Homemade gifts are not cheap

Here is my PSA of the day, on behalf of crafters and homemade gift givers everywhere.

I love making quilts. Yes, it is a hobby of mine, one that I think would be wonderful if I could parlay it into a side business. However, it is not a cheap hobby by any means-just as most hobbies, be it scrapbooking, stamping, knitting, baking, jewelry making, etc etc etc, are not cheap.

If you have received a hand made gift from a friend, please don't think your friends are being cheap. They do so because they not only love their hobby, but because they also put love into their projects....from picking out the perfect materials to crafting the finished product that they think their gift recipient will like.

I will use quilting as an example since that it is *my* craft passion(though I am sure my jewelry making friends, knitting friends, etc can give their own testaments for their particular craft).

I will give all examples for a double sized quilt.

Starting with the fabric. Fabric is not cheap. Yes, there is cheap fabric, but I don't always go for the cheapest stuff there is(sometimes it's a good deal and that's why it's cheap, but I try not to use *cheap* materials). Even the least expensive fabrics start at about $4/yd-and that is for solid color basics(which I DO use in some quilts). I have used a variety of fabrics patterns...solids, tonals(shades of certain colors that isn't actually a 'print' but may have a subtle design in it), NFL fabrics, fun silly fabrics, etc. They can run upwards of $12+ per yard depending on what type of fabric it is(NFL fabric for example tends to be some the higher priced, as do 'licensed' prints such as cartoon characters).

I will use approximately 6 yds of fabric for a double quilt-just for the top. So using *just* basic solid color fabric, we're looking at $24 minimum. Most likely, more like $45-60.

Backing fabric...this is where I DO tend to use a solid basic color that coordinates with the top-but not always. I don't have my cheat sheet handy, but I believe the backing fabric for a double size quilt is probably about 6 yds as well. So using a basic simple color...$24 minimum.

Thread...again for quality, I used all cotton thread. I mostly use white for the piecing, but sometimes use other colors for accent when binding. Thread is almost $8 for the big spool I tend to buy(the special colors, I can buy a smaller one for about half that). I can get more than one project out of the big spool, but have never tracked that, so I'll guess 2-3 depending on how many pieces there are per project(more pieces means more seams to sew, thus more thread).

So for just materials, we're now sitting at a MINIMUM of $50 dollars.

Now, on to the quilting itself. Since I work in volume(I've done 60+ quilts in the past 3.5 yrs...so that is approx 17 quilts a year, or one about every 3 weeks or so. Because of that, I don't have the time(or patience lol) to either hand quilt or even quilt on my small machine at home-it would be too labor intensive. So I opt to have it done on a long arm machine at a quilt shop. Right now, I pay to that have that done. I am hoping to learn to do it myself soon, and start out by renting time(by the hour) to use the machine at the quilt shop, and eventually have one of my own. Till then, I am relegated to having it done by someone else. I opt to mail it back to my original quilt shop in WA as the pricing in cheaper than the one nearest me here in MD. A double size quilt is approx $100 to have quilted-just for their labor. I also have to pay for the batting($20) and thread($10) that is used. AND I have to ship it there and pay to have it shipped back.

So without shipping costs(figure approx $25-30 for that, I do use the flat rate boxes-not mention if you are afar and I ship your gift to you, yet another shipping cost lol), we're now sitting at a price of almost $180 just to *make* a double sized quilt.

And none of this takes into account my tools. Yes, I know no one made me start quilting and buy items lol, but they kinda are necessary to do my hobby.
Sewing machines
Cutting mat
Scissors
Rotary cutters-and replacement blades
Quilting rulers-yes, I have to use special rulers for my quilting
Accuquilt cutting machine and dies
Magazines(where I get some of my quilt ideas and learn new things)
And I'm sure I'm probably forgetting things lol, but I have a whole ROOM full of materials and supplies. And when the day comes I get a long arm quilting machine, I will have TWO rooms lol.

How much is my time worth? Well, I'm sure that's subjective lol. The amount of time I spend on a particular quilt varies on the design of course. Some very basic ones, I can 'whip out' in 4-5 hrs(that's cutting and sitting at my machine)-not counting the time I spent picking out the fabrics lol-I can wander through the fabric for a long time...picking and choosing, holding up and matching etc. Trying to find things that are *just* right together. Some of the more complicated quilts are more labor intensive and require more cutting, sometimes cut, sew and cut again, etc. Even those, on the conservative side, I would guess anywhere from 10-15 hrs. Binding, also adds time after the quilt is done, probably an hour or two as I have to cut, sew and iron the binding, then sew basically sew it around the quilt TWICE. I have spent the better part of the last 3.5 years since my quilting class(yet another expense toward my hobby) working on and honing my skill and improving it. I am STILL learning new things(up next, machine applique I think; and tshirt quilts)-refer above to magazines as part of my supplies lol.

So anyway, the whole point of all this is don't think homemade gifts are cheap-be appreciative of the time and love your friend or family put into a gift for you, they did it because they love you; and don't be surprised at the cost of things at craft fairs and the like-and be appreciative of the craftsmanship at things like that. I greatly value items I have been gifted like afghans, jewelry, baked goods, etc; as those things are not my forte and I can appreciate them from others.