I only do two things...I quilt and I make all of William's Hawaiian shirts...

I guess now I'm the official seamstress for a dance troop from Samoa...they want me to make 15 shirts at a time for them...should be fun! :)

I had one person ask me to make a bug screen for his car! No way I said . Denise

I tell anyone who asks me to fix a broken zipper on their favorite pair of pants that I hate fixing zippers, hate taking things apart and they should throw the pants away like I would.

Been there, done that!! I was in the Home Decorating business for years and everyone wanted favors. Not to be a customer. Then I started sewing for the public and making market samples. Then everyone wanted hems, zippers, a little taken in here or a little let out somewhere. They don't realize you have a life besides all this or don't care. Or had fabric to make a formal, but no money to get it made. Ain't life interesting?????

My favorite is when people ask me to do something and they say, I can do it myself but..... obviously, they cannot do it themselves be it for whatever reason (don't have time, don't have machine, etc.)or they wouldn't be asking me!!! I have learned that "No Thanks" is the perfect response as MadQuilter said earlier.

Oh, the misconceptions of people. I am currently doing alterations, but not for long. People will buy any size, pattern or fabric that is on sale, bring in a size 18 and want you to make a 10 out of it. Then they want you to charge $5.00. Honey, I'm afixing to quit alterations!!!! :lol: :lol: :lol:

I get the mending thing all of the time. My DGS was here and had a little friend with him. They were about 4. The visitor did not have an upstairs at his house and he wanted to go upstairs. Parker took him up and he was showing him around the rooms. They came to my sewing room and I heard Parker say," This is the room where shirts get fixed." I do turn down most requests though.

All of this sounds so familiar. I've had to quit sewing for others. I just want to do what I want to do, which in the past few yrs. I don't even find time for my own sewing. i do keep a quilt in progress.
People do think it want take 10 min. to hem something or do a button hole for fifty cents. So sorry it's come to that tho.

I make quilted wallets as special gifts. I have been requested more than once with the following line: "The quilted ones you buy aren't half as nice and they want $20. for them." They seem to think I will make one for free after receiving that compliment. Never seem to get around to it.

Believe me, replacing a zipper on jeans is definitely too much work! When you figure out which seams you have to rip out (fly, crotch, waistband), you realize that you have to practically take them apart to get the old zipper out.