybe I just needed to rant  while taking a break from working on her latest hot mess, (thanks for listening).

Suggestions are welcome! 

[mamu]

I would never tell an 80 yr old that her sewing is a mess and I don't want to quilt her quilts anymore. It's a miracle that she is still quilting at her age and enjoying doing it.  She probably doesn't see well and can only do the best that she can.

You have already made suggestions to her on how to improve her quilting.  Instead, keep your custom quilting to bare minimum, nothing fancy, avoid those wads in the corners, let the borders be full by bunching the fabric up between quilt lines and allow all of the raw edges and misaligned seams to be as they are.

  I'm sure she is not prolific at producing quilts so it's not like you are doing one of her quilts every couple weeks.  Not everyone's quilts are perfect (as we well know being longarm quilters) but they are all loved just as much as the quilts taking the Best of Show

[BonnieJ]

Yep like above do what you can and she will be happy with being able to still make quilts. I have one who is only in her sixties and she is a hot mess I tell her why her quilt looks the way it does because of her techniques and she is okay with that so I am trying to be okay with that too and not stress over perfection with her quilts. As long as she is happy  I am happy. Most other customers already know her style and not judge my efforts of how the quilt turns out.

[HelenS]

2 hours ago, mamu said:

  I'm sure she is not prolific at producing quilts so it's not like you are doing one of her quilts every couple weeks.  Not everyone's quilts are perfect (as we well know being longarm quilters) but they are all loved just as much as the quilts taking the Best of Show

   I definitely do what is suggested from both posted replies, but but I usually have to work with the doors and windows open, and the need for a lint roller is the first order of pre-quilting chores.
   I totally agree that being able to make quilts at her age is a blessing, and I've never seen a "perfect" quilt yet from myself or anyone else. lol, but I guess I could have added to my post that this person has box after box of tops needing to be quilted, but I'm also dealing with the fact that she has multiple cats, so each quilt, along with the bag she puts them into, comes with a LOT of cat hair and odor. ugh 
   She keeps up a pretty regular flow of quilts for me to do, exchanging a finished one for an unfinished one.  I do keep the quilting to a minimum, but when working with quilts that are always full of excess fabric and not a straight line or square corner to be had ever, it all gets pretty frustrating.

   I think I'll just limit her to one a month from now on. 
Thanks for the replies.

  

   

[ffq-lar]

Hot Mess is right! Why is it so hard to set boundaries when we are inately generous? Eighty is not that old if she's active enough to sew a top every month! Explain to her that the pet hair has become a problem---that the hair/dander transfers to your leaders/clothes/area and while you aren't allergic, you may have others you quilt for who are. If she can't clean them up to remove the hair and the smell (yuck!) (or have a friend do that for her) you gently and reluctantly tell her you will need to stop quilting for her. This is absolutely appropriate and I guess I'm not kind enough to continue doing something that makes me miserable every month when she has some control over the issues.  Bless her, of course, for still having the passion for piecing. But your time and talent are your own to manage and you should not have to do so many extra tasks to make her quilt presentable when she doesn't recognize the issues and has no incentive to help. Does she have a close friend that you can bring into the mix---who can be the go-between for suggestions and boundaries? Sorry if this seems harsh, but I'm also "old" and would like to spend my longarming time stitching and not fixing someone elses careless piecing and smelly, hairy tops. 

[mamu]

On 10/30/2022 at 11:37 AM, HelenS said:

   I definitely do what is suggested from both posted replies, but but I usually have to work with the doors and windows open, and the need for a lint roller is the first order of pre-quilting chores.
   I totally agree that being able to make quilts at her age is a blessing, and I've never seen a "perfect" quilt yet from myself or anyone else. lol, but I guess I could have added to my post that this person has box after box of tops needing to be quilted, but I'm also dealing with the fact that she has multiple cats, so each quilt, along with the bag she puts them into, comes with a LOT of cat hair and odor. ugh 
   She keeps up a pretty regular flow of quilts for me to do, exchanging a finished one for an unfinished one.  I do keep the quilting to a minimum, but when working with quilts that are always full of excess fabric and not a straight line or square corner to be had ever, it all gets pretty frustrating.

   I think I'll just limit her to one a month from now on. 
Thanks for the replies.

