Thursday, June 21, 2012

May Cottage Finish and a Stupid "Ann Taylor" Employee

Gentle Readers and Dear Friends thanks so much for your kind comments on Mr Stanley and his adventures here in Sf and Florida.  If all goes as planned he will be winging his way home today.
____________

Last nights stitching involved lots of frogging and my figuring out what exactly my problem was with this particular Cottage.  I think after I took off quit a few bits that it was overcrowded.  I removed the fence, two clouds and the sun.  I also converted all the DMC Floss to over dyed choices to soften up the colour - now I am much happier about this month and have moved on to June.  here is a snap...



I took about a dozen snaps of this and can't seem to get a decent shot - the flash bleaches out the colour something terrible, but you get the idea.  I'll try over the weekend for a better shot in natural light.  Here is a list of the floss' I used - with the recommended Floss choice coming first:

676 - WDW Whiskey
959 - CC Tyler Boy Blue
964 - WDW Aqua
3031 - CC Hickory Sticks
3806 - WDW Peony
CC Frog Legs - HSH Leapfrog
WDW Bright Leaf
White - DMC B5200

I kept the WDW Bright Leaf, I couldn't get any of the CC Frog Legs (it seems that everybody had run out), but I did have the HSH alternate Leapfrog in my stash.  I kept the DMC B5200 White - as I have used it in the other Cottages.  Here is an overall shot...


Sorry about the extra "wonk" to the shot, but you get the idea.  For the June Cottage I have once again converted all the DMC's to over dyed, including the white..... and as I keep looking at the piece I am thinking about frogging out the fence in March......
_____________

I usually try and not get on my soap box often but yesterday I read an article on line that set my teeth on edge and got my dander up!!!  Here is the ARTICLE - in a nutshell - an Ann Taylor store employee basically asked a shopper in an Ann Taylor store with a guide dog to leave the store as "dogs" weren't allowed in the store.  Clearly she was with a guide dog and needed her to navigate and shop, but the employee was adamant and so she and her dog Cricket were asked to leave and they left.  Becky, the shopper with dog, posted about it on her BLOG.  The store issued some lame excuse .....  "that the reason she was asked to leave was the dog was off her harness"  ....  what .....  are they kidding!!!  A guide dog is there to guide, hence would be in a harness....  a complete fabrication by the store to get out of a sticky situation.  In this day and age an employee dealing with the public can't tell the difference between a guide dog and a dog on the loose!!!!  What a commentary about the stores training and dealing with public.  Now, I don't shop at Ann Taylor, but if I did I think this horrendous move by their employee and then by corporate would sour my perception for a good long time and I would do my shopping and spending elsewhere!!!  Read the article and read Becky's posts about the incidents and the "apology."  It's an eye opener for sure.
_____________

That's about it for today sports fans.  Thanks for stopping by, do come again... I'll be a little less caustic tomorrow!!!!

Take care,
edgar

24 comments:

  1. Edgar- omg this situation makes my blood boil. How can anyone not know that service dogs are allowed everywhere? I don't like to call people stupid but I can' t think of a more descriptive term. And it annoys me that commenters to the article blamed Becky for not standing her ground. I wish people understood that if you have a disability that doesn't automatically make you the kind of person who wants confrontation. As the mother of a son with a disability I know how difficult it is to advocate for yourself in stressful situations.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. "Stupid" is not the correct term..."ignorant" is. Clearly these people did not know the law, and for that they can be forgiven. What they CANNOT be forgiven for is not recanting when Becky calmly explained the law to them. That is inexcusable and unacceptable.

      Delete
  2. I just sent an email to Ann Taylor expressing my outrage. Training, I worked many years at Filene's here in New England, never received "training" but for Pete's sake I did not grow up in a bubble. A guide dog is not a fashion accessory , I bet they would never ask a "celeb" to leave if they had a small dog with them.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Your cottages are beautiful!

    Thanks for telling me Becky's story about Ann Taylor. Shameful!!! First of all that it happened and then their making it worse by not being truthful about it.

    I'll not be shopping at Ann Taylor.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I think that store needs a good scolding! If I had a business I'd allow dogs...guide dogs or not!

    I am behind on my cottages. Gotta get to it!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Your SAL is coming on well, looks great.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Love your May cottage finish -- and they look beautiful all together! I hope the Ann Taylor employee got a good scolding for what she did. And that Ann Taylor stops backing her action. Geez!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I love those bees on the May cottage. So tiny but they make the piece pop!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hello

    Your cottage is lovely, I like your modifications.

