I got a show quilt done for a client, Lori D., she is going to enter it into the Dixie Quilt Guild show here in St. George this April. Hope it does well for her. It always scares me when I know there is going to be a judge looking the quilt over. Hopefully the judges won't say.... "good grief who did she get to quilt this?". I was very pleased with how it turned out and so was Lori. I have another quilt top coming next week that is the same quilt pattern as Lori's, just a different color combination. It will also be entered into the show.
At our last quilt guild meeting, we were told that the quilt our guild sent to the state show will be featured on the front of the Utah Quilt Guild's booklet (or news letter). Patti V pieced it and I quilted it. I did get paid some for quilting the quilt, but I gave the guild $200 off my price. I expect to get some publicity from this.... so far I have not, but I am sure Patti will say something and I would imagine I will get listed as the quilter on signage at the show. I am honored to be asked to quilt, I am happy with getting paid and guess I should not complain about not being recognized for my quilting. (I might add that we have a lot of amazing and very talented longarm quilters in our quilt guild.)
Pati V's quilt! she is an amazing quilter!
I have been quilting for quite a few years and don't know if I am getting burnt out or if it is just the stress of everything in my life and the current state of the country that is my issue. I have been having a harder time getting excited about doing custom work. I have not raised my prices in a long time. I decided to check out pricing of other quilters in our area and around the country. I was surprised at how much lower my pricing was. I don't know about the quilt stores in our area, but have been told their pricing has not changed. The going price charged by longarm quilters I looked at started at 2 cents per square inch for simple edge to edge, higher for more complex quilting. Their light custom work starts at 4 1/2. The type of custom work I do most often, which always includes ruler work, is listed at 8 plus cents per square inch. I don't have a computerized machine and therefore have to use a ruler if I want to do accurate stitch in the ditch type work. The heavy custom I just finished I charged 5 1/2 cents and my client gave me an extra $100. I was very happy indeed. I did raise my pricing the first of the year. I am not working for less than $10 and hour. The articles I have read about how much should be charge for quilting and running of a quilting business is $25 an hour. If my husband's job is secure, I will be cutting back my client quilting a lot and focusing on my art work.
I am looking forward to the Dixie Quilt Guild retreat next month! It is a time to slow down and make contact with friends I haven't had much time to interact with! Today..... I am going to get a charity quilt loaded for the Dixie Quilt Guild and get it done (maybe). Then work on some piecing. I will be taking some time this spring/summer for myself though. My niece and her husband are renting a lovely place in Castle Valley in the Moab, Utah area. I plan on spending at least a few days there, bugging them and painting. But for now .... back to work.
Happy Quilting,
Charlotte
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