luv2kwilt Posted February 1, 2010 Report Share Posted February 1, 2010 Hi everyone! I have quilted for a client for years now. Each year she brings me a good number of quilts around 5-15 depending on how much she gets done. She has two boys--one is in Afganistan currently, the other was headed there sometime at the end of the year. The one that is headed there has 30 guys in his unit and he wants her make a quilt for all them before they go. He called her this week to say that they are going in June or July now. I will be quilting all of them and told her to get the bindings to me and I could put them on easily with the LA. I would be doing a simple panto on all of them, and would love to do this as a service to the men and women keeping us safe, but I can't do that many for free, either. I have three kids of my own. She is a great client, a heavy hearted mother, and I just don't know how to handle this. She is totally willing to pay whatever amount I ask--she isn't asking for any discount, but I would like to for her sake, and as a gift to my fellow country-men. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much! Luv2Kwilt APQS Millie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quilting Heidi Posted February 1, 2010 Report Share Posted February 1, 2010 What about if you charge for 5 and the 6th is free or something like that. That way you are giving a little back but still able to make a living. After all you would have to put off customers to quilt hers right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nora123 Posted February 1, 2010 Report Share Posted February 1, 2010 I'm with Heidi on this. You do need to make a living. These machines are not free. I admire you for doing this. Nora Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
susanramey Posted February 1, 2010 Report Share Posted February 1, 2010 You could just charge your minimum for each of these. Still making a bit of money for your time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ffq-lar Posted February 1, 2010 Report Share Posted February 1, 2010 Listen to your heart as well as listen to your bank account. You can't buy groceries with warm feelings! It is a dilemma--perhaps give as generous a percentage discount as you can manage. Or--figure the dollar amount you are comfortable donating each year (I can only manage about $500 a year without feeling the pinch. Most is for my guild charity quilts and those free quilts take quilting time away from paying customers. Plus none of that donation is deductable.) So, figure your yearly limit, apply all that amount to these quilts, and go from there. Then if you are approached later in the year for a donation, you can explain that you have donated the max for the year to this good cause. You have my admiration for this special undertaking. Hugs to your friend as well--her heart is big and beautiful! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grace Posted February 1, 2010 Report Share Posted February 1, 2010 Not sure where you live, but I live in Coburg, Oregon, just north of Eugene, and would be very happy to quilt some for you. Another option is to conjoin several backings of the same dimensions, then float the matching tops. This is kind of an assembly-line quilting style I use when I have several that need to be done quickly. I just join the backings on whichever edges are the same size, roll them all onto the LA, lay the batting down, and float the corresponding tops. Saves tons of set-up time, each quilt is then easily separated with just cutting off the attachment seams. I have also added some false edges to the backing to make them be the correct sizes to accomplish this trick. These are never seen because when the quilts are trimmed down, only the original backing and top are in place. Works for me. Grace Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barbara Conquest Posted February 1, 2010 Report Share Posted February 1, 2010 I think Linda's idea is terrific: win-win, to quote a cliche! And how generous of both you and your customer to tackle such a project in such a limited time. Another thought: Is there any chance of an in-kind trade for partial payment? e.g. you quilt; she bakes or performs some other service for you (after the quilts are done, of course). Whatever you decide, I applaud both of you. Barbara Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luv2kwilt Posted February 2, 2010 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2010 Thanks everyone! You have given me a lot to think about! I knew I could count on you to have some suggestions. I can't do it all for free, but I could give a discount. I loved the idea of putting two on at once! Great idea! I did this when I first started, but I totally forgot that I could do that! Thanks again everyone! Sincerely, Luv2kwilt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandra Darlington Posted February 2, 2010 Report Share Posted February 2, 2010 Maybe charge her for 25 and do 5 free. That's a great discount for your customer and you are still earning some money. Or, charge her for 20 and do 10 free. Do what feels right to you! Loading several small quilts is a good idea. I did that with lots of table runners that used the same backing and cut them apart after I took them off of the frame. It worked great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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