What do you do with your quilts that aren't birthday presents, baby shower gifts, anniversary gifts, Christmas gifts, or any other gift imaginable??
- Do you keep them for yourself?
- Do you sell them? If you sell them, do you have an etsy shop? Or other web-based shop? Do they sell? Do people actually buy quilts that are handmade? How do you set a price? How do you spread the word that you have quilts for sale?
I ask because I see myself making a bunch of quilts in the future for no particular person or reason. Then I think, "what am I going to do with 15 quilts in the house?" Yes, I have my bed, my daughter's beds, the guest bed, and the beds in our trailer to make quilts for...but then what? What do I do with all the "quilt along" quilts I have in the works? What do I do with all the beautiful lap sized quilts that I want to make?
All but two of my quilts I've given away to friends, family or donation. Now what? What do you do with your quilts?
I feel so similar. I have several quilts in a basket in our front room and have also given many away. I have debated on selling quilts, but in looking at other quilters' prices it doesn't seem worth it. You can barely recoup your supply expenses, let alone any money for your time. I'm not quite sure what I'll do next. I'm thinking of focusing on some smaller projects for a while since my pile of finished quilts is getting awfully high.
ReplyDeleteI hope you get lots of responses because I keep asking myself the same question!
ReplyDeleteI so feel the same way, I am thinking of saving some for the couch for keeping warm while watching TV, and one for hanging above the guest bed since I don't have a headboard. But after that, I don't know either. I would like to try to sell also, but I stress out about not knowing when I will be "good enough" to pursue that option. I hope you get some good answers!
ReplyDeleteThat's a question I try not to think about. I just make quilts because I love to. I've given them as gifts and kept for myself. When I perfect my skills I plan to sell them as well.
ReplyDeleteKeep creating, you never know when you'll need a great gift for someone.
I mostly give them away to family/friends but also sell them. The other thing I do is donate them to a local children's home for use or silent auction. There's never a shortage of need and it's a good deed/tax deduction.
ReplyDeleteHere's something that I've been doing lately: if you want to try out a new technique or color combo, make a wall quilt instead of a lap sized one. We have a lot of empty wall space in my house so I make smaller quilts instead of purchasing expensive artwork.
When I do sell quilts, I purchase the materials and list the amount on the invoice. Depending on design complexity, I add a percentage of the materials cost as labor. It's impossible to truly recoup the time you put into making a quilt but I've never gone into "the red" with this method.
Since I only sell quilts through commissioning, I offer a top of the line option and a less expensive one (that I can live with). People always go the cheaper route.
Just some food for thought.
I donate most of my quilts. Depending on size/ colors I just pick different charities to give them to. I still have a lot of non-crafty friends that would love a quilt, so every once in a while a quilt b'day present is being made as well...
ReplyDeleteas of right now, I only have 2 finished quilts that weren't for anyone...I decided to keep them b/c my hubby is constantly cold and I love seeing him wrapped up in flowers & pink & very girly looking quilts.
ReplyDeleteNow I have about 5-7 quilt tops that need to be finished, but I have no clue what I'm going to do with them. They're not for anyone in particular, so I might sell them or I might keep them as back-up gifts.
I have started to feel like I have too many quilts around the house and storage is becoming an issue. Since I don't feel that they are all 'masterpieces', I have started gifting them for any reason. I got together with my cousins for the first time in a while and I took them each a quilt. They were thrilled. I also have started putting some away for unexpected occasions. A sweet friend of mine recently had her mother become suddenly very ill. I gave her a quilt for her mom who died less than 2 weeks later. Just today my friend told my that it brought her father so much comfort in the hospital. She said he made a point to have it on her bed always. After the funeral, the family members put their names in a hat to see who would take it home. Knowing that my simple quilt gave them such joy and comfort is worth more than I could ever sell it for. I plan to always have some on hand for happy and sad occasions. I hope my ramblings answered some of your questions.
ReplyDeleteMost of my quilts are made for gifting or charity. Occasionally I crank out a baby quilt and tuck it away for the future, someone's always making a happy announcement ;) I only have 1 quilt I made that's still in the house, a wall quilt in my sewing room. I've only made 1 for sale, a custom opportunity that came to me through a friend I'd previously made gift quilts for. But I do have a top that I need to finish up that's totally for me, despite my having 4 quilts my grandmas made that I rotate on the beds. I'd really like to make more for myself, it makes my day to walk into the bedroom & see the bed freshly made with a gorgeous quilt on top, I don't think you can ever have too many. They wear out, occasionally need repair (we won't talk about kitty cats who love to sleep on the bed & throw up on my beautiful blankies, argh!). Being somewhat short on quilts I buy retro afghans at the thrift store to save them from some horrible fate (can you imagine all that time going into knitting/crocheting going to a stranger for $2 who won't appreciate it) to brighten up my rooms, they make me smile :)
ReplyDeleteso far i just keep them. can't even give them away to family and friends. my quilting isn't good enough for selling yet--still learning there.
ReplyDeletei bought an old ladder at a thrift store and whitewashed it to hang quilts on. now it's all full!
I think about this a lot. So far, most of the quilts I've made have been gifts. Most of the quilts I make just for me never actually turn into real quilts because I get distracted by newer quilt ideas.
ReplyDeleteI'm trying harder to work on quilts and actually finish them up. I think my plan for the future will be to make a few quilts for me, keep making quilts for my friends/family and maybe one or two for giving away on my blog.
If I can part with any after that, I've decided to sell them "at cost". Basically I just want to make my money back so I can buy more fabric. I like quilting and I like fabric and I like trying new designs and if there is at least the incentive of possibly selling them, I'll probably finish them.
If I make my money back, it's like a free hobby and that's good enough for me.
I would sell them...
ReplyDeleteyou'll never recoup the time you put into them but that's why I quilt. it's a pastime.
I'm not out to make money on my hobby. I just want to continue on with my hobby ;)