ffq-lar Posted September 30, 2009 Report Share Posted September 30, 2009 Nope. But Roy Orbison is--he was always my favorite. He's jamming with Cass Elliot. I have lots of room in my head for others. I am going to be so busy entertaining in my head when I hit 75. Lotsa famous people in there. Sorry for hijacking the thread--Marilyn and I are going out to quilt now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoryJM Posted September 30, 2009 Report Share Posted September 30, 2009 Emma wants to be guild queen! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonnie Posted September 30, 2009 Report Share Posted September 30, 2009 I'm sure that Emma will make a lovely guild queen. I think I have some Lame' from when I was making rodeo saddle pads that we might get one for her as well.... do you think she will look good in Silver, with her red locks. I need to see if I can find that box...:mad: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
witha'K'quilting Posted September 30, 2009 Report Share Posted September 30, 2009 I wonder if we started our own thread how long we could keep this going for? Probably wouldn't last. All these new threads give us more to chat from. I love it. Thanks Sharon for letting us borrow this space. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kennan100 Posted September 30, 2009 Report Share Posted September 30, 2009 I don't have voices in my head. They ran away from the drugs....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharond Posted September 30, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 30, 2009 Bonni, I plan on keeping track of my time, the thread, bobbins, number of thread changes etc. I am not going to worry about charging them my normal charge. Like my husband says "You are running a business, not a charity". Anyone planning their trip MQS 2010? I will be there and would love to meet you gals. Sharon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LFQuilts Posted October 1, 2009 Report Share Posted October 1, 2009 Sharon, Good business decision:) No one else will take your business seriously if you don't. Lynn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juliagraves Posted October 1, 2009 Report Share Posted October 1, 2009 I quilted my guild's quilt this year. The president (who is also a regular renter of my long-arm) asked me what I would charge for a quilt that size with custom quilting. It was a huge quilt and I told them it would be in the $350 - $400 range, but it was my guild and I would do it for what they had in the budget, which I knew was $250. I have done plenty of donated quilting for the guild on smaller and less involved projects, but I would not have done it for free. I really like the idea of having the guild make a motion. I have found that there is always someone in a group (not just guilds) that will complain, and it's usually people that aren't doing much themselves! Hang in there and do what feels right to you, but also remember that whatever you do sets a precedence, so if you don't want to do it every year, don't do it this year! Julia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daisy2018 Posted October 1, 2009 Report Share Posted October 1, 2009 Linda: GREAT reply, I'm printing it and putting it in the guild folder. Kristina: I've been member of lots of guilds, moving will do that, and one thing does keep coming up. Many groups explode from "finance" issues. More C*** happens in the name of money than any other issue . One guild I belonged to was a non profit, but had over $60,000 in the bank. They wouldn't subsidize any portion of a class for those that were on fixed budgets ( we all know who they are) and would charge for every extra, down to napkins at a Christmas party. I quit as a protest. Many groups take the tack that they start the year with a specific amount, fund their speakers and quilt show, and anything left over gets donated to Breast Cancer research, Local childrens hospital, etc. I am appalled that well healed quilt guilds can be so mean spirited to their own members. I really respect the groups that make it a priority to help their own members, (the least of us) and then their community and charity projects. Women of service are certainly blessed. I think the issue of paying a LA for her efforts is exactly the same as paying your hairdresser. A gift is only a gift when it is joyfully given. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeggyB Posted October 1, 2009 Report Share Posted October 1, 2009 I want to chime in here. What has been posted of course, is valid. But as a guild member and a new longarmer I am not surprised that people expect the donation of your time would be free. I am not saying that is a correct response but if they are misguided they should be educated. It is also possible that in the past others whether professional or not have donated the quilting. Prior to getting my machine, I quilted my own quilts and very seldom paid for someone else to do them. Each year a different bee from our guild makes the raffle quilt and then everyone is required to sell or at least by $20 worth of tickets. The money goes to charity. The bee this Spring made a beautiful quilt and asked for help quilting it. No one at the meeting volunteered. I heard later they approached one longarmer and she quoted $700 and then another longarmer did it for free. My point? I would have expected that if I was asked, and talented enough that I would be donating my time. Reading this thread is a bit of an eye opener for me. But, I don't think that every time you are asked it is an insult to your business. I am special projects chairman at my guild and every month of course I donate "time" and "work" to the guild. Bottom line, it is a often a mix of past practice and naivete. Peggy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ffq-lar Posted October 1, 2009 Report Share Posted October 1, 2009 Hi Peggy. I was a member of my guild when I