Best Project Yet

[Virgs Sew n Sew]

Have been coming and going like a madman.  Plus, MIL went in the Hospital.  Children and in-laws are all in agreement that she felt like she wasn't getting enough attention.  Glad she had nothing serious going on but could have lived without the drama.

Anyway, I had an embroidery project come my way.  Will try to get a decent picture of it and post it this weekend before the owner claims it.  It is a pair of red long johns.  The guy's wife gave me a sticker that I scanned in my computer, converted to Bernina format and then embroidered it on the left rear cheek.  The sticker is a guy with a pair of lips on his backside and one finger pointing to the lips.  I about lost it when Norma pulled the sticker out to show me.  Then she called the next day and Tony wanted me to embroider a candy cane on the left breast area.  Played with the KMA for a little bit, adding a few stitches where it was a bit bare and changing thread sequence, etc.  Got up early this morning and embroidered the KMA before we had our Friday breakfast at the restaurant followed by the grocery store date.  When we got home, I fired up the candy cane design and got it in place.  Still need to clip threads but both designs turned out great.

They're leaving for Colorado on Tuesday to spend Thanksgiving with their only daughter so it was one of my many rush jobs I've had this week.  Next week, knock on wood, should be quieter as I pretty much have my non upholstery jobs done except for some zippers.  Hoping to get a lot of upholstery done.  Also am trying to implement a new rule which is limiting alterations, etc to no more than 90 minutes a day unless it is a large bridal job or something out of the ordinary.  Just too easy to get bogged down with little piddly jobs and then I'm burning the midnight oil to stay caught up on upholstery. 

Other option is to hire a high school girl to help with alterations but haven't found anyone yet. 

Gotta keep my nose to the grindstone today and tomorrow to make up for yesterday.

Virginia

[scott_san_diego]

Sounds like a fun project.  Can you tell me what type of machine you used to do the embroidery?  I am looking for a machine that will do embroidery on a nylon material or on a Sunbrella furniture fabric.  Any suggestions?
Thanks Scott

[Darren Henry]

Other option is to hire a high school girl to help with alterations---

Another option would be to target the other end of the "work force". Seniors are mostly already trained, have their own tools etc.. if they prefer to work from home, and aren't always ready to just move to Florida and die because they are 65. I'd print up a few 8X10 notices and post at the local "seniors centre" etc... If your old age security ( I think you call it ? ) pays like our old age pension---many of them could use a few extra quid to get by and would like something to do.

Don't overlook the guy who lost his wood shop when they downsized and would like to refinish shoe wood or repair frames---he's a resource, or the person who wants help with your "office chores". It's all time that leaves you free to make headway on the bread and butter. 

[Mike]

I no about rush jobs Virginia.  with a tons of things to do making 2 pontoon bench seats a sailcover just finished a enclosure and a second to do my landlord a dealer just finished the ft Lauderdale and ft myers boat shows and I just got a rush order for 2 boat to be done before thuesday only one is gona make it so today after working all morning I left to tampa to pick up materials so I can work all weekend to finnish the one job for Monday

[Mojo]

Virginia:

I envy you. I get so frigging bored doing canvas. The only thing that ever changes is the dimensions and colors. You get to do upholstery, dress making, embroidery, alterations, marine. You get a large variety of work which eliminates some of the boredom.

Good for you girl. Go get em.

Chris

[gene]

I too have a lot of variety in my work.

Yesterday I sewed a boxed cushion cover for a club chair I'm reupholstering.

I made a mental note of how fast I was able to sew the boxed cushion cover.

I made a mental note of how perfect I matched a very difficult pattern.

I made a mental note of how awesome the cushion insert fit inside the new cushion cover.

I made a mental note of how 'just snug enough' the finished seat cushion fit the chair.

I then made a loud verbal note of how I forgot to sew on the welt cord!

Yep. I made the welt cord. It was sitting beside my sewing machine. I just forgot to sew it onto the cushion cover.

Yep. I'd go nuts if I didn't have this kind of variety in my work.  :)

gene

[gene]

Just too easy to get bogged down with little piddly jobs

Virginia, I love the challenge of some of these little piddly jobs. Sometimes they let me bring out the full force of my creativity.

I have learned to realize that even though they can be fun, they do not pay the bills.

gene

[Virgs Sew n Sew]

Another option would be to target the other end of the "work force".

I hadn't thought of that and it's an excellent idea.  I'm going to start working on flyers to put up in the Senior Center here.

I like the "piddly" jobs as they do give you a chance to flex your creative muscles but with alterations, etc it takes so many more to hit my target.  You can only charge the going rate, for the most part, on hemming, zippers and so forth.  On true alterations, I charge a higher rate (hourly) and if the customer thinks I'm too high I encourage them to call someone else.

You're right Chris, I love the variety.  Every day is different and that keeps it fun as well as challenging.

