What is your Quilt Worth?

Hello Pieceful Quilters,

I was recently fortunate enough to be involved in a lecture/discussion group headed by AQS Certified Appraiser, Sandy Schweitzer. Sandy has worked with our shop since we opened as an advisor and appraising quilts for our customers. She is truly one of the most knowledgeable people I know regarding quilts, from antique quilts to the newest art quilts.

What brought about this particular lecture was a fire suffered by one of the group members. Sandy was called in to do an after-the-fact appraisal on the damaged and ruined quilts, quilt tops, fabric, sewing room supplies, and various other textiles and sewing related items. Because of her thorough and detailed work, our member was able to get the full appraised value of everything that Sandy appraised.

Although our member did not divulge the values of everything, she did share with us a few of the values on some of her quilts and tops. To say we were stunned would be an understatement. Even though I have gone through the appraisal program, the methodology for appraising new quilts hadn't really hit home for me before this.

When you go to figure out the value of a quilt that you have made, you base the value on what it would take if you were to hire someone else to make it, from shopping for the fabric to the finished quilt. When you start figuring out what you paid for fabric - and you know you had to purchase more fabric for the top than you did for the backing. You can't usually purchase less than a quarter yard of anything, so if you are making scrappy quilts, think about how much fabric you bought for it! Then consider the time that went into finding all those fabrics. What if you had to do it again? You could spend months on the Internet trying to track down a fabric that just came out a year ago!

Now start adding up all the time it took you to cut the fabric and piece it together. Did you quilt it yourself, or did you pay someone to quilt it? What is the quality of the workmanship - excellent, of course! I know all my quilts are masterpieces - aren't yours? (ha-ha) Even if you aren't winning any awards, it still takes a lot of time. If you had to hire someone to make it for you, it would cost you at least $20.00 an hour. Start adding that up and you will realize that maybe that quilt you made is worth something after all.

This is another reason to make sure you put a label on EVERY QUILT YOU MAKE and TAKE A PHOTOGRAPH! (If we quilted your quilt, we have a picture of it in our computer) You would be amazed at how many quilts are stolen each year. We may not value our quilts enough, but there are plenty of thieves out there that know the value of our quilts. Wouldn't you just be sick if you had a quilt stolen, and you couldn't even get something from your insurance company for it? If you don't have any way to prove you had it, the insurance company will pay you for a blanket - maybe $40.00, if you are lucky!

The point here is that you should get at least one of your quilts appraised. That way, if you should have a fire or loss, you will have some proof as to the quality and value of your work. Be sure to label and photograph every quilt. This way you will be able to a) prove you made it, and b) have the quilt returned to you if it should turn up somewhere strange. These things happen all the time.

Ok - end of lecture....

Sandy will be at Pieceful Gathering to do appraisals for the women that were in attendance at the lecture, however, several appraisal spots are still open, so I am opening these spots up to anyone that wants to come in that day. You can have any quilt appraised, old or new.

The date is Sunday, March 15th in the afternoon. The appraisals are $45.00 per quilt. You will receive a written appraisal that you can submit to your insurance company. Sandy is an AQS Certified Quilt Appraiser, so her credentials will be recognized by any insurance company.

Call the shop for details, or to have your name added to the list. If you can not make it on that date, you can make an appointment with Sandy at another time. The cost is still the same.

Happy Quilting!
Carrie

Call is at (847) 516-7911