[quote=
The gal then looked at the quilt and said, "May I just touch it?"
I have to snicker at that. I should have charged her. ;) lol[/quote]


I love it and it is funny until I catch myself petting the fabric in the LQS!!

I sold a wall hanging 2 yeaars ago for $250.00, but you ladies are right, no one wants to pay what hand made quilts are worth. When I say hand made I mean, pieced on a machine and quilted by machine. I have 3 daughters and 4 granddaughters and I love making quilts, wall hangings, and table runners for them.

I have sold some, and I have done a few on commission, but I agree with what everone else has said- most people have no idea how much money and time is invested in a quilt.

I thought that I was getting those questions just because I'm a guy quilter! I agree with all the rest. I did make one on commission--a fellow re-enactor who was retiring from his job. His wife asked me and I didn't have the guts to say no. Came out OK, but, didn't really make any money on it. When I tell folks that I give them away to fellow re-enactors, the next comment is always, "Well, then give me one!" I just say, "Get in line!"

For those who don't know me, yet, I do Civil War Re-enacting and watched my grandmother make quilts for years. When I decided I wanted one for the back of my saddle, for Southern impressions, I tried making one myself. Came out pretty good and I discovered I enjoyed watching the patterns come together and have been quilting ever since.

Sgt. Jackaroo
4th US Cavalry (Re-enacting)
5th Texas Mounted Volunteers (CSA)

yep and most don't realize that the Amish have the Hmong people do the actual quilting and have for years.
http://www.womenfolk.com/quilt_notes/amish-hmong.htm

I have sold some on commission - only to people who understand the amount of time and money that go into quilts. I have also tried the craft shows and have to laugh at people when they look at a price tag and drop it like they have picked up a hot poker. They seem to think that because it is "home made" that it is less expensive. I always tell people that fabric runs about $10 a yard - even more now with the price increase. I do enjoy making quilts and getting paid for them - I just makes sure we agree on a price before starting. Learned my lesson by not telling the cost before hand.

I decided when I started trying to learn to quilt that I would NOT go into selling quilts...but I have sold a couple. The only way I'll do it is...they pay for fabric, there is NO timeframe and the pattern/quilting is totally MY choice, and they pay a lump sum for my time at the end. LOL...then I get to play on their dime..I just loose the quilt in the end.

Hand quilting a quilt has the same. When I lived in Ky, I handquilted for others and I charged no less than $500 and I would get those looks also. But thankfully, I had a few repeat customers. I think I hand quilted about 15 queen size quilts for this one person. And she was a gem. She hand pieced every one of her quilts and I loved working on them because of the quality of her fabrics and the wonderful job she did on the piecing. But still there were others that thought I should do them for next to nothing.

homecaregiver

I agree non-quilting people think $50 is too much to pay, when I start explaining how much materials cost, they shut up and keep walking. I quilt for myself and my own family anyone who asks me for a quilt I tell them $500 and up, that usually ends the conversation.

I was talking to my DD just yesterday about the cost of quilting, just commenting that it isn't a cheap hobby. Now my daughter is a smart person but when I pointed out a full sized quilt takes about 15 yards of fabric her mouth hung open. I'm not quite sure why people don't see the obvious and we are not even mentioning labor and batting.