Around this time every year, I find myself performing the complicated calculus of determining who will receive handmade gifts.
It involves lots of questions: Who most appreciates the time and effort (and sometimes, money) that go into handmade gifts? Who wears or uses (and enjoys) gifts I’ve made in the past? What patterns am I dying to make, and who would they be best suited to? And of course, the one that rises above all the rest: How much time do I have?
If I’m being honest, the people I most enjoying making gifts for are the people who probably could make the gifts themselves. I’m sure that would sound antithetical to non-crafters, but I think most crafters understand; other people who make things know just how much effort goes into making things. And while they could make it themselves, they probably won’t, so they appreciate the gift even more.
When it comes to knitting and crochet, the person I most love to make gifts for is my mom. She’s the one who introduced me to the crafty life, and she has made things all my life. I enjoy making things for her because I know she understands what went into the process. She knows how much time was spent making tiny stitches or seaming a garment or finding the right buttons. And she knows that when you make a gift for someone, you are almost always thinking of them with every stitch. Plus, lucky for me, even though my mom is a very crafty person, knitting is not her first love, so I feel like a handknit gift is even more special.
Interestingly, I also love making gifts for my 6-year-old son. I’m sure anyone who knows a 6-year-old boy would find this surprising, since boys of that age aren’t known for their eye for beauty or appreciation of fine details. But of all the people I knit for, my son is most interested in the process and most appreciative of the final result. More than one teacher or staff member at his school has told me that he loves to point out hats and mittens that I’ve made for him. When he was only four and a half, he sent me to Knit and Stitch with a detailed drawing of a hat he wanted me to knit for him. (He got what he wanted — mostly. A striped earflap hat with braids and tassels. But without the metallic gold stripe that he wanted in the middle. He didn’t seem to notice.)
What about you? Who do you love to make handmade gifts for, at the holidays or anytime?
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AND …
Don’t forget our quick-gifts workshop this Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m. Stop by anytime to knit some small projects that would make great last-minute gifts for lots of people in your life.
