Attn Kate

LOL..Kate, now, despite the pathetic job that she did, I think she needs our pity more than we think.....

Larisa

Kate Dicey wrote:

It would certainly be in the spirit of. 'I think you would find this useful'!

It's funny... I got quite cross with her for upsetting the customer, but I was more puzzled over all about the whole thing. She's close to retirement age (65 here in the UK) and probably could do with some good old fashioned 'pin money' to put a little icing on her cake. This will have put a real dent in her earnings if she was relying on the shop putting her name forward as a dressmaker, as the customers have told the shop the mess she made of it. If she just stuck to what she knew she could do well, she'd have done nicely out of it.

The other thing is, if she's charging £200 per dress for her standard of work (most of which might be fine), what should *I* be charging?

==========================

"It's funny..." What a benign way to introduce "innocent" criticism of others. That's right up there with ripping into someone and ending with "Bless her heart"

It's funny... So here we have the word from the Queen herself, or is it "The Lady of the House speaking"?

She's now into shameless self-promotion of her business of making the Armani of bridesmaids' and other dresses while others make junk that only she can make right. Complete with progress reports and pictures on a website thoughtfully provided with each post, and there many. It's not enough she should succeed; others must fail.

Chatty as it is, it is still a commercial, and forbidden by the charter of this NGrp, as she has reminded others.

You are a clever and talented lady, Kate. Bless your heart.

>

I count Kate among my friends. I find her to be kind, compassionate and funny. Her posts are a welcome addition to my day. You, ruffian125, are a coward, hiding behind a false name to sling your outrageous slurs.

No at all, my dear! (Please read this in a tone of amused condescension

- it would be appropriate) All the regulars here know that I sew part time to make a little extra for the icing on the cake. They also know that I don't sell anything through the group - or on my web site. If you or they want to buy my services, you have to telephone me or contact me off group. My phone number isn't on the web site either - you have to look in the right place for that. And no, I'm not telling you what it is; do your homework and find it for yourself if you want me to sew anything for you. I might refuse... I'm VERRRRRRRRY picky about the commissions I accept! ;D

I've never sewn for Armani - and the house of Armani doesn't make patterns for Vogue or any other pattern company. Never has, so I'm unlikely ever to do so. I refuse to copy other designer's work: that's a breech of their copyright. You can buy the pattern for the bridesmaid dresses yourself whenever you want, but not through me. You'll have to go to a shop for it, or buy it on line from Butterick. Why don't you do that, and make it up, documenting every step. If you get stuck, there are lots of garment sewing folk here who will be happy to help you, or you could pop over to one of the more general sewing news groups, like alt.sewing.

The whole purpose of this documentation was to show others the error and how it was made, and how to:

1 To put it right, should other stitcher's need to do this 2 To help them NOT to make the error in the first place 3 To provide a documented progress report for constructive criticism: had you been in at the start of this, you would have known that I asked for advice - and got it, from other news group members, here and elsewhere.

If you look at the whole thing, you will see that most of my reaction to this episode was severe irritation that a customer should be treated in this way, pity for the bride and her family being left with unwearable dresses, and puzzlement that anyone who set themselves up as a professional dressmaker would produce such shoddy work, especially when doing it right is relatively easy. I dunno 'bout you, but I'd call it a pretty poor show to use thread of poor quality that didn't match the fabric, a machine with poor stitch quality, bad techniques, and inadequate fittings if I was to do it free for a friend. To charge for doing it is beyond my poor intellect to understand.

Would you all go have a look for me and see where in the history of this sorry mess I have touted for your business in any way, shape or form? I can't find an ad... If I did have a commercial web site, rather than one provided free to any viewer containing free information and lessons in how to do certain sewing techniques, I would not be giving away all my best sewing techniques, for which I either paid to learn, or spent months and years acquiring and perfecting. I'd be keeping them secret and telling you all you had to pay me to make the stuff for you! Commercial? Moi! Hehehehehehehe! If I was, I'd have earned a damned sight more than I did in the last tax period! (Insert hollow laugh: the tax man paid me last year, rather than me paying him!)

Would y'all also have a look and see where on the site anything is for sale? OR where I OFFER to sew for anyone at all, never mind anyone on the news group!

In any case, it would be a little silly to expect folk on the news group (the nearest member of which lives several hours away, and most of whom live on a different continent - or three!) to come to me for fittings - and I don't sew for anyone without LOTS of fittings!

As for my question, if you do a little Google search of this news group, you will see that over the years, several folk have asked what a respectable charge would be for work. They were not offering to sell their work here either, just asking what it is worth. THAT'S not forbidden by the charter.

I have several bits of paper that tell me that... I tend to disregard them. I acquired them for fun.

Thank you. I am greatly blessed in my friends here. Oh, and by the way, *I'M* not a R.C.T.Q queen... They are over testing chocolate by the cyber quilting frame. I merely oversee the issue of chocolate buttons. Would you like some?

Now, before you go, can we see what you are quilting?

