I decided to complete the quilts geographically. I am in Texas and my relatives are in Chicago (6 quilts), Connecticut (9 quilts, there were 8 but the New York nephew moved to CT this year), Florida (9 quilts) and Texas (6 quilts). These are all on my husband's side and we didn't see them much when they were growing up.Yesterday I shipped 5 of the 6 quilts to two nieces and their families in Chicago. The 6th person isn't born yet!
- I wrapped each quilt in colorful wrapping paper.
- I wrote a personal note in a card for each person and taped the envelope to the outside of the paper. Inside one envelope for each family I put quilt care instructions.
- At the bottom of the shipping box I put a box of Shout Color Catcher
for them to use the first few times the quilts are washed.
- I put each wrapped quilt inside a plastic bag to protect the quilt during shipping and packed the bags into the box.
For insurance you will pay extra for any value over $100. If you claim the quilt is worth $758.64 and you need to file a claim, you will need to show evidence of that value. You could show receipts for the fabric and other materials and for any quilting service you paid for. You probably will not be able to recoup your labor costs so you may not want to over insure the package. If you have an appraisal from a certified appraiser, that would work too.
I looked at the UPS shipping maps to see that a package shipped from Texas on Monday will arrive in Chicago on Thursday. Then I checked with each family for the correct shipping address and asked if a Thursday delivery worked for them. Later I emailed them their tracking numbers. They don't know they're getting quilts but they probably suspect it now. I wish I could see their faces when they open the packages!