A free one would be fun - but can you really justify paying $30 just to get started, and then $25 a month for 12 months for simple problems. And then there is a finishing month which actually runs more than that! There are several that just cannot pick out their own colors - be brave - take a friend shopping and let her make suggestions. Do you really want to make the exact same quilt as someone else? nawwww I don't think so. Then of course, there is the batting and backing and quilting of your masterpiece? ---too rich for MY blood - but hey, different strokes for different folks.

It seems to me by looking at everyone's comments that something different works for everyone. I don't currently have that kind of money to spend on a BOM, but some of my friends have been doing the Civil War Quilts and have been enjoying them. There are some things you can't put a price tag on. People spend lots of money on vacations and they find value in them. I kind of think it's the same way with a quilt. If the quilt costs $500 dollars, I would think it would have to be very special and something that the money is not the bottom line. As a lot of people have said, you can make a lot of very pretty quilts for less, but sometimes there are certain quilts/patterns that just speak to you.

I can not even Imagine paying that much even if I were rich . I have often been tempted though because I am a terrible "matcher" I have looked into kits that are on clearance various places on the internet to get matching type fabrics.

Yes! My LQS does this with the Thangles Buck a Block program. I decided to do that for 2010 (it started in August). The block is $1.00 each month. It is the center. You get the thangles and the two strips. If you want to make the twin sized quilt you can buy the setting fabrics and sashing. I bought the fabrics that they used in the sample butyou can pick any fabrics that you like. If you don't buy the setting fabrics you'll still have a small top that is really cute. It is very apparent that the BAB program is designed to help bring in business for the shop. Every month I've gotten my block, one the setting materials, then next month a little something else and so on.

There are some sites out there that have free block of the month patterns.
I also have calulated the final cost of some BOM's and it frightnened me
People must pay it because they are still offering it.... To each their own

There are several BOM or BOW on-line that are free. There are also several on this board. Just look around and you can find them. They are really a lot of fun. You can also find previous sets that you can do at your own pace.

Charlie

I was working on the Sylvia Bradley bridal quilt with our quilt shop. You get one fat quarter and the directions for paper piecing, $2.50 a month. I liked it because of the price of course, but also, I wanted to be the one picking out the fabrics that went with the fat quarter. (Some people didn't use their fat quarters, but went completely different color directions with theirs, making every quilt done a different piece. I did the project for two years--it's a 3-year project, because I want to do other things. I made one very nice small quilt-sized piece, and I'll make a queen out of the rest of the blocks.

In looking at the pattern, there are actually only Eight block patterns in the entire quilt - four sets of two, which are the same blocks with slight modifications (fabric, centers, corners, etc.) and two border patterns. If the size of the quilt is correct, those are 9" finished blocks, which means all those HSTs are about 1 inch finished. ALL of the blocks are free somewhere on the web. The big thing is the fabric. I can't believe this pattern takes more than 15 yards of fabric. That's about $160 for fabric and another $100 for the patterns.

I found on Craftsy.com a free online lesson for BOM. You can use your scraps or buy any fabrics you choose. This would be my first BOM and will probably go along with it. Still undecided.

how about trying the BOM right here on the Quilting Board--the pattern is free, you try different quilting techniques every month (January is paper-piecing) and you use your own scraps! I am a new quilter and am going to try it. Doesn't sound like I am going to have to spend a lot of $ and I will learn along the way!

I have done two Civil War blocks of the month and you get the pattern and material but you have to cut it yourself. I love doing these quilts and I am doing General's Wife Civil War BOM now. These quilts come out beautiful & to me it is worth it. I could not make these without the BOM. I'm hand quilting one and someday I will get it done to show a picture. Take the plunge!

Bellaboo, I also signed up for that free BOM craftsy class. Loll.. First one i ever saw that was free.

I signed up for the Civil War BOM for this year. I absolutely love the Civil War era quilts. Yes, I agree it is a lot of money, and I had to do some thinking about that! But I really like the fabric choices and style so I decided to do it this year and see how I like it.

