Skeinspotting

My Life as a Maker

When I first started to design a few patterns for on line magazines, I used to make garments for other designers as well. However, I am not the fastest person in the world when it comes to making things. Ages ago I received a request to make a baby afghan and I had about 4 or 5 weeks to make it which is plenty of time.
However, as crochet is a bit hard on the wrist, I employed another maker to help me, and gave her half the materials. She disappeared on holiday to France, so I had no idea of her progress and was a little bit anxious about getting it done on time. Then she returned from her holiday and it was getting really close to the deadline, which was a Monday morning and she was ignoring all my telephone calls. It developed into my worst nightmare, a commitment over which I had no control and no sign of an FO!

Eventually on the Friday before the Monday deadline the maker posted a lot of individual granny squares through the front door, they were the wrong gauge, the wrong stitches, and actually the wrong squares as they were not even square. The best of her squares is above on the left, mine is on the right you can just about see she has used incorrect stitches and didn't know how to turn corners.
On top of that, knots had been made and then yarn cut really close to the knots, and of the huge number she was committed to do, she had done less than one quarter! Her work had ruined the yarn, as each square she had made was too tiny and had short ends.


I set about frogging the lot, but then had no option but to buy new yarn. She also refused to speak to me to explain what had happened although there was a note to say she had some other work in. This is fairly typical of a maker who enjoys making for a hobby but when they decide to do it professionally find they are not up to it or just do not prioritise.

Makers nearly always put the making at the bottom of their list of priorities and it is difficult to find a really good one. Thank goodness I have two really good ones at the moment.

Anyway, the baby afghan problem was solved by me sitting up day and night from Friday until Monday afternoon, and Steve biking over London to get replacement yarn and eventually me rushing over in a taxi to deliver in person to the publishers. They will never know the hours I spent on it and the fee, was all gone in replacement yarn costs and taxi fare. At least I didn't let the client down, and they obviously thought the project was worthy enough to put on the front of the book. So there it is, middle top photo on the cover, the Granny Square Baby Afghan looking all innocent and peaceful. It was not my design, but I put everything I had into making it and thought never again will I let myself get into that position again!