kennan100 Posted January 9, 2009 Report Share Posted January 9, 2009 With all the threads I've read lately about odd customer requests, and strange expectaions I think everyone here has had their "Huh?" moment! I'd never had one of those until this week. I have a quilty friend at work, and we do a lot of quilt talking. Everyone has seen us bring our quilts to show and tell. One of the other ladies in the sales office stopped me yesterday and asked me if I was still into quilting. I told her yes, even though I don't do peicing and don't own a longarm (yet). It's not that I don't know how to peice, I just don't enjoy that part of the process. She asked me if I had ever heard of picture quilts, I told her sure I have. Turns out her aunt wants to have a quilt made for her grandparents anniversary that is approaching and wants to have it done with pictures of the whole family through the years. Then she wanted to know how much I thought it would cost. I explained to her that it would depend on a lot of things, how many pictures, the layout, the size and because there are specialty fabrics and inks involved and those are not cheap that having someone do the top alone could run from from 600.00 to over 1200.00 just ballpark. And then there is the actual layering it together and doing the quilting which could run the from 150.00 to 1200.00 depending on what designs were used and if it was done by machine or handquilted. If handquilting it sould take as long as a year to get done. We were standing in the sales office and one of the salesmen was listening to us and he pops up and says his wife would do it for 200.00. Just like that, off the top of his head! His wife works at Walmart. I just looked at him and told him that Walmart doesn't sell fabric anymore and even at that the job done for 200.00 would not last through more than a couple of washings, that quality quilt fabric runs about 9.00 a yard and the backing alone for a full size quilt would be close to 100.00, not to mention the fabrics, inks, ink stablizers, thread, the charge for just the time involved, and all the other things involved in making a quilt. Then I told the lady that was asking to remember that she would get what she paid for, and for 200.00 the inks would run or disappear in the first wash. Then I told the salesman he should talk to his wife before setting her up to do a job like that for practically nothing. He asked me what I would charge to do it, and I told him that for the moment all I do is handquilting and that it would take me about 6 months to a year depending on the size to finish it and I'd want about the figures I had already mentioned under the same conditions, and I'd want the money up front before I spent one minute on the project. He said he thought I was kidding when I threw out those figures! They really don't get it do they? BTW they both went and checked with my quilty friend and she told them I was right. So, now tell me, what do you think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonnie Posted January 9, 2009 Report Share Posted January 9, 2009 Man...I would have killed my husband if he had done that to me...but then again Gene would have more than likely over quoted the whole quilt because he doesn't think I charge enough with that said. I think you handled this whole thing just right and how I would have done it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoleneK Posted January 9, 2009 Report Share Posted January 9, 2009 Nope, they just don't get it! Question for ya Kenna and you may have already told this in another thread: You mentioned above that you don't enjoying piecing and you don't yet (your day is coming:)) own a long arm so my ? is - Have you used a LA machine to know if you will enjoy this aspect of it? Just curious, I know there are a few of LA'ers that don't piece. I fell in love with quilting before I even knew such a machine existed. I struggled with the DSM quilting for a few years, then heard above these wonderful machines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quilting Heidi Posted January 9, 2009 Report Share Posted January 9, 2009 Bonnie it sounds like Mark and gene have at least one thing in common! LOL I tell Mark all the time I'm going to let him negotiate my fees! Kenna you were spot on! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonnie Posted January 9, 2009 Report Share Posted January 9, 2009 side note to Heidi....They have a way lot in common.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickenscratch Posted January 9, 2009 Report Share Posted January 9, 2009 You are so right, they don't get it. I have had two at work ask me about making "wedding" quilts for their kids who are getting married. The one wants a king size with 8" pieced blocks and woven borders. I told her $1000-1200. i thought she was going to fall out of her chair. Needless to say she didn't want to get that wedding gift. THe other one's son just got married. She had asked me back in October or November adn I had told her $600-$800 or a queen size. She stopped me the other day and asked me if I had had a chance to really sit down and price it out for her because she thought I could do it for about $300.00. Seems she had been to Memphis pricing fabric, batting,etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickenscratch Posted January 9, 2009 Report Share Posted January 9, 2009 You are so right, they don't get it. I have had two at work ask me