first purchased my Milli. That first year I was so green I would have been terrified to be asked to do the quilting for the raffle quilt. As time went by and my skills improved, I toyed with the idea, but was still anxious about the possibility. The next year an in-guild PITA passed a motion that the quilting for the raffle quilt should be "auditioned". Any quilter in the guild who was interested could submit a sample of their work and a written proposal including what they would charge for the quilting--with a broad hint that free or a deep discount would count toward the decision. Then this person and her hand-picked committee would decide who would "get to" do the quilting. Hard to believe, but NO ONE applied.:o:o That year they shipped the quilt to Spokane and paid $300 for the quilting. Needless to say, the raffle quilt is happily offered every year and has been done in-guild since then. And each year the guild gets a very good deal on the quilting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
witha'K'quilting Posted October 1, 2009 Report Share Posted October 1, 2009 Wow, I can't imagine how large your guild must be Peggy if there are bees within it! To explain a bit: The guild I left had about 30 members at the time. I had the only longarm and there were 2 midarms and several short systems. I was asked to quilt the raffle quilt and the guild was the one who said that quilting was no longer going to be a donatable item. Money was in the treasury and since we would be making money off the sale of tickets...I was to be paid. I kept the quilting fee reasonable for the amount of custom quilting that I did. I am not in business and already felt like I had put more than my fair share of time into the quilt. To then be paid (a month later) and hear awful comments about the fact that I took money...was heartwrenching. Note: part of the bill that I submitted was for $45 worth of batting and fabric for the quilt. The guild is now down in numbers. Other ladies have left since I did and the ones who made their nasty comments are still in charge. So be it. I was not going to stick around and try to teach them how to treat people properly. No regrets in leaving..I am perfectly content not quilting for anyone but myself and anyone else that I agree to quilt for. I bought my LA for me...nobody else. I have this forum and some close friends whom I spend time with piecing and designing quilts. I have even designed my first mystery quilt. It is still in the testing phase...but very close to being posted. Hopefully by the end of October. For everyone who chooses to donate their time to a guild...wonderful. I did for many years. Remember I did not volunteer to quilt the raffle quilt...I was asked. I have the largest family of any of the guild members and also work a full time job. Anyone else could have done the quilting and it would have turned out great. Interesting when you leave a guild that you were a part of for nearly 8 years...and nobody calls to say hello. I run into some of the ladies at the store...and some say hello and others walk by me as though I am infested with something. Go figure. anyways...back to finishing a quilt for a friend. Hope to post pictures tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tchamberlain1 Posted October 1, 2009 Report Share Posted October 1, 2009 I did the quilting for my guild's raffle quilt for the 2008 show. The piecing was spectacular and had beautiful applique. I reserved an entire month to work only on that quilt. I spent over 150 hours doing crosshatching and feathers. I charged the guild $500 which was still discounted for the heirloom quilting that it received. The guild sold over 10,000 tickets on this quilt so they took in over $10,000. When a quilt is so successful then the quilter's fee doesn't look so bad... Use your best judgement on quilting for your guild. You don't want to end up feeling used and abused. It's a fine line to walk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tchamberlain1 Posted October 1, 2009 Report Share Posted October 1, 2009 If you want to see the raffle quilt that I worked on, it's in my webshots under 2008 NBAQG Raffle Quilt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThreadWaggle Posted October 1, 2009 Report Share Posted October 1, 2009 I would be scared to death to quilt my quild's raffle quilt. I am really glad that we have a couple really great longarmers that normally do it. I believe they are paid, but I have never really asked. However we do smaller projects too, that are raffled for charities. This weekend we are doing a quilt auction for a local charity and I think we had 90 quilts donated. One of which I quilted for a customer to donate. And I did put extra work into and charged her less since I knew what it was for and I wanted to support the chartity as well. We normally have between 300-400 active members in our guild so we are able to support a lot of different charities. The guild I belonged to when I lived in NOVA was so large that it has chapters that meet in different cities. My chapter had over 100 people in it. But the do have meetings where the entire guild meets. It is HUGE! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoAnnHoffman Posted October 1, 2009 Report Share Posted October 1, 2009 You donate your work on charity quilts not raffle quilts. They have money. Give them a 10% discount if you want to give them something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kathyb Posted October 1, 2009 Report Share Posted October 1, 2009 myself, myself, myself, myself, myelf. OH!! There it is! It's going to be a great day!!! Kristina, I hope the guild girls know what they are missing! I'LL be your friend!