The Value of a Hand Knit Baby Blanket

Last year, at Husband's request, I knit a baby blanket for a client of his. She was expecting her first grandson or something like that. Anyway, he was trying to curry favor so she'd keep sending business his way.

Apparently her daughter loved is so much, she's asked if I would make another one. She said she would pay for supplies and my time and of course if I couldn't she'd understand too.

This is my reply to my husband:
These are the specs on the blanket I made for Client's grandson last year. I record all the details of my knitting projects at Ravelry.com, which is how I am able to calculate the following.

Yarn:
(8 skeins Bernat Cotton Tots yarn x $4) + (1 ball Knitpicks Cotton Solid x $3.50) + (3 skeins Omega Sinfonia cotton yarn x $5.50) + (1 skein Tahki Stacy Charles Cotton Classic x $6) = $54.
Shipping and handling for mail ordered yarn and mileage for store-bought yarn not included.
All machine washable and machine dryable yarn for easy care by busy parents.

Other supplies:
Knitting needle: Clover Bamboo Circular needles, US size 11, 36" = $12
Crochet hook: Boye Aluminum crochet hook size N = $2.25

Time:
Design time: Time spent looking over patterns, selecting yarn, deciding on what to make: 2 hrs

Preparation time: actually going to the stores to buy the yarns or order on-line. The yarns came from Michael's Arts and Crafts, Hobby Lobby and Needlenook in Atlanta and Knitpicks: 4 hrs.

Began actual knitting: January 27 2009
Completed February 26 2009
Estimate that I knit on it 1.5 hours a day (I knit at least an hour each night and I'd say 4 hours each weekend day, so we'll average it to 1.5 hours a day.)
Time: 6 hrs + (31 days x 1.5hrs) = 52.5 hours

Labor and value-added: 52.5 hours x $10 = $525
mileage not included

Total value of the blanket: $593.25

Look this over. If you think Client would be willing to pay me $593.25 for a baby blanket, I would be more than happy to take her commission. It would most like take more time to make this blanket because I imagine there would be a lot more back and forth as I look over possible patterns and yarns, send her the pictures for her approval or not, and so on until she and I agree on a pattern and colors.

If not, she can browse through Etsy.com for handmade items. This is the link for handknit baby blankets specifically: http://www.etsy.com/category/knitting/blanket/baby. Not all of the sellers will note what the material is made of, so it may be easy care cotton, cheapo acrylic (read: plastic), or hand wash wool.

Another option for handmade goods: Beehive Cooperative http://www.beehiveco-op.com/groupings/atlanta.asp

I am going to guess you will tell her that I am busy working on other projects right now and won't be able to do it. But please do tell her I'm glad her daughter enjoys the blanket I did make for her first child.

We'll see what he does.

ETA: Husband will tell Client I'm too busy now.

Tracking and calculating

I have been trying for the last week to track in my date book how much time I spend knitting on which project.

I want to be able to really know how much time I did spend on a project. I always have several projects going so noting on Ravelry that I started a project on X date and finished on Y date isn't entirely helpful.

One project is my dad's sweater vest, pictured in progress here:

I've made sweater vests for my brothers and over Chinese New Year this year, my dad asked for one too. His birthday is in November so I've started his vest. I'm using On Line Linie 119 that originally I ordered to make a sweater for me, but the color's not quite what I'd like but I think my dad would like.

It's actually a lighter, dustier blue, not the purplish seen here. The swatch is where I tried out different color combinations for the linen stitch stripe to go across the chest.

I love knitting this sweater in the round. It's mindless knitting at it's best. So good, that I got at least 3 hours of knitting during the 6 hour ACLU conference I went to last Saturday. It was a good conference too.

Then, last week, I was at a retreat which required a lot of listening, thinking, talking, and sitting. So I brought out this vest.

At 8:30am, I placed a marker then I knit for half an hour. There were some breaks of about a minute or so when I wrote a note or two. At 9am, I placed another marker. It turns out in 30 minutes, I knit 175 stitches, almost an entire round of 194 stitches.

When I get to the linen stitch section with color changes, I will have to time myself again. And again when doing the ribbing.

By the end of the project, knowing these time swatches, I will be able to calculate how much time it took me to knit the whole thing, including the swatches.

Once I know how many hours it took to do the knitting and finishing, I'll multiply that number of hours by $15 an hour, add in the cost of the supplies and I'll know the value of the vest.

I chose the value of $15 an hour because that's the minimum the organization I work for pays staff. At work, we have no administrative assistants. We do all our own typing, faxing, filing, etc. in addition to coordinating programs. Or in my case fundraising, advocacy, and managing staff.

Every knitter, potter, craftsperson, artisan, artist knows that the value of their time and talent needs to be included in the value of the finished product so that's what I'm trying to figure out.

New resolution on gift giving

Yesterday at work, people pointed out the article about the Yarn Harlot coming to Atlanta and joked, oh I'm sure you went, since you're so into knitting.

I knit at lunch and people tease me about it. For Chinese New Year, I gave everyone (all 5 of them) hand knit scarves or berets. They were all quite happy to receive them, as far as I can tell.

I mentioned that I was getting rather tired of people disrespecting knitting because it was something that old women do, and anything old women do are never worthy of respect in American society. The unspoken message being that that kind of attitude is not appropriate for our place of work, a place where our mission is about women's empowerment!

Some people mentioned how their grandmothers knit all the time, and made them sweaters and things and clothes for their Barbie dolls. So I said "jokingly" "See, so you know it's an act of love! But you make fun of the knitter and the act of knitting, and yet you're quite happy to accept the gift I see!" One person had the decency to blush.

So, between that and other disparating comments I've gotten about my knitting (including from my own husband and other relatives), I've decided that I will only knit for people who express appreciation for the time and effort I put into it.

And this goes not only for knitted or crocheted gifts, but also my handmade pottery, painting, baking, and gardening.

For me, the issue goes beyond knitting. For me, all my creativity is related and people who make fun of or dismiss my knitting are not just insulting that hobby, but by extension all my acts of creativity, and the time and effort that goes into it.

That's not to say those people don't get gifts. They just don't get anything I've put my time, effort, and creativity into, things that are precious, have value, and in short supply.

On the one hand, yes, I am crabby and cranky today. On the other hand, I agree with the discussion Brenda Dayne and Annie Modesitt's had on the Cast-on podcast about pricing their work, whether it is Brenda's podcast or Annie's knitting and designs.

The issue is about having our labor and not just the fruits of that labor being valued. And that's part of my feminism too. The issue that women's work not being valued, including my own.

The exception to all this is baby blankets. Babies don't have any opinion on the matter and parents are usually too overwhelmed by the situations and moms by nesting hormones that they don't complain.