if there were not people making good money selling their quilts there would not be as large a 'quilting world' out there thriving- i have to totally agree with ghostrider's comments above-
maybe it depends on how/where you were brought up- the experiences you had- in my world- being raised by a very creative single mother- with 6 kids to keep in shoes- we learned that if you are happy with what you are doing- you can make a living at it---it takes setting goals- keeping your goals in focus & working toward them- my mom is an artist--- as in painting-
we were raised to make gifts, learn crafty things- learn to sew- i was making my brother's 3-piece suits by the time i was 14---my kids never would have had the cute -original design clothes they had if i hadn't learned to sew-
and i have never had a problem selling a quilt- and getting a 'pretty penny' for it! in fact i have gone through times when i've said----enough----no-i'm taking a break from it for a bit!
my sister worked in a shop for a few years- she took a quilt into work one night & showed it off---i bet i made 40 quilts for her co-workers before i said- this is becoming too much like work- no more orders for a while- i want to make something---i want to make- for a while!
i prefer to make quilts- show them off- people say----oh i want that one & they pay what i ask for it-
i like it better than taking orders & (creating on demand) i work at keeping it a hobby-fun- not a job- but i know if something happened to my (real job) i could fall back on it for a time if i wanted to-
especially with the researgence (of cottage industries) i don't know where hobobicycle is from- - i do agree many factories have shut down- but that just opens other doors- there are plenty of people more than willing to pay what a quilt is worth-
sure there are people who think they should only pay what walmart may charge- but they are the same people who would never pay alot for their clothes, shoes, ect---it takes all kinds to make the world go around- without them walmart would go out of business- but they are not the majority who dictate the way of all commerce.
for every quilt i make as a gift i have 2-5 requests to sell it-sometimes more- sometimes i give in & do sell it- & make a new gift one- those i charge alot for- trying to discourage the sale-