  

   

Now that you mentioned the cat hair and smell issues... that makes it a health issue for you and of course an issue for your machine.  Then any quilt coming up after  hers could possibly get some of the cat hair/smell on it too. That is a big problem.  I agree with the other comments that you absolutely need to let her know about the cat hair/smell and that it has become a health issue for you.  I would tell her that any tops she gives you that have cat hair and smells, you will not be quilting.  Then I would adhere to that rule and send back any quilt that wasn't 'clean'.  She will either correct the issue or find someone else to do her quilting.

I have sent tops back to people when they were stained (blood or other ? fluids), excess hair and even excess threads.  I don't feel bad doing that at all as I will not subject myself or my machine to this nastiness.  I also include a paper on how to prepare a quilt top for the longarm quilter!

[SueD]

I've thought about quilting for others as sort of a money-making hobby.  Not a full time schedule but just to generate some fun money.  Then I hear horror stories like this and think that I don't need that kind of drama dragging down my fun.  But maybe the drama is of our own making by feeling like we can't turn down potential customers.  

[jimerickson]

I have a customer or two that are pretty week in their piecing.  I use high loft batting on such quilts.  Helps deal with "fullness".  You might try that to help deal with one of the problems anyway.  Good luck.  Jim

[loraquilts]

Like many others, I've had my share of nightmare customer quilts.  I always call the customer, explain the difficulties I'm having with their quilt, and provide a couple of solutions (and associated prices).  One lady (a dear sweet thing) doesn't care what I do, she just loves getting the finished product.  She does a lot of "circular" quilt blocks (marier's compass, etc.) which never lay flat, so I "practice" various stitch patterns in each wheel and end up quilting out a masterpiece (her words, not mine).  She's happy, and I've been able to practice some new patterns.  Win-win. 

I have another customer who, bless her, is very picky about how things are quilted and she wants everything as cheap as cheap can get.  Mind you, her piecing is horrendous - going from a 1" seam allowance to a 1 thread seam allowance in the same 12" block.  She expects me to fix all of her boo-boos and do it without complaining.  Quilting for her is not a joy, so I very tactfully (or at least as tactfully I could muster) recommended that she might be better served by another quilter who has more time to devote to her quilts.  Now she only comes to me when she needs something quilted for show or custom quilted.   I don't have the heart to outright refuse, so I give her a price quote that will compensate me fairly for my time (and trouble) and she usually decides to go elsewhere.  Whew!  Another win.  ; )

I agree with the other comments and would definitely tell her that you cannot work on a quilt if it is full of pet hair and smells bad.  It is a health concern for you as well as for any other customers you may have who could be allergic to pet dander.  She should be able to understand this and adjust accordingly.  Limiting her to one quilt a month is also not a bad idea.  This give you time to work on other quilts and still work on some of her quilts as well.  Who knows, if she ends up making many more than one quilt a month, she may end up finding an an alternate quilter anyway.  

[HelenS]

Well, I guess I've solved the "hairy, smelly quilts" issue in a way we never expected.
We have moved from Washington State to Kentucky to be closer to family. 
My husband has been dealing with cancer and heart issues the past five years and we're both in our mid 70's now, so I sort of took it upon myself to begin searching for a home nearer to family who can help if needed. When he saw what I'd found in a home and the awesome price, he readily agreed to the move.  Hubby is in remission at this time and we are so very thankful for that after nearly 54 years of marriage! 
Our eldest grandson helped with the long-distance inspections, etc, and we bought a house sight unseen! WHEW! It needs a few changes here and there, (and I'm sure grandson will be helping, lol), but it's a great home and we're enjoying the wonderful views of the countryside and mountains in the distance. We sold all our furniture and things that wouldn't fit into a U-Haul Pod, shipped what we coculdn't part with and hit the road in my new Kia Soul. It was a fun adventure, and we're finally settled again. 
My Lenni is set up again and I'm happy as a clam to be able to work on my own quilts for now. 
Many thanks for all the input on the above subject! I'll keep all the suggestions in mind, should I decide to quilt for others again.

[loraquilts]

Moving.  Well that's definitely one way to deal with an aggravating customer.  hahahaha.  

I'm glad you are well settled in and that hubby is doing well.  Best to you both.