I think some of these are absolutely beautiful, but way too pricy for my budget. I do love the fab shop hop each month and if you are not a hopper, check it out!!!:)

Well, I ordered a BoM from Keepsake Quilting and it cost $24.95 mo for 13 months plus backing. BUT, I live in a remote area - no close quilt stores plus I dislike picking out colors b/c I'm not good at that. AND, I don't smoke, drink, go to movies or eat out a lot so I figure $25 a month for something that brings me pleasure is ok. I even take my own tea to work so I don't have to pay $2 + at local drive-in and that alone saves $40/month. As far as it being like everyone else - so what if someone in tim-buc-tu makes one like it. I'll never see it anyway.

Man that's a lot of cash!!!! There are many free one online, that's what I would check into. Free is GOOD!!!

That's exactly why I never made one of the BOM kits. Good Lord! By the time you pay shipping, for each kit and then having it quilted, you could easily have over $800 in a quilt!!! Ridiculous. I can't believe people don't figure this out.

I'm a fairly new quilter and last year our LGS offered the Michael Miller Clubhouse BOM for $20.00 plus a sign-up fee of $20.00 (total $250 for the whole year). We were offered other projects each month to match our quilt. It was nice having back-up material if I miscut something. We were also given a class each month and the instructions were interpreted for us and a design board with each step illustrated was used. As a new quilter I learned so much. The LQS owner was also available if we had trouble. Certain days were designated to help us with our quilts. I don't think I could have done the quilt on my own. I plan to do another one this year. However I am now doing quilts on my own and selecting my own fabric and patterns so in the future I will be able to quilt without a BOM. However, I think it has its place for new quilters.

This is a very good point. I have an acquaintance that regularly spends $25-75+ a month on makeup, her nails, other impulse shopping. Plus eating out. The eating out alone once per month would more than cover the cost of a moderately priced or even expensive BOM program. And at the end (providing the project is completed) you would have a lovely quilt to show for it.

I think ultimately it comes down to what each persons feels is a priority. I used to pay $25 every other week or so for manicures. Not anymore. I'd rather buy fabric or a pattern or two when I see something that I like. Everyone is different. The main thing that kills it for me is that the shipping costs have gotten so high that at the end of the year over $100 has been paid for that alone.

Yes it is, and yes I did figure it out. Like I said, I save more than that on tea at the drive in. Most people don't realize how much money they spend on drinks, coffee, etc either - or else - they figure it's worth it to them. Different strokes for different folks.

I have decided not to do this BOM. I have signed up for Craftsy.com free BOM program. I rather have several patterns bought or free and yards and yards of different kinds of fabric to make quilts. When it came down to it and I added it all up I didn't realize how much the quilts total cost ended up being.

I have done 2 BOM, the first one was expensive, but I got all the fabric and patterns. I had enough fabric to make 2 McKenna Ryans. The 2nd BOM I did was more expensive and I loved the Beach Walk, but I was very dissapointed this time around, the fabic as such small cuts that if you make a mistake you will have to use something else and then it did not have many of McKenna Ryans fabrics, which is why I bought the BOM. The price I was paying was paying seemed to be for the labor to put the kit together, I will not do this again. Everytime I got the next months quilt fabric it just made me mad I had signed up for this small amount of fabric and it I still had to buy the extras, no backing. I still feel angry about this one.

No, you've got it right. There are lots of free/use your own stash BOM's in Blog Land. If you want to know more, I can direct you to a few just getting under way. PM me if you're interested.

Is it worth it to you? If you love it that much, then it's worth it. Personally, I can't imagine paying that much. But that's just me. I collect free BOM's and usually don't make any of them. I have so many patterns, I couldn't possibly make them all if I worked non stop without sleep until the day I die. I like to buy quilt kits, simply because all the decisions are made for me, and they get finished faster than if I had to hunt for the fabric myself.

I have never had a precut quilt kit. Usually, they just supply the right amout of each fabric.

Quilting is not a cheap hobby. I try to cut costs where ever I can.

I forgot to mention that the BOM (West of Baltimore) I bought from Keepsake Quilting had so much extra fabric I could make another quilt. Material was VERY generous.

I have made the CW Journal quilts for 2010 and 2011 through a LQS and figure they cost about $400 total each to complete. That includes batting & backing but I do quilt them myself on my domestic machine so that saves a bunch. My friends and I will be layering the second one tonight. We spray baste and it will take us about 45 minutes to baste it, it is huge 108" square. I will not be making any more even though I really like the two I have made but just how many huge CW quilts does one need?! [ATTACH=CONFIG]299740[/ATTACH]I enjoyed the challenge and the results. I was also given enough fabric that I am making a queen/king scrappy quilt with the left overs. That will give me three very large quilts for the $800 investment.