about making "wedding" quilts for their kids who are getting married. The one wants a king size with 8" pieced blocks and woven borders. I told her $1000-1200. i thought she was going to fall out of her chair. Needless to say she didn't want to get that wedding gift. THe other one's son just got married. She had asked me back in October or November adn I had told her $600-$800 or a queen size. She stopped me the other day and asked me if I had had a chance to really sit down and price it out for her because she thought I could do it for about $300.00. Seems she had been to Memphis pricing fabric, batting,etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonnie Posted January 9, 2009 Report Share Posted January 9, 2009 Originally posted by chickenscratch she thought I could do it for about $300.00. Seems she had been to Memphis pricing fabric, batting,etc. So what you can buy the materials for that sure, but what about cost of construction and quilting not to mention the time and costs of binding.....people just don't get it. Stick to your guns Teresa...$800. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltmonkey Posted January 9, 2009 Report Share Posted January 9, 2009 Someone told me their son was getting married and asked if I would I piece a king sized double wedding ring quilt and then quilt it for them. I gathered all of the information on costs for material, batting, labor hours to piece the king sized DWR, and then quoted the custom quilting. I never heard back from them. They probably had a heart attack when they saw the final quote how much it would cost to do this type of intensive job. I guess they didn't get it either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kennan100 Posted January 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 9, 2009 I just had to LOL when the 200.00 fell out of his mouth. My friends jaw dropped when I gave her my thoughts and tehn mine dropped when he came up with his amount and then his dropped when I told him about my prices just for the handquilting alone. I even told him not to pass out, we work at the same company and I knew he couldn't afford me!:D:D Jolene, to answer your question, I too fell in love with quilting before I knew anything about uqilting machines! I got started Quilting about 1984, when My Mom was teaching for Stretch N Sew. (anyone remember that?) She'd been after me for several years to try quilting but I've never enjoyed sewing at all and she is a sewing fiend! She bought the fabric, gave me an Eleanor Burns Log Cabin Quilt in a day (yeah, right), taught me about ripping the strips and sewing them together and I got about 4 blocks done and told her it was driving me nuts to sit at that sewing machine all day and gave the whole thing back to her. I told her it just was not my cup if tea, but that I remember her mother and grandmother using newspaper for templates, and all the cutting and handpeicing and handquilting they were doing when we came back to Texas at Christmas or on summer vacations. I do not remember at time when there were no quilts in process and fabric and thread, and pins and needles around the houses. I knew I was interested in quilting, just not that part of it, so I told her if she would put the top together that I would do the quilting by hand. I've always loved handwork, chrochet, needlepoint, counted cross stitch, but not knitting and have no idea why that is. Anyway she got the top done, I took it back to my apartment adn shoved all teh furniture against the wall in the living room and layered up that King bedspead sized monster out, pinned the backing to the carpet to keep it straight and flat and used safety pins to bast it togehter at every corner of every block. I worked at Kmart at teh time and everyday I'd come home with several more packages of big safety pins sure I finally had enough to finish that part! I had someone make a frame for me that I could hang from the ceiling in my bedroom and get out of the way when I wasn't using it, put the quilt on the frame with thumb tacks and started quiling it, 1/4 inch inside every seam on every log. It took a year, and I worked on it in the mornings before I went to work and every afternoon when I got home, and all day every weekend. It wasn't long before I was getting 10-12 stitches an inch an they were all even. I was soooooo hooked! When it was done I took it to my mother and she was overwhelmed, she didn't even realize I was working on it. Then I got after her to make another one, called my grandmother and got her to make me my quilt (DWR), she'd made one quilt for each of the grandkids. So My Mom started turning out quitls for my sisters & I and I stared handquilting all of them. I gave up a frame for a hoop because I can curl up somewhere comfortably and work. And now I can't handquilt anymore because of the RA . So I had to start paying attention to machines. I've never used one. I know me too well, when I finally settle down at one I will have tunnel vision and not be aware of anyone or anything except what the quilt is telling me it needs and I won't stop until I have to. My finger itch and twitch, I quilt in my sleep. I barely touch teh machines at the Houston show that I go to every year because I know I'll just get in the way of customers that are there to buy and I'm not at that place yet. But I'm getting there slowly. I just buy the fabric, my Mom does my piecing and I hang the finished quilts so that when I get my Millie I have something to work on for PPP. The ladies at the quilt shops ask me how long I've been quilting and would I like to sign up for classes and I just tell them I don't peice but I do make quilts. Then of course they aske how I make quilts if I don't do peicing, I just tell them I glue them together! Now most of them know my mother so I tell them she does my peicing for me. MY, my, am I chatty tonight or what? Anyway, that's my story, I don't think I've ever toldthe whole thing here before. I'm naming my Millie Bonnie, that was my grandmothers name and she's really where my quilting started! