Cindy Posted July 18, 2005 Report Share Posted July 18, 2005 From recent thread discussion I know there are other crazy quilters like me who are up until the wee hours of the morning. Thought I might find someone else on line, oh well. I need some advice. I am just finishing a queen size quilt that was hand pieced by a dear friends M-I-L. First off all she came with very explicit instructions for teh quilting. It is all diamond shaped stars. She wanted white muslin on back, quilted with navy blue thread top & bottom AND only wanted 1/4 outlines on all seams. I gave her a quote before hand, but I have had so much trouble with the quilt, some puckers to "fix" and 1000's of stop & starts. From a distance the back does look nice, but up close you can really see the stop & starts because of the blue thread on white. When I break down my quote based on the hours I have worked on it, I'll be lucky to come out @ $5.00 / hr. What are some suggestions? Do I explain the troubles & concerns, my time involved. Do I give a discount because I am not happy with the back??? To top it all off, I also have another quilt of hers to do & one of her sisters. It is not as complex as this one, but she still wants outline......HELP!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giftedhands Posted July 18, 2005 Report Share Posted July 18, 2005 I guess its all chalked up to experience. Outline, SID, Cross Hatching...tons of starts and stops. If we were as experienced as alot of ladies/gents here, we'd know that you're supposed to charge much more. I would not discount the back. Just be sure to call her, before you start the next quilt and adjust the pricing. BEFORE you start. If she has any questions, explain that there are many "starts and stops" and since she wanted the same color stitching on the back (these folks will learn to move away from muslin backings and into something nicer that will make their quilt prettier). it's more obvious. Give her the option to change the color of the backing on the next quilt as well... ps. this is personal opinion and some of those more experienced quilters may have better ideas... Cynthia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LindaN Posted July 18, 2005 Report Share Posted July 18, 2005 Chalk it up to a learning experience. I think most of us were in this same situation once or twice! I tend to underprice custom... plus I'm slow at it and I tie off and bury tails. I tell my customers that the longer I look at their quilt, the closer my nose is to the fabric, and the more rulers I use... the higher their price! To keep their pricing down I stay away from outline quilting and go to continuous curve or SID. I don't think I've ever done outline quilting in the 3 years I've been doing this. Its a PITA. You might want to discuss the next quilt with her before you start it. If you aren't ready for all that work, then be honest with her regarding your current abilities. As you become more experienced things get faster. Better to pass on a job you can't do well than to have it haunt you publically for the rest of your quilting life. JMO. Linda N in Indiana Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kay M. Posted July 18, 2005 Report Share Posted July 18, 2005 I agree that seeing things in advance comes with experience. Many people assume that straight line quilting is going to be the easiest for us and the least expensive for them. I always clear up that misconception at the start. Everytime someone asks for anything time-consuming, (and therefore pricey), I am up front and tell them it will be costly. I then quickly offer less expensive alternatives such as a serpentine outline. Regarding the backing, if a person chooses a dark thread on a light backing, I always mention the visible starts and stops regardless of what kind of quilting I will be doing. That way there will be no surprises. If they really want the dark thread because of the top, I go ahead knowing that I informed them of how it would impact the backing. Most people choose making the top work rather than the back. At this point, I tell them how a busy backing or a darker back works best with darker threads if they don't want the quilting to stand out. I personally do not bury threads. Kay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White Rooster Posted July 19, 2005 Report Share Posted July 19, 2005 My best quilting teacher taught me that outline quilting and extensive SID is time consuming, and for that reason, not cost justified for me to offer. It is also not very creative. Now I show my clients that quilts with curving lines and creative designs are really more impressive than the ones with lots of straight lines. Sometimes I suggest echo quilting, which is not so precise, and brings movement to the quilt. I rarely do outline or SID anymore and I haven't lost any business. By talking to the clients and showing them examples they usually find other designs that work much better on their quilts. Also, when I explain that SID and outline quilting is going to cost more than most of my other custom work they see the light. Decide what you must earn per hour to keep your business profitable and don't do anything that goes below that limit. I remember making $5/hour on a quilt because I under-estimated the time it would take for me to do some cross-hatching. Now I charge more for cross-hatching. We all make mistakes but learn from them and move on. I told the client with the cross-hatching that I would honor my quote but that I would need to charge more next time. I made her feel good about getting a good deal on the first one but she pays more now when she wants that technique. And if your starts and stops only show on the back I wouldn't worry about them. Explain to the client what happens when using dark thread on muslim with lots of starts/stops and definitely increase your quote on the next quilt. We are all having fun but we do need to make some money too. Don't ever feel bad about that. Happy Quilting! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cindy Posted July 19, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 19, 2005 Thanks everyone for your support & guidance. I have learned a vaulable lesson. I'll have wait to see what my customer says once she sees the quilt...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltaholi_518 Posted July 21, 2005 Report Share Posted July 21, 2005 Do you have a pic of it you can post? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cindy Posted July 21, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 21, 2005 I was so anxious to get rid of it, I didn't take a picture. I suppose I should have so I had a reference of what NOT to do. I haven't talked with the customer yet, as our arrangements for delivery were through a third person. I did fell much better about the quilt after I read everyones comments & encouragement. I just love this forum & all the sharing. You all are GREAT!!! thanks. Cindy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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