You might think this blog post will be about gardening! You'd think wrong! Ask my DH about my gardening.....he'll fall over laughing! My gardening is limited to what wearable art I create in the Spring and Summer in colors that match the season. So this Spring Garden Saga isn't about my garden. We DO have one that my DH maintains beautifully, but no thanks to my dirty hands!
This post is really about a particular shawl called Spring Garden (perhaps it should be renamed "Spring Garden Saga Shawl!") It's a creation that brings together most of the colors of the season: greens, pinks, lavenders, lilacs, purples, cream, yellow, gold. And it was seen by a customer at Port City Pottery & Fine Crafts. She LOVED it! However, she felt it was too small for her and inquired as to whether or not it could be remade, custom-made, or adjusted in some way to suit her.
My first thought - since this all occurred via phone - was to simply make a larger one using similar colors. So I scrutinized the photos I had of it and pulled all such colors from my (voluminous) stash! No problem! I was to work at the gallery two days later, so I decided to hold off starting the new one to first see if it might be possible to pick up stitches and simply add to the original. I 'm happy to report that it was indeed workable in that way!
Several hours later a larger shawl emerged that I think (hope) will suit this customer perfectly - to go with a special dress she had purchased for a Summer wedding. That part was easy! My policy on custom work is to receive half-payment up front. No problem! I can't even begin, however, to recite the complications involved with payment for the second half. No fault of the customer, the gallery, me, or anyone else involved! Just timing, information, phone calls, reaching the right individuals at the right time.....and on and on ad nauseam!
It all started last Wednesday when the out-of-town customer fell in love with Sping Garden Shawl. I was at the gallery on Friday and began work on it then. I completed the shawl on Saturday. Yesterday I packaged it perfectly for shipping, planning to mail it today. I WILL mail it as soon as the transaction is completed. Again, this is not the fault of the customer or me.....it's just too complicated. I have been in the middle of numerous emails, phone calls to the customer, the gallery, two owners, two member artists, and still it's not finalized. Right now......I'm at home with the finished and packaged shawl; the customer is in Maryland; the original receipt is at someone else's home and she's out shopping, and the people working at the gallery today (who need the original receipt with card numbers and other pertinent info) are as confused as I am!
I AM happy to report that the customer has been totally amenable to making this work out, and she WILL receive her shawl by the end of the week. Moral of the story.......I just don't know! I DO know that we could have used the original item number, perhaps charged the whole thing up front, or just charged the first half plus shipping, and do a completely new transaction for the second half. UGH!!! See I am still confused - so confused that I forgot to take photos of the final thing!
But here's the kicker! Since it's such a pretty shawl, I thought I'd make another similar, using the yarns I had already pulled to recreate it if that became necessary. I had about 1/3 of it done when I decided that I hated it, that the colors, textures, or something just didn't work, and so I pulled the whole thing out last night and will retire the colors/yarns for now. I need a fresh start on a completely different project today!
END OF SAGA - I think! I still need to hear that the transaction was completed so I can ship it out. And I still need to hear that the customer received it and that she still loves it! FINGERS CROSSED!!!
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