What's My Worth?

Several weeks ago, right before Yom Kippur, I ran into the husband of a woman I am on a board with at the synagogue.  When I introduced myself, he said, "Wait, are you the one who does embroidery?"  Yes, I am.  "So you are the one who submitted that matzah cover to the state fair and got a ribbon?"  Wow, word travels fast!

He said that he has a project that I might find interesting.  Every year at the Kol Nidre service that starts Yom Kippur, my Jewish community has a tradition in which all of the torahs in the community are carried into the service and up to the bimah [stage].  (At this point, I was assuming that he was going to ask me to carry a torah during the procession.  I would have to politely decline since I haven't lifted weights in a while.)  He went on to say that his family owns a torah that they have always included in the ceremony.

When not in use, a torah is protected with a cloth covering called a mantle.  They are often very ornate, made with fine fabrics and embroidered using goldwork techniques.  During the rest of the year, they can be any color or design, but in the 10 days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, synagogues traditionally switch to white mantles to represent our purity after atoning for sins.

Antique reproductions

The man said that he sewed a torah mantle for use during the 10 days with cloth from a wedding dress that had been in his family.  When he first made it, it had a Jewish star and torah stitched on with surface embroidery.  Since then, he has decided that he wants a more complex pattern--more colors, more Jewish symbols.  He has not been able to add more because he doesn't embroider, and he has had trouble finding someone who was both talented and familiar with Jewish symbols.  When he found out about my matzah cover, he decided to ask me.  He said that he could pay me, and we agreed to talk more after the High Holidays.

I was so elated that when I got home, I cranked up my music and danced around.  (Not to Jewish music.  I think it was "Down Under" by Men at Work.)  I felt honored to be asked to work on such an important object, and that someone would actually pay me to do it!  Then it started to sink in . . .

Pay?  PAY?  What on G-d's green earth am I going to charge?

It's a question that every crafter with a home-based business must grapple with at some point.  You have to consider the cost of materials and tools.  You have to decide on a dollar amount for the time you put into the project--your time and effort has value, and the price of the item needs to reflect that. At the same time, we are living in a world where we are so used to mass-produced items that the cost of a handmade item can produce sticker shock.

We were discussing this during brunch at Home Ec because the local library is holding its 2nd annual Arts & Crafts Bazaar.  They are accepting handmade items, which you provide with a suggested price.  The items are then sold at the Bazaar and the money goes to their summer reading program.  Several people said that they had contributed high quality handmade items--both in material and technique--only to discover that the items were sold at less than their suggested price.  This year, they are reconsidering how many items they donate, they are using cheaper or leftover materials, and they are choosing items that don't involve as much of a time commitment to make.  One Home Ec patron said that her friend used to donate knit items to her church's fundraisers, but eventually stopped because she was so hurt by the way that the organizers constantly underpriced her items.  We want to help worthy causes, but we also want our hard work to be adequately recognized.  Non-crafters do not know how many weeks it took you to knit that Fair-Isle hat, or the eye strain and finger pricks you endured while stitching a monogram onto a handkerchief with one strand of floss.

I think it makes sense to tailor your price, crafting technique, and expectations to where your items will end up.  The goal of a fundraiser is to make money for the organization, so items need to be priced to sell that day.  Save the higher quality materials and complex skills for times when customers will be expecting to pay higher prices, such as an Etsy store, a craft fair, or custom work.  Browse the internet to find out what the prices are for similar handmade items.

I also don't know whether I should factor my experience into the price.  I will be putting in my best work, but should I lower the price since I do not have years of experience behind me?

Whatever the answer, I will take care in finding it.  When I receive the torah mantle. I will take it to the owner of Home Ec to ask for advice on materials and tools.  I will keep scouring websites to get ideas on prices, and I will ask for honest opinions from my crafting friends.  Above all, I will see this as an opportunity to grow as a Jewish embroiderer--and that is priceless.

Stitching Shakespeare (Part 2)

I finally finished the stitching on my special Shakespeare project.

