rabbit2b

And $20/hr is *not $20/hr to the quilter. Out of that she has to pay self-employment tax (15%) in addition to regular income taxes, not to mention insurance, maintenance, office expenses, utilities, etc. I think I read recently that the quilter is likely to end up with half of that after all the expenses. $10/hr is not a lot to make for skilled work.

I was self-employed as a graphic designer for 13 years. By the time I left the business ten years ago, I was charging $65/hr and not getting rich. I was also as busy as I could get without hiring others. There's a lot of unbillable time, and I would think that holds for quilters as well.

Dodie

it is very expensive here to get quilt quilted 90.00 would be one of the cheap ones that is why I have taken machine quilting classes and do my
own Harriet Hargrave taught me a lot and she has a good book out but there are others too Happy Quilting Dodie

Skeat

Thanks Dodie...I will check that out:)I did get the quilt back today..and, no matter what..it is beautiful! I think when my friend gets back home and I drop it off to her, she will be thrilled...no matter what;)

crazyquilter

There was no work for the prep of the quilt, it was pressed and ready and looked sharp. Her price was just stippling...no binding and no batting...just the price to stipple it w/thread figured in. I guess I am just a naive quilter here!! I honestly had no idea what others charged for I've done my own I'm wondering if someone's time becomes out of reach for too many? Glad I said nothing!:)LOL Thanks for the input....hope there is more coming:0)Skeat[/quote]

Another way of looking at all of this... :shock: if someone had reached out and touched me and simply given me a Gammill, I would have gladly taken it, said "Thank You," and charged less than what I do for quilting. I work in my home and have no overhead here, but I could have bought a cheap new car for what I paid for my machine. I can't afford to work for nothing, but I do charge a lot less than most do in this area. From about 30 for crib size to about 90 for king size and no one here is complaining...Batting/binding would be extra. Also, there is a certain amount of skill involved; you don't just buy it one day and become an expert quilting feathers the next. Someone else mentioned the price of a nice dinner out...gone forever once consumed. At least with a quilt there is something that will last a lifetime. Of course the other alternative is to quilt by hand. How much would your friend charge for quilting a whole quilt by hand??? And how long would it take???Just curious. :roll:

SheilaE

Little late in answering your question/comment about quilting - but I also was taken aback when I took in a twin-sized quilt to a local quilter. I didn't bother to ask assuming about $50. The total was about $96 (I provided the batting) - but, oh my - what a wonderful job. It was my first quilt to have professionally quilted so she had some "stuff" to work around. (I normally do the tie or stitch in the ditch format because I was just starting out and these first few quilts were definitely beginner quality) I asked other quilters and they stated that was normal pricing for this area. I will definitely use her services again - but will budget. Now I know why some of those quilts in the craft shops have $$$ on them.

mrsmail

I recently took a quilt to be machine quilted and was shocked at the price. I'll admit it had 3 different patterns to be used on it, but it was $477 for a queen size. I could have had it hand quilted for roughly $200. She does do beautiful machine quilting, but not that great. If I had not been in a hurry, I would have had it done by hand. My hand quilting lady takes only about a month, but I have to mark it. ( I positively hate the marking part!) Either way, I would furnish the batting, backing and thread. I do my own binding. :shock:

JCL in FL

Where do you live? Mary Mo and does she do a good job? I'd mail them to her for that price.

tulip43

Hi, just giving an answer on machine quilting. I live in ON. Canada and we pay quite a high price for our quilting. Some of my freinds have paid more than $300. to get one machine quilted. I have had 4 machine quilted 2 twin @ $90 each and 2 double @ $135 and they were just stippled but not close together. Ithink in the US machine quilting is far less then what we pay here.

sdeaaz

I am pretty thrifty too and that is why I stick to smaller projects that I can quilt myself. I am doing a fun and your done or quilt as you go for that very reason. I just have a hard time justifying all the expense. Someday, when I am reallllllllyyyyy good maybe.
Quilter 1234 :roll:

vjquilter

I agree with many of the above comments and feel compelled to add my own 2 cents, too! Remember the saying , "You get what you pay for." ? Please keep in mind when you take a quilt to a quilter that is more going on behind the scenes. When I started long arm quilting 2 years ago, I had NO idea how much learning I had to go through before I could make even an old sheet look good with quilting. Long arm quilting requires a quilter to educate herself about the different threads available for quilting. The threads are not the same as for piecing in most cases. A long arm quilter needs to learn about troubleshooting a variety of problems that can pop up at any time-wavy borders, open seams, tucks in piecing seams, thread that won't cooperate, saggy backing fabric, linty thread, thread that breaks, machine that acts up, tension problems and the list could go on! It is a different story with each quilt top that I take in. Sometimes things go quickly and sometimes it takes much longer than I think.
Very seldom have I had a quilt top that was a snap to decide what to do on it. I spend hours of time on some quilts trying to figure out what design is best for the quilt if it is to have custom quilting done on it. I have also learned quite a bit about batting since I am a former hand quilter and used thin poly batting before. Now I know with machine quilting and the experiences I have had that different battings can give a different look to the quilt when it is done. The same can be said about thread as well. My customers really look to me for good practical advice about these things and it's up to me to research and keep on top of the latest trends and products too. Many long arm quilters travel to national quilting shows on their own dime and a trip can be very expensive to take, not to mention time away from their frame.
A long arm quilter also has the joys and trials of running her own business and having to keep track of a number of things besides doing the quilting.They need to keep track of ther schedule, thread inventory, batting inventory, appointments to be made and kept, records to be kept and taxes to be paid, etc. Long arm quilting can be a challenge at times to do well and it's something that I really enjoy. I have heard that there are many long arm quilters that are doing it for supplemental income. It would be a true challenge to make a good living at it these days.
Just some of the things that I have learned along the way in my journey as a long arm quilter!