So I got my first custom order on Etsy. Yay! When I got the convo I was scared and excited all at the same time. I get to work on something new, but will she like what I make or can I even do what she is asking? I was unsure if I was going to be able to find the color she was looking for; I panicked, threw up in my mouth a little, and then started calling the craft stores. I found a color! Crisis averted. I wanted to take a picture of the progress and capture the color of the yarn, but my camera just couldn't do it. If my camera had a middle finger function, it would be in the upright position. Another small wrench in the process. The worst part was last night when I was attaching the ears; I decided to change the design slightly because I felt like it would make the sewing look neater. I asked my husband to look at the finished ear. "Looks good, honey". Sated, I proceed to attach the second ear. Evaluation number two. "Didn't you do these ears different before, I liked them better that way" GAH! I literally felt something break inside my brain. He continued to meticulously point out things here and there ( which BTW, my poor husband, only trying to help me-I think I broke him too!) A fix here and a fix there and by that time in my brain I had butchered the thing. I decided to sleep on it and when I finished it this morning, it looked pretty good to me. I secretly want to cut this poor hats ears off and make them the old way, but I'm going to try to be rational about this.....
This first sale is a plethora of learning experiences for me. Am I documenting my patterns correctly? Am I able to duplicate the same thing over and over without difficulty, and most importantly, how much am I actually going to make with this thing. And I'm gonna let you in on a little secret. The process that I go through to make a hat is a giant pain in the butt. Mostly because it requires a lot of walking as I don't have a car. But I enjoy making things so much, I don't factor it into how much my time is worth. If I took Paypal fees, materials, transportation costs (bus), packaging, shipping costs, and my own personal time I maybe will make $2 an hour. And if you count the time I spend picking myself apart and staring at the thing over and over again going "is it perfect? Are they going to hate it?" Well then I probably don't make squat. LOL But like I said, I love doing it. In general I like to do things that make other people smile, whether I know them or not. Once it's all said and done the satisfaction that I did something like that is very valuable on it's own to me. Don't get me wrong, as I go forward I would like to make the money. :D So here's to each experience getting easier and easier, and not causing my husband or myself to spontaneously combust.
Guilty.
The Bitch Slap: A Short Ass Kicking Note to Self
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