Thank you, Sweetheart. Love you too! :)

(some drivel that I've snipped)

And you are WHO exactly?

Ever posted on here before?

Do you even know what we have been talking about before you decided to slam into someone who you obviously don't even know?

I think not... so please go crawl back under your troll-rock - and stay there!

Suzie B

-- "From the internet connection under the pier" Southend, UK

You go girl! I for one think that you are a class act, all the way. I appreciate you putting the saga of the bridesmaids dresses on your website, because I'm always looking to improve my dress making skills, and this way, i have the benefit of your experience. Thank you so much! I've been reading this NG for nearly a year now, and i've NEVER once seen you "advertise" your services to us, just asking us for advice and a place to vent. Keep right on doing that. Those of us who know and love you have no problems with it whatsoever. By the way, when's the next installment due?

Thank you. As long as someone learns from this, it's worth the brickbats!

Something I learned doing it: Sewing something so that it will NEVER come undone in normal use can be counter productive!

The next instalment would go up tonight, but I'm too tired! I spent a while playing with Visio to draw some pix of how to cut bias garments to avoid the corkscrew effect. You have to tell me if they work when I do get them up!

Wish I'd done tec drawing as well as art when I was at school! It would help here!

Bravo. Lovely. You are truly a lady, Kate. Diana

I'm not a kind person! I'm a self promoting commercial seller wiv REEEELY BIG SCARY TEEF!

Hehehehehehehehehehehehe!

Oh good, as I'm always a little wary of mentioning it... There are plenty others on the newsgroups who earn by their sewing, and I only know about it from a passing mench or their sig lines.

Unfortunately, 'butchered' is about right. The pattern was fairly well hacked about up that zip side. I still think that was very peculiar!

don't!!! In fact,

I get the impression that she' way over the other side of Maidstone, and as I have no idea what she looks like or what her name is, I can't tell you. I probably wouldn't in public anyway.

I tried hard NOT to be unpleasant, but there was nothing good to say about much of this work.

I'm not afraid of close-ups of my stitching - I'm proud of some of it, and pleased it came out so well. I hope seeing it close encourages others to try the techniques, as this is a big part of why I keep the web site going. I think 'If *I* can do it, so can others: it just needs a little encouragement.'

And there's NO getting away from it: I HAVE to teach! nearly as much as I HAVE to sew!

Even people who can't sew at all can see these were an unwearable mess.

I think they went with the closest to them of the people on the shop's list: all the prices for this sort of work seem to be much the same round here.

I can HOPE that would be the case: I never let a customer order a garment from me without them seeing other work I have done. They like to see the web site too, but that isn't why I stared it, or its primary use.

I started the web site when I asked for help on another news group with a project that was puzzling me at the time. The people on that news group wanted to see the project. I *THINK* it was the fairy wings stuff I did for the school. As I got web space as part of my ISP deal, I used that: no point in having a Webshots album (good though those undoubtedly are), if I already had space to use. It started as 'show & tell' space, much like so many here have in various places, because we ALL like to see what everyone else is up to! I also added the teaching bits because I thought they would help others with problems they were having. One of the best received has been the page about blind hemming, and the AFR crowd liked the diary of the Wench Garb.

I have another big project in the pipeline, which will provide LOTS of teaching opportunities: free lessons on how to expand a princess line pattern for a large bust, how to interline or mount a whole garment, something about horsehair braided hems... If you don't want them, don't look. Enough other people have expressed an interest for me to know that there's a need for this information out there.

No! No! Not Lurkdom! Better the ninth circle of Hell... MUCH warmer and more welcoming!;)

What you said, Wendy! I agree!!!!

ooooooh, Kate, I for one can hardly wait for that princess seam lesson....i love how princess seams look on me, but always have a difficulty in the bust line, not because of being well endowed, although that is the case as well, but i have a broad back.

oh Kate or is it Diana? what luverly big teef ya both got!!! i missed the beginning of this thread but i've been reading for nearly 4 yrs now on rctq bout all the great things Kate sews. i'm in awe of her accomplishments. i've never seen nor heard anything even vaguely like self promotion, just telling us what shes up to in the real world. we still wuv u too Kate. :) jeanne*

Ever seen a fuzzy wuzzy woggy with a set of halloween false teeth?? Ya.. thats the picture.. reaaaaaly scarey... Intimidating?? Now that we can talk about. :-) Diana

Sounds like you're jealous of Kate'a abilities....are you the original seamstress of the bridesmaid's dresses? :-)

You seem to have picked up a net stalker, Kate. They're a nasty breed but for the most part they don't do any harm a good killfile can't fix.

I have thoroughly enjoyed the saga of the bias-cut dresses, as I enjoy all of your web site. It amazes me that you have been as restrained as you have in making criticisms of the original dressmaker; it demonstrates how much dignity you have, unlike this foul troll. And I have never got the impression you were touting for business on this group. I have also never heard of ruffian125. If you are a newbie, ruffian125, please don't tell our respected regulars what are the rules of this group. And if you are a regular, have the decency to show your face.