Walmart quilts

to quote dd. "lovingly made by chinese dissidents". Why not tell her you aren't sure from just photos. Maybe she should wash them and bring them for you to look at. They probably will fall apart when washed. Taria

Ewwwww. I see this as a lose/lose situation. If you tell her what she wants to hear - that she got a wonderful bargain - and then she sees a thousand of them at WalMart for $10 less, she will think you are totally stupid. If you tell her that she's been had - she's going to be defensive and probably angry. No winning that one. Tell her you have an alligator in your bird bath and you'll have to call her back. One day. Polly

Very true. When confronted with similar situations, I have said (to the effect), "If you like something, and it was worth - to you - at least what you paid for it, then it was a good buy."

Just my $.02 - YMMV - I could be wrong - sorry, that's allI got.

Doc

I feel for you, Kate. It's so hard to be put on the spot by a relative that way -- especially when you suspect she may resent hearing the truth. :( Can you tell her that you really can't inspect the quilts via photos? Therefore, she'd *have* to go to the LQS for an opinion?

Thank you for the smile at that visual Polly. I needed that this morning. You and Butterfly with her great news are a great way to start the day here. Hugs, Taria

Glad it made you smile, Taria, but it really does happen. For the most part, gators are truly lazy, barely move. They will come observe if there's fishing going on but they don't even wiggle when the Canadian geese that winter-over here use them for a landing pad. Of course, you never know. There's a place west of us where there are lovely little shops, a park, beautiful old oaks and sweet little restaurants and a gator did indeed come cool himself in their bird bath/wishing well/koi pond sort of display. He was suspected of wanting to take a tourist for lunch. Polly

I agree with other peeps: the correct answer is "I *cannot* tell from photographs. You need to have someone local look at them in person."

--pig

Of course, if the cousin is local, that answer won't work...

Julia > I agree with other peeps: the correct answer is "I *cannot* tell from

Howdy!

I'm w/ you, Roberta; tell her, why should it be a secret? "You get what you pay for... or less." Kate, will you lose this woman's loving friendship over this? I mean, so what will she do? - stop talking to you? Junk is junk.

Btw, "made by Chinese dissidents" - while a clever little line wouldn't cover (!) this situation; dissidents would balk at being one of the crowd mindlessly following the govt mandate for cheap labor; these quilts are more often made by the conformists who don't care or are unable to fight The System.

R/Sandy

Those are simply miserable pieces of work, and most will fall apart the first time through the wash! I did break down and buy one a few years ago because the colors and pattern were so striking, but the "quilting" was what I would call basting at best. In fact, I kept those stitches in as basting while I actually quilted it properly, and only then did I wash it! Now that quilt is on a bed in the small guest room, and the cat likes to nap on it.

And I'm sincerely grateful that she's NOT going to be coming into 'my' quilt store for an appraisal!

joan :>

At one time, our local Joanns carried the same type of quilts that Walmart does. I told one of the clerks one day that I sure didin't appreciate them carrying the cheapie quilts that cost less than it would cost me to buy the fabric, batting and thread from their store to make a quilt myself. She told me that they had to carry what headquarters told them to carry. Not too long after that, all of those quilts were marked way down and put on the sale table. Guess none of the other local quilters appreciated them either!

Donna in SW Idaho

I'm w/ you, Roberta; tell her, why should it be a secret? "You get what you pay for... or less." Kate, will you lose this woman's loving friendship over this? I mean, so what will she do? - stop talking to you? Junk is junk.

Btw, "made by Chinese dissidents" - while a clever little line wouldn't cover (!) this situation; dissidents would balk at being one of the crowd mindlessly following the govt mandate for cheap labor; these quilts are more often made by the conformists who don't care or are unable to fight The System.

R/Sandy

Perhaps proof (yet again) that the folks who sit at headquarters haven't got a clue what goes on at the local store, which should have been predictable: the sort of peeps who shop at Joann's don't want POS Chinese quilts, and the sort of peeps who want POS Chinese quilts have no interest at all in a store whose entire purpose of existence (at least in theory) is to serve DIY artists and crafters.

Kind of like having a store in a neighborhood of mixed Orthodox Jews, strict Muslims and vegetarians and having headquarters demand that they devote part of the store to a big bacon and ham display. Better look good in the case, because it ain't ever going to be anywhere BUT in the case...... :)

--pig

I had bought one at Sears for $19.99, that was basically a top that had a log cabin pattern all across it, and had been machine quilted in a pattern reminding me of a matress pad. My ex and I used it on the bed because the dog slept there all the time. It actually was quite sturdy and washed up well.

No good quilt for the top of that bed!

G> Those are simply miserable pieces of work, and most will fall apart

is there any sign that there once was a tag on the quilt? One can always cut a tag off but looking closely you usually can tell that there once was a tag ....some of those dang threads don't ever go away.

Donna in WA

Oh Yikes Kate! Ummm...., anyway you could hedge?

Michelle in Nevada