Thursday 15 May 2014

A commission

I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with commissions. I am always thrilled and flattered to be asked to make something specific but then spend the whole time I'm making it convincing myself it is going to be awful.
 
 
I have imagined conversations where the recipient points out everything that is wrong with the offending item... which of course never happens (I don't think anyone would be quite that rude)... but it is stressful all the same. But then once in a while I get a commission that is fun from start to finish. Our friend Janet wanted me to make an apron for her husband's birthday. The brief was that it was to have a list of words that when placed in a certain order would spell out his name vertically.

 
We talked through the options together and decided that highlighting the name as Scrabble letters would make them stand out. Before anyone points it out (it was the first thing one of my sons said) the letters do not form a crossword. That would have been too clever, as we had enough of a challenge to find suitable words that made a pleasing arrangement and balance of letters.

 
I loved fiddling around with the spacing and the colours and although it took forever, sewing in all those ends and making it neat on the reverse, it was a real pleasure.

 
I got my in house model to try it on for size before handing it over... his name is not Pete!

 
And then yesterday Janet sent us a photo of Pete trying on his new apron on his birthday.

 
I think part of the pleasure was making something for a special friend... and knowing it would be appreciated. It looks good on you Pete!

19 comments:

  1. There are a couple of very good looking models in the blog, Pete
    (proud owner of an apron that's so nice I want to frame it!)

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  2. You did an excellent job, there. As did Not Pete and Real Pete.

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  3. What a great idea! I'd make one for Nick, but he doesn't cook! I'm struggling with a commission at the mo, and wondering why I said yes. It's a tablet cover for a device that I don't own, so impossible to check the size. I was told that it had to fit snugly, but now I've gone and made it too snug. Even with the seams let out it still doesn't fit, so it's back to the beginning, and I'm left with an unusable cover! Grr.

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  4. How fun -- that's a great apron!!!

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  5. You did a great job.
    I can totally relate to what you said about making something for someone you are sure is going to enjoy it being so rewarding.
    By the way, I was about to say something about crossword when I read what you wrote about your son ;-)

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  6. What a nice commission to have - they terrified me and I did my best to avoid them. The apron is wonderful and very smart - I'm sure Pete will enjoy using it. Might you need to make another for your model?He did look very good in it.

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  7. That looks like a fun project and a great result! x

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  8. Brilliant, a really clever idea!
    Such handsome models too! :)
    V xxx

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  9. Fantastic project - looks good on both models! I love yoursmiley face from the previous post too - saw it just as I was off for cataract surgery so had to wait till I could see again to comment! Now everything is VERY bright. Cheers

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  10. I'm with you, Gina, I used to find commissions very stressful, doing something for friends and family is a whole different thing, much more fun.
    I absolutely love this result, you're very clever and I bet Peter was thrilled, such a personal gift.

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  11. Fabulous design!

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  12. It looks great Gina and I bet it took a lot longer to make than many might realise. A great idea as long as the commission comes from someone with a short name!

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  13. Wow - that really is a designer apron! You did a great job and it's such a fun idea. I know what you mean about commissions in general - with you all the way there ... I get asked to make the strangest things! xCathy

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  14. What a great idea and it worked out so well.

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  15. I'm with you on not liking commissions but you did a great job!

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