cmoore1223 Posted April 21, 2012 Report Share Posted April 21, 2012 This has probably been asked before and I may have missed it. How do you figure out how long it's going to take to get a quilt finished. I know that we all work at different speeds. No matter how long I think it will take, it always takes longer. I know, I'm slow. I have people who want to know if I can do their quilts and when and I don't know how to answer. Right now I have 6 to do, 2 are custom and 1 is maybe semi and the rest are pantos. I'm probably the only one who can answer for myself but I'm just frustrated and I guess rambling. But forgive me, I just thought I'd ask. Oh, and I forgot to mention that I work 34 hours a week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quilting Heidi Posted April 21, 2012 Report Share Posted April 21, 2012 Coleen, I work at least 40 hours a week and have to work my quilting in around Maddie time and all the other duties that come with having a home. I decided so that I don't stress myself completely out I could do 1 panto a week or 2 weeks for custom, with the assumption that these are queen size quilts. This usually works out pretty well for me. I try to quilt 2 hours a night at least 3 nights a week after work and then 1 afternoon 6 - 8 hours on the weekend. This doens't always happen but most of the time it works out fine for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carolinequilts Posted April 21, 2012 Report Share Posted April 21, 2012 I average 1 quilt a week. Like Heidi, I have a full time job too. I plan to 'put one on the slab' on the weekend, and then work in the evenings when I come home on it. For me, it is nice that the quilt is already on the frame because that is not something I want to do after a stressful day at work. Overall, 1 a week has been working for me. This is because sometimes it is a small lap quilt, and sometimes it is a bigger 'custom' quilt - but I figure on averages. My calculation is that I do 4 a month, so if someone brings me a quilt today and I have '6' in my back log, I tell them it will be a month and a half. I do mostly all over panto's. If I did a lot of custom work I would have to rethink this... Hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ffq-lar Posted April 21, 2012 Report Share Posted April 21, 2012 Perhaps I'm not the best person to reply since I seem to be forever behind, but try to determine how many hours a week you can devote to quilting. And don't figure how many hours are available, but how many hours you WANT to quilt. If you quilt after work, do you want to quilt every day for 2 hours, every other day for 4 hours, 8 hours on Saturday or Sunday? As you schedule quilts, figure 6 hours for a queen overall or panto, 15 hours for a semi-custom, etc. If you know you can dedicate 15 hours a week to the longarm, that's maybe two simple ones or one intricate one. So you have filled one week. Block that out on your calendar. Do the same for all scheduled quilts and add 5 hours a week for problems, intake/pick-up, and as a buffer. As the weeks get highlighted you will be able to tell an estimated time you can take the next customer. This allows for some re-arranging and juggling. And believe me, sometimes when you have a cancellation it can be a blessing in disguise! I used to schedule 8 quilts a month (with a 25 hour a week day job) but now try to keep it at 7 quilts. I seem to be getting so many customs lately. And at that, I sometimes feel guilty when I take a day with Denny or go to dinner with friends! I hate that... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Primitive1 Posted April 22, 2012 Report Share Posted April 22, 2012 Like you Linda, I feel like I am forever running behind too. It seems that custom is pretty much all I get anymore and they always take longer than I think they will, maybe it is because I get hung up on making sure they are perfect and that is prob why I keep a big backlog. Most people are ok with that and know that they have to wait. A problem, but then again, it's what keeps my customers coming back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quilting Heidi Posted April 22, 2012 Report Share Posted April 22, 2012 Originally posted by Primitive1 Like you Linda, I feel like I am forever running behind too. It seems that custom is pretty much all I get anymore and they always take longer than I think they will, maybe it is because I get hung up on making sure they are perfect and that is prob why I keep a big backlog. Most people are ok with that and know that they have to wait. A problem, but then again, it's what keeps my customers coming back. I too am getting mostly custom. I love to get a panto, quick and simple. The people on my list are ok with waiting too. It just is what it is and I tell them I take no offense if they want to find somebody that can do it quicker. Wait until I tell them I'm taking off 2 1/2 months starting in Aug! I have decided that I need to concentrate on wedding plans and not be so worn out and stressed about getting everything done. If the wedding stuff is done then I'm going to take a little time for me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltmonkey Posted April 22, 2012 Report Share Posted April 22, 2012 Originally posted by hmerrill .......I have decided that I need to concentrate on wedding plans and not be so worn out and stressed about