Commisioned quilts, etc.

An interesting and difficult issue. I always said that I would never do one and in fact, initially got into teaching quilting because of friend's requests to 'please, would you make me a quilt?' I said: no, but I'll teach you how. Those who have never made a quilt have no idea of the amount of work involved. That said, recently I was approached to make a quilt for a bachelor turning fifty this year and as I could find no-one else to take it on, decided to ask four friends if they would consider doing this quilt with me. They agreed, feeling that they may have something to learn from it..(not sure if I'm learning more from them than they from me or the quilt design now). We are three quarters of the way through and it has to be ready for frames in April. We priced our labour out this way: five of us making the quilt, which is unusual as most people do it singularly, we asked for enough money each to end up going out to buy fabric for a whole quilt ourselves, added the cost of what we felt we would need to purchase fabric, the cost of the handquilter's fee, plus a cushion for stationery needs, running the design images off for each person, a CD of the images (birds in this case) from the Audubon reference materials. As it is, we will have $85.00 left over and this is not charging for the other quilter's gas in driving here to my home which I wish that we had factored into the overall cost. I asked for and got the money upfront. I wouldn't do it otherwise. However, doing something for a friend puts a slightly different slant on this. We are doing it for strangers other than the gentleman himself whom I've met with briefly to choose colours and see his home decor. I don't feel that one can charge by the hour for making a quilt because the hours are endless and would be endlessly expensive. There has to be an element of doing this with your heart instead of your head, I guess. Otherwise, you'd have to be crazy to do this to make money.

Judy, your fish quilt is interesting. Thanks for explaining it. I'm wondering if you are machine quilting the background? I have achieved the same effect with stipple quilting and love the textured ground it gives. I have one such wallhanging in one of the guest's bedrooms and was looking at it yesterday as I was changing the beds and thinking how attractive stipple quilting is.

TerTer, danged if you didn't loose your addresses, what a nuisance.

Rosey