Thursday, November 29, 2007

To Give or Not To Give

I have a question for all you handworkers out there. When it comes to giving your work as gifts, for example, at holiday time, do you edit who you give to according to how much you think or know they will appreciate the effort that went into the making of the gift?

My answer to that question is a yes. Several years ago, after working on a number of things and sending them off to the recipient and not getting so much as "your package arrived" phone call or note, I decided the gratitude factor had to reach a certain level or it was store-bought all the way. Part of me thinks this is kind of anti-gift in the sense that I am giving with some expectation of something in return, namely appreciation. And that ain't right, right? And then the more practical part of me says, "you are going to spend all that time and energy on something that they will probably toss in the dryer and ruin since they have no clue how to care for since they have no clue how it was made so don't do it!"

After talking about this with my friend Janine who is both very, very generous and an excellent knitter, she claims that I liberated her from a lifetime of frustration. She now gives only to the grateful. She actually scolded me the other day for venturing into unknown territory with someone new!

So, what about you? Give freely? Or give only to the grateful?

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