In Which the Pirate Has a Snow Day.

There was no work yesterday due to “the most snow that Washington has seen in years.” This seems to me like a bit of exaggeration as I only saw about four inches of fluffy dry snow up at my house. That’s is nothing compared to the 18 inches of heavy wet snow I got last March (when it only rained in DC). But hey, a snow day is a snow day, right?

So, with nothing else to do, I finished knitting the hand of one Fleep and got started on the next. I’m only a few rounds from the base of the thumb now, and am on schedule to have them completely finished, mitten-tops and all, by the end of the coming weekend. It seemed like a good idea to do both hands first, and then both mitten-tops, so I can be sure that they’re attached at the same place on each glove.

This morning it was so cold that my poor fingers got frostnip just clearing the snow off the car. I know it will be cold in Ottawa next week, and I’ve no desire to repeat this painful experience. The idea of lining the mitten-tops with polar fleece is getting more and more attractive, but whether it gets done will depend on how quickly I can finish the actual knitting and weave in all the ends.

I’ve been asked, semi-seriously, how much I’d charge to make a custom pair of Fleeps for someone. It’s a good question, and I spent some time thinking about it as I knit. I generally only knit for people as a labour of love, but if the price was right I’d consider taking a small commission like this one. My time is valuable and knitting to a deadline tends to make me grumpy, so the “right” price would be astoundingly high, probably $300 at a minimum.

Do you take commission work? How much do you charge? Is it something you enjoy doing?