Hi,
Just thought I would throw in my two cents to give you all some perspective. I am a hand quilter for hire. My rates start at $.10 a square inch and go up. I also charge for marking, and binding. It can take me up to three or four months to do a queen size quilt so you wouldn't want to pay me by the hour.
I have a friend who charges double what I do. She has done several raffle quilts that have brought in lots of money for various guilds etc.
I have two large hoops, a Hintenberg and a Grace. At times I have a quilt going on both frames. One upstairs and one down.
My best customer was a local woman who owns a custom framing business. She inherited about a dozen tops from her grandmother. In the last three years I have quilted all of them for her. She was trained as a musuem curator and she was thrilled with my work. You should see her home. She had all special window glass installed to protect her antiques from sun damage.