This was my first time working on a completely original design, and it was a really valuable experience.  Before working on each section, I would hold up the cloth and examine it, trying to consider what colors and stitches would look best in that section.  At the same time, I also learned that it is fine when a particular choice doesn't work out, because I can always take out the stitches and start over.  Like knitters, stitchers refer to undoing work as "frogging" because you have to "rip it, rip it, rip it."  (Someone on the Frosted Pumpkin forum referred to it as "the frog visited," which sounds like a euphemism for something else . . .)

Adding the embellishments to the peacock was especially fun.  This is a newer trend among embroiders.  You take a piece of fabric with a bolder design on it, then stitch on top of it in a way that either brings greater detail to the design or adds a picture on top of the fabric.  One fiber artist takes traditional French fabric with a pastoral design on it in blue and white, then adds subversive changes--like giving a dairy maid a mohawk and fishnet stockings.  In my case, I added the details to both punch up the colors and give the peacock a more textured effect.  The result has a lot more depth than the fabric design alone.  The embellishments also emphasize the theme of the quote.  As one of my Home Ec friends said, "The quote is about how it is hard to hide your nature, who you really are, and the peacock is flaunting what makes him special."

Outline:  blanket stitch
Head feathers:  french knots
Top wing:  backstitch outline, seed stitch filling
Wing feather:  fern stitch

Tail feathers:  blanket stitch outline, french knot center
Flower:  Algerian stitch

It was surprising to me how liberated I felt stitching my handwriting.  I have never had very attractive cursive or printing.  I used to write in cursive on tests because it was quicker, but I gradually switched to printing because I was worried that professors wouldn't be able to read my cursive.  I got used to the idea that my cursive handwriting was rushed and illegible.  When I wrote the quote for my project, I didn't deliberately change my handwriting, but it looked inherently different because I took my time and was not writing under the pressure of an exam.  I was able to take a part of me that I was always ashamed of and turned it into a beautiful work of art, with its own character and style.

I had to share this because I was so happy to get the stitching done, but the project isn't complete yet! Next time, I will describe my first venture into framing--a step that bring anxiety to many beginning stitchers.

Project Round-Up--10/16/2013

Sorry for the lack of updates.  I got a bad cold last month that I am still getting over, and I learned from a disaster with a lace knit scarf that crafting and illness don't mix.  Once I was feeling better and more energetic, I was able to complete some cross-stitching on my Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery Woodland Sampler.

This is my favorite block so far.  The hedgehogs are adorable, and it really helped me get into the autumn spirit when we were experiencing a 100F heatwave in September.

The pattern calls this adorable owl "Oliver," but my husband has named him "Hootie."  I really like the design of the oak leaves.

The ladies behind Frosted Pumpkin have started a Facebook group for fans.  There's a lack of forums on the internet to discuss hand embroidery and cross-stitch, especially with more modern designs, so I've enjoyed having a place where people can post pictures of their projects and get advice on materials and technique.  We have even gotten sneak peeks of upcoming patterns!

It looks like the next year of seasonal samplers will be holiday-specific.  Halloween is not really my thing (I don't care for holidays that require you to find a raucous party) and I am not interested in the Christmas patterns for obvious reasons.  That gives me time to finish up the previous seasonal samplers and look forward to the 2014 yearly sampler.

Other updates:

• I was avoiding the Satin Stitch sampler from Drop Cloth while I finished the Frosted Pumpkin squares.  I started that, but I am also working on the Cross Stitch sampler to satisfy my need to finish an embroidery sampler quickly.  (As I will discuss soon, satin stitch is slooooooow.)
• I have finished the stitching on a project I wrote about previously and will be posting pictures soon.  In order to really showcase its beauty I have been trying to get good pictures of it, but the autumn clouds and the poor lighting in my apartment are making that difficult.
• As part of a fundraiser I organized, I raffled off the chance for the winner to receive their favorite quote embroidered by me.  I'm really excited to work with the winner, who just sent me the quote she wants.