Hello, my name is Suzanne, and I am a knitaholic. There is nothing I love better than knitting, except possibly receiving knitting-related gifts. And because I feel this way, I also believe that there is nothing better to give a loved one than a knitting-related gift. If I had any loved ones who knit, I would know exactly how to make them happy for the holidays with gifts of yarn and needles and tools. But since none of my loved ones knit, I try instead to make them happy by giving them knitted gifts. This does not always work.Hard as it is to believe, not everyone appreciates knitted gifts. Even those who have witnessed first-hand the amount of time and effort that goes into producing them may not be all that eager to find one wrapped up under the tree. No matter how lovely the yarn, how intricate the pattern, how well-executed the design, they simply are not interested in receiving, owning, or wearing wonderful, wooly things that would melt the heart of any knitter. I won't go into the many sad tales I could tell of knitted gifts that earned a resounding, "Oh...thanks," and wound up buried at the bottom of a drawer or lining a pet bed. You can probably imagine, and anyway, I don't want to make anyone cry.
So this year, in the midst of all the buzz in the blogosphere about holiday knitting and deadlines and stress, I have made a resolution. I will knit no gifts for the holidays. That's right. None. Instead, I will knit things for myself alone. I will buy the loveliest yarns and find the most beautiful patterns, and I will wrap the finished gifts in perfect, shiny wrapping paper and put them under the tree. When I unwrap them, I will ooh and ahh over the softness of the yarn and the detail of the stitches. I will exclaim over how long it must have taken and how much thought and love must have gone into each stitch. I will put them on and marvel at the fit and the comfort. And I will be happy to receive such wonderful, personal gifts. Everyone else is getting Starbucks cards.
Now...who's with me?
6 comments:
Great idea! I will be joining you, except for the lap blanket I'm crocheting for my dad. He's having a kidney removed soon, and I want to do something special for him. Everyone else can get scratch-off lottery tickets or something.
We can allow a special exception for comfort knitting. And babies.
I'm with you! All the gifts I am making are mosaic this year instead of knitting. Lots quicker and more sparkly (than my usual knitting efforts, anyway). My mother is the only person who seems to appreciate the effort which goes into the knitted gifts, and I figured that she has enough now to keep her going another year. ;-)
Ah crap! I love giving knit gifts because of the "oh...uh, thanks, this is uh, love,uh, ly. What is it?" factor!
So I'm sort of Outlawing in the opposite direction...Handknit Crap for the Holidays...on Purpose!
No gauge, no pattern, whatever random cat hair covered yarn I find under the couch. Make hat, give to Aunt, photograph forced smile=set up for pure Outlaw enjoyment!
Holly Bee, I bow down to your superior plan! I can just picture the expressions!
Your blog keeps getting better and better! Your older articles are not as good as newer ones you have a lot more creativity and originality now. Keep it up!
And according to this article, I totally agree with your opinion, but only this time! :)
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