An Exercise in Value and Worth

As I mentioned before, I found Josh @ Molli Sparkles discussion of commissioned work last month very interesting and I pursued his link to Sam Hunter's We Are $ew Worth It posts. As I was in the process of starting a commission for a friend at the time, I thought I'd track everything to see what I might charge if I was prepared to do commissions as a business.

Now, this is not what I charged my friend nor what I expected to receive for this project, this is just an exercise.

Hands Hands Fingers Thumbs is the quilt we're discussing here. It is 55" by 70", a generous throw-sized quilt. It uses mostly solids, which cost less than prints. Because this is a fully custom design (drawings were made and discussed with the client) and a double sided quilt, I did put in a design fee. The minimum wage in Ontario, where I live, is $10.25. And because this is a business exercise, I put in a profit margin. 

I have to say that this was a rather eye opening experience and made me appreciate more the cost of the time I put into my projects.

Over the years, many friends and family members have commented that I could sell my quilts as I'm sure your friends and family have said the same to you. For most non-quilters though, the price they'd really be willing to pay for a quilt though is about the cost of the materials alone, correct? I think if I actually showed the spreadsheet above to those who want me to make them a quilt, there would be guffaws. As if I could charge/get $970 for a quilt?! But wait...

Now, I completely agree with Sam's bigger picture arguments for valuing our work for more than minimum wage. Even someone who has worked at Walmart or McDonalds for 15 years (which is how long I've been quilting) will earn more than minimum wage. So keeping in mind all of Sam's bigger picture arguments, let's put in what I think my quilting time is actually worth to me:

Well, there's some sticker shock, eh? $970 seems like a deal now, eh? LOL! I highly encourage you to check out Sam's bigger picture arguments before you tell me I'm right off my rocker for being audacious enough to think my quilting time is worth $25/hour. :)

I'm very curious what others think about this issue. Do you sell quilts? If so, how do you determine the price of the quilt? Does any of this change how you approach selling your quilts?

Thank you to Sam and to Josh for talking about this issue. It's been such an education for me and I'm now able to have a more educated discussion with others about the value and worth of a handmade product.

TGIFF! -- Hands Hands Fingers Thumbs

I'm sure you've been waiting with baited breath to see if I finished Hands Hands Fingers Thumbs on time, haven't you? You are the best!

When my friend came to pick up the quilt yesterday, she said, "you know, I really shouldn't have asked you to do this at this time of year." And I replied, "you know, I really shouldn't have said yes at this time of year." And then we laughed and laughed. She's a knitter so she understands. It's nice to have friends like that, isn't it? :)

So did I it get done? Well, obviously M-R, you just mentioned that your friend picked it up yesterday. Um, right, I guess I did. I finished the binding and label at some ungodly hour yesterday morning. Gotta love the many holiday movies at this time of the year, eh? Great company for those late-night quilting sessions!

Photos were a last minute scramble. Crazy snow, eh? I think we're supposed to get another 20+ cm this weekend.

Hands Hands Fingers Thumbs - Side One

Hands Hands Fingers Thumbs - The "Nothing To Do With the Name Side" a.k.a. Side Two

My friend let me know that the quilt was a hit with the teacher and sent me a photo of the teacher and children with the quilt. Yay!

Notes on the quilting: I wanted black and grey thread on the dark side and white on the white side. I know that's a no-no among some quilters because if the tension is off the top or bottom thread shows through to the other side. I did it anyways! Freedom! Here's why I thought I could break the rules and you can decide for yourselves whether I should or shouldn't have done it:

• My Bernina is awesome at balancing the thread tension. Although I have done mismatched threads before successfully, they were close in value, if not in colour. There were no pop-throughs on either side.
• I used a higher loft batting than usual -- Hobbs Heirloom 80/20 cotton/polyester. I figured that any pops-throughs would be hidden in the valleys. 
• I used the same thread brand (Aurifil) and weight (50 wt.) so that colour was the only difference. I'd like to tell you that I used the 50 wt, which is usually for piecing, so that it would keep any pop-throughs as small as possible, but the reality is that they were the only weights in those colours that I had.
• I practiced the rectangular stipple/Aztec motif of a scrap quilt sandwich and made some adjustments to the tension. 

I thought I was golden. I wasn't. There are some minor pop throughs, but mostly in the corners of the rectangular stipples, when I turned too quickly. I was able to pull some of them into the middle of the quilt by gently pulling apart the two sides of the quilt around the pop-throughs. I know they will also show even less once the quilt is washed and gets all crinkly.

Final size: 55" by 70".

I'm linking up with TGIFF! over at Gingersnaps Quilts this week. Come join us.


A heartfelt Merry Christmas if you celebrate it, and a Happy New Year! We have a full house for Christmas and New Year's this year so I will see you in the New Year.