A man once asked me to give him a price for an oil portrait of his grandson. I thought for a while and said, because you're a friend I'll give you a discount. Live size, unframed, $900. (that was a $300-$600 cut) You'd have thought I'd asked for his arm! I told him that there was 16 hours of prep, mixing paints, making acetate drawings, etc., before even putting a brush into the paint. Then the painting itself would take between 200 and 250 hours. I then asked him, "Would you work for that little?" I never did the portrait. He actually told me that he thought it would be more in the $25 range. I told him to take his grandson to Walmart and have them take a picture.

I'm thinking that most people don't mean to be insulting - they are just totally unaware of what is involved.

Wooooooow.

Yeah, if you want Wal-Mart prices, go to Wal-Mart. Literally.

I totally agree with this.....and on the opposite side how many people do you know that could truly pay 650 plus for a handmade quilt? They are few and far between especially in today's economy. I can imagine there would be a lot more things more important to them that having to pay that much....maybe like food or utilities, etc. I am a quiltmaker but do not make quilts for money, I make them simply for the joy of making them and for the person who receives them. It is an expression of joy and love.

Personally I am a little sick and tired of hearing people talk about how awful store bought quilts are. They may not be the same quality as we could make ourselves but then they may mean the world to whomever purchases them for themselves or a gift. Justifying our quilts by demeaning others is not a nice thing to do and to me is not in keeping with how we should portray ourselves.

People who make quilts to sell or are asked to make a quilt have the right to ask what they desire but to continually demean others for not understanding how much goes into a quilt serves no purpose. If you make quilts to sell or on commission your customer knows up front what the cost would be. They can take it or leave it. That people is called choice on each side of the fence.

Jan, I wish I had thatquote a couple of days ago. Someone who said the quilted at one time asked me about making her a quilt. Told her she couldn't afford me. When I said a minimum of $500 to $600 she didn't say anything about the price. I think she wanted me to make and just give her one. I had never laid eyes on this woman before--she was just someone at the beauth shop!!!

I love your response.

Mine would be "Run, don't walk, the other way". Don't even get involved. The guy is dreaming.

I love the way you think, lol. My mom never sewed for anyone other than family, she used to say people don't want to pay you for your time, they want you to do it for free. People are so inconsiderate of our time. Do they think we have nothing other to do but sew for free. Maybe if they come clean our houses, cook meals, take kids to school and go grocery shopping while we are sewing for them they might get the picture. This is a hobby we do because we like/love it but when others start making special request it becomes a job that they need to pay for!!!!!!!!!!!

They are cheap ! and do not realize the work involved They can buy from China you know !!!!

I gave up on worrying about the world's idiots a long time ago. Now I just try to remember to pray for them. After all, doesn't the phrase go, "God favors children and fools"?

I'm keeping this tucked away thank you for sharing.