Extra credit to those who can tell me from where I stole the title of this post. Hint: One of my favorite poems.
I had a bunch of small odd jobs to do this past week - fixing a snap on someone's favorite winter coat, sewing heavy metal patches on my husband's favorite jean jacket, mending holes in jeans, bartering with my electrician (I repaired his comforter, he fixed my counter lights). I also made yet another corsetted pencil skirt (second one for this client).
I also won a copy of Lolita's Sugar Plum pattern in Lladybird's giveaway.
I've had my eye on this pattern since I saw Rhonda's version of it and I can't wait to sew this up for myself after the holidays! I'd love to use this Italian Silk Op Art print from Mood (are you listening Santa??? I only need 1.5 yards!!):
I made some progress on my Jean-ius jeans:
And I made up a flyer for the Free sewing class I'm teaching next week in order to add to Rhonda's pillowcase drive:
Let's see what this week brings!
I had a bunch of small odd jobs to do this past week - fixing a snap on someone's favorite winter coat, sewing heavy metal patches on my husband's favorite jean jacket, mending holes in jeans, bartering with my electrician (I repaired his comforter, he fixed my counter lights). I also made yet another corsetted pencil skirt (second one for this client).
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| Look at that tear! He won't let me fix it because he says it's easier to hang. |
The comforter's electrician made me laugh. He's an older, gruff guy with a little white fluffy Lhasa Apso that he clearly adores. The dog rides shotgun when the weather is warm enough, sleeps at the foot of his bed, and travels to Mexico with him for the winter. The damage to the comforter was due to the sleeping situation (I guess these dogs like to chew!) and one end was threadbare with big holes. The electrician had taken the comforter to a couple of places and no one would fix it for him. He didn't want to replace it because he can't find one exactly like it (he's almost as attached to the comforter as he is to the dog that mangled it). So he had me chop off four inches and sew it back together. He was so happy when I gave it back to him - it made my week! And I love to barter since the "payment" can't be taxed! (So far I've managed to barter for piano lessons, family portraits, logo work, business card design, and now, electrical work.)
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| Chopping block |
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| Restitching ends of panels so they didn't pull apart |
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| Slip-stitching the layers back together |
I also won a copy of Lolita's Sugar Plum pattern in Lladybird's giveaway.
I've had my eye on this pattern since I saw Rhonda's version of it and I can't wait to sew this up for myself after the holidays! I'd love to use this Italian Silk Op Art print from Mood (are you listening Santa??? I only need 1.5 yards!!):
I made some progress on my Jean-ius jeans:
And I made up a flyer for the Free sewing class I'm teaching next week in order to add to Rhonda's pillowcase drive:
Let's see what this week brings!
Busy girl! So far, one of my favorite bartering experiences was when I knit a baby item in exchange for a massage session.......sigh....
ReplyDeleteOh, nice! I'll have to find a massage therapist who needs alterations or something new to where (I wonder how many sessions I could get for a skirt or dress??!)
DeleteI love the comforter story!
ReplyDeleteI enjoy reading your blog and seeing your business blossom. I wanted to point out that your statement about bartering is not correct, in effort to keep you from having to spend time untangling a tax mess rather than building your business. You should discuss the matter with your accountant, but start by reading the Bartering section and examples in IRS Publication 17. I will attach an excerpt for you - best of luck in your business!
ReplyDeleteBartering
Bartering is an exchange of property or services. You must include in your income, at the time received, the fair market value of property or services you receive in bartering. If you exchange services with another person and you both have agreed ahead of time on the value of the services, that value will be accepted as fair market value unless the value can be shown to be otherwise.
Generally, you report this income on Schedule C (Form 1040), Profit or Loss From Business, or Schedule C-EZ (Form 1040), Net Profit From Business. However, if the barter involves an exchange of something other than services, such as in Example 3 below, you may have to use another form or schedule instead.
I should have known it was too good to be true! Thanks for the info, Anon!
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