Ok, so I didn't do the knitting. Just the finishing. Occasionally, someone will come in to the shop and ask to have a sweater finished. In this case, the client dropped the sweater off during one of my classes. After she left, I heard one of the students whisper "cheater".
Now, now, be nice. The woman had a two year old and an infant in tow.
Here are some things I consider before saying "sure! I'll finish it for you!":
- Take out the pieces and see how they measure up, in this case, very nicely. You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.
- Make sure there is adequate yarn for seaming, any needles for additional knitting, the pattern and yarn labels. Nothing worse than having to go hunting in your own stuff for materials.
- It's nice if there is something in it for you besides the fee. I got to check out the pattern book and see how Rowan ASC knits up. I really liked the feel of the finished product - lightweight and squishy.
- Above all, under-commit! Tack on at least a week to when you really think it will be done. I told her two weeks, but then dropped it off in a couple days.
In the past month, I have increased my days working to full time. Not the best timing with all the end of the year activities going on! On the home front, it reminds me of the days when we were both working full time when Maddy was a baby. Both spouses working equally forces a more democratic division of labor at home. There aren't "my jobs", just things that need to get done, and we need to work as a team to figure out who is going to do what. It's been good practice for the Fall, when, after having a nice summer off, I am hoping to go back to a new full time position...
