Friday, September 08, 2006

HOHRH Update

I went back to Houses of Hawk Run Hollow tonight. I didn't need to use my chart at all. All I did was work on filling in the blue around the diamonds on House 3 (upper left in the photo). I didn't manage to finish it. I was a little distracted (or bored?) and kept putting it down and doing other things. But I will get the blue done next time and hopefully a bit more done on House 3. I think I have been working on this block for a while now, and I want to move on soon.

I witnessed something today that still has me shaking my head. I went to my LNS today to visit with my friend who owns the shop, and, of course, to shop a little. My LNS offers framing services, so I gave her Kingdom Sampler to frame (I can't wait - I really like the plum overtone of the English Walnut frame we selected for it). As I was in the shop, a customer came in to pick up a needlepoint project she had had the shop frame for her. It was just lovely. The customer had requested that some striped material from her drapes in her home be put on the mat. It looked kind of Martha Stewart style - a floral picture with a striped mat. Not my style, but very pretty. However, it was not possible to match the corners up perfectly due to the stripes in the material. OK, so the shop owner shows the piece to the customer and the customer looks thrilled. Then the corners are pointed out to her, and her whole attitude changes. The owner told her that the problem with the corners was discovered during the framing process and could not be resolved due to the very small amount of fabric the customer gave her. Well... nothing the owner could say to this customer was acceptable. She offered to reframe it with another mat. This customer refused to listen to her. She just grumped and was loud and rude... with three other customers in the store. In the end, the shop owner took the frame apart and took the needlepoint apart, she gave the needlepoint and the refund to the customer who left with a snotty look and not a single word. Of course, the shop absorbed the cost. Doesn't this woman know that special orders are at one's own risk?? Nope, she just decided she was going to be miserable, and that was that! I could not stop shaking my head. What a disappointment this woman was - people that grumpy don't deserve to be stitchers :-) Honestly, the piece was stunning. I have no clue what she didn't like about it! The shop's framer did a fantastic job!
Here is my little Anouk. she looked so cute taking a nap on the loveseat near me tonight, so I dug out my camera. But, as soon as she sensed I was near her, she couldn't help but to peek at me - LOL! I took several photos, but she was peeking in them all! I figured I would share one, as I don't think Anouk has been in my blog in a long time.

Had a little fun in the DVD dump bin at WalMart today - stocking up on fun movies to watch during snow storms - Little Shop of Horrors and Pleasantville.
Daylily: Chili Pepper (yep, with bug)

It feels like summer again here today - love it!

Stitched on today: Houses of Hawk Run Hollow

10 comments:

Unknown said...

HOHRH is looking great Carol.

The shop owner must have been upset by the attitude of the customer, after all the hard work they'd put into framing it and it's not like they made the corners like that on purpose.

I love the daylily in this post.

mainely stitching said...

OMG, that cranky woman should try having something framed over here! They wouldn't even acknowledge her complaints, and certainly would not have pointed out the corners to her. What a pain! I am really sorry for your friend, the LNS owner. Please remind her that this awful woman is a MINORITY in the stitching community. THe rest of us would've been thrilled.

Your daylily with bug is great! I love pictures of bugs. Just not the real thing. ((((shudder))))

And HOHRH looks great. Like you, I have a hard time staying interested with the filling-in that some of Kathy's designs require, but the overall look when finished is well worth the effort!

Anonymous said...

Carol- HOHRH looks great. And I am still in awe over how gorgeous MTM is IRL. Thanks again for the support yesterday.

Jenn L in Chicago said...

Yikes. I'm afraid to wonder how little fabric the grumpy customer provided to do this. And to sit there berating the shop owner like that? Totally unacceptable to me. Although I'm sad that your friend had to eat the cost of what had been done, I'm glad to know she pulled the work apart and gave the customer back her unframed work to take elsewhere.

And Anouk looks so comfy! Zoe's right, my kitties always perk up as I close in... I think they can hear the camera warming up!

Glenna said...

I've seen enough of this to wonder if the woman wasn't looking for a "special discount." I was at the drycleaner's where they do a beautiful tailoring/altering job on anything they touch, and a customer came to claim something and carried on something fierce about some imagined fault with a hem until the owner, with tears of frustration, just gave her the thing for free. I noticed a smug little look of satisfaction on the customer's face going out the door; I think it was all a "game" where the winner gets a freebie. There are a lot of people out here who can't support their lifestyle, so they chisel wherever they can...disgusting. I'm not by nature a violent person, but I just wanted to smash her in the face and then rip out her stolen hem. And I agree with your sentiment about this stitcher not deserving to be one!

Vonna Pfeiffer said...

You're HoHRH looks beautiful! Are you using silks or substitutions, because I think the colors are beautiful....I'm presently stitching VoHRH using DMC's....but I think the HoHRH is actually my favorite....
Great job!

Grouchy, hateful people stink! But it seems the world is filled with them anymore....you have to wonder, what is it in her life that she's not happy with, because I think that is where anger comes from...deep within.
The LNS framer was better off giving back her project so that she couldn't take it round and show everyone what a "terrible" job they did.

LivnLaf said...

Love HOHRH and the colors. It looks fabulous as usual!
As far as framing issues go...I had to take a step back and consider if I wanted to say something about my Bird's Eye Maple piece but I gave it a lot of thought and my sister was pleased with it so I passed on making an issue. I'm one who prefers to take the high road anyway as I loath confrontations. Like a previous comment that person is a minority and ran that risk when she did the special order.It's upsetting to witness such things though...especially when it's a friend defending herself.

Tracy said...

HOHRH is looking wonderful - I'm looking forward to starting this myself.
Years ago I worked in ,what at the time was one of the few LNS in NZ and believe me this kind of thing was very common!I can never understand what makes people behave that way.Hope your friend has a better day today.

Karen's Blog said...

Firstly, HOHRH is lovely.

Secondly, what you experienced in the shop, witnessing what happened with that horid woman is the reason we don't offer framing (even though customers are constantly asking Bren to do it as they see the wonderful framing he has done in the shop). I have heard of too many bad experiences like the one you saw. I feel so bad for your friend who owns the shop.

Wendy said...

HoHRH looks great ~ I'm working on the same block as you currently...except I've already filled in all the blue. My problem is filling in all the black on the roof!

Sounds like a run-in with a crazy needleworker - luckily they are few and far between. How gracious your shopowner was however, I don't think I could have been as kind.