One of the things I couldn't wait to do while I was pregnant was get Audra's nursery set up. I had that major nesting bug, and nearly went crazy not being able to fulfill those desires. Due to the fact that we'd be moving across the country while she was less than a month old, all I was really able to do was order what I wanted and then leave it in the boxes for moving. Now that we're finally somewhat settled, I've got her room looking a bit like what I pictured in my head. There are still a few projects to do, though. (It would have been SO nice to be able to do these projects while she was still in my belly. Doing projects while looking after an infant isn't so easy!)
The projects I still have planned:
-make some wall art that matches her bedding/bright color theme
-sew blackout fabric on the back of her curtains (which wouldn't be necessary if the blackout curtains that are hanging were actually blacking out her room)
-sew a crib skirt
-hang paper lanterns in the corner
-update the mobile to make it more colorful
Notice two of those projects involve sewing. When I first planned these projects, did I even own a sewing machine? No. Did I even know how to sew? No. But I figured there's no time better than the present to start learning. And thus begins the drama. :::sigh:::
Since I didn't know how to sew and the projects I'd be doing basically involve sewing in a straight line lots of times, I didn't want to buy an expensive sewing machine. So I found one on Craigslist that seemed like a good price, and it even did a few of the fancier functions like hemming, zipper stitch, etc. I emailed the seller the night I found it and told her I was interested. She asked me to call the next day, which I did. We played a bit of phone tag to figure out what time I should pick up the machine. One of the times I called her, she answered without realizing it. I did the whole "Hello? ...Hello??..." thing for a bit and then I heard her talk. What I heard her say was, "....yea, but I don't think they'll notice..." I hung up and thought to myself that something smelled fishy... but there was no way to know what she was talking about. I chose to believe she wasn't talking about us & the sewing machine.
Nic and I went to get the sewing machine later that day. We had her plug it in and show us that it worked before paying. The needle definitely went when we pushed the pedal; all looked good. We paid and were on our way.
Jump ahead a week and a half later, and I'm at a local business having my first sewing lesson. The sweet old lady is teaching me how to wind the bobbin, etc. and all is going great. Until she tries to dip the needle down to pull up the bobbin thread. She tries this maneuver multiple times, but the needle never grabs the bobbin thread. She has the man who works on the machines take a look at it, and he says the timing is off. (Note: I had no idea a needle was even supposed to pick up bobbin thread or that timing could go "out" on a sewing machine at the time that I bought it. I should have maybe done some homework; if I had, I would have known to look for those things.) The cost to fix the timing would have been more than I paid for the machine in the first place, so I left the shop feeling a bit defeated. I got scammed into buying a bad sewing machine, and had paid for a sewing lesson, only to learn that the machine doesn't work. I wasted 2 hours of my day.
So I go home hoping and praying that the seller would give me my money back. We were near the seller's house later that day, so we tried to speak with her in person. We tried her house twice, but she wasn't home either time. Later that night I emailed her and VERY nicely explained the situation. She replied with the machine worked when I sold it to you...yada yada yada... sorry for your misfortune...yada yada yada... items bought on Craigslist are AS IS yada yada yada... I will not be giving you your money back. Well, crap. Now we have a problem.
The seller and I exchanged emails multiple times to the point that I felt like I was in middle school all over again. I thought I had left that place. :( We're talking a bit of bickering was happening, and I couldn't believe I was having drama with a stranger. I don't even have drama in my life with non-strangers. Detailing everything that was said would take way too long, so I'll spare you. But in a nutshell: her stories kept changing, she got super rude about it and the more we talked, the more fraudulent she sounded. I basically had to call her out on all the holes in her stories and threaten small claims on her. Would the small amount have been worth going to court? Probably not. Would I have actually gone to court? Probably not. But did I make myself sound like enough of a hardA for her to cave? Ya, I did. :D She called me one night (I was surprised she had my # still) and asked to meet me so she could give me my money. She was clearly gritting her teeth; it must have been really hard for her to admit defeat. There was no way I was going to go by myself. Besides that, Audra was already in bed. So, I stayed home and Nic met her and they made the exchange. He said she was wearing a black leather biker jacket probably trying to look tough. haha. She made him sign a napkin that stated he received the money. (People with law degrees, would something like that hold up in court? [Not that she'll need it to, just curious.])
I have to admit, I'm a bit proud of myself for the persistence I gave her. And also for how nice I was. Even in the email when I quit playing Mrs. Nicegirl, I wasn't MEAN. I always tried to sound pleasant, like I wasn't doing all this just to cause trouble or drama. She sold me a product that didn't work correctly, and I wanted my money back, those were the facts of the matter. I even gave her a few outs to make it seem like maybe she didn't know and it was an accident, but even so I'd still need my money.
So now that all is said and done, we've got our money back, and I have bought a different sewing machine (one that works!) and I'll have another sewing lesson next week to learn how to use it. The woman giving the lesson was even nice enough to not charge me again. :) So it all worked out.
Anybody out there ever have drama like this? I've gotta say, Craigslist has usually worked out really well in the past. We got our kitchen table from there, an area rug, our TV stand, a large bookshelf... so the moral of the story: don't buy something you don't know much about. :( I suppose being trusting in this case just equaled being naive. Lesson learned.
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