Episode 24: Giving the Gift of Knit

Episode 24: Giving the Gift of Knit (37:22)

This week we contemplate the act of giving your knitting and talk to the ladies of Y2Knit about their ECOnnection club.

The Slippery Slope of Gift Knitting
The Holidays are right around the five month corner. Are you knitting gifts?

Sunrise Circle Jacket (soon to be Jenny's!)
Neck Down V-Neck Sweater
Ron's hat
Jenny's Dad's sweater
Jenny's Dad's hat
The shirt Nicole made
Fetching
Trendsetter Blossom

Tips for gift knitting:

• For big projects, work with the recipients
• Ask for requests
• Otherwise, stick with small projects

Connect with your yarn!
We talk to sisters Susan and Jill Wolcott about their new socially responsible yarn club, ECOnnection. We apologize if it is hard to hear Susan, we were working with new (to us) technology.

Y2Knit
ECOnnection
O-Wool
Yak
Frog Tree
Ashland Sky Bags

Thanks Susan and Jill Wolcott! Thanks for listening!

Comments

[Steph]

Oh Chirstmas. . .
Every year, like so many others, in about November I realize that I have nothing. All my plans for being on top of things THIS year have gone unfulfulled.
Some have mentioned buying more presents, but like you said - I have this stash. . .
Whenever I buy new yarn, it is alwasy with a recipient in mind (mostly my mom). This is how I justify. Eventually it will become a present.
But anywho, back on subject. My plan always starts out at the beginning of the year with one present a month. Little, big, it really doesn't matter to me because at the end of the year it's just one less thing, right?

This year has been the year for me though. Very early in the year I decided that my job sucked and I really needed to do something about it, so I made plans to go back to school in the fall. With this plan I decided that since when Christmas came this year, since I would have zero income, I really needed to get started.
Before you pass judgement on me, please remember this is the first year ever that this has happened and it will probably never happen again. I have 7 presents finished. 2 sweaters, 3 pairs of socks, a couple scarves, and a toque. I have 2 more sweaters on the go (one nearly done) and a couple pairs of fingerless mitts.
This year I will finish. With time to spare!

[Kate]

I'm 'planning' to hand-dye some yarn and then knit shawls for 3 of my girl-friends. We'll see, I'm also finding a bunch of things on Ravelry that I really like for one of the girls.

[Nicole]

I've never commented yet; I've been a lurker listener! But how I DO love your podcast - one of my FAVORITES and it always makes me smile. I have learned so much from your show and you include such terrific links; I am indebted to you both!

I am a relatively new knitter. I've been knitting for about 2 years, but got more serious about it this year. Being a planner, I have already started some gifts: 2 Harry Potter house scarves for twin nephews (I know I'm behind the curve on this one, but it's what they wanted!), a pretty basket-weave patterned scarf by Ann Budd off of the Knitting Daily site for my brother and a pair of socks for my mom (for her b'day, Dec. 9) so far. I've already done things for my children recently, so I'm not sure if they'll get something for X-mas in addition - esp. since we live in Florida! *sigh* I lived in MN for 15 years and then moved to Florida... and took up knitting! What's up with that?

Anyway, those are my plans so far. I'm hoping to give myself enough leeway time. I'm a homeschool mama and my plate, like everyone else's, get's pretty full around the holidays. I'm hoping to be done by then!

Thanks again for the great show. I look forward to it every week. :)

[Sally Villarreal]

I usually say "ok, I'm going to knit Christmas gifts all year long" and it doesn't happen. I've learned to scale down my projects.

My Flickr set shows last year's gifts.

http://flickr.com/photos/22231134@N00/sets/72157594490904973/

Sometimes it's knowing that your best knitting isn't necessarily the best gifts. I crocheted the smiley face potholder for my aunt in middle school. A couple of summers ago, she opened a kitchen drawer, and there it was, dirty with burn marks and melted spots of scrylic. She asked me to make another. I asked what type. She said she wanted one just like it, to smile at her when she opened the drawer.

I think I told you about the sweater disaster for my Mom 2 years ago (the one she won't wear because "it shows her neck.") If not, let me know if you want to here it.

