I may get a slap in the face for this post, BUT, I genuinely feel this needs to be said.
1.) There are two sides to each and every story. Before anyone passes judgement, shouldn't you know the other side? In a court case a person is innocent until proven guilty, I think the same should apply to the longarmer.
2.) I would need to see the ACTUAL damage of the quilt before I could rightfully accuse the longarmer.
There are so many variables to the situation that need to be known. How was the quilt returned? Was the quilt in a box or large shipping envelope? How was the item opened when received? What condition was the shipping containment on arrival?
The poster said, "It looks to me like the needle on the long-arm machine got stuck and the fabric ripped when she tried to dislodge it." Whenever I have had a needle become lodged in a quilt, I don't move the machine to get the needle out. Very few longarmers will leave the needle in the quilt and move the quilt to another position because of the possibility of a rip. (most all of us have learned that lesson the hard way)
Some posters here have an attitude of "What do you expect for that amount of dollars?" Regardless of the price, this is what the longarmer actually contracted.
Maybe the longarmer did see the hole, attempted to make contact with the piecer and did not receive replys to emails? I have had this happen. I had a quilt on the frame, found a problem with the quilt, and emailed the piecer. One of the blocks was turned the wrong way. It was 3 days before I heard from them. Well, by that time I had already quilted over the offending block. I sent the quilt back and the piecer was upset with ME for the misplaced block and stopped payment on her check.
I'm not here to gain any sympathy, I just really want folks to see the whole picture before hanging the person.
There are a few things to take into consideration BEFORE sending your quilt out to be quilted:
Does your quilt lay flat? Are the seams straight? Are the intersections proper lined up? Is there any fullness anywhere? (that is a nightmare withing itself for a longarmer) Do the borders actually fit the quilt? Is there any "cupping" within the blocks?
The reason I post these questions is because when it gets to the longarmer, after quilting these problems really show up! It's the longarmer that will be blamed for these errors, but it actually is due to the piecing of the quilt, not the quilting of the quilt.
Yes, I am a longarm quilter. I am not perfect by any stretch of the word. I am always open to CONSTRUCTIVE critism. I am not saying the longarmer is or is not at fault. I just want the complete story.