Friday, July 16, 2010

I may live to regret this...

Yesterday morning a little lady came into the shop. When I asked if I could help her, she replied, "I sure hope so because I'm in a pickle." She went on to explain that she would be attending a baby shower for her first great-grandchild next month - a little girl to be named after her. "Isn't that wonderful?" she asked me. I agreed that it was wonderful indeed, but wondered what the "pickle' could be. Vivian, for that is her name, went on to tell me that she saw a pattern online for a wonderful knitted baby blanket with owls on it. Did I think I could find the pattern? Well, probably, as I know of several owl-patterned items on Ravelry. I found the pattern easily enough, but we still weren't at the root of the problem, as it turned out. I should have anticipated her next question, really.

"Do you know of anyone who could knit it for me? I can't knit at all," she said. "And, in fact, I have a degenerative eye disease." Oh man, I thought, oh man. Vivian had picked out some yarn. The pattern wasn't difficult. But I didn't want to commit to knitting it for her. We talked around the issue for a bit, and finally I said, "Look, here's why I'm hesitating on this. It's going to be expensive. I design patterns. I sell my own work. I value my work. It doesn't come cheap." "Oh, I wouldn't expect it to," Vivian assured me. "If that's the only thing that's stopping you, don't let it."

I thought of the joy of living to see a great-grandchild. I thought of a granddaughter who loves her grandma enough to name her first child after her. And, honestly, I thought of a bit of extra money in my pocket. Yeah, you know I said yes. I'm not regretting it too much yet. It's good karma, right? That's what I'm telling myself, anyway.

6 comments:

Ben said...

Well it's not the first time you've done charity work. I'm sure you'll feel good about it in the end if you don't already.

anne mancine said...

Charity work, eh? I wasn't really thinking of it that way at all. Although perhaps after spending six hours working on it yesterday, I should consider that. Kathy and Dianne always told me I could never charge enough for all the time and effort put into an individual piece.

So, needless to say, this project may temporarily derail my good intentions regarding reading more books and posting more frequently on my blog. Stay tuned.

jamanci said...

still, very nice of you! hope it works out well.

Amanda Maddock said...

very nice indeed! i hope it all works out and, if you wouldn't mind, that you'll post a picture when it's finished. i love owls! :)

anne mancine said...

Thank you, ladies. The blanket is coming along really well, and I will definitely post a photo on facebook when it is finished.

jamanci said...

how 'bout an update? :)