    Terrible service by a store who should have been more understanding.
    Happy stitching!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Wonderful stitching Edgar. I love your cottage finish.

    What I don't like is that story. I can't believe that Ann Taylor did that. What century are they living in for goodness sake? I guess I really have a hard time believing that a store would do that because I live in a city that's famous for their Leader Dogs - Leader Dogs for the Blind in Rochester, Michigan. I constantly see the dogs in training and the people that they are helping! In fact my son's best friend's family is training a puppy right now. We've almost brought home dogs for training, but the hardest thing was the thought that we'd have to part with them after a year. My kids couldn't stand that, so when they're gone I'll probably be training dogs instead of raising kids. Shame on Ann Taylor!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Beautiful cottage finish!
    I agree with you about the dog. How ridiculous. I bet though if a celebrity walked in with their little dog in a purse or in their arms, then they would be allowed to shop to their hearts content. Ann Taylor's hands should be smacked for that.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I love the bees on the border of the May cottage!! I think it looks great...I think there's quite a lot going on there, so I can't imagine it with even MORE! Your changes look fantastic...looks like it was the right thing to do.

    Ann Taylor: Oh my. I love how Becky turned it into "lemonade," though. And thanks so much for linking her blog...it is delightful and I'm going to follow it!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Love the changes on the cottage it is less busy. I think I would have stood outside the store with a sign. That is one saleGIRL I would make sure never waited on me.

    ReplyDelete
  13. You did a great job on the cottage! I like it much better than the way it was designed : ) What a shame about Ann Taylor. You would think they would at least take responsibility for what happened & issue an apology to that customer. Very, very sad.

    ReplyDelete
  14. 30 lashes with a wet noodle...(or at least 6 strands of heavy , but coarse hemp)
    love your finish...ok, nuff said
    ~L

    ReplyDelete
  15. Love your cottage! And thank you for sharing about that article, and the ladies blog! I love how she is using it as a positive experience to educate people! What a neat individual!!

    ReplyDelete
  16. I simply adore your cottage and the change of the floss to overdyed threads! Always enjoy reading your blog. I find it interesting about the store, Ann Taylor. I shope there alot for professional clothes and can't believe they were like that about a guide dog. People need to be more educated evidently or whoever was saying that. Crazy!

    ReplyDelete
  17. I love the houses. I was just wondering how you go about converting DMC colors to over dyed threads. I have pattern that I want to stitch but it calls for all DMC threads. I have looked around on the internet but haven't found anything that lists all the colors. I would appreciate any thoughts you might have about swapping the colors. Thanks in advance.

    Melody

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Melody - I hope you see this as your comments are set to "no-reply" - The way I convert from DMC to something else is super easy - and certainly not the only way - I will pull all the recommended DMC floss for the project and also get out the linen I want use - I like 36ct. Then decide what I really want to do the project in - be it silk or over dyed cotton. After that decision I haul out all my stash in either silk or cotton and then just start to pull skeins of what I think would be either a spot on match or a close to match with the DMC the designer choose. I often will change a spot on match to something I prefer - and eventually I come up with a palette I like and get to stitching. I hope that helps - let me know if you have other questions!!

      Take care,
      edgar

      Delete
  18. Really enjoying your cottages. I like how you ... hmm ... simplified May. Can't wait to see how you stitch up June.

    ReplyDelete
  19. The cottages are so sweet and I love your take on them!
    As for Ann Taylor and the employee, shame....kudos to Becky for her grace in this situation and ability to make lemonade!!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Beautiful stitching, Edgar!
    As for the story, this trend seems to be going around. When my kids' grandmother came to visit from LA, we went to the restaurant and had a similar experience. She has a guide dog, and our hostess tried to ask us to leave because "dogs were not allowed." Thankfully, in our situation the manager knew what was going on, but we all were pretty frustrated, especially my mother-in-law.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Cottage village is looking super,I like your version with its colour changes.

    ReplyDelete
  22. I love the changes you have made to your May cottage. It looks great!

    I am horrified that in this day and age someone would respond in this way to a service animal. Especially after the situation had been explained to them! It's truly shameful! I think Becky responded to them with true grace. I don't think I could have kept my cool in that matter.

    ReplyDelete

“In every end, there is also a beginning.”

 Gentle Friends, I finished the sampler last night and here's a snaperooo... Village Square Sampler from Samplers Remembered   1/8 - 3/2...