Something like that happened to me once, with my very first quilt. It was a weiner dog quilt, I made for myself & decided to give it to my sister. I sent it so it would get there by her birthday, Jan. 2nd. I used the machine at the PO - when deciding which service to use, I opted for ground delivery, which was a little bit cheaper. I was thinking that everything in & out of Alaska has to go by air anyway.... WRONG! About 4 weeks later, it arrived. I found out too late that things actually go by barge (i.e. "slow boat") if you send it surface. Boy did I learn a valuable lesson - DON'T BE CHEAP!