I found the archived post stating Lindeblad should be avoided for rebuilds. I tried searching the sub and Reddit in general to find more posts about this, and I came up empty. A Google search also didn't return reasons why they are to be avoided.

Here is the post in question.

https://www.reddit.com/r/piano/s/PfZIAMuA3a

I'm curious, as Lindeblad runs constant ads on Facebook promoting their giveaways of rebuilt Steinways, why they are not trustworthy. Is it the quality of their work, or choosing pianos that aren't good candidates for a rebuild, or the materials used?

I have nothing to do with them or any rebuilder. I just had a Mason and Hamlin grand rebuilt. It is now in my piano studio. I trust my local tuner/technician/rebuilder and wouldn't take my business elsewhere. I've just never heard anything negative about Lindeblad, but maybe they are creative about keeping online searches pristine so pianists like me wouldn't know better about their reputation.

Hello fellow teachers,

I "rent" space from a local used piano store. The owner is a tuner/technician/rebuilder. He does not charge me rent, but I throw money his way when I can. I have cleaned his store and stocked the bathroom with toilet paper, paper towels, soap, and an expensive plunger. He does not clean the bathrooms at all, doesn't vaccuum his store, and doesn't dust any of the pianos.

He has burned bridges with other colleagues. A trusted friend who is a retired teacher shared how he demeaned her and was incredibly rude over his political stance, and as disgusted as I was to do business with him, I needed a place to teach my group classes to retired adults.

He has been problematic from the start. Today I posted on my personal facebook feed a picture of my newly rebuilt grand piano in my piano studio. He commented about the rebuilder I chose, and clearly this guy was jaded that I didn't choose him to rebuild for me. He has known for THREE YEARS that I am working with a different rebuilder, and he has not been this vile to me.

Anyway, after his unprofessional comment, he then started blowing up my phone. He told me to fuck off and used other choice words that I don't need to go into here.

I refused to engage and left him on read. I found a place to rent that is not ideal. It's one location I teach at, and I used to hold classes there. The owner and I get along well, but their instruments are in terrible shape, not to mention inadequate heating and lighting. I've been looking for a place to move to for several years now, but I can't afford commercial rent or a commercial mortgage.

Anyway, this guy has now publicly shamed himself and killed a professional contact (me). WHY would someone do this to a piano teacher? I have sent many students his way for tuning. I posted pianos on facebook marketplace for him. I have supported him publicly. I gave him a ride to run errands after a major blizzard when his car was stuck in his driveaway snowbank.

His wife is actively dying. I don't know if that is a factor. This seemingly came out of nowhere, but he has spilled his vitriol about others to me over the years. I've tried escaping these conversations, but he catches me after class and tries to engage. It's painful to extricate myself from his conversations.

Had I known he hated me as much as he says for years, I would have left long ago. His texts remind me of the drunken rants my mother-in-law goes on. I'm in Wisconsin, so I wouldn't be surprised if this guy is was drunk today.

I am just venting here. I'm open to ideas, but not necessarily expecting anyone to be able to fix my situation. I know I'll be fine. I've been looking into creating a nonprofit to secure grants to help retired adults afford lessons. I don't know where to turn for answers on getting started, but I'm networking and trying to get the ball rolling on seeing what my options are.

[D] How do you keep track of your go to favorite pieces? Do you put them all in a binder or have a dedicated bookshelf for your faves? I have so much sheet music it just spills over into every corner.

As you may have noticed, we have had a significant increase in posts from app developers and other self promotional posts, as in DAILY. Our moderator team has been removing these and directing them to comment on the stickied post. Please continue to report content you suspect may violate the rules. Our moderator team tries to stay on top of the many daily posts, and we appreciate each of you helping to keep this community healthy and thriving. Thank you!

Edit: Also, if you have ideas to improve this community regarding promotional content, we always welcome your feedback. The rules, culture of the sub, and our immense growth are all driven by you and your requests.

Did anyone else purchase the "whole shop" pack or any of the bundles from TheStitchPatterns on etsy? I did back in 2022, and now instead of downloading the patterns manually off etsy you have to subscribe to an external website. The download is capped at something like 30 per month or you have to pay yet another fee. I get that most of us won't need to use more than 30 patterns each month, but it's the principle of this that irks me because I paid for lifetime access.

I went through the process of setting up an account on the external website. The downloads are so cumbersome. It kept trying to make me pay for access, and I was able to get around it. I eventually gave up and haven't tackled that challenge.

I bought it mainly for the mini masterpieces. They are so tiny and won't take me long to stitch up, so I would like to download them in bulk and just save them to my hard drive or cloud storage so I can call up the one I want to work on.

Yes, I have spoken with their customer service via email. They aren't the most helpful, but at least I have access. Their etsy shop says they are based out of NYC, so I would think they would have better service and I could get a live person, and maybe I can download everything in zip files to save so I don't have to go in each month to download more and more. Who wants to keep track of all that?

Does anyone have tips for how you've downloaded patterns? Have you had success with their customer support? I am not feeling confident that this was a wise purchase. I think they got too big for their britches and made access much harder than it had to be. I realize I didn't spend a lot to get access, but I am tempted to call them out on their shenangans for making me pay additional monthly fees to access my supposed lifetime access to their shop.

Edit: it feels like bait and switch to pay a flat fee for lifetime access, and then have them change that at any point (future or not) so I have to pay more to get that access. It’s also shady to pay that now and not be told there are additional fees.

UPDATE: I thought I could report this to the consumer general in New York state since their etsy shop says they are in NY. Their signature on the original email I got from Etsy says Ana G Pico is in El Paso, TX. When I Google searched Ana G Pico, it is pulling up a healthcare executive in Texas, but it appears she is not the same person as the etsy artist. Below is what I found on the Dover Publications website for a book they wrote. Amazon has each sister listed as a separate author, but no other info is provided. I think it would be a wild goose chase to determine this person's actual location and then file a complaint. Also, how would I even file a complaint against someone in Mexico? I doubt the Mexican government cares enough to have any overarching agencies look into this, even though these "sisters" have amassed quite a following across the world between etsy, amazon, etc.

Per Dover Publications:

Ana Gabriela Pico Villalpando

Sisters Gaby and Ale launched their cross-stitch design company in 2016 and have since created thousands of patterns based on dozens of themes. Gaby converts the art into patterns and is located in Mexico with her husband and two children. Meanwhile, Ale selects which art pieces will be adapted and is based in Spain with her children, husband, and dog. 

I read through the wiki and didn’t see mention of books to address the issues that cause hoarding. My parents are hoarders. I have clutter. I want to address my issues and avoid becoming a hoarder. I am working with a therapist.

I found a couple books on Amazon but am unsure which will help someone address their own issues and work through them. Can anyone recommend books that have helped you or someone you know to declutter and address the underlying issues?

I am a child of abusive parents. I don’t know if that is the root cause of my trauma that is causing hoarding tendencies. My mom (baby boomer generation) is extremely frugal and saved everything. All of my grandparents were hoarders (silent generation). I am terrified it’s going to trickle down a third generation (xennial) and claim me too.

Please comment here with the FREE product or service you wish to publicize.

I realized I should have stitched the yellow background a few more rows around the entire edge so I have space when sewing this into an ornament. I was so excited to get started I wasn’t planning this out well.

Would it be better to stitch around the outside in a different color since I did basketweave for the background? I fear there will be a visible line between the main background and any additional rows, even if I basketweave the “new” background in the same color. It feels like a second color around the outside will feel awkward or busy and detract from the central design, but maybe I’m overthinking this.