The Cost of Quilting

This article was posted on the Sew Mama Sew Facebook page today.  It is on the Mollie Sparkles Blog.  She meticulously costs out the labor materials, shipping and intellectual value of making a quilt top.  You have to go read the whole thing to get the total. 

It is a 72 x 72 inch quilt.  The real cost is staggering. The materials cost is high but certainly what it would be if we truly added it all up without some congressional grade accounting tricks like already in stash is free! 

What we truly under-value as quilters is our time and more importantly our creativity.  If you think about it, what does a consulting firm get for designing a new logo?  What about the cost of designing a webpage.  Creativity is not cheap. 

Quilters likely don't do the sort of statistical market research a logo consultant does.  However, we do survey market trends (read blogs, search on-line patterns, visit fabric stores, consult with the client or carefully consider the recipient).  How many times have you tried to use a piece from your stash only to decide it is out-of-date or doesn't fit the vibe?  How many times have you gone back for a different piece because the color doesn't play nicely or the contrast is too high or low?  It is all time.  Time well spent but seldom counted in the value of making a quilt. 

And like web-page design, making the design look good is just half the battle.  We need to do the back end construction to get all the parts to function properly.  A great design only goes so far.  The seams need to be solid and the project needs to be finished. 

The bottom line is that materials x 2 or even x 3 just doesn't cover it in terms of the real cost involved in making a quilt. 

I bring this up, because as I make more quilts I have more quilts I am ready to send on to a good home... for a price.  I've donated a fair share.  I've gifted plenty.  But I would like to sell some of them.  I want to get a fair price for them.  I tend to price them high.  (No where near where I should based on this calculation) but higher than seems seemly.  I always figure out a price at which I am willing to see them go.  Or as my husband says would you rather have the quilt in your closet or $ in your pocket.  Some of them have a price.  Some don't. 

So what do you think?  Do you sell quilts?  Make them on commission?  Do you only give/donate?  What are your quilts worth? 

Quiler's Blog Hop Give Away Giving Thanks Version

The Give Away is officially closed the Winner is EmilyC.  Thanks to everyone who stopped by during the blog hop!  


Yes.  It is that time again.  Misha is hosting the Quilter's Blog Hop Give Away over at Quilting Gallery.

I am going to be giving away a custom quilt label.  I have several different designs available in my etsy shop but I will work with you to get the colors, wording, size and style perfect for your project. 

Your label will be machine embroidered on quality white quilters cotton.  The thread is colorfast.  It will have a border large enough for you to turn and applique or to piece into your quilt.

All you have to do is answer this question in the comments.  What information do you put on your quilt label.

All the best!  Be sure to check out Quilt Gallery for many other amazing give aways!

The details:  The Give Away is open from November 21 until Sunday December 1 at 5 pm CST.  I will pick a winner using a random number generator and contact the winner by email.  Please be sure to leave an email address if you are a no reply blogger.  

You should seriously check out the patterns available at Quilting Gallery.  The Aiming For Accuracy one is stunning. 

Sad Shirt. Happy Bag.

The Mister's shirt was damaged and unwearable.  But he really liked it.  He also needed a tote bag.  A manly tote bag.  Thus... sad shirt to happy bag.  I love the buttons and pocket!  Should have given it a tie. 

And it has an awesome stone lining/reversible side courtesy of my friend Kelly. 

First Snow!

That means it is winter.  And I haven't updated anything since what seems like summer.  I'm just going to toss in some pictures of things I've been making rather than try to catch up individually. 

Quilt finish!  Only one in months for the Craftster Mini Art Quilt Swap. 

My partners theme was a story called "The Yellow Wallpaper".   It is a pretty dark Victorian tale about a woman who is confined and starts to see a woman in the wallpaper.  She tries to free her.

She tries to free her.  My partner is also an amazing and very  modern quilter.  She loves bright modern colors and wanted bright modern fabrics.  I did what I could to reconcile the two notions.  Probably not getting very far on either one.  But it was fun.  The yellow isn't very modern but it was pretty wallpaper-y.  I liked using the Madrona Road bits because of the implied story.

I couldn't bring myself to actually rip up the quilt.  I know it needed it.  Instead I left it intact and applied the shreds over the top.  My partner could remove them and finish off the binding if she preferred. 

It is hand quilted with teardrop shapes that mimic the face in the center.  The face is an Urban Threads design and is repeated in the top left, although I doubt anyone will ever find it.

This is the stunning quilt she made for me.  I love it!

OK.  That is enough for today.  Hope you all are doing well.  I'll be back with more as soon as I can.  

