Why I Won't Knit You Anything.

I love knitting. LOVE IT. I hate knitting commission pieces. Anytime someone asks me if I will knit them a sweater or mittens or anything, I get a little cranky. The only exception to this rule is my mom. My mom can ask me to knit what ever she wants and I will happily oblige.

Reason #1.
You can't afford my time. I'm really not trying to sound like I'm full of myself the fact of the matter is you really cannot afford my time. After working on Norma for the last two weeks I figure I have roughly 52 hours invested in her. She is a gift for a family member for Christmas. If I was to knit something similar to Norma for someone and charge for my time (say minimum wage) they simply would not be able to afford the piece. I'm uncomfortable quoting people what my time would cost blah, blah, blah. Stop asking me. I'm more than happy to teach you to knit though.

Reason #2.
Knitting is my hobby, not my job. I get paid to do things I kind of don't want to do, I like my job but it's not knitting. Knitting is the thing that I do when I get home from work since setting things on fire is illegal. When you start offering to "pay me" (see reason #1) my hobby starts feeling like a job. So, no, money never sweetens the deal.

Reason #3.
I have crafty ADD. Chances are if your asking me to make something, I've already made it. I've moved on to the next shiny object in my Ravelry queue unless I really liked making that object I probably won't make it again. Quit trying to drag me back to "that one thing" you saw me post on my Facebook page. I'm not exactly "loyal" to my projects. I have multiple things on needles and I switch between them often. I would hate to have you waiting on something because I saw a super cute something or other that I HAD to start. Also, only knitting one thing at a time because I have too makes me hate that thing and I no longer want to make it.

Yes, I know this sounds harsh and mean and I'm sorry for that (not really). I make things for people because I know they will love them and because I want them to have it.

Am I the only knitter that feels this way?

Norma

Norma, Norma, Norma.

I love Norma.

I fell in love with this pattern the second I laid eyes on it. I rushed through finishing another project to get to this one. I ordered the yarn. I learned a new cast on. It feels like this pattern has tried to thwart me at every turn.

1. Halfway through the pattern I learned that the charts I was using would lead me to make a smaller blanket...

Great.

I went to the pattern's Rav page and got the chart I needed to make a larger blanket.

2. Not enough yarn. I had ordered yarn based on original instructions which called for 5 skeins of yarn. Two weeks into the project I learned I would need 7 skeins of yarn. The problem with this is it is incredibly hard to get yarn from the same dye lot 2 weeks later. I lucked out, Knit Picks somehow sent me two more skeins from the same dye lot. Dye lot fairy?

3. After 3 more weeks of knitting and 5 seasons of Weeds on Netflix instant streaming, I learned that I don't have enough yarn to bind off and have the really pretty border that the pattern has. This drives me crazy!

4. Ran out of yarn during the bind off. This sucks. Hard. I'm going to tink the bind off and use a bigger needle. Start hoping for me guys. I need some hope right now.

It's not the fault of the yarn, it could be the pattern, it could be me. Who knows.

Norma has fought me tooth and nail and I still love her. Like a child who argues too much and tells you "you are the meanest mommy EVER!" I still love her.