Initial Delivery

I delivered the first two of eight chair cushions to my piano teacher today and she was ecstatic.  

She said, “You missed your calling!”  I replied that I could never have made any money sewing because I couldn’t bring myself to charge a proper rate for my time.

In her case, the project required $105 in materials.  But by the time I am finished, I’m sure I will have put in around 10 hours of labor.  At the rate she charges for piano lessons, that would come to $650.  But I never let on just how much time was involved.

She said she would either give me a couple of free lessons or buy something nice for me.  I’m thinking about going for the latter just because of the element of surprise.

This is nothing new.  When I was a teenager, I made Barbie doll outfits for $1 each.  Granted it didn’t take much fabric to wrap around that curvy little plastic body, but it took hours to make a bridal dress, something everyone wanted.  I was obviously not in business to make a lot of money.

And so today I occasionally sew for friends to save them from paying a professional the going rate.  There is not much I can’t do with a sewing machine.  But I could never have made a living with one!