Should I quit or just give away.
 

I have been trying to sell a few of my quilts and I have done pretty good. I am thinking of giving my baby quilts, lap quilts either to a homeless shelter or the nursing home. Sometimes I just think I will quit. My husband thinks I should not give anything away since I put so much times in each one. He is not selfish but thinks I have worked to hard to just give away. Do you all keep a bunch of your quilts, sell them or give away. I am needing to get rid of some. Thank you all in advance. Love this group.

I quilt and give away - to a children’s hospital charity and a local cancer charity.

I have enjoyed quilting for the last few years but we only have one of my quilts - a small throw - on the bed in our spare bedroom. We do not use a quilt on our bed nor do we have throws or cushions on our sofa or chairs as my husband doesn’t like them.

Quilting is my hobby. I would rather give my completed projects away than store them in a cupboard.

I am much happier giving them away. I look at it as it's my hobby and I spend happy hours making quilts. The fact that it is usable is a perk to my hobby.

I have kept a few of my quilts and gave some to friends/relatives. I've also made several for Quilts of Valor. I too consider quilting a hobby that I really enjoy, so I don't mind giving them away.

The majority of my quilts have been given as gifts to loved ones. I keep a few for myself. Every room in the house has at least one of my quilts. Quilts that I have sold were special orders. The client chose a pattern, colors and even fabrics I had the joy of making the quilt. I have a habit of making a duplicate of most of the quilts I sold only because I was in love with the pattern.

Oh i'm slow now but have given away most of the quilts I've made over the years. Some to friends but others to charity for those who need them.

I honestly don't make a lot of quilts---but I sew for a few different charities. Chemo centers love small quilts--it's always so cold there. Homeless shelters---veterans hospitals.....it gives such a sense of pride & satisfaction to give to those less fortunate. Makes me count my blessings!

I quilt for the joy of quilting. Quilts bring joy to others. Life has been good to me and I'm giving back now that I have the wherewithal to do so. I guess you and your DH will have to come to an agreement for a happy home.

I have sold some quilts, but I don't quilt to sell. I am afraid that I would feel frustrated and want to give up. I sew and donate most of my quilts.. then others are gifted. If i can sell some that's cool, but I don't expect that

It is the process of quilting I enjoy, I give away far more than I keep. Look at it this way, we do not need to be paid to perform in order to enjoy singing. Quilting is something I do for joy and for me attaching a monetary value to it would spoil the experience.

I would give the baby ones to charity and sell the lap ones at a reduced price to fund more quilting

Giving away is as much my joy as making a quilt. I'd rather know that someone is immensely touched or comforted or happy with my quilt than to receive what, inevitably, would not be enough money to pay for the time I put into it.

You all are great. I love to give them to people that love them better than sell. Thank you all for your encouragement to continue my love of quilting. Warms my heart and hopefully the quilts will warm others.

Are you tired of quilting? Is that what you mean when you say sometimes you want to quit? Ask friends and family if they would like one of your quilts. If they say yes, give them one. If you still have a few left, give them to charitable organizations of your choosing.

Most of the quilts I make are donated. I have a few that I happen to love, and a few for grands who won't take them home because they don't want them to get 'wrecked', and a few for when folks visit.
Selling quilts would make it work for me, and, since I am retired, I just want to have fun!

I donate many quilts per year to our Foster Kids in my County. I have not sold any quilts. I have a lot of fabrics and I buy batting I use. I love to make quilts and always give them away. I have about six big full size quilts for our bed. Family and some friends have plenty. I decided in 2010 I wanted to make quilts for the rest of my life. That is what I am doing.

The quilters here locally are having a booth in Klamath Falls, OR., during their Christmas bazaar, and we're hoping to sell quite a lot of our quilts. I'm sure that a shelter would much appreciate a few quilts. As for a nursing home, I would check and see what they do with a quilt, once a resident dies. Our local home when a resident dies, if the family doesn't want the quilt, they toss it in the trash, which is why I don't donate to our local home.

Guess I'm more in minority--I keep a lot of my quilts or give to family members. Since I long arm, I often do will quilt charity quilts pieced by others for free. Since I do that and work, I don't have as much time to piece quilts for myself and family, which is why I also don't have time to piece tops for charity either.

If you feel like you want to donate quilts--go for it! Also, maybe you would feel more comfortable making table toppers, placemats and bags for your own use?