getting everything done. If the wedding stuff is done then I'm going to take a little time for me! Good for you Heidi, you deserve it! (((hugs))) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltmonkey Posted April 22, 2012 Report Share Posted April 22, 2012 Originally posted by cmoore1223 ......Oh, and I forgot to mention that I work 34 hours a week. I work a FT job outside of home so I can only devote eves or weekends to do quilts. If I can, I try to get the quickie ones done right away (freehand or easy panto) so they are done and I concentrate on the others (custom or semi custom) on the weekends when I can focus. I try not to have a backlog..... so I can keep it under control. Me? I tell my customers 1 month minimum. If Iget it done sooner, good, but if I don't OK fine. PS: Linda Rech gives good practical advice. Love it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmoore1223 Posted April 22, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 22, 2012 I know that the rest of you all work too. I only added that so you'd get my background info. I'm frustrated, I guess, because the rest of you all seem to get so much done in spite of everything else. The bottom line is that I am soooooo slow. I work at quilting every night from around 7 until 11:30, sometimes later. On Sunday and Monday (my days off) I sometimes quilt from noon until 11:30. I do love it but lately it seems like that's all I do and it seems to take me so long. I think this is coming because of the last one that I just finished. It was a raffle quilt for the Girl Scouts. It was batiks with Hobbs Wool batting and Girl Scout fabric for the back. I had so many tension issues that it took probably close to 30 hours to get a 85 x 95 panto done. Nothing seemed to work and the quilt before it had next to perfect tension. I really think it was the combo of the batting and the batiks. Any way thanks for listening and for all the great advice. As I've said before, "You guys are the best!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quilting Heidi Posted April 22, 2012 Report Share Posted April 22, 2012 Coleen, Trust me this year I've felt very much like you. Life is really getting in the way but I decided that family comes first and then quilts. I am up-front with my customers and tell them I will do my best but if they are under a hard deadline they will have to find somebody else. I've had a waiting list now for probably 2 years or so. usually 2 - 3 months. It is hard not to put pressure on yourself to get it done but I sure don't want my quilting to turn into a chore. I don't do it for the money but because I love to do it so I make sure I remind myself of that. Sorry to hear you are having tension issues. That sure is no fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobbi Posted April 22, 2012 Report Share Posted April 22, 2012 Me too, on the custom, and am I ever GRATEFUL! On a large custom, it can take me up to 2 weeks (or more), and the new one (Terri's quilt in the Picture forum) took 4 days... however those were 9 hour days... Geez! I have a little 60"x60" fairy frost on right now... I won't finish til I get back from Paducah, but at least it's started... An all over can take a day or two... It all boils down to how long I can stay on my feet! I do stop and take about an hour for lunch so I can prop my feet up... This year my arthritis seems to be a bit worse. I always take Sunday to do my own work... Right now I'm just a very grateful girl! My business is growing and I'm thrilled... Also, I do take everything they bring me... I also put pics of (Dolly's tshirt quilt) in the Pictures section... I'm doing my best to educate my piecers on seams, making their quilt backs, batting, squaring, borders, etc... I try not to sound like a complainer, so I tell them what Linda R. said about creating a "successful" quilting experience... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandra Darlington Posted April 22, 2012 Report Share Posted April 22, 2012 Since I retired the end of Dec, you would think I should have more time to quilt, but I have less! I babysit my 3 grandchildren so my daughter can go to work. My day now starts at either 4:00 or 5:00, depending on her schedule each day. I also have a 45 minute drive each way to her house. She usually starts work at 7:00, so I have to be there by 6:00 so she can go over the kid's schedule, etc for the day, and make her drive to work (although some days she does work from home). I can quilt about 2 hours in the evenings, but usually only 3 nights a week. On the weekends I can quilt another 6 to 10 hours, depending on what else is happening. I can usually do one E2E per week, but I like at least 1 month for custom ( unless it is more of a "semi custom). If I am under the gun, I can get a bit more done, but I don't want to become stressed, so I like to go slow and easy with my schedule. