dgmoby

The quilters in my area are very busy, and it's not unusual to take this long, especially now, during show season. However, they do give you a general time-frame as to when it will be completed when you drop it off.

Definitely call and ask for a status. There's certainly nothing wrong with that. She may have gotten hit with a bunch of show quilts, or perhaps understood your mom was in no hurry (or due for Xmas present?), a mistake on the paperwork, or anything else. No telling. Something could have happened. It never hurts to ask - and then you can decide, based upon her feedback, if you care to still wait or not.

I will say the longer a quilter's backlog is, means a lot of quilts are coming her way, and that means she's got a good reputation - for a reason. So, that's perhaps something to keep in mind. Around here, it's common to wait for the better quilters, the others have no backlog...again, for a reason :(

But, I would think it should be ready anytime, and I wouldn't hesitate to ask.

I hope this helps :)

dgmoby

What date did you two agree on as far as the due date?

penski

wow that is a long time , i could of done them on my little standard machine for you by now yes i would go ask for them back if she didnt tell you it would of been this long

lazyquilter

I have been blessed by finding a super long arm quilter. She and her mom have a business together. Knowing my situation, she will stop by to pick up the quilt, then we go over what I am expecting and/or what I would really like to have unless the pricing is to much. She's very good with her pricing and since most of my things are pretty simplistic, she always seems to give it a little spice and always in a beautiful way. She lets you know right up front that she does her quilts in the order that she receives them and so she is usually out about 6 weeks max. I did have one experience with a quilter. This was a VERY special quilt as it was for a very loving friend who was very slowly losing her battle with cancer, and I mean slowly. It was heart breaking and yet everytime I would walk into her room there was this brilliant smile on her face and always wanting to know how was I doing. And I thinking, God bless her, my critter isn't malignant and I am not dying, just becoming more debilitated and yet this dear friend is always about some one else. Well the long arm person and now I know why she had long arms explained what we could do and blah, blah and we settled on a price based on the square inches, the level of quilting and all that stuff. She did push it through and I was able to get it in a month. I drove to her place (her house was a mansion and her second room was an added 30' by 30' specialized room).. anyway she brought out the quilt and it was really very, very pretty even though I had to work within my budget. I pulled out my check book as she totaled it up and I am all set to write the check for which I thought we agreed on. It was double the cost. My mouth dropped open and I'm gasping as I am trying to tell her, that's not what we discussed. She then explained . drum roll please... that the price was doubled because she had to figure the same area in the back of the quilt. And I'm thinking, how in the heck did you plan on just quilting the front if not both at the same time. She told me that was standard in the trade. You figure the square of the front and any other charges and then you had to double it to account for the back. I wrote the check, looked at her and said very quietly, well I know how you are paying for your new addition, but I am not the level of clinitel that you must be used to dealing with and have a good day. About a month later the lqs where I met her though said that she was changing her pricing because she as losing customers due to her pricing and she couldn't understand why??????

kwiltkrazy

No you have every right to go get your quilt. I can't believe it would take her over a month to get to yours. I have friends that put their quilts in and get them back in a couple weeks. And I know the quilter is exceptionally busy because we only have two local quilters. That amount of time is rediculous, usually it is done on a first come first done basis, so she couldn't of had a 4 month back log.

arpdesigns28

Understandable that she probably wanted your business, but she should have told you she had others prior to you that she was working on so you knew not to expect a quick completion. I would try to get them back and price someone else.

cyd

Thanks for all the responses. I was very naive and did not require a due date. The quilter is so hard to contact, and I am disappointed that I did not know enough when the tops were left in her care. As soon as I can reach her-she does not live where she quilts-I intend to get the top back. If my friend is content to wait longer-I'm not. Thanks for the great information and help. I'll know better now.

Longarm

My business is longarm quilting. I have never had a quilt longer than 8 weeks. If I were so backed up that I couldn't get it completed in less than 8 weeks, I would certainly tell the person up front just how long it may be before I could quilt it and if she wanted to take it elsewhere where she could get it quilted sooner I would not complain.

I also tell people that at certain times of the year, spring for weddings and graduations, and fall, for Christmas, that I am busier and may take longer than at other times of the year. I have also put in some really long days to complete projects in time to meet my customers deadlines.

I would definitely contact this person and see if there is a reason for the delay or if this is their usual time frame for completion. I do know some quilters who should be considered hobbyists as they have no qualms about leaving a customers quilts sit for months.

Longarm

Lucky Lindy

I have always checked first with my quilter to make sure her schedule wasn't too backed up, especially if I'm in a hurry. I am suprised that she didn't give you some type of time frame when she took your tops.

Longarm

Who is your business insurance with? That's a really great rate!

Also I do everyone customers quilt in the order it comes in unless 2 friends say it's okay to swap theirs around because one needs it sooner than the other.

Also, I will only put someones name in the book without having their quilt if they are an established customer and they know right up front that it will be moved down the line if I don't have it when their name comes to the top.

Longarm