Ouch

I have done something bad to my knee.  It is definitely slowing me down.

Problem Solving. Or Avoiding What I am Supposed to be Doing

 I am supposed to be making things for a couple shows.  I am supposed to be cleaning my house.  I am supposed to be packing up some things.  Most of all I am supposed to be making a mini art quilt for the estimable Mare Mare of craftster.org.

Instead, I found it absolutely essential that I make a carrier bag for the hangers I drag around to shows.  I have a couple cardboard hanger boxes that I borrowed stole from my mom.  She used to get them from the local dry cleaner.  I can't find any dry cleaner that has them.  They are perfect for keeping the hangers organized and ready to grab. 

The boxes are old.  I was completely stressed out about them when I sent one with Spud 1 and his buddy, Mr T,  to the last show they did.  I just knew that it would rip or that some one would throw it out as trash.  I am quite sure that Mr T was convinced I am a lunatic for worrying about a dumb old box.  But then given Mr T's status as a complete lunatic (incredibly practical, efficient and organized but entirely goofy) I am not sure I will give his opinion all that much credibility. 

Looking ahead, I realized that the next show I am doing, I will be on my own.  No Spuds to Sherpa the goods.  The most awkward thing I have is the hanger box.  clearly the box needed to have shoulder straps and a supporting bag to keep it intact and recognizable as a valuable tool. 

So... I made the hanger box bag!  I drew around the bottom of the box.  Stitched on a strip for the sides.  It has a muslin lining.  I stitched the lining and outer together at the top and turned it through the hanger opening sides.  Those I folded under and topstitched around the whole thing.  I added the straps, one inch twill tape over the surface going all the way around the bag and under the bottom for some extra support.  The little ties on the front are some more twill tape to keep things all together. 

Fits over my shoulder.  Is comfortable to carry. Looks better than the beat up cardboard.  Winning all the way around.  Now, if only I could make some decisions about Mare's quilt.  She loves modern and bright.  Any suggestions for making it artsy? 

Pumpkins

Pumpkins. 

That is all. 

Rocket Girl

Boy blacksmith wanted me to make galaxy/nebula/space shirts.  I've been trying.

I'm getting mixed results.  I'm not too sure they look much like galaxies at a distance but there is some interesting depth in the close up view. 

Spud 3 says this one is just plain gross.  That is OK,  It is ripped and I was using it to experiment with overpainting. So I started adding some machine embroidery.  This one is a design from Embroidery Library. 

Rocket girl was one of my many reminders about why I don't typically use red/pink/orange paint as the dominant color.  The red pigment just doesn't move and so the prints are indistinct.  This one was leaves that barely showed.  I over painted with black and used lots of stars.  It is a cool print, but another one that may not translate well at a distance.

I found the rocket girl design over at Urban Threads and decided it would be perfect on this shirt.  Stitched out beautifully.  But that is what you expect from Urban Threads.  More importantly, it stitched out on the t-shirt material without a hitch.  Wonderful.  Thanks UT!

Since that worked, I have also tried embroidering over some of the other shirts that haven't printed well.

 This is a kokopeli print I tried to do in red and yellow.  Again, not such a good print. 

I added an embroidered Kokopeli.  Next one will be in turquoise.  You can see a bit of the printing just below the stitching.  This is also an EmbroideryLibrary design. 

Boots on the?

... Wherever you want with this little badge. 

Pardon me while I share my total cuteness overload.  I know that most of you would think that the kitties, bunnies and flowers are the cutest thing ever, but I just love this tiny little boot print.  I love it so much, I couldn't even wait for it to finish stitching to take a picture.

The other cool thing about this particular design is that I drew it electronically using paint.net.  Typically, I draw on paper, take a picture and then retouch using some sort of graphics program.  This one was a first.  It was digitized using stitch Era, which is sadly now unsupported.  I use a Babylock Ellegante 2 for my sewing and all my badges are made using upcycled denim. 

This particular badge is part of a group for a boys club.  The design will appear in the shop as soon as I finish up some other projects. 

Welcome Fall?

It is the first of October and I am enjoying a lovely Caprese Salad, thanks to my friends named Mike who garden and share. 

Well, That's Embarrassing.

I knew the dust bunnies were out of control but I had no idea they had their babies in my sewing machine. 

Tomato -they-ate-it-all-before-I-could-take-a-picture- Tart

No seriously.  They ate it all before I could get to the camera.  So all you get is the recipe.