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kathyb Posted October 1, 2009 Report Share Posted October 1, 2009 Sharon, You definately have to do what's right for you. Don't give yourself away unless you want to. Over the years, I have quilted some of our guild's raffle quilts and I must say it is wonderful exposure for my business! Have them print the quilter's name on the tickets and the post cards if they are offered. Also, make sure the guild has a stack of your business cards when they are showing the quilt as many customers will ask who quilted it. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheri-Artzgirl Posted October 1, 2009 Report Share Posted October 1, 2009 My guild is small (25 members) with a small bank account of about $2,500. I recently taught a beginning applique class and provided a kit with fabric and supplies so my beginners would have just what they needed. The pattern was an original design as well, just for the class. I had 8 take the class and after the kit expenses made a whopping $40 for 5 hours of teaching but being it was the guild and we had a great time, it was ok If I take into consideration my time spent running around town to get the supplies, time spent developing and testing the pattern, planning the class, you get the picture, I'm really in the hole!! At the next guild meeting everyone was raving about how much fun we had and how much they enjoyed the class, so while I'm enjoying my minute of satisfaction for doing a good job, our treasurer says "you should donate any profits to the guild" I ask her if she would go to work if they didn't pay her for her time there? and quickly said before she could respond, I said this is what I do for a living and I'm in the hole on this one and doubt the guild will compensate for my loss so I'm donating my time and expenses since there is no profit to donate to the guild. She was so angery especially when several ask when I could do the next class. I have volunteered to do an easy panto for a raffle quilt for a guild (not mine) and have gotten several clients due to my chairity work, sometimes it can pay off with additional work and my accountant tells me to write up any donated work for full price as a tax write off, every penny helps. I'm not sure I would like anyone assuming I will work for free, when we know they would not. My time is very valuable, I work full time and quilt when I'm not working. BTW I'm in need of some magic dust to sprinkle around and tidy up the house, anyone have some for sale??? lol Guilds can be a royal pain!! but for now they are my clients! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltaholi_518 Posted October 1, 2009 Report Share Posted October 1, 2009 I just did my guild's quilt, I gave them 2 options. First I told them what I would charge, then a gave them a discounted rate, then a final rock bottom price IF they put my name and website on the tickets. I called it "pricing for promotional consideration" Of course they went for the lowest price, but I will be glad to have my name on thousands of tickets lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RitaR Posted October 1, 2009 Report Share Posted October 1, 2009 This is long, so forgive if too boring. Two years ago, we called for bids from the long armners in our area, I think 3 of us still belonged to the guild. I deliberately put in a low bid, and donated the thread, charged for the batting. listed any problems they'd be charged extra for. I won the bid. later that year one quit the guild and last year the other quit. I didn't think to remember to ask them to call for a new bid, that first one was just for one year. When this years raffle quilt came up, one person did about 90 % of the piecing, instead of letting members of the guild help, as she should have. One sew day, when some of us who want to, get together to sew on whatever we want, she finished it, pressed the top and wadded it up and threw it at me. I put it down, without thinking, and took it home. She said she forgot to bring the backing and would get it to me, in 2 or 3 days. 8 or 9 days went by, no backing, so I called and reminded her I needed time to address the job of the quilt, and needed the backing. Again one week before the quilt was due, which was a Tues. I called and told her I really needed the backing and the time to get it finished and looking good. Well, meanwhile with about 5 inches excess fabric at each corner, I used Bonnies method to shrink it in. I thought I had it corrected.. Meanwhile others are yammering at me to get it done so they could get a picture to put on the brochures about our show. On Thurs. in the week before It was due to the guild, I made up a backing and put the batting and topping on, began quilting with a LOT of pins to hopefully keep things in place. I pinned past the part that was Up, on the frame, and stayed ahead of by advancing and pinning each section ahead of what I needed. I was doing custom sewing, and it really was coming out better than I expected.. When we got to the middle of the quilt, we looked at the rest of it and it was so badly out of place I knew I couldn't consider going on. I took it off the frame, and having told the gals many times, Roland has to do my ripping because with my wrist and elbow surgery due, I couldn't do it wihout a lot of pain. I took the quilt to that Sat. sew day, and gave it back, since it wasn't made right to start with, and told them I needed it frogged and corrected to even consider continuing. Well, she had it almost 3 weeks before she even mentioned that it needed to be taken apart, but did take it to 3 long armers, one in a very busy shop, and asked them what to do. LOL, they told her to keep ripping, then remake the quilt, and about 7 oof the 9 borders would need to be taken off, cut more accurately and reattached. They confronted me in front of the guild, with questions they only could have gotten from a person with a long arm, chastised me for continueing so far before stopping, not taking the stitching out, and Jumping the gun, that she supposedly told me the next sew day was when she'd bring the backing. I'd not even consider taking in a very large quilt, the afternoon