Sewing Thread!

[Hermits Garden]

Lol! Knitting makes me cuss like a pirate too!

I taught myself to knit first, but found it frustrating so I learned to crochet. Crochet just makes better sense to my brain because I can move in all different directions.

Don't hand embroider or cross stitch, and while I can do lacey crochet, I don't. I prefer bigger things....bigger projects using bigger tools or machines. It's more my comfort zone. I will quilt tiny intricate quilting, but I use a Big machine to do it.

Clothing patterns also make me curse. Even those labeled as easy for beginners. When I make sewn items but don't usually use patterns, rather I go by quilt math instead.

Yes, patterns baffle me, so I just make things up as I go. That was how I learned medieval costuming--looked at a lot of pictures, and wasted a lot of cheap muslin to create my own patterns.

I do remember laying my three year old boy out on a piece of cloth and tracing him to make a shirt...and then discovered I'd not taken into account that humans are three dimensional. So I made gussets up the sides. He was three--didn't care.

 

[Sally PB]

I taught myself to knit first, but found it frustrating so I learned to crochet. Crochet just makes better sense to my brain because I can move in all different directions.

I learned how to crochet, but wanted to make sweaters. Crocheted sweaters made out of Red Heart yarn were too bulky, so I dusted off what I knew of knitting, learned a lot more, and got good at it. I used to spin my own yarn, design and hand knit one-of-a-kind sweaters and sell them. I tried to make it a business, but couldn't make it pay enough.

One lady had the GALL to ask me why I charged so much for my sweaters, because "You like what you do."

 

[pennyJo1960]

Tell her to make her own then.. @Sally PB

 

[Sally PB]

That was many years ago, @pennyJo1960. I stammered out something about having put 40-50 hours of work into making the sweater, but I guess to her, if I enjoyed it, I shouldn't get paid much for it.

SMH.

 

[Hermits Garden]

I learned how to crochet, but wanted to make sweaters. Crocheted sweaters made out of Red Heart yarn were too bulky, so I dusted off what I knew of knitting, learned a lot more, and got good at it. I used to spin my own yarn, design and hand knit one-of-a-kind sweaters and sell them. I tried to make it a business, but couldn't make it pay enough.

One lady had the GALL to ask me why I charged so much for my sweaters, because "You like what you do."

I've had people at doll shows make ugly comments about the price of some of my dolls--the antique reproductions I made (sew, stuff, layer on clay and sculpt, then paint, and dress in period fabric and style) took me 80 hours, and the price they fussed about was paying me less than $5 an hour, not counting materials.

 

[Sally PB]

I've had people at doll shows make ugly comments about the price of some of my dolls--the antique reproductions I made (sew, stuff, layer on clay and sculpt, then paint, and dress in period fabric and style) took me 80 hours, and the price they fussed about was paying me less than $5 an hour, not counting materials.

Then every now and again, someone comes along who "gets it." I have admired a lot of people's work, whether or not it is something I'd buy. Dolls aren't my "thing," but I'd love to see yours, and I'm sure they are worth your price.

When I find something I want to buy, I have no problem paying someone for their skill, time, craft, and love. Skill + time + craft + love = art.

 

[Callender Girl]

In the re-enacting world, people are praised for their ability to make things the way they were historically made. It takes research, skill and lots of work. Others in that world get it. They understand the value.

Often, at trade fairs, visitors would tell us they could buy something "just like it" at Walmart for much less. Well, first of all, they couldn't. My dad owned his own business and had a sign that still hangs in his shop, years after his death. It basically read, "We have no quarrel with others who charge less for their work; they know what it's worth."

Art is art, and you deserve to be fairly paid.

 

[Hermits Garden]

In the re-enacting world, people are praised for their ability to make things the way they were historically made. It takes research, skill and lots of work. Others in that world get it. They understand the value.

Often, at trade fairs, visitors would tell us they could buy something "just like it" at Walmart for much less. Well, first of all, they couldn't. My dad owned his own business and had a sign that still hangs in his shop, years after his death. It basically read, "We have no quarrel with others who charge less for their work; they know what it's worth."

Art is art, and you deserve to be fairly paid.

What did your dad make? (I love love love the sign, btw.)

 

[Callender Girl]

Dad had an auto body repair shop and took great pride in flawlessly repairing vehicles.

He used to refer to badly repainted cars as "block-aways" because you could tell they had been repaired and/or repainted from a block away.

When the pallbearers were taking his casket out on its way to the cemetery, one of them stopped. The shiny black casket that held Dad had a teeny, tiny run in its paint. In his best fake exacerbated voice, Chris pointed out that Dad had a block-away casket. Which cracked us all up at a very sad time. My dad would have appreciated the humor!

 

[SnapdragonQ]

I learned how to crochet, but wanted to make sweaters. Crocheted sweaters made out of Red Heart yarn were too bulky, so I dusted off what I knew of knitting, learned a lot more, and got good at it. I used to spin my own yarn, design and hand knit one-of-a-kind sweaters and sell them. I tried to make it a business, but couldn't make it pay enough.

One lady had the GALL to ask me why I charged so much for my sweaters, because "You like what you do."

Yeah, bulky crochet is the main reason why I never tried to make a sweater. I'd love to be able to knit a sweater like my friends do, but it will never happen. Spinning is a whole 'nuther fun world!

I've had people at doll shows make ugly comments about the price of some of my dolls--the antique reproductions I made (sew, stuff, layer on clay and sculpt, then paint, and dress in period fabric and style) took me 80 hours, and the price they fussed about was paying me less than $5 an hour, not counting materials.

In the re-enacting world, people are praised for their ability to make things the way they were historically made. It takes research, skill and lots of work. Others in that world get it. They understand the value.

Often, at trade fairs, visitors would tell us they could buy something "just like it" at Walmart for much less. Well, first of all, they couldn't. My dad owned his own business and had a sign that still hangs in his shop, years after his death. It basically read, "We have no quarrel with others who charge less for their work; they know what it's worth."

Art is art, and you deserve to be fairly paid.

I've been the victim of that kind of thinking and the walmart type comments too.
Real quilts are not cheap and take a lot of hours! The cost of fabric ain't going down either.

Even within the quilting community there can be some real purists that think the only way to do a specific thing is their way, ie: it's not a "real" quilt unless it's hand quilted.
I've run into my fair share of those. They don't realize it's thinking like that that scares so many people away from even trying to learn.
Quilting is about bringing people comfort, not perfectionism. However quality work deserves to be recognized.