Oh my goodness you guys! I am humbled and so honored by your kind words on my quilting. I am blushing right now! Thank you, thank you, thank you.
To the OP, everyone pretty much covered it. You need to decide what you want done and how much your budget is. Custom work can range from as little as .025 per s/i on up to crazy high prices for an over the top show quilt. To get your total s/i you multiply your length times your width then take that figure and multiply by the s/i price. For a nicely done custom job it is not out of line to pay $400 to $450 for a queen size quilt but in return for that you should definitely have what I consider heirloom quality quilting.
Ruler work such as cross hatching or curved cross hatching and stitch in the ditch drive the price up because they are labor intensive and require a lot registration marking. And you can't be a speed demon when doing ruler and ditch work, but boy they sure make for a very pretty quilt top. Keep in mind that the price you pay for custom quilting is not just the quilting but the design work the quilter comes up with. Something that will compliment your top and not overpower it. Many LAQ will spend several hours working on design and prep such as measurements to evenly break up negative space or borders and any marking that may need to be done. Some LAQ are shifting from charging per s/i to charging per hour. The key is to find someone whose work you like and you can work with, either in person or long distance. The very first quilt I ever had longarmed (before I got my own LA) I sent to Green Fairy in Utah and I live in NY. I was not disappointed! (I don't think it is possible to be disappointed in a quilt from Judi, aka Green Fairy!)
Thank you again. I am still blown away by your comments. Edited to add that I whole heartedly agree with Maureen that there are many talented LA quilters on this board. I whole heatedly agree about Charismah. In addition to the LAers Maureen mentioned there is also BeckySt and #1Piecemaker is doing E2E work for people. and these are only the ones I can think of off the top of my head. I know there are others and I apologize for not remembering right now.
Last edited by feline fanatic; 06-17-2015 at 05:31 AM.