of Sat. with the quilt due on Tues.. They agreed to pay for the time I spent steaming while waiting for the back, the thread and the batting. I was charging half my e2e rate to quilt a custom job. Well, I tured the bill in and they were objecting my " charging for a whole lot of things that weren't needed." Thread and batting aren't needed? Anyway, when they finally got done raking me over the coals, and I deliberately asked them if they were done "EXPOSING" most of my faults, and this was over. They said yes, and I said, "I don't want this check for things that were not needed for the quilt, like batting, time for steaming it and thread. I turn it back in. They all objected including the PERFECT one, and I again said I would NOT accept that check and was turning it back in, again the objections, so I said, either I turn this check back in, in other words, refuse it, or I quit this guild as of now. Of all the gall, the ONE who messed up the quilt to start with and had just raked me over the coals, said OH NO RITA, you are much too valuable to this guild, we need you. I looked at her and said I wish you'd make up your mind, as I doubt you really think that after treating me and telling me how inept I am to all these people. There were 26 members there. A few min. later they said, that actually Miss... won the bid if that was the actual size of the quilt. I whipped back with, WHY wasn't I offered the chance to turn in a bid? Total silence. I am still in the guild, will never quilt for anything from the guild except QoV, and will only put in a bid for custom quilting, thread, and retail price of batting, but I want to stay there as it is just the two women, Not ladies they, and to be able to rub it in every year they have a show, thus a raffle quilt for the guild. I will enjoy sew day this Sat. Telling them about the actual price the green quilt brought in. The one who is the perfect one, is mentioned every place a committee member should be, on our literature, and it looks more like T**** S*****'s show, not Hearts and Hands ECA Quilters Guild. I don't feel bad about the job not working out, I don't hate Terrie and I sure WILL get over it, contrairy to what her side kick said, but I'm there to stay, with many friends. This also showed me acouple people I thought were friends, and are actually back stabbers. I have too many other friends there that I enjoy, and wouldn't otherwise see. When she rebuilt the quilt, she left several borders out and added a piano key border of dark fabrics and as far as I've heard so far, ruined the quilt and lost us a lot of money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RitaR Posted October 1, 2009 Report Share Posted October 1, 2009 I think it lost a lot of appeal. Rita and Himself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
griff Posted October 1, 2009 Report Share Posted October 1, 2009 Just to add a different spin to this discussion: I have encountered a similar situation in a church group. I was going to donate my time and materials. The minister requested I accept the payment and then donate it back if I chose. He wanted to make sure the real cost was documented. The next person asked to help may not have the resources to donate time/materials and should not be expected to do so. I was the chair of my guild quilt show one year and we needed to know the cost for budgeting purposes. If anything was discounted or donated, it was added to the profits but not assumed. Not everyone was happy but they quieted down when I offered to put them ont he committee for the next year! Your work is too wonderful and your time to precious to discount it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodnightirene Posted October 1, 2009 Report Share Posted October 1, 2009 First, I want to tell Kimmie, I saw your quilt at the Oaks show last weekend. It is beautiful, the quilting outstanding. It is the only raffle quilt at the show for which I bought a ticket. I can relate to all the stories about guilds expecting us to give them free quilting. I have been quilting for 8 years. Every time I turn around, someone is asking me to quilt for free. At the beginning, I did quilt for free just to get the publicity. When it became overwhelming, I had to rethink my policy regarding charity work. In my mind, working for free is charity work. I decided to charge guilds half of my regular price for quilting their raffle quilts. Beyond that, I decide to whom I want to donate quilting. Once I have fulfilled my allotment of charity work for the year, I just kindly tell them "I'm sorry, but I have completed my charity work for this year." If they want to pay me, fine. I find it more rewarding personally to make and donate a quilt to a cause that means something to me. When my cousin died after battling breast cancer for 30 years, I donated a quilt to be raffled. It raised over $3000 for cancer research. That makes me happy. Giving to a rich guild does not make me happy. I now choose to do what makes me happy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
witha'K'quilting Posted October 1, 2009 Report Share Posted October 1, 2009 This reminds me...right as I was leaving the guild...I was asked to donate quilting for charity quilts that would be going to a girls orphanage in China. I declined. The guild was going to be buying batting and backings for all of the ladies who wished to make a quilt for the cause. I did however to quilt as many as they wanted for $50 each. They laughed. Each quilt was to be 70"x90". I thought that was a steal. 6300 si for $50. They only made and sent a few quilts I hear. I love to donate quilts for wonderful causes. I donate quilts to the local Child and Family Services. The kids love them and they are appreciated. Isn't that what it is all about?! Besides...they need extra blankets...it get very cold here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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