matraina

Your quilt and backing are beautiful!

quiltingshorttimer

Wow--bet there were tears on both ends of that phone call! Lots of great suggestions for a quick quilt. I just can't picture this accident on a customer quilt though--when I get a quilt it goes immediately to my studio and either stays bagged in plastic--on a table-or if it's next up, I will put on design wall to start mulling over quilt design. No cats--but dogs, which are not allowed in studio. And I took advice of mentor when I started LA--I never have more than 4 in my house waiting cause accidents do happen.

MacThayer

Thank you all for so many beautiful design ideas! Decisions, decisions! But now I have something to decide from, and that's a big help, so thank you. I'm sure you can imagine that "shocked" feeling one has when something like this happens, and suddenly, you just can't think.

The LA quilter did send me the quilt back. It was completely destroyed. The bleach had sat on the quilt for so long that it just destroyed the integrity of the fabric. There was nothing to save. But it was a good catharsis for me, and I had a good cry.

Normally my LA quilter puts the quilt tops and backs in a clear plastic bin, labels them, and stores them in her laundry room, which apparently is a big room and has an area for storage. She was out of bins because she had loaned the bins to her daughter to help her move house, and hadn't held back enough bins. Her exact words were: "I don't know why I put it on the floor in the Laundry Room. It seems like a perfectly stupid thing to do now, and I have no excuse. I should have laid it out on the bed in the guest bedroom and shut the door. I'm so sorry." I did get my backing back since that wasn't with the quilt. You're right, there were two people crying on that phone call. Normally she washes my quilts after she quilts them because she has a washing machine that is large enough.

I just couldn't be angry with her. I knew she felt as badly as I did. I knew she was doing her best to make up for the damage done. After she read this post (and yes, she is a member of this board, but somehow I felt shocked when she found this thread) she called me and told me that I could choose the number of quilts she should quilt for free. I was speechless! I shall have to think about that. I'm not out to abuse her kindness.

I've been through this post several times and every time I go through it, I change my mind! But that's all right. I figure it will take me about a week to make up my mind, and that's fun for me, sitting in my sewing room, puling fabrics out of my bins, trying to decide if I have the right fabrics to do justice to a pattern. I really enjoy this, so I have something to look forward to these coming few days. I also heard from my nephew Ian (my sister told him what happened because he was expecting a quilt at their Christmas before they leave for Alabama for the winter). Ian tells me to "take it easy", and he'll be ready for the quilt any time the quilt is ready for him, don't worry." He's thrilled about the quilt for his son, which he already has.

So thank you again. I was desperate and sad, and this Board has come to my rescue, provides amble choices for quilts and lifted my spirits. Isn't humanity wonderful?!

Gerrie

I cutout and pieced a quilt for my nephew about a year ago and want to do another it is "Country Comfort" by Bev Getschel and I found the pattern in Fons and Porters Easy quilts Fall 2011. I used scraps left over from a Thembleberries quilt I had done in class. I think I have enough fabric to make another left from that same quilt. The quilt I did was very close to the same colors as the one in the magazine . when I had it quilted we used a bulldog pattern after all he graduated from Georgia.

Zyngawf

I think I might agree with this. I'm suspicious. I'm suppose to believe that she keeps clients quilts on the floor of the laundry room with the bleach right above it and doesn't put the lid on her bleach. Who does that? Ask to have it back.

madamekelly

I am so glad you took the time to explain the whole incident. Myself, and others, never want to think badly about a fellow quilter, but even she must admit that the set of circumstances that caused the damage are like something from a bad sitcom. Maybe you both would feel better if you both got together on a Saturday and remade the quilt? I am glad your friendship is still whole. Good friends are not easily lost. Blessings on both of you.

joe'smom

BQ is a series of patterns designed for large scale fabrics -- I'd guess the 'B' stands for big, as the blocks are very large. I think there are at least 5 BQ patterns out there. Googling 'BQ quilt pattern' will probably get you a look at all of them. They can be really interesting!

Getting back to the original post, I hate to think of what my reaction would have been in such a circumstance; it would definitely not have been as gracious as yours!

MacThayer

Dear Madamekelly,
Thank you for recognizing that the LA Quilter and I were good friends. We'd met 15 years ago at a quilting class, and have been "best buddies" ever since. Which is why it was so hard to hear from her that my quilt was destroyed and she was admitting it was her fault. Very stressful for both of us.

So I took your advice. There had been a silence between us since the incident, except for that one e-mail saying she'd quilt as many quilts as I wanted if it would help. So I went to the computer, sat a bit and said"No, darn it, I'm doing this as person-to-person as I can. I want her to hear my voice, and I want to hear hers. So I picked up the phone and when she answered, I identified myself. There was a long pause. "Can I help you? she asked timidly. And I launched right in and said "You said that if you could help me out with this quilt, you'd do anything you could. Is that still true." "Yes, what do you need." "I need you to come over and spend a Saturday with me and help me put this quilt together!" There was a pause and I could hear crying in the background. "I'll do better than that," she whooped! "I'll come on Friday night and stay for the weekend, and we'll finish that quilt!" "Awesome! And then we'll celebrate! How about Champagne and a slice of "Death by Chocolate" cake?" "Oh, you DO know the way to my heart girlfriend." We must have been on the phone for two hours, laughing, crying, catching up. It was lovely. The scary thing is that our friendship could have ended -- over a quilt. Now it's going to be mended back together -- by a quilt. And all of that wasn't possible until I had the courage to pick up the phone and really deal with the situation. When I think of what I could have lost, in terms of the value of a quilt, well, a quilt is a lot easier to replace. Yes, I know, we pour our blood, sweat and tears into these quilts; I certainly do. Sometimes I do as much "unsewing" as I do sewing, if you know what I mean. But if this process doesn't turn me into a kinder, more patient, more understanding human being along with producing a form of art, then why am I doing it? Have I never done a perfectly stupid thing in my life, and didn't even think about it at the time? (Yes, and I still feel badly about it because it hurt someone I cared for dearly.)

OK, off my soap box. Thank you again so much Madamekelly. I am very grateful to you for helping me to both solve the problem and save the friendship. With her help, we can get it done and LA Quilted and to Michigan in time for my sister's Christmas before leaving for Alabama. It's the best outcome possible. She's coming next weekend. I just want to know how YOU knew she was my friend. I deliberately left that part out because I wanted an honest response to the situation, with no conflicting feelings about friendships. And I honestly would have treated any LA quilter the same if we'd been working together for a while. So how did you pick up on the friendship? Just curious.

Thank you everyone!

phranny

I have just read through this entire thread. My initial reaction was of horror over the incident, but as I read to the end in your last post, I had tears streaming down my cheeks. As you stated, a friendship could have been lost over a quilt, but instead it will be solidified over a new one.

You are a very gracious woman, and your perspective and attitude has been so refreshing. I hope that you two have a fantastic time together creating a new quilt, and your friendship becomes even stronger.

ScrappyAZ

What a lovely outcome to what started out as a horrible incident. It sounds like you and your friend have a very special relationship, and I'm sure you will have a wonderful weekend of quilting and chocolate!