Commission Quilt(s)
I love to hate them! Let me explain. Seldom do I repeat a quilt I have made. There are a few exceptions, but in 20 years, I can count the numbers on one hand. It's probably the fact there are so many other patterns and pieces I would like to make I just can't seem to repeat something I've already done. It gets kind of boring.
Referring back to a few posts (if you will), I made an MSU quilt for Caleb. It's a utility quilt that I want him to use daily rather then folding up and putting away for later. The kids are told this when I make something for them. They have very few heirloom pieces because I like to keep making them more quilts and want them to enjoy what mom makes.
Caleb took his quilt to school and it's on his bed in his room at the house. By house, I mean where he stays during the school year. It's a huge four story house they call a Men's Christian Co-op or a Christian Frat House. Each of the boys may or may not have a roommate and currently Caleb does not; his moved out to get married earlier this summer.
Caleb has been taught to keep his room neat and while women are not allowed on the floor where the guys sleep, I have no way of knowing whether his room is being kept clean or not. I really don't think it's my place to babysit my 20 year old anyway, so at this point it's really none of my concern. However, his house father does keep tabs on the residents and the condition of how the boys are keeping things.
Since Caleb's room was the cleanest (so says the house father), and it's time to start getting new residents in for the upcoming school year, Caleb's room has been used as the model when showing prospective residents and their parents what their son can expect for the money they spend each month for living at the house.
The house father noticed (kind of) Caleb's quilt after taking the first set of interested parties through on their tour. When the next week rolled around with another set of tours, Mike had a chance to actually look closely at Caleb's quilt and noticed all the intricate stitching I included within the blocks. He then started looking even closer to discover many more items that were included within the quilt. I guess he was pretty impressed and an idea started brewing in his head.
He asked Caleb where the quilt came from and when Caleb said it was something I threw together for him, Mike was astounded.
"Can she do a smaller one for our library wall downstairs?"
"I'm sure she could, but it's kind of expensive."
"How much?"
When Caleb took it upon himself to shoot this guy a decent figure, the man didn't even blink and said he wanted to talk to me.
And while there are other details, Mike decided he wanted a quilt similar to Caleb's to fit a smaller wall space and with a little more items added in. Thus, another commission (quilt) was born.
I've done a few commission pieces. I feel like the pressure is on from the very first minute you start to look for fabric, design, thread, quilting...you get it. There were already a few mistakes made while just piecing the blocks together that if it would have been one of the "normal" quilts I make, I would have fudged through and just made it work. I do more un-sewing on commission pieces then I do sewing because I feel like my name is out there and I want to keep it a good name.
I put a lot of stress on myself and dread the whole process. I actually get all jittery while working on the piece and over-think everything. I think I need to take heed and let people know that while I'm glad they admire my work and want something from me, I have plenty in my inventory for them to choose from should they want to see any of those. Jim's concern is that the guys in the house are going to see the quilt on the wall, see Caleb's quilt (his room is located at the top of the stairs where everybody else walks by to get to their own rooms) and want one like or similar to it. This could start to be...
...let's not think of that right now. I have to get back to work on this piece (can you tell I'm stalling?).
Referring back to a few posts (if you will), I made an MSU quilt for Caleb. It's a utility quilt that I want him to use daily rather then folding up and putting away for later. The kids are told this when I make something for them. They have very few heirloom pieces because I like to keep making them more quilts and want them to enjoy what mom makes.
Caleb took his quilt to school and it's on his bed in his room at the house. By house, I mean where he stays during the school year. It's a huge four story house they call a Men's Christian Co-op or a Christian Frat House. Each of the boys may or may not have a roommate and currently Caleb does not; his moved out to get married earlier this summer.
Caleb has been taught to keep his room neat and while women are not allowed on the floor where the guys sleep, I have no way of knowing whether his room is being kept clean or not. I really don't think it's my place to babysit my 20 year old anyway, so at this point it's really none of my concern. However, his house father does keep tabs on the residents and the condition of how the boys are keeping things.
Since Caleb's room was the cleanest (so says the house father), and it's time to start getting new residents in for the upcoming school year, Caleb's room has been used as the model when showing prospective residents and their parents what their son can expect for the money they spend each month for living at the house.
The house father noticed (kind of) Caleb's quilt after taking the first set of interested parties through on their tour. When the next week rolled around with another set of tours, Mike had a chance to actually look closely at Caleb's quilt and noticed all the intricate stitching I included within the blocks. He then started looking even closer to discover many more items that were included within the quilt. I guess he was pretty impressed and an idea started brewing in his head.
He asked Caleb where the quilt came from and when Caleb said it was something I threw together for him, Mike was astounded.
"Can she do a smaller one for our library wall downstairs?"
"I'm sure she could, but it's kind of expensive."
"How much?"
When Caleb took it upon himself to shoot this guy a decent figure, the man didn't even blink and said he wanted to talk to me.
And while there are other details, Mike decided he wanted a quilt similar to Caleb's to fit a smaller wall space and with a little more items added in. Thus, another commission (quilt) was born.
I've done a few commission pieces. I feel like the pressure is on from the very first minute you start to look for fabric, design, thread, quilting...you get it. There were already a few mistakes made while just piecing the blocks together that if it would have been one of the "normal" quilts I make, I would have fudged through and just made it work. I do more un-sewing on commission pieces then I do sewing because I feel like my name is out there and I want to keep it a good name.
I put a lot of stress on myself and dread the whole process. I actually get all jittery while working on the piece and over-think everything. I think I need to take heed and let people know that while I'm glad they admire my work and want something from me, I have plenty in my inventory for them to choose from should they want to see any of those. Jim's concern is that the guys in the house are going to see the quilt on the wall, see Caleb's quilt (his room is located at the top of the stairs where everybody else walks by to get to their own rooms) and want one like or similar to it. This could start to be...
...let's not think of that right now. I have to get back to work on this piece (can you tell I'm stalling?).
Comments
Post a Comment