And I haven't knit my Dad a sweater, because my Dad has never worn a sweater. Ever. He's gotten nice store bought ones that have never been worn. I think my Mom made him one too. It was never worn.

But scale is very important. Many people who get knitted gifts get them because I can afford to give it to them, and it seems like "more" than what I can actually afford. Closer family usually gets something else. Sometimes kids do too, because I feel like I'm giving them "clothes" (hand knit or not) and that just sucks when you're a kid.

I've had theme years. I thought about making this year the "year of the moebius" or "the year of socks," but instead I will stick with "the year of patterns I'd like to try and stuff I can afford and finish in time."

I think if I had more money, I'd scale down the knitting and buy gifts.

And we're talking Christmas, but I have something to say about baby blankets. I don't know how many people I know who've gotten themselves in an endless cycle of baby blankets because they made one for this baby, so they need to make one for that baby too. That's why when my friend suggested that we knit blankets for someone we knew who just had a baby, I said we should do hats or booties instead, to avoid the never ending cycle. She said "but it's just them, and then that other couple that's having a baby." That's how it starts. Hats. They put them on a soon as their out of the womb. (I think even a baby sweater would be quicker and more fun.)

(BTW - It seems like Peace Fleece would be itchy. Does it soften with washing?)

[rhymeswithmaria]

Great podcast!

re: earth friendly yarn. I recently came across a new yarn whose cause I'm ridiculously happy about: snow leopard preservation. Snow leopards are extremely endangered and there's an organization called the Snow Leopard Trust who sells hand-spun camel yarn made by women living in the same area as the snow leopards. The money goes to helping the leopards and helping the people of that region, so it's win-win! I ordered some of the yarn from http://www.yarnmarket.com but you can also order through their website at http://www.snowleopard.org

re: gift knitting. I have come to terms with the fact I'm delighted to knit gifts for people as long as I don't have to meet a specific deadline. I can't make knitting deadlines to save my life. So I'll tell someone I'm making them socks (for example) "for their birthday" and that's the point when I'll have them pick out the yarn. The delivery time is then up to me. Works out well in most cases except for with folks who are impatient and harangue me about when they're getting the item they were promised, but you can't please everyone.

[Renee]

I love you guys -- seriously, I needed to hear your voices tonight!

I have to knit for others besides me -- it feels too self-centered, and the gift-giving habit is good. HOWEVER, there ARE rules:
-- no big, big projects except for those who know how long it takes. This includes only my mother and my cousin at this point
-- small gifts for the muggles. They will enjoy the novelty yarn scarf more than something I really put effort into.
-- Learn a skill while gift knitting. That's how I learn to knit hats, socks and felt purses. Each year I did something different.

and thanks for the link to Y2Knit -- I signed up immediately!! I finally found the fiber club for me...

[Holly]

Ahhh... Gift knitting. It is time, isn't it? I've got way too much on my needles in the form of gifts for Christmas and birthdays. Here we go:
1. Simple Cable sweater for my husband - I am halfway through the front, which means I am about 15-20% done. This will be for Christmas, or his birthday (Jan 10), or Valentine's Day, or if things really get out of control, our anniversary (June 5 - and nothing says I love you like wool in June).
2. Slightly more intricate cabled sweater for my mom. I am at about the same spot on this one as my husbands. It's a good deal of ribbing before you get to the cool cables, so I'm bored. Luckily Mom has a birthday Feb. 23, so I'm covered if it doesn't make it by Christmas.
3. Mystery STole 3 - I am about 1 1/2 clues behind - not bad for me, miss slow knitter. I cast on with the idea that this would be a gift for a friend who turned 50 in early July (she was told that her gift would not be ready until August). Anyway, this gets me to your other issue - how do you choose/will they appreciate it. Now that MS3 has had its "twist" revealed, and there is this assymetry to it, I wonder if my friend will truly like it. She's one of those people who squeal with delight at everything, but I want her to really, really like it, so it's a struggle.
4. Socks for my husband - one down, one to go (I've cast on and completed about 1 inch of ribbing.
5. Shedir - not really a holiday gift, but something that I obviously want to finish so that the recipient can use it, especially when it gets cold here in the midwest.
6. Koigu Feather and Fan scarf for my mother-in-law. She has a birthday Sept. 24, but this might have to wait for Christmas.
7. Socks for dad. He likes short ankle-length socks. I have just cast on the first one. His birthday is Sept. 25, but I think he might only get one sock for that day!
8. Tulip sweater for my daughter. I haven't started because I need to reconfigure the pattern to be larger. Her birthday is Dec. 28, so if I'm not done by Christmas, it's unlikely I'll be done by then, either. Poor baby.

