A Hooker With A Twist
Mystery Achievement: Update
I have finished as much as I can – four rows – using the newly purchased Euro-Baby Maypole. Afghan is only to 41 x 41 inches squared, short nine inches of the desired width. I certainly goofed on my estimate to extended the afghan to 50 x 70 inches! At least the colors match well.
Client notified of insufficient yarn amount to continue in pattern, which is necessary due to bulkiness of yarn.
Pending notification from client on how she will proceed.
Mystery Achievement Afghan: Sold
Woohoo!
I had contact K.T. about possible help with knitting from charts. She agreed and we met for a Panera Cobblestone and my favorite Cinnamon Crunch Scone with coffee. As it turned out, I had only shifted my lace pattern. Done with knit technical support, we returned to my home where we sat and caught up with eath other’s lives.
As I was showing K.T. my new skill – interlock crochet – K.T. expressed a desire to buy it, but commented that she would like it bigger. I informed her of the price and indicated that she would be eligible for the Freinds & Family 25% discount. Because I would have to crochet more fabric, I told K.T. that I would just charge her the difference from the FF discount + she would buy the additional yarn and she agreed.
Unfortunately, the yarn used to make Mystery Achievement – Schoeller+Stahl Portofino Soufflé – has been discountinued. We both thought that we could take the afghan to a yarn store for color matching. We went to The Slipt Stitch to see if we could find something and we did!
Euro-baby Maypole
Care: Permanent press. Non-chlorine bleach. Do not tumble dry. Dry flat. Do not iron.
Color: 12
Content: 100% Polyester
Weight: 5, Bulky
Calculating how much we needed was a little bit of a mind bender, but I think I figured it out…I just realized that I had the wrong numbers at the store. Aiyaa! Better call K.T.; I’ve already started, but might might need more.
I received the featured image in my email…
I received the featured image in my email yesterday. I was contracted to make these back in 2015. They took seven months to crochet at a cost of USD $500.00.
Unfortunately, I did not collect my full payment. I discounted them $100.00 due to discoloration of older thread I started with. Bleach washing did not rectify the problem. Then I discounted another $100.00 just to get them to the customer and out of my house. I forgot to mention that they were not completely paid for until about last month, May 2017.
I love how they look on that chair!
While on Facebook today, I noticed a message from my friend Verna in Oregon. She was asking for help with a Crochet Bobble Beard by Ashlee Marie, size: small. When I called her to confirm color and for a pattern URL, she indicated Xmas Rush. I told her I would go through my stash to find the right color and put her order in from of the orange cable scarf I was having difficulty getting started due to unclear vision.
Very easy pattern and quick. The best part: I did not have to start a new skein, which I had anticipated because I did not know how much yarn would be required, thinking it would be more than expected because of the bobbles. As it turned out, I was able to make this project with a ball of unknown acrylic yarn in a chocolate brown color (suspecting Caron One Pound due to yarn texture).
As a bonus, I did not have the song You’re Still A Young Man in my music library yet. I didn’t even know who performed the song, thinking Temptations or Stylistics. As it turned out I discovered the artist was Tower of Power and I was able to acquire the song!
Back in July 2015, my cousin asked me to make this for his uncle in gratitude for wedding planning. I created the chart and a spreadsheet and crocheted the afghan, finishing in December 2015. However, due to bleach discoloration within the first 10 rows, I had to remake this afghan and I just finished today.
I seriously need to learn how to crochet left handed so, my tapestry pieces will not have a stitch bias/slant. This time around I stranded unused yarn behind the afghan versus cutting my color changes. Turns out I used the same amount of yarn. I found that a little odd, thinking I might use at least on extra skein due to the stranding. Go figure! The most important thing I learned is that I don’t charge enough for my work. I used to base my pricing on 4 x the cost of the yarn, but when the customer chooses the cheapest yarn, I suffer. This entire afghan totaled out at $209.40. Based on this, I am changing my pricing schedule which will reflect the time investment in making such a piece.
I calculated my time crocheting this piece and came out to about 70 hours. At minimum wage, the cost for crochet alone would be $700.00. That does not even include the time it took to make the chart and pattern. Despite possible copyright infringement, I am publishing my pattern for sale, so hopefully, I can make a little income to offset this undercharge. I also feel that people that appreciate handmade items will appreciate the cost increase, adding value to the piece. My friends and family discount of 25% will still apply to all items.
This pattern is available for purchase in my Ravelry Store and on the AHW Patterns Page. See Post: Oakland Raiders Afghan v2 for explanation and valid links.
And because I never get to see the reverse of afghans created via this method, I am including an image of the reverse just for you information…
On da Hook: January 6, 2016
Off da Hook: January 21, 2016
Pattern: Mayflower Baby Blanket by Tammy Hildebrand
Yarn: Cascade Elysian (Fiber Content: 60% Superwash Merino Wool, 40% Acrylic; Yarn Color: 06; Yarn Weight: 4, Worsted)
Hook: US I/9 – 5.5 mm
Dimensions: 31 x 31 inches
Oh whoa! Oh whoa! Oh whoa!
Loved the pattern result. I indicated medium difficulty rating because I am an advance crocheter; Lynette had difficulty with the pattern as a less experienced crocheter. Advise confident knowledge of back/front post construction, which took me a minute to get my stitch count down. The other thing that threw me for a loop was the half double crochets, whose top stitch points left versus double crochet which point right.
Noticed some errors in the copy: Border indicates SC count…should be stitch count. Notified Caron. Once again when it come to the border, my counts got all messed up, so I improvised a border; also because we were not sure we had enough yarn. Commendation to Cascade Yarns for getting back to me within 24 hours; I was right should have read “stitches,” not “single crochet.”
When I calculated 5 skein yardage, I was short. Another visit to the store only produced one more skein and I thought we needed at least two.
Oh well, I am just waiting to hear from the client as to whether she is satisfied and then I will sew in the ends, fluff it and deliver it.
I always try to find a project appropriate song name for my projects, but I my choices are lessening. I named this project after Baby by Justin Bieber. I think I may just start picking song names at random.
On da Hook: October 15, 2015
Pattern: Charted/Designed by Hooker Leo
Yarn A: Michaels Loops & Threads Impeccable (Fiber Content: 100% Acrylic; Yarn Color: 01040 Black; Yarn Weight: 4, Worsted)
Yarn B: Michaels Loops & Threads Impeccable (Fiber Content: 100% Acrylic; Yarn Color: 01005 White; Yarn Weight: 4, Worsted)
Yarn C: Michaels Loops & Threads Impeccable (Fiber Content: 100% Acrylic; Yarn Color: 01044 True Grey; Yarn Weight: 4, Worsted)
Hook: US H/8
Dimensions: 4 x 4 feet square
This is my next commissioned piece; it will be an xmas gift, so I decided I better get started so I can finish on time. Please do not ask me for the chart, as I cannot violate copyright laws and distribute for profit, nor do I want to distribute for free because of the work involved in charting this logo.