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calicokat Posted April 22, 2012 Report Share Posted April 22, 2012 I'm right there with you Coleen! I work about 20 hours a week, and have 3 teenagers. Youngest just made cheerleading for next year, and while the Mommy part of me was thrilled for her, the quilter said "Uh oh, this is going to mean more taxi driving time and less quilting time!" One thing that as helped me a TON is discovering books on CD. I have a CD player and a strap on pouch and headphones for jogging. So I'll load a book in and listen while I work. For whatever reason, I tend to stick with it and not get sidetracked (by dishes, laundry, or other stuff in the house) as much this way. I also quilt longer stretches too, so that helps as well. So far, most of my customers are ok if I call and tell them it's taking longer than I thought due to family/kid stuff interrupting me. But I still feel guilty. I think I'm just going to have to take whatever time I *think* it will take to do their quilt, and tell the customer double - that way I might have some breathing room and actually make the deadline! Of course, it doesn't help my quilt/guilt load to know that there's a very heavy custom quilt in line for a friend of my mom's . . . . .extra pressure to do well because it's mom's friend, don't want to dissapoint either of them *sigh* I've been pushing it back in line and doing others, but I need to get going on it. If for no other reason than to just get it done so I can quit stressing about it, LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KathyA Posted April 22, 2012 Report Share Posted April 22, 2012 Coleen ~ I'm challenged as well with trying to figure out how long a quilt will take to get done. I've been doing this for more than a few years and I still underestimate the custom quilts. What I think will take maybe a day and half ended up taking 4 days last week. Another 'one day' custom job was 3 days and that was only 54 x 54. That is working full days on them. I don't think I'm going to get any better at the estimates so custom work is very very challenging to work on. Seems to take forever. You're not alone!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juliagraves Posted April 22, 2012 Report Share Posted April 22, 2012 One of the things that I'm hearing a lot of people say is how long the custom work is taking them - sounds like at least twice as long as panto. My question for you is - are you charging appropriately? If you offer custom work at only a small bump up in price, of course everyone is going to want custom. You need to make sure you have degrees of "custom". There's a great book by Christine Maraccini called Machine Quilting Solutions. In the book she shows the same quilt with three different quilting designs: - "dragger" - an all over quick freehand (I would price the same as a panto) - "keepsake" - light custom treatment that follows the piecing and looks good (I would price 25- 50 % more than panto) - "heirloom" - really fancy stuff - (I would price 2-3 times the panto price) or by the hour I can pull this book out and show the customers the difference and they can select their price point and have a good idea of the estimate. You need to know how long it takes you to do different techniques and charge accordingly. Good luck! Julia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janette Posted April 22, 2012 Report Share Posted April 22, 2012 I figure that custom for me is double the time of a panto which kind of puts most of my customers off custom, so I end up with mainly panto work, and I am not complaining at that.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busy Quilting Posted April 22, 2012 Report Share Posted April 22, 2012 I don't work a full time job outside of quilting. I design, piece write quilt patterns and teach a few classes. So I am fortunate. But as I see Quilting as my "job" I only "work" from 9am - 6pm. I don't work of an evening or of a weekend. That is time for my husband, house and family. I even schedule my own quilts into my working week. That said my body will only allow me to quilt for 5 hours in a day. I religiously time myself for every quilt, and based on my charges per square foot I can come up with a pretty close estimate of how long a quilt will take to quilt. If somebody wants custom quilting then I am not going to give away my time for their benefit. Are you ladies that are doing a lot of custom work really being paid a decent wage for the time that you work on these quilts. You are working for others when you do it so you should make sure that you are being paid and not giving yourself away. My basic custom is double my basic panto price. Show custom is double my basic custom pricing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quilting Heidi Posted April 23, 2012 Report Share Posted April 23, 2012 Most of my custom comes in double my panto prices and I've gotten much better about charging what I should. I'd say most of my custom is ranging .04 - .05 psi. My goal is $25 an hour. On heavy custom, like the BAQ I did, I charged by the hour and that will be my new mode for that type of work. Now that I've done one I have a better estimate for my customers. I lost a little on that quilt but I was still well compensated for my time. I still have a list of customers so I must not be too high. If they complain I tell them I can do an e2e much quicker and cheaper and then they decide they still want custom. Custom takes more planning too, not just more time on the same quilt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmoore1223 Posted April 23, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 23, 2012 Thanks for all the great advice and comments. You've given me a lot to think about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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