BEEN THERE, DONE THAT??? - Page 3

Woodi · 04-15-2009, 08:21 AM

Great post, artlady! Thank you for sharing the biz card idea. I no longer craft to anyone else's specs, cuz as you say, it's hopelessly under-appreciated (unless given to a fellow crafter).

My DH makes fine furniture as a hobby, and people ask him to make things for them at bargain-basement prices. He always says he has no time (nor interest, but he won't hurt peoples' feelings).

I have begun to realize that 'handmade' should be for lovely gift-giving only.

That said though: I still sell my handmade soaps, but not cheaply. A bar retail sells for $6.95 plus tax, or if you come to my house and pay cash, and buy 10 or more, you get them for $5 each. Dove sells for.....what? 2 for $1.99? (Cdn)

but commercial soaps dry our skin out, cuz they remove the glycerin to sell to lotion companies (for much more profit)...and you'll need the lotion after using their skin-sucking soap.

<sorry for the rant>

ArtLady1981 · 04-15-2009, 05:25 PM

What a wonderful success story, CHJ! How kind of you to do it for her! I gather from your words that you knit it 'as a favor' and 'labor of love'! She truly did appreciate it!

I felt the same anxiety with the first wedding dress I made, for my daughter's best friend. I made the wedding dress in trade for some housesitting she did for me. I was so nervous about that dress. I read a boatload of 'sewing a wedding dress' books, educating myself regarding the do's and dont's and pitfalls and tips on sewing wedding dresses! I "punched in" at exactly 8 am each morning, took 2-10 minute breaks and 1-half hour lunch, and "punched out" each day at 6pm...everyday for a week.

It turned out beautifully and she was a beautiful bride!

But I'll never forget the 'worry' I felt about such an important dress, and the possibility of ruining her expensive satin and lace! Back in those days (maybe 20 years ago) her materials cost $500. That was spendy then.

globaltraveler · 04-15-2009, 07:55 PM

I remember the first time I had to cut into the lace for a wedding gown that cost over $200 a yard ($214 a yard, to be exact). I literally stood at my cutting table, shears open and ready to take the first bite, praying outloud, "Oh please God, please don't let me screw this up, because I can't afford to buy more of this lace if I spoil it!"

Abbily · 04-15-2009, 08:29 PM

What a great idea!

I have knit for friends, when *I* offered to do it, and I always make them buy the yarn. And I pick the pattern, with their input. That way I get to knit something I want to knit, for someone I love. Other than that, "just say no".

YarnKitten · 04-16-2009, 04:13 AM

Oh my. A girl in my class found out I knit and begged me for a week straight to make her socks (her grandmother used to and I guess she must've passed on?). I told her I couldn't make socks yet. Then she offered to "buy the yarn and pay [me] five dollars". Um ... yeah. How many hours does it take you SPEEDY knitters to do a pair of plain socks?

We talk about friends asking us to do body work on their cars in my class, too. We're all autobody repair and paint students and there's no way I'm throwing a bunch of my spare time into doing something for someone. I mean frig ... even a little ding is how long to pull out the dent, how long to grind, how long to body fill, how long to, how long to, etc.