I donate to two different shelters, the hospice house, a long term facility, the local fire department and police station. Also the hospital pediatric department. There is a lot of organizations that appreciate your donations- Downy quilts for Kids, Linus project, Quilts of Valor,
your donations can be a tax deduction too if you keep record of each quilt and what organizations you donate to.

I don't generally make quilts with a particular person in mind, so I donate several quilts a year to various charities, the hospital, and tragedies as they occur (flood, fire, etc.). I have an etsy shop and also sell some things at the local florist/gift shop. But there are quilts that I cherish for one reason or another, and I hang onto those. I put them on beds in the house, rotating them once in a while. This summer I ran out of storage space, so I started giving away carefully selected quilts to family members who I thought would cherish them. They were thrilled. I always figure a good use for one of my quilts will come up eventually.

I have a hard time giving quilts away. I'm sort of like your husband. I am not cheap at all, in fact I donate a lot of goods to charities. But I have a lot of family and a few friends who still don't have a quilt.
For me they come first.
My cousin just asked if I'd put her in line for one. I'm thrilled to do this for her especially as I had no idea she liked quilts.
But a goal of mine is to make quilts for the needy at some point.

I am the local coordinator for placemats for seniors. Not an organization, just something I started with our county senior Home bound meals program. They serve 1200 people in our county so this is our goal. They are given to those receiving meals at home to lift their spirits and encourage them to eat better. As quilters we have lots of scrap batting and fabrics, or all the quilters I know do, so it's a great way to use it up. It takes only a little time and fabrics to lifts someone's day. And you get a lift as well by donating. I also make Quilts of Valor and small community quilts that are given to the police to give out at emergencies. I have all the quilts I and my family can use so It feels good to pass along something I love doing. In 50+ years of quilting, I have only sold one quilt. I did not enjoy the experience.

Like most of you, I gift most of my quilts to family. I would prefer to gift quilts to those who understand the time and money that's been invested, not just some mass-produced blanket. There are plenty of those available on the market for a lot less than what we spend on a quilt. I prefer to donate to a place like a cancer center, veterans or nursing home location, Quilts of Valor or a children's hospital/neonatal center. I still fondly remember my son's comment that when he went into the NICU to greet their newly delivered preemie that there was a quilt over the top of his Isolette and he thought I had made it! They got to bring that home with them when the baby was dismissed from the hospital.

I give 90% of mine away. I make lots of child sized quilts for hospitals, police departments, foster kids, etc.

I have made a lot of quilts and I also have a collection of old quilts. I keep some of them and I also donate quilts to several places ( QOV, Women’s shelters, etc). I made Door decorations for my mother when she was still living. They were loved by all of the residents though their memories were lost. I occasionally take some over there for the nurses to use to decorate. My family has been given so many quilts they don’t need any more but I keep sewing.

I do ministry quilts. I only kept one that I made. The rest go to people who are suffering in some way. Some are ill, some have lost a loved one , some are just hurting emotionally. It is something that I love doing although I couldn't find anyone who wanted to enter this project with me. I do it alone but receive a great blessing from it. You will make the right decision and I think your husband is just thinking of you and is probably very proud of you.

I keep some, give some away - never sell them. I've done a number of silent auctions, sometimes I am happy with what they bring, sometimes not. As we all know, few understand the amount of time that goes into it, so I avoid my own disappointment in being paid almost nothing for my time. I am happier just making what I want and giving it to whomever I think might enjoy it.

I have sold some, which was nice, but most of them are given away.

Yes, quilters do put a lot of time and $ into making quilts, so I get what your husband is saying. However, I believe you need to go back to the beginning and ask yourself "why do I want to quilt".

When I retired and started quilting, I planned to donate most of my quilts ... and I have. It gives me a lot of joy and I feel like the person receing the quilt enjoys it. I've made 2 quilts for baby gifts and have a Bargello UFO that I will keep to use as a throw. Since I have comforters on our beds, I'm not currently using quilts.

I have thought about (and you may want to try this) setting up a booth at a Spring festival our city holds. My thoughts are to sell raffle tickets for a quilt and explain that the $ raised will allow me to purchase more fabric, etc. to continue making and donating quilts. You could perhaps setup a picture board with pictures of you giving your quilts to various shelters or post a thank you note from the shelters. This would let people know that you are really donating quilts and not just trying to make $ for your self. However, you could make some smaller quilted items to sell as well (hot pads, mug rugs, burp cloths and even lap quilts). Just a thought.