I have another sort of off-beat project that I'm working on as time permits.  I made a cushion for a wrought iron bench this summer for a couple.  They live maybe 4 blocks from here and the husband always stops by if I'm out in the garage to see what the bug looks like.  Last time he caught me out in the garage, he asked me if I could make a bib in time for a Christmas present.  It's for his wife.  She's probably in her mid-late 60's, had multiple children back in the day and has the bosom to prove it ; ) .  Anyway, he said that she always drops food on her blouse (in our house, we call that Fahnestocking and it's a rite of passage).  She loves cats and fortunately I had some leftover cat fabric that I used for the backing on a quilt I made for my SIL years ago.  Just barely enough to sew how I wanted it.  This one has been tons of fun because I've done it "free hand" with no pattern.  I have "made by Sew & Sew" tags and have already sewn one on the backside of the bib.  I'll finish it this week.  We ran into the husband at the restaurant yesterday which worked out well as I updated him on my progress without making a suspicious call to the house. 

Back to the salt mines.

Virginia

[sofadoc]

For me, there's plenty of variety in furniture alone.

Having a retail store front, I'd get buried alive in piddly jobs if I accepted them. They may be fun and challenging, but as Gene says, they don't pay the bills. And customers with piddly stuff tend to be the biggest nags. They won't leave you alone until you drop everything and kill half a day on their project.

Not to say that I don't do any piddly repairs. If it's something that I can do quickly while they wait, I'll fix it for free. Most people insist that I accept $5 or $10 for my trouble.

[Virgs Sew n Sew]

I had a customer come over on Thursday, which was a real bad day.  That was the day MIL was admitted to the Hospital so I had about 2 hours of productive time and the rest was on the phone or at the Hospital.  We had just walked in the door and this guy called.  I altered his wife's dress when she was a bridesmaid for her sister's wedding.  Since then, I've done a few small alteration jobs for him.  Thursday, he had a patch that had come loose from his leather jacket.  I had embroidery going on my Bernina but I changed thread on my upholstery machine and fixed the patch.  Then he dug around in his pocket and pulled out another patch that he wanted put on the jacket.  It was a small patch so it took all of 45 seconds to get it sewn on.  He asked how much and I told him nothing.  He pulled a $10 out of his wallet which I really appreciated seeing as how I had so much down time on Thursday.  But I really like him and his wife. 

This guy though is absolutely insane.  His jacket I fixed the patch on was brand new.  He hates brand new jackets so he put it on a chain connected to the back of his bike and drug it around a parking lot to scuff it up a little.  I asked him if Paula (wife) knew about it and he smiled and said not yet.  I would kill Bob if he did something like that.  He also has a hole in his throat that he talks through and, you guessed it, he still smokes.  If I was a denture wearer, I would have lost them the first time I saw him grab a smoke.  But it's his life.  I smoked for 15 years and quit when I had a sinus infection I couldn't get rid of and doc finally told me that the smoking was making the infection harder to clear up.  Hardest thing I ever did but by far the smartest thing I ever did.

Virginia

[bobbin]

I just finished a set of portieres to cover a lovely formal entry to a c. 1820 farmhouse in my town.  The home is handsome and historic... and predictably drafty and difficult to heat efficiently.  I restyled a pair of drapery panels to act as "blocks" for the drafts that routinely blow through the (handsome and authentic) French door entry. 

I loathe that sort of work... reconstituting old and tired panels is singularly unfulfilling.  No matter how efficiently I perform the work, the result is still the same... old, tired, sun damaged fabric.  I did the job because I like the woman very much but I "took a bath" on the time (prepared an estimate for "new work") and now am faced with trying to explain why this sort of project is "not worth it" when you finally "settle up".  My goal is to have happy customers when I finish a job... reusing aged fabric and farting around with a husband's attempt at drapery hardware installation is not the shortest route to success in my experience... .  However, I also delivered a lovely pair of Roman shades last week (I even installed the job!) and I know that the recipient has confidence in my skills. 

[Mike]

Made me smile at the welt Gene :)
Been there. 
Indont gave alot of variety. Canvas cover enclosure or. Inyl seat recovers.

But this summer i did get a nice job redoi g the padded headliner in a 48' powercat. I alway hesitant as i dont doo odd things ofter bit it turned out great so i plan to redo all my new boats cabin. And ive got a pontoon at the shop not im making 2 long lou ge bench seats with curved armrest. It had been fun once i got into it but  had to set it aside for more. Routine jobs.

[byhammerandhand]

What you need to do is put a clear jar up on the counter with a few $20 and $50 bills in it (seed money) and put a label on it, "Piddly jobs" (although something nicer, like "Small Job Tips").   That would quadruple your piddly job income ?    To be safe, put a lid on it and glue it to the countertop so it doesn't walk away.

For me, there's plenty of variety in furniture alone.

Having a retail store front, I'd get buried alive in piddly jobs if I accepted them. They may be fun and challenging, but as Gene says, they don't pay the bills. And customers with piddly stuff tend to be the biggest nags. They won't leave you alone until you drop everything and kill half a day on their project.

Not to say that I don't do any piddly repairs. If it's something that I can do quickly while they wait, I'll fix it for free. Most people insist that I accept $5 or $10 for my trouble.

[Darren Henry]

If it's something that I can do quickly while they wait, I'll fix it for free. Most people insist that I accept $5 or $10 for my trouble.

Back when I also offered shoe repair I was bombarded with little jobs like that and could have filled several days doing nothing than that. My people were not so quick to "tip" so I  had to  impose a $5 minimum.

[sofadoc]

What you need to do is put a clear jar up on the counter with a few $20 and $50 bills in it (seed money)

That's actually not a bad idea.
Just one problem though...........can I borrow some "seed money"?