I found this article via a Twitter link.

Hey, you — talented, creative person: please, stop working for free.

….Don’t do it for “exposure.” Don’t do it for “the practice.” Don’t do it to be nice.

…

You’ve got skills, yo. There ain’t nothin’ wrong with receiving payment for in return for your services 

I cut a lot out, go to the link for the full article.

I’ve been mulling. I’m not totally sure I agree. I mean, I don’t disagree with the basic premise - it’s OK to charge money for your skills. But the more I think about it… hm.

For one, giving of myself, my time, and my skills/talents is a part of who I am. I don’t always have to have a profit motive. I do things for free just to be nice. I do things for free to get exposure (though not often). I give things away free because it’s for a good cause. I do things for free because it’s fun to surprise people.

I had a customer recently email me to say she realized that she wanted her stuff a DIFFERENT way than the way she ordered it, and could I change them for her. I could change them the uber professional way and charge her for my time, or I could change them in a serviceable but not overly pretty way and do it for free because I recognized that she’d spent a considerable chunk on the items already. I gave her the option, because if she wanted them perfect, I certainly wanted to provide that for her, but she chose the free way, which is what I would have done, too.

Now, it still took time, yes, and some materials. I didn’t come out ahead. But in a way, I did. I did a favor for a local customer and she’s happy and I feel good about it. I would have felt crappy charging her for that.

As a Christian business owner, also, I feel I am called to do things for free. Not all the time. But yes, sometimes. Particularly if I’m doing something that is not my main business. (For example, helping with a website, though I totally could charge people for web design, it’s not my main business, I don’t do it as a business venture, and so I lend my admittedly modest skills to groups who can’t afford professional web design.) It is a way of giving back, it is a way of taking care of my community. I am commanded to give generously and as I am able. I am not able to give much actual money generously, but I can certainly give of my time and talents.

Also, I don’t think that everyone who can do something should go around trying to charge people for it. I find pseudo-businesses to be really annoying. I’m talking people who realize they can do something well, and so they just start willy-nilly charging others for it. They aren’t running a business, they’re running a hobby. But because they don’t see it as a business, they don’t bother with looking at the laws that might govern their product. They don’t bother with insurance (liability), leaving their customers potentially out to dry. They don’t bother with testing, again, leaving their customers with risks they don’t even know about.

It’s irresponsible.

It irritates me.

That’s all there is to it, I guess. It just bothers me. And it’s potentially illegal.

There’s a few more, too. These are all Mediums. All going up on Etsy soonish.

Alright, I’m pretty disappointed with the DNA. It’s HUGE. It’s just…. too big. I should have made it from wool and felted it. In fact, that’s what I’m doing right now. I’m making a second one from wool and I’m going to felt it. I’ll like it much better. I hate acrylic yarn anyway.  Anyone want a giant acrylic DNA?

Earthy Swirl: Raspberry, Avocado, Chocolate, and Navy

Charcoal Target

Citrus Stripes: Yellow, Orange, Red

Bright Swirl: Red, Yellow, Green, Blue, Purple

Diagonal: Blue, Red, Orange, Yellow

I Got the Blues: 3 shades of blue

Blue Targets

SECOND QUALITY: This will be thrown in as a gift with a purchase. It’s just not a very good quality diaper to start with.

Raspberry, Avocado, Camel

Blue Shibori

OK, how cute are these? These are all smalls, I have some Mediums I’ll finish up on Monday.

The last one pictured is up at Etsy now. The others will make it over there next week.

Alright, I’ve got my eye on some fancier, very pretty fabrics. Different than what I typically tend to get.

I want to make some new Boulevard Designs items. I have SO so so many ideas. I cannot narrow it down.

Why am I telling you all this?

Send me your suggestions. What would YOU like to see Boulevard Designs making?

If I use your suggestion, I’ll send you a thank you gift!

And, while we’re here, why don’t you become a fan on Facebook?

Boulevard Designs on Facebook

Genna’s getting TALL! But I’m not ready to give up some of my favorite knit soakers yet. They still fit her fine around, they’re just too short!! So I’ve taken two of her soakers - one a pair of longies and one shorties - and just made them longer.

They are not works of art, but they ARE functional. I’m sure I could have done something fancier, but I wasn’t really going for fancy. Just functional.

Do you have knit soakers you’re not ready to give up yet? Making them longer is sooooo easy. Just grab yourself some circular needles and pick up the stitches all around the cast-on top. Because you’re going to be knitting UP instead of DOWN, the stitches will be one-half stitch off, but that’s OK! Just follow whatever ribbing pattern the waistband already had, and don’t worry about that half stitch difference.

