junegerbracht

It sounds like a communication problem. If you want the quilter to make changes I would suggest you admit that you failed to communicate exactly what you want. Nevertheless the quilter did a beautiful job starting with just embroidered blocks.

Mrobert

Yes, I will try to be tactful if I ask her to redo the bottom hem. Thanks to all of the members who took the time to answer my questions! I am thinking of retiring soon so I may actually do some quilting myself. My mother, her mother, etc., were all quilters, but I am afraid I didn’t pay enough attention to the art of piecing quilts. As I said, I am a little particular about some things so I know I will have to get that hem even.

Peckish

Ok I'm totally guessing here, trying to imagine how this could possibly have happened. It sounds like maybe there was some confusion about the terminology? "strips between blocks" (in your first post you had called them "inserts") sounds to me like you wanted sashing, not entire blocks? And maybe this woman didn't understand that? And to compound the issue, because she was thinking you wanted blocks instead of sashing, she realized there wasn't enough green fabric to make that many blocks of that size, so she cut the embroidered blocks smaller so she could get enough alternating green blocks, then needed to add the darker green to the borders to get it finished. Which, if this is actually what happened, is still beyond what any quilter should have done without first consulting the owner of the top, unless you had given her leeway to do what she felt needed to be done to complete the top.

I do think it turned out nice, although I would be unhappy with the borders too, both the size discrepancy and the hourglass blocks. I like the quilting. But as someone else pointed out, you're the customer, it's your quilt, and she needs to make it right. At the very least, I would try to have a calm conversation about the communication between the two of you - what you said vs what she heard, why she felt comfortable making changes (especially cutting your blocks!) without consulting you first, and maybe once things have been cleared up, give her the chance to fix it for you without incurring further charges.

BSKTLOFR-QUILTER

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Sometimes a larger top boarder helps to lengthen a quilt or makes an emphasis on the design. Jenny from MSQC does this sometimes. I don't know your relationship with this lady but my guess is you don't feel comfortable speaking to her about it. As to whether she takes offense, it seems you have a previous relationship with this person and if approached in the correct way, she will not be offended. You may question her as to why she went in the direction she did and be honest with her. It's obvious both of you weren't on the same page when she made the quilt. I hope you can get this resolved satisfactorily for both of you. After posting the picture of the border I tend to agree with you that I wouldn't be happy with it either. Good luck.

Mrobert

She is a creative person and I have had issues in the past with her putting a pink binding on a quilt intended for a little boy. She said she didn’t know I was giving it to a baby boy, but didn’t consult me. After that incident, I always purchased the fabric I wanted used, laid out the blocks on top of the fabric the way I wanted, printed off a photo and gave it to her so there would be no misunderstanding. I think she thinks I will like whatever changes she makes so just goes with it. I really don’t understand her thought process on this quilt.

Oh, well.

Peckish

Time to find a new quilter!

Grace creates

I do love the quilt and I think it was done very pleasing to the eye. However, your not happy so communicate with the quilter. Keep an open mind though. I can understand why she made the embroidered blocks smaller. If they were bigger the embroidery would be lost and not be pleasing to the eye. The woman work reflects good use of scale. It also appears she put quite a bit of work into this quilt. She is talented but maybe not a good listener. If your so unhappy find a new quilter.

scrappingfaye58

I understand your frustration. I would not be happy if my clear instructions were not followed. , I agree with other posters. It's beautiful. I think I would leave it as it is (I know me... I would start to take it apart, make an even bigger mess and never finish it). I do think that I would have a frank, honest conversation with her, and point out what you have posted here. (perhaps negotiate a partial refund to ease your discomfort) and in the future put every detail in writing,

Onebyone

The quilter is happy but you aren't. Be the happy one.

juliasb

It really doesn't matter what she thinks when you see it out of alignment. If that is what makes you feel insync there is no harm in asking. All she can do is say yes or no. Then you know what you want for the future too. IMHO it is a beautiful quilt. Cutting the blocks to 9" was a good call. You hold the power in your hands. I think too setting it aside for several months is a good thing to do before making a cut that you might regret later on. This is from one OCD person to another. The hard part it to let it set for 3 months.