kristakz

Thank you all for your great advice. I really knew what I had to do, but I do hate giving people bad news so I needed that extra push. I gathered my courage and called her an hour ago. She's already stopped by to pick up the quilt and fix the borders. She seemed, while not happy at the extra work she has to do, grateful that I called rather than returning something she would not be happy with. So, I sent her off with the quilt top and a few tips for fitting borders.

QuiltE

Credit to you for taking that step .... the true measure of how she received your info will be known when she returns the top to you. Be sure to take some time with her when she comes, to look at it, praise her ... and give any further tips.

Too often, the borders get slapped on and somewhat little-cared-for, seeing it as the end of a project. Instead, we need to re-think it as the frame that makes or breaks the overall look. The final crowning glory being the binding ... or the final blow of ruins.

It just takes a little more work, a little more time, a little more attention.
.......... and is so worthwhile!

dunster

I watched that video and hopefully learned something from it. Here's another series of videos on fixing a quilt with major issues. The film series uses MQR (Machine Quilting Robot) but there's a lot of useful information even if you don't have MQR. http://www.youtube.com/results?searc...%20issues&sm=3

tessagin

Ditto what suebee stated.

AnnieSue

Thanks to everyone for the youtube links.

Donnamarie

Yes, I would definitely notify the customer. She should remove the borders, measure carefully, and sew them back on. Especially since there is so much extra fabric and you might have trouble fudging it.

Buckeye Rose

I am so glad you called her. One of my first quilts had lots of different borders and was simply huge. I took it to my LA so she could just baste all the layers together as I didn't have the room to spread it out. I found out that it also had ruffly borders, but my LA didn't tell me until after she had basted the layers....nor did she bother to tell me what I had done wrong or how to fix them. It wasn't until after I had finished the fmq that I found this board and found the answers I should have been given earlier. The quilt was a gift for my sister and she cherishes it, mistakes and all. Needless to say, I do not go back to that LA.

bearisgray

Sometimes saying something is "okay/good/ well done/ wonderful" when it is NOT - is doing the maker a disservice, even when it is difficult to make suggestions for improvements.

eparys

I agree with suebee - If she chooses to have you do it - make sure that it is an additional fee. I say that because I worked at a quilt store for awhile and the owner did quilting. An older lady brought in a 12 month BOM which she had made larger by adding 6 borders. I got the task of making it flat. Took me a long while to rip out each of the 6 borders, measure and then sew them back on. By the time I reached the outer border, it had to be trimmed 9 inches to fit.

SuzieQuilts

I do not long arm quilt for hire, but my good friend does ,and this is her biggest complaint. She usually just fixes it, but I agree with the advice on the board, call her before you start quilting. I am going to give my friend the same advice the next time she complains about someone not putting on borders to prevent the wave.