I just received the pattern and kit to do a paper pieced quilt of a jumper (horse and rider). The picture shows a grey horse against a beautiful, dramatic, turquoise batik background - perfect! What do I receive instead? A funky light blue with even paler blue/cream swirls - great for waves in the sea, but not remotely like the sky it is supposed to be, and not a color that works for me at all. The red fabric for the jump poles wasn't included at all.

I know the original fabrics aren't always available, but it really annoys me when they make little or no attempt to match the color values of the original. Oh well, I guess I will be doing some more fabric shopping, lol.

That is so frustrating. Can you send it back? I would.

Can you contact the source of the kit and see it "they" can help you out?

Oh, that would be dissapointing! Especially when the kits are not cheap! Hope you can send it back!

I'd be sending the kit back where you got it with a detailed explanation of what's wrong with it. Hopefully if it's a reputable quilt shop then they'll make it RIGHT. Surely they know the value of satisfied customers & word of mouth could really hurt them with as large as this board is.

I agree, you did not get what you thought you were paying for! Let them know you are unhappy, return the kit and just pay for the pattern only.

I wouldn't waste money sending it back if you really want the kit. I would make them send the correct fabric for the horse.

Some of the shops are very good about this, but what frustrates me so much is the fact that some of us make the decision to buy the kit based on the fact that the colors shown are exactly what we want, and the substitutes would give a totally different feel to the quilt.

In one case, it was the designer herself who couldn't understand why the huge difference in colors was a problem for me. I know I am more sensitive to color variations than some people (lousy night-time black and white vision, but great color vision, lol), but I would have thought that a designer would be even more aware of the effects of such drastic changes.

Luckily, in this case, it is a small wall hanging so I only need to buy a FQ of the sky fabric.

This is exactly why I hesitate to purchase kits. If I ever purchase one in a store, I will have them open it up to see the fabric. I learned the hard way. I purchased an expensive kit when I was on a trip in Canada. When I got it home, and much later opened it up, there were only 2 usable fabrics. It was so far off the demo they had in the store, and what was on the package.

This was a wall-hanging with wildlife, lots of applique, and definite designs. I could only use the fish fabric, and one brown for the bears. Of course, I couldn't return it, and it had been a long time before I opened it. I know it wasn't the store owners fault. I got on line, went to the fabric line, and was able to get all that I needed. The rest...just went into my stash, and will be used.

I learned a valuable lesson from that experience. It is frustrating.

I have had that happen and it frustrates me SOOOOO much! I have now made a practice of calling, if I am ordering from a place that I can't get to in person. Otherwise, if I am in the store, I ususally take it to the counter and open it and go through it piece by piece. Sometimes I ask for a replacement piece. It is harder online, and alot more frustrating to not get what you expected. Hope you have success getting the fabrics you want , one way or the other!