OT: Vent!!

LizzieWolff

I work as a seamstress making re-enactment gowns for women who do old west or victorian re-enactment. Sometimes on RARE occasions I do other projects and VERY RARELY I do alterations. Now I am currently 25 weeks pregnant and I have told all my regular clients that I am not taking on any projects because I know I can't handle all the time in the chair or standing sewing. Plus the stress is out of this world.

Now another note to take into account is that I am the maid of honor in my SIL's wedding and I am not only helping with the MILLIONS of DIY stuff she is doing, but I am also recovering about 6 pieces of furniture for her lounge area. I also just a week ago finished a very lavish shower that involved me baking and cooking a week straight as well as 8 hours the day of the shower and set up.

Well mother in law offered me up to sew something for her employee, while I wanted to say no I also didnt' want to make her look bad. So after playing tag with this girl finally my mother in law gives me her email address and the girl sends me pics of what she wants. I was a little shocked because what she wanted was not my aesthetic AT ALL which means I won't enjoy sewing it and probably wouldn't do it justice because my own creative spirit wouldn't be in it. So then the girl can't make it to a prearranged appointment for measurements but sends my mother in law a bag of clothes that needed to be altered. This is something that was NEVER DISCUSSED!!!! So finally I call my aunt who would love the design of the outfit and totally do it justice and I sent the info to her and the girl and her hit it off and are now working happily together. Well my aunt doesn't do alterations either so I offered to do these.

Well the shower was the 11th of aug, then on the following monday my 8th grader and kindergartener started school so my week was a mess of just getting kids on schedule and cooking meals as well as setting up all the the stuff for my husbands first semester at college. Then this weekend was my birthday. So I was prepared to work tonight and tomorrow on the alterations and send them down with my hubby to give to his mom to give to the co worker.

Well today I get a text asking if they are done. I said no last week was busy. SO my mother in law says she is going to pick them up because she needs them done now and can't wait any more and she'll just pay for the alterations by someone else since its her fault she recommended me.

Now I am sooooo ANGRY! my whole month before the shower was stripping restaining and recovering a small sofa for the shower and prepping all the stuff for that etc and she knows it! I am so angry I can barely see straight and so upset that she would treat me like this when she knows I am pregnant and knows whats been on my plate.

What would you do????

LizzieWolff

I forgot to add that my sister in law couldn't find a dress she liked for the shower so I also sewed a dress for her for the shower.

shutupanddance07

I also sew. Not quite the way you do, or professionally, but I am crafty with the sewing machine. I have discovered 2 things: most people don't sew, and people who don't sew have no concept of the kind of work that goes into completing a project, and the kind of time that takes. 

Take a deep breath, and consider if your MIL actually understands how much work you've been doing. I find that lots of times if you explain to people the amount of time it takes, and the steps involved, that they kinda get it. 

Unless your MIL is usually unreasonable, tell her how this made you feel in the calmest way you can, or get DH to do it for you if you can't keep your emotions in check. We recently had a large family event, and my MIL kept asking me to do extra. DH told her that there was enough on my plate and that the stuff she was adding wasn't important to the event. She agreed and backed off. She just didn't realize that I had all those other things on my plate. HTH...