I am primarily a handquilter for hire. My business has not done well since the advent of the longarmers. If I were to make a quilt for a customer from scratch they would have to select and purchase the fabric, backing, batting and even the thread. Then I would charge them double what that cost for to make the top and then quilt the quilt by hand.
Right now I am handquilting a quilt for a lady that made a quilt from fabrics that were her mother's. She did about 1/4 of the quilting, much of it I have had to remove. I don't know what she used for batting and she didn't baste it. She also just turned the front borders to the back and whip stitched them down without turning under the edge. I offered to undo that part and bind it properly but she is not interested. It is a little over double bed size and I told her at least $250. She had no problem especially when I told her I could have it done by July. I figured out that the Merceds parked in the yard must be hers as she was meeting me at her sister's farm. All the other vechiles in the yard were pickup trucks. I'll report back when I finish and she sees the result.