I realized a couple weeks ago that I really never knit for myself, and that kind of bummed me out. So if/when I get through all of this gift knitting, I have a few things waiting in the wings for me:
1. Hanami stole
2. Sunrise Circle sweater
3. Sweater from the cover of Lace Style
4. Socks

You know, that was kind of cathartic. I don't feel nearly as overwhelmed as I did while listening to your show. It's not that bad!

Thanks for the great podcast. Always a delight to see a new one go up!

[Holly]

p.s. Nicole - the solution to the cookie jar? Fill it with cookies and eat them every day, of course! :)

[Abigail]

I am giving up on Christmas knitting this year. Last year I made fancy-schmancy mosaic socks for my dad and didn't end up finishing them until May! That's just not right. My mom asked me to make her a Rogue sweater, though, so she might be getting a knitted Christmas gift (or maybe birthday) but she'll be the only one this year.

I also wanted to comment that now that you guys seem to be feeling comfortable with the size of your stashes, I am deciding that mine is too big. I was even part of the stash-busting masses when I started listening to your podcast (around episode 3). I'm declaring the rest of 2007 knit-from-stash time, and I might extend it into the first half of 2008.

Just thought I'd share. :)

[Erica]

Gift knitting? Oh, yeah! I have had the occasional gift I've knit then never seen the person wear, so I ended up either never knitting for her again or being much more mindful about what I knit for her.

So far, for gift knitting, here's what's up:
- lace ankle socks for my SIL (done; my VERY FIRST PAIR!)
- Cabo Hoodie for Thing One (bday in September)
- Geisha socks for my mom (bday in November)
- lace ankle socks for my MIL (bday on 8/23!)
- Tech Guy socks for my dad for Christmas
- Drive Thru pullover for Thing Two for Christmas
- Plymouth Boku scarf for Thing One for Christmas (HER request, down to the "And can you use some of that self-striping yarn?")
- Malabrigo lace scarf for my best friend's bday (gave her the yarn and a promise for her bday)
- probably a teddy bear sweater for each of the Things for Christmas

Yikes! Good thing I've started already!

[Charity]

I had to laugh hearing about your desires for what I call "selfish knitting". I knit almost everything for gifts, and struggle with feeling guilty if I want to knit something only for me. :0) Last year, I had a huge list of gift knitting to do, and got moooost of it done. I was planning on really paring down this year, until Charmed Knits came out. Now, my daughter wants a felted Hermione bag, my son NEEDS a pointed hat AND a matching cloak... etc., etc. We'll see how it goes!

[Karen]

Knit gift giving?!?! Never again. First of all, I don't waste my time knitting anything I can buy already made (plain 'ol cable sweaters; nordic sweaters, SOCKS!, etc.) AND I don't give one of my 'wearable art' pieces to anyone who doesn't knit; they just don't appreciate the time and expense involved. I do, however, take great pleasure in donating my pieces to charity auctions. The non-profit agencies are ALWAYS appreciative of the money my pieces generate for them. My family can buy their own 'socks'. That about covers my feelings on "gift knitting". Merry Christmas.

