They Never Expected That!

In the old days, my parents went into the shop, selected their purchase and handed over the cash. They could see the size. and weight , and quality. Now we order online, and pay with a card, and within a few days, the product we have chosen is delivered to our door. Or is it?

Years ago I had to alter a fancy dress costume for a slim young friend. She had ordered 32/34 thinking it was the bust size. It wasn't, it was the American dress size [bust 60"+]! It could have been a 2-man tent. I altered it for her, and had an awful lot of spare camo fabric left over.

Then there are those people whose supermarket online orders come with very bizarre substitutions. "a birthday cake candle, number 5" being replaced by 2 and 3 [because 2+3 = 5!]  

And others who order patio furniture or cupboards, only to discover they are sized to fit a doll's house. One of my loveliest birthday gifts this last week was a cross stitch kit. At least, that's what my friend thought she was ordering. When it arrived, it was simply the pattern chart, printed out on three sheets of paper. She was, understandably, concerned - she had expected fabric and threads to be included. 

Was it of any use? Fortunately I have some evenweave fabric left over from the 2024 project with Kirsten. And lots of threads- all recently sorted, I can line them up with my DMC shade chart and sort out the exact threads I need. What might have been a disappointment has actually turned out to be an excellent Stash Buster. Thanks C.

Have you ever received a delivery which was not what you expected?