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoleneK Posted January 9, 2009 Report Share Posted January 9, 2009 Great story Kenna, thank you for sharing. I love to hear about others history, motivation, inspiration... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dib Posted January 9, 2009 Report Share Posted January 9, 2009 So, now, when are you getting your Mille (Bonnie)? You will be like these other machine experts since you like it so well. I loved your story. I wish more of us would tell how we got hooked; it helps us to know one another better. Thanks for all the chatting I enjoyed getting to knowo you better! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonnie Posted January 9, 2009 Report Share Posted January 9, 2009 Why do I need a millie...I have a APQS...just not a Millie..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheri Butler Posted January 9, 2009 Report Share Posted January 9, 2009 Love the story Kenna! You'll have your millie soon, I can feel it!!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustSewSimple Posted January 9, 2009 Report Share Posted January 9, 2009 LOL Bonnie - not you! As I read both posts she said her Millie was going to be named Bonnie. But it is nice to see you are paying attention. HA! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonnie Posted January 9, 2009 Report Share Posted January 9, 2009 Oh, I get it....it was the way you wrote it...it didn't sound like your referring to her machine Bonnie but to me....no problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kennan100 Posted January 10, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 10, 2009 Thanks all! I'm still trying to figure out where my case of Motormouth came from last night! I'm saving for my machine. I was doing pretty good and had to use some for medical bills and so am still making that part up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltmonkey Posted January 10, 2009 Report Share Posted January 10, 2009 Hang in there Kenna-babe. You will get your dream come true some day. You are so patient, after all these years.... You deserve it more than anyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrsbishwit Posted January 10, 2009 Report Share Posted January 10, 2009 I just finished a lap sized quilt this week for a customer..she was commissioned to make a quilt out of those "Crown Royal" purple felt bags that the liquer comes in. Anyways someone (a non sewer) asked her how much she would charge for cutting the bags sewing it together into a quilt top and finishing it into a quilt, originally she was only planning on tying the quilt. My customer told the lady $500, the lady told my customer ok...but when it came to put the quilt sandwich together she decided to have me quilt it with a basic meandering and since it was a lapsize quilt it fell within my $50 minimum..the only $ my customer had to shell out for it was my fee, $10 for backing (she found the perfect color, a purple polyester type fabric) and she used the cheapest batting she could find. I wouldn't have paid $500 for it but this person wanted it really bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltmonkey Posted January 10, 2009 Report Share Posted January 10, 2009 I wouldn't have paid $500 for that either. Eww! I have seen some crown royal quilts that were breathtaking beautiful and pieced with some real thought into it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrsbishwit Posted January 10, 2009 Report Share Posted January 10, 2009 Yup, she just cut the bags apart without given it any thought and then just pieced them together in a poor patchwork design. When I was quilting it I was thinking this could have been done like a crazy patch quilt..cutting the bags in such a way where you would eliminate that gold serging from the bags then sewn back together and using a metalic gold thread to do the decrative machine stitches over the seams...maybe even added some purple satin and velvet to give some other fabric textures to it and keeping true to a crazy patch quilt. But of course keeping the crown royal embroidery logos as much as possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kennan100 Posted January 10, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 10, 2009 I started to say amazing, then thought that is a positive expression. How about astounding? Gee, there are so many ways that could have been really nice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dib Posted January 10, 2009 Report Share Posted January 10, 2009 Why, was my first response! Why would anyone want that? Then I though that her husband might have been drinking RC when they first met or perhaps they own part of the company. Hmmmmmmm...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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