Originally Posted by
Jeanne S
I would show her some of your quilts and ask her if these types/styles/quality is what she is looking for. Then explain the time involved, and what you would charge her (wide estimate is OK, just to see if she faints...). If she is still interested, then go for it if you are comfortable with the stress of making a quilt for compensation, not love.
I agree with this. People don't have any idea how much quilting materials cost, even before you add anything for labour. A friend said she wanted to commission a quilt from me, but when I told her how much the fabric was likely to cost, things went very quiet!
If you show her some examples of your work and point out any shortcomings, she knows the score. A friend of mine asked if she could buy one of my quilts recently. It wasn't too bad, but the "sins" included a patch where the backing hadn't quite covered the batting, so it was far from perfect. When I pointed this out, she said it added to the home-made charm!!! (I hadn't planned to sell the quilt, so let her have it for a price that probably just about covered the cost of the thread).
If it would stress you to make something for someone else and to a deadline, say no. You don't want to ruin your enjoyment of quilting.