Yes they were labeled fat quarter. A whole wall of them with signs above saying fat quarter. It totally skipped my mind that this is two fat eighths. I guess we were laughing too much at how even fabric is dieting these days. We called and told them they might want to spot check some of the fqs, got told they never had this complaint before, so we need to bring it in to show them. Yeah, I am already guessing they wont be lasting long in a town with two quilt stores and a well stocked walmart.
My Mom is a brilliant clothing designer and seamstress, but is fluxommed with cutting and assembling these geometric shapes. Its like someone who can perform non-euclidian geometry but cannot balance a checkbook. So readjusting a pattern to fit optimally on a standard 1/4 is really hard for her. She has been so tickled with her ability to do the mystery trains, thanks to excellent instructions. But converting a yellow brick road would be a zoo. Thanks for the hints.