... my raffle idea may not work. After posting the above, I read another post and it sounds as though a permit is needed and typically you need to be a non-profit to get one. So be sure to check your State's laws/guidelines.

I considered starting a quilting business when I retired. After researching the idea, I gave it up. Quilting is expensive and as others have said, few people are willing to pay the cost of materials involved in making one, much less paying you for labor. Quilts from China, made with slave labor, scant seams and cheap fabric are readily available for prices less than the price of making a quilt.

Another issue is whether you want to sell the quilts you enjoyed making or are willing to make what the client wants, in the pattern they prefer and the colors that match their bedroom (quilts on commission). And again, another issue is how much would you enjoy quilting after making quilts for sale. My personal experience with being a chef is that cooking is no longer relaxing and fun. It's just a job. I think many things are like that - you try doing something that you enjoy for money and ruin the joy of it. I like making memorial flower arrangements, but don't think I'd like it 5 days a week. And ... I don't want to ruin my enjoyment of making arrangements for my ancestors graves.

Some people make money by making small items for craft fairs to supplement retirement income. They make things like pencil pouches, phone bags, crayon bags, pot holders, etc. From what I've read, they do OK at it.

I would suggest you re-think your reason for asking the question. Are you ready to quit quilting? Do you want to supplement your income? Do you have too many quilts made and they are in the way? Do you think you are spending too much money on your hobby? Do you want some ammunition to make your husband shut up?

If you are serious about quilting for money, do your research. How much does it really cost you to make a quilt? How much time does it take? Do you have a longarm? What would it cost to rent space on a longarm, or have some one do that service for you? What kind of quilts sell? How do they get sold? What is the cost of selling one (website, renting space at craft shows, etsy, ebay, etc.).

I'm not poo-pooing your idea. I'm just saying that you need to think it through and figure out what is working for other people or how you can make a new idea work.

Personally, I plan to do quilting for Project Linus after I get all the family kids taken care of.

bkay

Do not discount the pleasure and rewards of giving.

One of our local hospitals gives a quilt to every terminal patient. After the patient passes, the quilt is presented to the family. If you could read the thank-you notes from the families, you would be moved to quilt 24/7 for this cause.

I make quilts for people sometimes and am happy to gift them. I am not a high volume producer and right now enjoy the ones I make. One day they will all get donated.

I make a lot of quilts but never sell any. I just make for family. I donate fabrics to a friend and once in awhile our little sewing group gets together and we make bibs for folks in nursing homes. It is a fulfilling feeling.

Do you make quilts to sell quilts? If so then that is a business and you need to use business tactics to sell. A yard sale approach won't work very long as you are experiencing that now. Donating and giving a quilt is a wonderful thing I wish everyone could hear Jenny Doan's talk on this subject. Tears flow!

First, most of my quilts go to charity. I have made quilts for family, friends, and myself. I have made a few quilts on special request that I was paid for. I did not start quilting to make money but because of an interest in doing so.
Second, If you can sell quilts and make money, more power to you. I say do what makes you happy.

I have given quilts I made to friends and family, I made some children quilts to the children's hospital. I have given baby quilts as a baby shower gift. I don't make that many but do love the hobby. I think I only sold one throw size quilt.

I only make a few quilts a year. I keep some and give some as gifts. I use a quilt on my bed and have several in the den upstairs. I love quilts! I love making them and I love the way they feel when I'm snuggling under them with the dogs.

Wow you all are really generous. I only make a few a year and I keep most of them. I don't have a large family but everyone has a quilt I made. I only make ones that I like. I think if I had to make one to order I wouldn't enjoy it.

Growing up, getting the presents was the important thing. As an adult the getting became less important and now the giving is more fun and fulfilling than the getting. So I would probably gift them to a hospital or organization that needs that needs quilts to the hurt and/or needy. I would feel more blessed than the recipient. Go with your heart.

Every one I have made has either been given to a family member, was a quilt of valor for a local veteran, or made for a special occasion. I plan to make a couple to donate to our school for a raffle this year :shock:

Very well said and I agree completely. I make mostly comfort quilts which I donate in my community. I gives me a purpose and brings joy for many, including myself.