For the Love of the Sport

So I was sitting at the hockey tourney on Saturday, knitting my heart out, enduring both looks of curiosity and looks of disdain from the other puck bunnies there. One lady across the table looked over several times, and I smiled to encourage her to talk to me. A knitter's missionary work is never done, you know. :)

She finally took the bait, admiring the work on the needles, then saw my completed pair on the table. I invited her to pick them up and try them on... that angora lining sends most people into a swoon. She ooh-ed and ahh-ed over them a while, then went back to chatting with her girlfriend, sneaking peeks at the mittens every once in a while.

After about an hour, she picked them up again, tried them on again, and then said those magic words... "How much would you charge to make me a pair of these??"

I have thought about this long before the words came out of her mouth, and I know that I am not a knitter that could work on commission for someone. I like calling the shots as to what projects I'll work on next, and I think the pressure to turn out perfect products might detract from the fun and creativity I enjoy when knitting. I also know that no-one would ever pay what I would have to charge for materials and time.

All that being said, I loved the fact that she asked, and that she loved my handiwork that much that she'd commission a pair. I thanked her, and gently explained that I knit only for the love of the sport. She totally understood.

Never mind the hockey game; score two points for me! One for getting an offer of a commissioned project, and another for tempting a muggle into picking up needles and trying it for herself. I could tell as she sat down but continued to surreptitiously watch my fingers dance that she was interested. That's half-way down the rabbit-hole, my friends.

(BTW. My husband's team lost miserably. Considering the team name was "The Doubtfuls", this didn't surprise anyone.)