Originally Posted by sylvia77
Normally I charge $10.00 an hour and it took me 5 hours so far. I thought maybe $30.00 would be reasonable.
If you normally do sewing for a living or get paid for it, then I definitely you should charge your mother in law your normal hourly rate. She would have known you do this when she asked you and would expect you to include that in her payment to you. You don't want to give your services away for free but you could perhaps give her a break in the rate. It's a tough decision and one only you can make.
Give her an itemized statement which includes what your normal fee would be to your clients and see how it goes from there. If she opts not to pay for your time, that may be something you'll have to accept for the sake of your husband and family peace. I do know that in that situation, my mother in law would have paid me what others would pay and would feel offended if I tried not to allow her to do so; she's that kind of a lady.
Whenever I've done special projects for relatives and close friends for projects that I get a fee for from clients, they pay the bill in full with a check that day but within 5 days, I recieve a nice thank you note in the mail complimenting my job plus a bonus $50 or more check depending on the size of the project. I did cake decorating and using computer crafts accessorized anniversary parties, showers, etc.
In this instance, trust your instincts on how you feel your mother in law would respond. Mine would insist on paying for the materials plus my time for work others pay me to do. For work I don't get paid for, she would pay for the materials and that would be all I'd ask for.