• 1/2 package filo dough
• melted butter about 1/2 c
• dash garlic powder
• shredded Parmesan cheese
• shredded mozzarella cheese
• finely sliced onions (about 1/8 cup)
• thinly sliced Roma or other fresh tomatoes.
• sea salt
• cracked pepper
• thyme
• parchment paper  (I know it isn't an ingredient but check to see if you have some before you thaw the filo.  Don't bother asking why.)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Cover the largest cookie sheet that fits in your oven with parchment paper.  Spray the parchment paper with cooking spray.  If you have a normal oven you can use the giant cookie sheet and full size filo sheets.  If you have a miniature oven use what fits and plan to fold your filo in half. 

Melt some butter and add the garlic powder.  

Open your package of filo.   Unroll it onto a piece of plastic wrap.  Immediately cover it with a second piece of plastic wrap.  (You can cover that with a slightly damp cloth if you like.)

Quickly lift the plastic wrap, pull up one sheet of filo without ripping, tearing, folding or mutilating, place it on the parchment paper and recover the rest.  Do this all simultaneously.  No really.   Pull out your third hand to make sure that the filo doesn't dry out.  OK. so I'm joking.  You can get all stressed out about working with filo and never try it or you can just go for it.  Trust me.  Ripped filo tastes as good as perfectly un-ripped filo.  Furthermore, have you ever eaten anything made with filo?  How would you know if the sheets were torn?  The stuff crumbles and flakes all over the place.  So just get your filo mostly on the parchment and then recover the rest. 

Brush the filo with melted butter.  You want to make sure that you have the whole thing covered with butter.  Don't worry about ripping it.  It really will be fine either way.

Sprinkle about a Tablespoon of Parmesan cheese over the dough.

 Top with another sheet of filo.  Brush on the butter.  Sprinkle the Parmesan.  Rinse.  Repeat. 

Oh wait.  Don't rinse.  Just repeat.  You want at least 8 layers of filo but you can keep going until it is used up or you are bored.  If you are using a miniscule, costs more than full sized, oven (no, I'm not bitter about that, why do you ask?) you can use folded filo sheets.  Put half on the parchment. Brush with butter.  Fold second half over.  Brush with butter and sprinkle with Parmesan and proceed. More layers are fine.  I mean, really, what are you going to do with the second half of the package of file you just spent $4 on?  You know it will dry out before you can do anything with it....

Once you have built up enough layers of filo, or you are bored with it, you can move on. 

Brush the top layer with butter.  Sprinkle on Parmesan.  Sprinkle the thinly sliced onions over the top.  Add a light layer of mozzarella cheese.  Don't go too heavy.  We aren't making pizza here. 

Arrange the thinly sliced tomatoes in rows across the top.  Really.  I did that.  Neatly too.  It isn't that hard and makes all the difference in they way it looks and they way it cooks. 

Sprinkle a bit of thyme, sea salt and cracked pepper over the top. 

Bake at 375 until the edges of the filo are golden brown.  Slide onto a cutting board or serving tray.  Let rest for 5-10 minutes.  Slice and serve.  Works well at room temperature. 

I used fresh homegrown Roma and yellow tomatoes.  It was amazing!

So go ahead and try the filo.  It won't bite. It is relatively easy and makes a very impressive dish. 

Soap!

It ain't pretty but it's my first batch. 

I should add some details.  This was my first cold process soap making experiment.  I used olive, coconut and palm kernel oil.  (I will NEVER willingly use Palm Kernel oil again.)  I scented it with Bay.  It is pretty potent.  The top is very wrinkled.  I will have to ask more questions about how to keep that from happening.  Otherwise, it came out quite nicely.  Now it has to age for a bit before it can be used.

I'm going to try another batch soon.  Perhaps tomorrow.  But NO palm kernel oil.  

Poor Lonely Blog

I keep hoping to post some of the few projects I have been working on.  I keep running into real life.  Well, that and a lost camera...  I'll be back soon.  Really. 

Clear Skies

I remember a crystal clear morning.  Sharp blue sky.  Not even a wisp of a cloud.  And no planes.  Not one single plane crossed the sky from horizon to horizon.  It was a beautiful sky but it was not a beautiful day.  I remember the disbelief.  The slump against the wall.  The worry.  The images that linger.  The need to gather loved ones close.  The hushed tones.  The questions. Where is?  Do you know?  Who is responsible? How? Why?  The horrific loss. 

Even now, I cry.  Cry for the lost souls.  The brave souls who responded to the call.  The many who have followed in their footsteps.  All so that today, when I look up, I see planes.  Beautiful shiny planes.  Freely traveling the skies.  So I give thanks.  And I remember.  And write it all down again so that I will never forget.