Grammie Posted June 15, 2006 Report Share Posted June 15, 2006 Well I am on only my 3rd Santa Quilt from last years block of the month. BOY I am SICK of this quilt. Has this happened to you? I understand I will be getting two more. Quilters like this IRON fusible (so do I) but in this quilt the Santas almost fill a 12 inch block and the fusible is on top of each other and well its a pain in the BUTT to quilt. Is it a bad idea or bad for business to announce early on for next years block of the months that I will only be able to take so many. Not sure what that number would be yet but I am curious. I mean I want to make money at this too but wow doing the same quilt over and over is boring. I guess I've lost my excitement with this one. lolol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonnie Posted June 15, 2006 Report Share Posted June 15, 2006 Grammie, I feel your pain....I had a customer last year just about kill me...she did 16 of these and wanted them ALL done exactly alike...Totally SID and metalic thread...I was so sick of these and was so glad when I finally got the last one sent off. NEVER again will I do that many for one customer and NEVER again will I do them alike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlene Posted June 16, 2006 Report Share Posted June 16, 2006 Hi, The most of the same quilt I have done is 3 and I know what you mean about it getting boring. What I do is, first not do the same quilts in a row so I can get a break from it. Secondly, I try to do something different in each quilt. Most quilters would go for that if you tell them it will make their quilt their own, not like everyone's else, you know, the personal touch. Other than that, good luck. Char Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SandraC Posted June 16, 2006 Report Share Posted June 16, 2006 I think you should just judge each circumstance as it comes. I had a totally opposite experience from you...I took a mystery class with about 14 other women. The person running the class had asked if I would like to put in a coupon to be used toward getting them quilted. I thought this was a great idea and offered 10% discount on the quilting of these quilts. I thought if I could get 3 quilts it would be great. Turns out...I've done at least 8 or 9 of them (I'll have to go back and count). Now, in this instance, the quilts looked different because a number of different colour combinations was used and everyone picked different ideas for quilting, ie: baptist fan, pantos and one was the most custom work I've done on a quilt!!! So, for me it wasn't a boring experience at all and I will definitely offer something like this in the future. Another bonus was that people that usually don't get their quilts machine quilted gave it a try, so maybe some potential future business there. Also, looking back, I think that that month would have been slow otherwise if not for these quilts. So, the moral of my story is...for me I will do this again although I'm sure I will get stuck with a boring run as both Grammie and Bonnie have. (Then I'm sure I'll be singing a different tune!!!) Sandra Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaHubs Posted June 16, 2006 Report Share Posted June 16, 2006 Originally posted by Grammie Well I am on only my 3rd Santa Quilt from last years block of the month. BOY I am SICK of this quilt. Has this happened to you? I understand I will be getting two more. Quilters like this IRON fusible (so do I) but in this quilt the Santas almost fill a 12 inch block and the fusible is on top of each other and well its a pain in the BUTT to quilt. Is it a bad idea or bad for business to announce early on for next years block of the months that I will only be able to take so many. Not sure what that number would be yet but I am curious. I mean I want to make money at this too but wow doing the same quilt over and over is boring. I guess I've lost my excitement with this one. lolol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaHubs Posted June 16, 2006 Report Share Posted June 16, 2006 Well, I obviouslyy didn't understand the system. I tried to quote Grammie comments and then ask a question. So the quote went first and here's my question. I am not a long-arm owner. I found and joined this forum because I learn so much. I am making small quilts for a nursing home and am thinking of using Steam a Seam 2 Lite to speed things up. Will it being the Lite variety prevent quilting problems? How many layers can I use without having a problem with the quilting? (I have a new Bernina with the stitch regulator.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grammie Posted June 16, 2006 Author Report Share Posted June 16, 2006 Fusible is quilted alot by others and I do it as well so it can be quilted. It is used a great deal with art quilts. What you should do is make a MOCK UP block and simple try it out on your machine to see what you think. This gives you an idea of tension setting and such depending on the thread you use. Besure to stabilize your background fabric as well. The lite is better than the heavy to me. Everyone's experience is different. Give it a try. HINT: Using smaller needle if thread weight permits is a good idea as fusible tends to leave tiny holes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bstucker Posted June 16, 2006 Report Share Posted June 16, 2006 Bonnie, I quilted the quilt you pictured four different times. Seeing that picture brought back some memories. Three friends first saw it on my machine and each of them made one....I thought I would go crazy as they all used the same fabrics. I did learn a lot about pattern organization in doing the first one, but by the fourth one I was just interested in finishing it! I'm not sure if I'd put a restriction on how many of the same type quilt I'd do, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrsbishwit Posted June 16, 2006 Report Share Posted June 16, 2006 My experience is simiular to Sandra's. This past fall I received about 6 Thimbleberries Month to Month quilts from several women that spend the winters here in AZ and live in the same resort complex. They were all different color combinations and some added extra borders to increase size but they all wanted the ink blot panto on them. I didn't mind doing them because I got ALOT of business from these ladies and their friends and they are planing on bringing me their 2006-2007 Fall/ Winter project which will be the Thimbleberries Village quilt along with the ones that they have been working on over the summer. I will probably have twice as many this time around because my reputation has already been established and approved in this group. For now I will not turn away any business just because it is a quilt that I have done before...my business is still growing and I like the costomers that I have been getting. Besides I look at the multiple quilts and patterns as PPP and everyone can always use more PPP Joann Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grammie Posted June 16, 2006 Author Report Share Posted June 16, 2006 I have trouble saying no to taking a quilt lol With that being said. If these were Edge to Edge or Panto It would be alot easier to get them done. There's outline Applique, Lots of thread changes. Each customer has been really excited to see how theirs came out and well I suppose this makes worth while. So far mine have been almost the same in size and fabric. I love next years BOM which I am making also but I'm sure the same thing will happen again. lolol At least with my BOM I will be able to get some texture as I plan to machine applique. No fusible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonnie Posted June 16, 2006 Report Share Posted June 16, 2006 Barbara, When she first said that she wanted them all exact I sort of laughed at her, thinking WHY, but when I started to open them they were all exactly alike....first off I'm not sure I could make more than one EXACT quilt, pattern yes, fabric I don't think so. So, when I realized she was very sincere about the request I asked why. Her answer was this: "I am giving them out to family and friends for Christmas and I don't want any of them fighting over you got better quilting or better fabric than I did." I do agree with you about restrictions to a customer about how many and pattern, but MAN I thought I was going to die, thank God the last four she had a falling out with someone and they got put off till this Spring, a needed break, and now they are done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tsurich Posted June 16, 2006 Report Share Posted June 16, 2006 I have done twelve Thimbleberries Pansy Park and have one more on the list. Luckily for me they came in over two years (or is it more now?) time. But am having a little trouble being excited to do this 90 x 112 quilt as a custom quilt. Unfortunately on the first one I outlined every tree and fence in the border so feel I must on all of them. I'm new to forums, how do I get my town as part of the signature? Sue Urich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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