Attn Kate

Thanks for the support Mel - and everyone else! I feel cherished! :)

I think this very small ruffian was scared off by the responses... Or maybe it was the BIG SCARY TEEF gleaming in the dark... ;P

I had a lass come to me recently thinking she could get a copy of that white Dolce and Gabana ankle length corset Victoria Beckham more for some prize ceremony a few weeks back, for under £200. Add another zero just for the crystals, I thought, and another for all the work involved... and another couple of hundred for drafting the pattern. Then a few million for breech of copyright and intellectual property theft!

I offered to make her something with plenty of sparkles that had s very similar silhouette for a reasonable price, but that was more than she wanted to pay. I think she was quite shocked that it would cost more to have something made than she could buy something from a high street shop for. Another one educated in the REAL cost of proper work! :) The funny thing is that I can produce a wedding gown for a lot less than they charge in wedding shops, but with the same amount of work in an evening frock, the profit margins are much lower.

The prices quilts sell for always horrifies me too. With all the work involved in a big bed quilt, I'd expect to pay a couple of thousand for a good one to be made for me, but they go for peanuts at auctions! Some don't even seem to cover the cost of materials. Even if we weren't expecting to make a decent hourly rate, I'd expect them to go for cost of materials doubled, much like curtains - and there's a LOT less work in a pair of curtains! In fact, most if the quilts I see from the group take more work than a wedding dress!

And here I thought you were trying to sound like Suzie!

snip The funny thing is that I can produce a wedding gown for a lot less than

snip

Another "funny thing" from the lady of the house. Self promotion (advertising of services)all the way. And what's all this OT chatter about wedding/bridesmaid dresses in a Quilting NGrp? Bridesmaid dress repair is all there already on her website, and very well illustrated, too. Real talent, there.

Its impossible to accurately imitate a total original... but thanks for giving me the credit! lol Diana

Megs forte is making Instant Message windows dissappear. I dont know how she does it. She does other things with our computers that we would like to know how to do too. Ill be looking forward to the pants lesson. It would be nice to not have to buy them anymore. Im most interested in woven cotton drawstring pants, maybe with elastic. Something that could be very slumpy at home, of crinkly cotton and also dressier with a posher fabric. Thanks Kate! Diana

Recently my well intentioned brother suggested I make quilts to sell. I tried to explain to him that I wouldnt make anything for my time, but he reminded me that as it stands I make nothing for my time as it is...so I listened and then went home to see what quilts might fetch on Ebay. I was appalled. Nice quilts (meaning not spectacular) were not getting bids, or those that were could not be making the price of materials back. An odd few were getting up to what I would consider barely not insulting bids but they were very audience specific, such as a dachshund quilt. Perhaps it just means that Ebay isnt a good venue for quilters but I suspect from the other reports from this NG that this is more the rule than the exception. I get joy from giving of quilts, far more important than money to my way of thinking. Diana

--

Some

It was meant as a joke...as in funny.

I realize that...but i've also seen jokes like that "blossom" into unpleasantness....so better to be safe, i suppose.

Oh, go away and make a quilt or something. Diana

I suspect that anybody really interested in buying really nice quilts wants to see them evaluate the workmanship for themselves. I know I would not pay very much for a quilt that I seen only in pictures unless I knew something about the quilter's work, either from my own experience or from the experience of someone whose opinion I trusted. A quilt can look really nice in a picture but the workmanship or fabric quality can make it a piece of junk when you see the real thing. And a "cheater" print can be quilted so nicely that you have to look closely to tell that it is not really pieced and/or appliqued; even though it might be worth buying, I don't think it would have the same value as one that someone had pieced or appliqued.

Julia > Recently my well intentioned brother suggested I make quilts to sell. I

Larisa, with posters like that, it's just a waste of energy and bandwidth to keep feeding them. They want to get a rise out of us, and you're taking the bait. Take a deep breath, and go to another, more constructive thread. Better yet...let us know how that student's quilt is coming along.

I have to admit that this is how I feel. Quilts are relaxing and fun to make, and mine are certainly not yet up to show or sell quality, so I'd NEVER cover expensis on them. I make them for fun and for the people I love. Lets be realistic here: you have to be VERY good to make money quilting other folks tops, and I cannot devote that much time to it. I see most professional quilters making their daily bread out of their designs and their books, their TV shows and their lectures and classes, NOT out of selling quilts.

Isn't it fun when you wave a red cape and the bull charges! ;P Sad that it charged off in the wrong direction though... Obviously hasn't seen the ratio of TO posts to those ON topic in this group... One of the best things about this group is that people here are interested in LOTS of different fibre arts and crafts.

Just ignore him/her: just a jumped up little eejit that thinks they know better than the group as a whole.

Thanks Jalynne..sometimes a need a gentle push in the right direction. I haven't gotten to work on the students quilt yet. Spent most of the morning making a complete and total mess with DS while trying to get a cake ready for the first of 4 culinary competitions I entered. The cake doesn't look great, but better than I had thought it would .

I will be doing the quilt sewing tonight after DS is in bed (and DH is working on the computer). Will post updates and headaches as often as you wish.........

Larisa, who actually thought this response, for once, was rather low-key

Jalynne wrote:

OOps! I meant to say, just as it takes all kinds to make a community!

Oh, go ahead and be flattered since I really didnt understand the question and so just winged off an answer that I hoped didnt sound to stupid. ;-) Diana