[Leslie]

Your discussion about gift knitting was really interesting to me. I am still getting over the hurt I feel over a gift I knit for a very close friend. She was pregnant after a long bout of infertility so I wanted to knit her something special. I knit an adorable (if I do say so myself) little sweater with a boatneck collar and a seed stitch heart. It had a matching hat. It was in a beautiful pale lavendar baby-friendly yarn. In addition to the fact that it was cute, she also KNEW how much time and thought I'd put into it. (I had excitedly e-mailed her when I picked out the yarn, chose the pattern, etc.) I sent it to her baby shower (which I couldn't attend because it was out of town). After the shower, she e-mailed about all the cute presents she had received but didn't even mention my gift! A few days later I received in the mail an extremely lukewarm thank-you note. I honestly was so hurt. I really don't mind if she didn't like it but what bugs me is she KNEW how much thought and time I had put into it so she should have at least acknowledged that, even if she didn't like the gift. (As another friend said, she probably would have preferred a generic $29 outfit from BabyGap. That is probably true but she could have at least pretended...) Anyway, like I said, I am still not over this and not only have I resolved never to knit for her again but I have severely curtailed my gift knitting. I realize this makes me sound like a very ungracious gift-giver and I have spent a lot of time analyzing why this troubled me so much. Anyway, like I said, your discussion was interesting to me for that reason. Thanks for another great episode!

[Jennifer D]

Great episode - thank you!

I've thought about doing holiday knitting, but I am sure I'd overcommit and not be able to get it all done in time.

I do knit for others, but infrequently and not on deadlines (except for baby gifts). Sometimes the giving coincides with a special day, sometimes it's a random day. I like to think the act of giving makes it a special day.

I don't knit on request, because even if there isn't a deadline, they are expecting it and probably have a timeline in mind. Also, a request isn't always a guarantee that they will like the FO when they see it in real life. So I just stick to making small and useful things like hats for the guys, and pretty, comforting things like scarves for women and hope I can accommodate most people's tastes.

[Deborah]

Since you asked, my philosophy on knitted gifts is:
1. I'll admit to being a selfish knitter. I *love* wearing sweaters and don't quite have enough of them yet. So I knit mostly for myself.
2. Most people would rather have a store bought gift than something I knitted. I'd much rather purchase a gift than spend hours of my life making something that will just gather dust.
3. For those I know that truly appreciate my handknits, I will gladly knit for them, although I usually alternate a knitted gift one year with a purchased one the next. Keeps 'em wanting more!
4. I like the idea of a gift box, like Jenny talked about. There are lots of things I'd like to make, but don't have a specific person in mind. I think about putting them all into a covered basket I have, wrapped in tissue paper, and letting people pick what they would like. Of course, this removes the "I made it just for you" sentiment, but at least they are getting something they chose themselves.

Loved the interview with Jill and Susan. Yarn clubs never interested me before - I'd rather choose my own, but the idea behind Econnection is a great one!

[Josephine]

It's funny how the topics of your most recent podcasts always seem to coincide with my knitting moods. I'm currently working on Kate Gilbert's Pea Pod Baby Set for two friends that are expecting babies within the next few weeks so I'm all over this gift knitting thing.
I tend to limit my gift knitting because I'm never sure how a handmade gift will go over, or if the recipient will appreciate the amount of time and effort that went into the piece. I find that people are more likely to appreciate a handmade gift if they are fellow crafters because they understand and appreciate the care and creativity associated with the process.
I tend to knit a lot of baby items and give them to friends that have just had children. These projects are generally quick and easy -- it's also a great way for me to learn new techniques on a smaller scale. Plus, I think it's great for everyone to start out life with a handmade item.
As for requests, well... I haven't had to contend with too many of those. I am still working on an outstanding request for a pair of socks for my mother, though. We'll see how that goes =)

[Danielle]

file this under "bad ideas that i can't let go of even though i know i'm doomed":

last month, i decided that the best christmas present for the (awesome!) woman who walks my dog a couple times a week would be three (yes, three) pairs of socks in the three colors of my tri-color dog. white, black, and tan.

she's very conservative, so i know she won't wear striped socks. thus: three pairs.

??? why? who knows. i'm also knitting another pair of socks for someone else and a shawl that will probably take me until the next age of mankind.

and everything else on my list. for me. but that's what makes us knitters, right? blind optimism?

[Jill]

This will be the first year that I'll be knitting any gifts for anyone. I decided to keep it simple. For my friends I'll be knitting knucks. They're easy enough to knit, and I can personalize them for each one. For a couple of my friend's kids, I'm going to knit them some toys...I'm not really sure what yet though. That's about all I have in mind this year.