Personally, I like to add an eyelet row to every pair of knit soakers. If you’re the same, go ahead and add one. (for 2×2 ribbing, you’d add an eyelet row like this: k2, yo, p2tog)

And voila! You’ve just given yourself another several months in those soakers!!

Been trying to use up a bit of leftover sock yarn - actually, it’s the Monkeypal I love so much. I hate to have these tiny little balls of leftover yarn sitting around, you know? So these tiny wool soakers are ADORABLE. What I’m going to do with them, I have no idea. They’re so easy to make, and fast (about an hour), I’ll probably make a few more. The pattern is here, and here’s the Ravelry project page.

And these little socks were fun to make. High-Energy Baby Socks, they’re called. Apparently named after the pattern developer’s friend’s baby, who was nicknamed High Energy Fetus. Anyway. Simple but with fun details around the top. I knitted these up mostly at the pool during our week at Okoboji, watching Wally and Daddy playing and holding a napping/nursing Genna. PS - tried nursing discreetly while wearing a bikini and knitting? Yeah, not so much. Ravelry project page.

These socks are a pattern I made up myself, based on the other two baby socks patterns I’ve used. It’s ribbed throughout, with a simple heel flap, knit top-down. I knit it on size 3’s, wanting a slightly bigger size than I was getting on size 2’s, and I’ll be honest - that was, I think, a mistake. These socks kind of slide right off of her. They fit will around the foot, but they just slide off for some reason. Grrr. But they are awfully cute, and if I put legwarmers on over them, they’ll stay up, right?

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Then I also whipped up this sock for our DSi. I thought it would use up the rest of this yarn I inherited from my mom, but, um, there was more there than I thought. This particular pattern, though, was awesome. It’s knit in a tube, flat. I’ve read how to do this several times in several different places, but this pattern was the first to use words in a way that made sense to me. As I read it, I finally understood how this works. Ravelry project page. Pattern. NOTE: if you decide to use this pattern, on the line where she explains how the ribbing words, she says:

Slip Stitch Pattern (ribbing): k1, bring yarn to front, slip st purl wise, purl 1, slip sts purl wise, bring yarn to back

She means “…purl 1, slip st purl wise…”  ONE stitch. Not stitchES. There were some questions about that in the comments on her blog (linked above), but I don’t think she understood what was being asked.

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And then I used the same pattern, a felted it a bit, to make this pouch for the IPod Touch. And then I used up a bit more scrap making this little pouch with the same pattern, adjusted to give me a flap to fold over and snap.

Goodness, we’re coming up on Christmas, aren’t we?

Well, OK, the answer is NO. But it’s getting to be time to start planning for what I’m going to make for Christmas presents. And this year, I have, well, pretty much no ideas.

I’m thinking maybe knitted, felted slippers. For the kids? For the grownups? Hm.

I think it would be awesome to figure out how to use my screenprint kit and use it for Christmas gifts, but unless I want everyone to have the same design, um, that’s a different screen for every person. Not really practical. So maybe some upscale, modern freezer paper stencil designs for adult Tshirts? I don’t really see the men in the family wearing those, though. I know Randy would, but my brothers in law and my father in law aren’t really the, um, Design-On-Tshirt type.

Hm. I’m never too impressed with my ideas for the guys, you know?

And now for one massive knitting update post. Most of these were knitted either at Okoboji in June or in Utah in July.

Ottobre Designs soaker, made with my own adaptations. Peace Fleece yarn. (Okoboji)

 Longies made from the 1932 soaker pattern. Moda Dea Cartwheel yarn. (Utah)

Itchy Fingers pattern. The math is a bit nonsensical at the beginning of the pattern, but I really, really like these shorts. Moda Dea Cartwheel yarn, paired with some solid pink from Knitpicks. (This was actually done at home.)

 Belladonna Designs nighttime shorts. I was very disappointed in this pattern, which I paid for. The pattern has no gauge. What the…? Yeah, so they came out too small. (done at home before Utah.)

So then I just redid the pattern a bit to suit me. Love it now. Peace Fleece yarn. (Home before Utah.)

 I’m not super thrilled with these shorts, though it’s the yarn and not the pattern, I’m sure. The fabric just isn’t thick enough. Spare Ribs Shoaker. Patons Classic Wool Merino. (Home before Utah.)

Aubrey Doodlepants pattern, a really basic longies pattern that’s a standby around here. Patons wool yarn again.  (Utah)