This is a GREAT idea! I am going to steal it & use it myself. LOL

My problem is working on more than 1 project. I still have 2 borders to FMQ on a wall quilt & I just spent 20 mins cutting a layer cake for my next project.

I just did this for the very first time. I made a king size quilt in a fall leaf pattern with log cabin blocks. Pressing, cutting and piecing the top along was 94 hours. I was shocked! I never sell my quilts because no one could afford them!

I keep thinking that I should also document the time it takes to make a quilt from start to finish. I have a long-arm so I would include that time as well. I need to do this! Thanks for the motivation.

I love this idea! I estimate I've spend several hundred hours on the last project I did but next time I'll keep track for real!

I have kept a diary re making my Dear Jane Quilt - there is a design wall on my link below - and you can click on any block and it will enlarge it -- Whilst I haven't worked out actual time in minutes and any cost, -- I have written (about each block and triangle ) the date I did it, what fabric I used and kept a running total of how many pieces were used to make that block - ie - C7 had 57 tiny pieces. I started this quilt in 2007 and have just a few triangles - 1 block and one corner block left to do. I am nearly at the stage of joining them all together and then quilting it. Still a way to go - but I am getting there. It will be nice to be able to see all the details of the journey in the future !

What I am learning with my diary - making a DWR Quilt
 

I have been logging in time spent making my DD a DWR quilt for a surprise wedding gift. I didn't think about tracking the time spent winding bobbins. The quilt is in the sewing phase now, but I can tell you this much - I tracked the time it took to cut it out - it took 39 hours just to cut the pieces and batting out. It is a QAYG by Cheryl Phillips. I'm making the rings out of border print, so I had to cut them out similar to stack and whack so the rings would match. What a job that turned out to be!! I can't wait to quilt a few rings so that I can see what it will look like.

very interesting thread. I've read all the comments and have come to realize that we make quilts because we love the craft. Women need an escape from the everyday life, it's our escape. Do we really want to do this for a living? Some of us may have a financial need to sell their wares, but for the most part, I would think, that for those we see on etsy, ebay, or where ever, the price could not be very important. Maybe it's just to get some of their money back and a little extra to continue their "love" for the craft. I know the grandmother quilt I made for my daughter took me 9 months from start to finish (it was hq). If I was making it for an income, then I couldn't survive on the selling price, which I would have sold for no less than $1000.00.
We should not be worried about what people get for their craft, after all, we do this because we love what we get out of it, and you can't put a dollar figure on that.
For these reason's I don't log any time or money spent. I do keep a book of the quilts I made,and who received them. This is all that I need to know that my time and money was well worth it, along with the memory of their greatfullness.
So happy quilting ya'll, do it for the love of the game.

I haven't kept track of the time it took to do certain things. But for the last few quilts, I have recorded tension, stitch length, width and thread used for decorative stitching and quilting. I'm not sure if this will help me any in the future, but as I was experimenting with different threads, I could easily see what worked and what didn't.

What a great idea.... and scary! I've always said no one could afford one of my little quilts.

that's a full work week - no wonder no one really wants to know what a quilt costs - you can add up the materials used, but how do you quantify your time?