Diawabo's are that much yikes! i think my LQS has some but i think there around 13.00 and i thought that was pricey.

I think it also depends on what you are looking for in a quilt. Some of the BOM's that I want to do are very elaborate and detailed. And not something I would probably do on my own. And if it comes with classes as well then you have that. I have yet to make that kind of commitment, but I would if I loved the quilt. My local quilt shop just started a new BOM, but it isn't something I am interested in at the moment. There is a little quilt shop in Vegas that has the prettiest BOM's, but the commitment to drive in and go to the class has me hesitating.

I just wanted to pass this on. Someone else may have already told you this or sent the link to you but just in case...... Here you go. I just found this yesterday and it is going to be GREAT!!! :)
Plus! It's free and you learn 2 new blocks each month-you can use your stash or buy new......you decide how cheap you need to go. :) Good luck.


http://www.craftsy.com/class/The-Cra...0E9AB29F.bowie

Signe dup already, thanks for the link.

Thank you so much for string your CW quilt it is absolutley STUNNING. Im still teetering, can't decide it the cost out weighs the amazing stunning quilt I will get in the end.

I can see it didn't take long for me to change my mind. After seeing Delilah CW quilt makes me want to do one even more.

I think it depends on how much you like the pattern and the fabrics. I enrolled in several BOMs of the years and did nothing with them. I ended up selling them for way less than the cost of the fabric. But I have some other BOMs that I have half finished (was working full-time - retired, so now I need to finish them :)).

As someone mentioned earlier in the thread, check your LQS to see if they do a BOM where you buy in for the first month, then complete blocks to bring in the following month for a free block. I did complete a couple from my old LQS that are this type and enjoyed as well as currently finishing one up (ends this month) at my LQS, where they are doing flowers and baskets, you could choose or the other, for I believe it was $10 signup, or a third option was both, where you do one set as the finish and get one free, still the $10 signup for the one, and the second set is $60 up front to pay for the whole year. I get two patterns (one flower, one basket) and fabric each month since I signed up for both flowers and baskets. My only thing was I am not crazy about their fabrics, so I am using my fabric stash to make them my way. These type of BOM may not always include the background fabric for the block, but that helps make it more personalized since you choose the background fabric. It's fun to see how different they look.

Having worked in a LQS, the BOMs like CW involve the store enrolling with the mfr who provides the patterns (both for the shop and the customers), ordering the specific fabrics, cutting the fabric pieces per pattern directions (they actually include the amount of each fabric for each month or quarter the shop is to provide for the BOM), packaging the BOM, making sure each customer gets their BOM, and shipping them out. Depending on how many customers are in the BOM or how many different BOMs they have, the shop can have several people dedicated to just processing BOMs .

Sometimes there are BOM on Swap Bot. I am in a black and white BOM. You provide the fabric so besides the fabric you have or purchase the only other cost is mailing it to the partner you are assigned to. I have been in a few others and it is fun making more online friends.

INHO I think they are much too expensive. I did the Civil War through Keepsake and I don't even want to think about how much it cost me just to have them cut the fabric for me 'cause basically that's what it is. I like to find my pattern and then play with the fabrics to find the right fit, to me that is what makes quilting so much fun. Kits fall into that same category, at least for me, as I can cut fabric if you tell me what I need and what shape I need. Plus sometimes I don't like the colors that are selected. So, that said, I avoid both of these money eaters.

I have done it once, never again.

This site has several BOM kits that are all under $15 a month.
http://www.prairielandquilts.com/block_of_the_month.php

I I ever do a BOM this is it!

I've done two BOM and won't do another one. You start out with a $1 per month, (at my LQS) if you get your block at the specified time. The boarders and the backing really adds up. Plus if one of the blocks is cut wrong, and that did happen to me, it causes problems if you don't do the block as soon as you get it. I like to prewash all my fabic and I would be a little afarid to wash the tiny pieces. I've seen the wool BOM quilts in one of the quilting magazines and it was about $500.

They have the complete kit at www.crafttownfabrics.com for $297.00 that includes the pattern and binding. That doesn't seem to be a bad price. It's a perrty good size quilt.