i have that pattern and have a third of it done trust whatever you charge it will be well worth it a lot of time ,will be put in it,good luck

Get a deposit, especially if you have to provide any of the material. Then a signed contract. You don't want to be stuck with a quilt that, while beautiful, isn't what you would have made for you.

Do you WANT to do it?

It is a magnificent design.

It does look very labor intensive, cost is up to an individual, but the least I would charge would be $20.00 per hour and to give her an estimate I would over estimate, final price can always be less than the quote.
As she has provided the kit, I would guess that should be all the needed fabric for the top, include a clause that if the fabric is short (as it can be) you will need to add that cost and your time in finding and purchasing the fabric.

Good luck, it is a beautiful quilt pattern and look forward to seeing your progress on it.

I have a book with this pattern and I've wanted to make it forever but don't know if I'll ever get to it. I like the way they "staggered" the pine trees boughs. As I recall the geese are all appliqued. It's a gorgeous quilt. I hope your client will appreciate all the work that will go into making it.

I think I would be more willing to pay by the project than by the hour.

It can always be adjusted downward if the original estimate is high.

I would want to get her past the 'sticker shock' before I started on it.
The written agreement and ?half down? is a good idea. If she doesn't want to you will know she might not have been prepared. Some who don't quilt do not know the expense and labor involved.

Some who don't quilt do not know the expense and labor involved.[/quote]

Your exactly right! With the influx of "cheap" quilts in places like JC Penney, we surely don't get what we deserve.

How come people will pay a mechanic, electrician, or a plumber major $ per hour - and what we do requires as much skill and expertise as those jobs?

Because they can't outsource that work to India, China or Indonesia where people can support a family of 5 in good style on 150 dollars a week. (I had this discussion in an international freelance job board once, and we were discussing how programmers would bid 100 dollars on a job that a US worker would need 10 times that and still be underpaid).