Connie Merritt

Maybe she was NOT being RUDE, just lonely or wanted to ask a question but was put off by an "Attitude" giver. Geez, quilters we pay it forward but this is not the way to pay.

klgreene

It wouldn't have bugged me. I probably would have talked her ear off until she thought she knew everything about me and we were best friends. I do tend to talk alot. I would have asked her all kinds of questions, until she thought that I was the nutty one. LOL I was a receptionist at a doctors office and had lots of nutty people I had to deal with.

hahaannie

yes, I agree with you... I always try to look on the compassionate side when I am unsure of where a person is coming from. There but for the grace of God go I.

KathyKat

That is unreal! I often buy fabric I love because I know it won't take long to get an inspiration for how to use it. I actually don't have much of a stash yet because I've only been quilting since Feb 2010. But how little or how large one's stash is, is nobody's business but our own.

jdeery

you should have said, "I don't know as yet, but when
the spirit moves me, watch out"!

Farm Quilter

Oh dear, I guess I'm one of the strange ones! I buy fabric without the slightest clue of how I'm going to use it, except that it will be in a quilt. I also talk to strangers in any fabric store. I hope I'm not clueless to the unspoken social cues that tell me someone really doesn't want to talk to me.

So, here is a big thank you to the lady I chatted up in JoAnn's in Florida when I was house/pet sitting for my daughter and had been all alone for 3 weeks with no one to talk to. You were so kind to talk with me about your first quilting project...the cat just doesn't talk back very well.

cyniree

wow, When I used to work at Hancocks I was clawed by a customer because we didn't have what she wanted. I totally freaked. Yes they are out there.

patmas57

Clawed! Yikes! Long ago when I worked in the fabric dept. of a Chicago dept. store (yeah, it was a looong time ago), I had an impatient customer throw a spool of thread at me because she didn't like waiting in line while I helped an elderly nun. Then she went upstairs and told management that I'd thrown the spool at her! Fortunately for me, I had lots of witnesses (coworkers), or I would have lost my job.
As for talking to strangers, I used to be very shy when I was young, and always amazed at how my mom could strike up a conversation with anybody, anytime. Now I'm the same way, but I'm sensitive enough to read "cues" that they don't want to talk, and I leave them alone then. I love bringing a smile to someone's face through a brief comment.
And I've been on both sides of the fence with fabric. When I sewed only clothes (and the occasional set of curtains or whatever), I bought only a fraction beyond the yardage I needed for a particular project, but then, I didn't have much money to spend either. I still have fabric that I bought for certain uses that I never used, and now I look at it with repurposing in mind. I used to see fabric that I loved, but when I realized I could never imagine wearing it, in whatever form, I would pass on it. Now I'm afraid because I can see that fabric--as quilts! I'm in more danger than ever before! LOL! And I've also noticed lately that I see patterns in the world and start wondering what sort of block they'd make...

olebat

There are several expressions in our house, one, "If we didn't have weird friends, we wouldn't have any friends at all." Another expression, "What constitutes normal anyway?" and "We birds of a feather . . "

So, in the warm, sunny, South, people commonly strike up conversations with strangers - about any and everything. This is such a drastic change from the cold, clammy Northern states where conversations with strangers are limited to business. When these societies mix, conversation is awkward. Someone tries to be sociable and friendly, and the other is taken aback and offended. Both retreat to their abodes reflecting on the attitude of the other wondering why.

The simple reason is that societies fail to accept change and adapt to new things. Wars are fought - big ones involving many states or nations, and little ones like road rage and shopping cart bashing or a fist fight on the corner after school.

What do we do? Learn to accept all people for who they are, their differences of opinion, and their underlying, (or unseen) psychological or physiological abilities. Remember that people are offended by cold shoulders as much as others are by cold remarks. It is our duty to the human race to try to get along with each other.

In a forum, such as this, we feel safe speaking our opinion because we don't really know each other. Would we be as bold if we were in city park where our voices could be heard by strangers?

Let this be a motto for all of us, "I live in a glass house, and will not cast stones."

Prissnboot

I so totally agree with this statement! I ask people buying interesting fabric what they are doing, and if they don't know, I tell them the fabric is beautiful anyway and I hope they enjoy the finished product. This person sounds like someone who doesn't have anything else better to do than to get in someone else's business. Get a life and stay out of mine, right?