[Karen T]

I just wanted you two to know that I have sampled most of the available podcasts and after starting out with a long list of subscriptions, have cut it back to those that really keep it interesting, funny and informative, and yours is definitely a keeper! You have just the right balance of straight yarn talk, musings about knitterly motivations and laughs. Keep it going!

[Diane]

So... I usually ALWAYS gift craft (knit, sew, paint,crosstitch), and I don't have much of my own stuff. I've just recently gotten back into knitting with an addictive vengeance, and am determined to do some selfish knitting! I almost can't help the urge to gift knit, though - and it's not because I'd otherwise feel selfish (sorry, ladies)---it's more what you were talking about - we are innate 'givers'. I, too, am more excited about the Christmas gifts I am giving (whether bought or made), and fear that I am not the best receiver (which is tough, right? Because we all want to *give* to good receivers, yet I am not sure I would receive anything all that well. I mean, yes, I would definitely appreciate all the thought, work, and love that went into it, but would I really like the color? What if it doesn't fit right? What if it's just not "me"?) I really hate to think that I wouldn't want to gift knit for myself!!!! Ack!

As for me, my rule is making sure that it is not too big of a project, that it is for someone I know that will appreciate at least the effort and care that went into it. (I've been burned by a sister-in law who was nice to me while I cross stitched her wedding vows for a year and a half, and has since been rude to me.) I really like Renee's idea that you learn a new skill for each gift - that way, there's no downside, and my gift to me is the new skill!
Congrats, Jenny, on the new job - I hope it goes well for you, and keep posting!

[Bronwyn Horton]

Talk about weird, I am knitting a sweater out of Silk Road Aran as I listen. (It helps that 1 in 3 sweaters that I knit are made out of it.)

I only knit big projects if the pattern (or at least the general idea) is agreed upon. My dad would never wear a crewneck sweater, but he wears the V-Neck vest I knit for him all the time during the winter. :)

[Beverly]

I do a lot of gift knitting. Come to think of it, with the exception of socks, I very seldom knit stuff for myself. I always see patterns that make me think of a certain person, and I want to make that thing for that person. I hate that my gifts are not always appreciated in the way that I would prefer, but it doesn't stop me from spending a lot of time knitting for other people. I have always maintained that knitting keeps me sane, so though it seems like I'm such a giving person because I knit so much for other people, I do it for selfish reasons.

[jpt]

I don't knit for Xmas. Instead my gift knitting is spread out over the year and often bears no relations to gift-giving occasions. Right now, for example, I'm starting a stole for a friend because A) I picked this yarn with her in mind, and B) I've finally figured out what the yarn wants to be. Last fall I made a scarf without any recipient in mind--it wasn't until I unpinned the lace that I realized it was perfect for a particular person. I too follow the rule that there should be some new skill or technique or yarn involved.

Once I got an email from a friend basically saying "it's really cold here, but your scarf is keeping me warm, and I'm thinking of you." I loved that. My grandmother barely looked at the shawl I made for her, but she told me that she loves getting handmade stuff because she understands how much time it takes. And I don't care if she never wears it, I'll never regret doing that for her.

[Janice]

I like knitting gifts for others, especially if the recipient is a knitter. Then I know they can appreciate the time and effort that goes into making the gift. I knit a shawl for my sister and one for my mother. When I spoke with my sister the other day, she mentioned that she wears the shawl all the time. I loved hearing that! It was music to my ears. And my mom told me that she wore her shawl to dinner and was showing it off to her friends. That was so cool. But when I knit for non-knitters, I try and keep it simple, or at least a quick knit. Like last Christmas I made Fiber Trends felted clogs for SO's son and fiance. They really liked them and there wasn't that much time invested.

[rhiannon]

I too have just started christmas knitting. Usually I start in October or November, but I never stopped knitting for the summer heat and I don't need any more hats for myself. I find the problem with early christmas knitting is fall birthdays. I'm 1/3 the way through my sister'2 2-color brioche scarf but her birthday is in a month and I'm tempted to give it to her then ;-) My goal this year is to knit gifts entirely from the stash I built up before christmas last year and the stash I bought in June at the knitpicks sale - we'll have to see how long I can manage to avoid buying more yarn.