Practice in the mirror - sincere face and slightly apologetic
voice...."I'm terribly sorry, but I don't do commission work." Smile
sweetly and move on. That line has saved me countless times. If you
happen to have a finished quilt or two that you are willing to part with
you can say..."I have these available for sale, but I only sell my
finished pieces that I choose to create, I don't do commission work."

If the person really wants a real piece of hard work quilt I give them
the address of New Pieces - they do commissions and charge what a quilt
is worth - www.newpieces.com then in the body of the home page click on
"quilt service" Part way down the page they list making quilts. The
pricing looks like this...

"If we are making a quilt for you, listed below are some ranges you
should expect to pay. The price is determined by the amount of time it
takes to produce the quilt. The more involved the design the longer it
takes. I will endeavor to work with you and give you options for
keeping costs down. These prices include fabric, batting and thread.

to 45 X 60" $ 500 to $1500
to 70 X 85" $1,000 to $2,000
to 80 X 95" $1,500 to $2,500
to 95 X 100 $2,000 to $3,000
to 100 X 110 $3,000 to $4,000

It is next to impossible to give a range for finishing quilts until we
see the quilt. "

If the person just wants something cute with that patchwork look send
them to the department store. They will be happy to get the look they
want at the price they want to spend.

DO NOT get suckered into doing something you don't want to spend you
time doing. Otherwise, in a few months you will be posting one of those
messages we see far too often here about how you slaved away making this
stupid quilt and "A" - it's now being used as a dog blanket "B" - you
spent far too much time and effort for the piddly amount of money you
made "C" - they didn't hardly thank you if at all and begrudged giving
you the check "D" - they told you the quilt was an awfully lot of money
compared to this great quilt they saw at Wal-Mart for only $30 and that
one came with pillow shams.

Just don't do that to yourself.

marcella



In article ,
Pat in Virginia wrote:

Sooner or later I think every quilter gets a request from
family/friends for a commissioned quilt. Now I am faced with one
of those requests. The person wants a queen size quilt in certain
colors in a 'Country' Pattern. "Do you have an extra quilt I
could buy? Or maybe you could make me a quilt?" The email went
on to say ... "If not can you recommend a shop that sells quilts?
Or do you think I'd do better at a Department Store, or perhaps
Walmart, or Target?" (PUHLEEZE!)

I want to say: "I do not have 'extra' quilts." Okay, that is
easy. I then would like to state that while I do not have the
time to do this, I can detail the costs to make one. Then I'd
list the costs of fabric, batting, and a professional long arm
quilter. If anyone has suggestions on those topics, I'm eager to
know. Also, what can I say about WHERE to buy a quilt?

This subject has been discussed here before, but it was quite a
while ago. I do know that some of the remarks were excellent. I'd
like to hear your thoughts again.

Thanks, PAT in VA/USA