So I don’t know about you, but it seems whenever I make something for myself and start to wear it, everyone who knows that I knit starts to inquire about it. It doesn’t matter what it is, or where I am, people start to ask, "Could you make one of those for me?" Some of them find sneaky, subtle ways to say this and some of them just come right out and boldly state the question. Folks offer to pay for the materials, they offer me a trade or a type of barter, and even my family has tried to bribe me with baked goods for socks when they spied the new Berroco Sox colors on the website.
Now don’t get me wrong, I love to give knitted objects away to people. As long as they demonstrate the proper appreciation for the materials and time that goes into the project...
I’ve even been known to give things away to people who don’t actually ASK for something because I’m so amazed that they can restrain themselves compared to everyone else. (Yes, this is a hint. If you don’t ask and just admire, you may very well get bumped to the front of the project line :) )
In any case, I usually end up making multiples of everything. Some of you may have heard me mention in the shop that I’ve worked my way through at least 12 of the Super Bulky Button Hats in almost every color of Malabrigo Chunky that we carry. It’s a good thing they don’t take long to knit!
But I’ve also started to realize that the proper response to all of my friends who admire the knitting I do is, "Maybe you should learn to knit, then you can make whatever you want."
(We do offer Learn to Knit classes. And for those of you who find yourselves in positions similar to my own you can always suggest that someone take one of these classes!)
I’ve also spent some time spreading the art of knitting to some of my closest friends. In the last several months I’ve gotten four different friends started on their first projects (or their first projects in a 10 year lapse.) I’m very impressed with all of them. Most of them picked out fairly challenging projects to work on this winter or they’ve finished multiple projects and have started gifting knitted items to others. And I’ve had so much fun getting together with them all to knit!
I am going to encourage my friends to share their new knitting experiences in our Kyarns Ravelry Group, and also on our Kyarns Facebook group. So be on the lookout for a Peruvian Tweed scarf, a Baby Alpaca Chunky hat, and some amazing orange Ultra Alpaca sleeves with a turtleneck there soon. We hope you’ll join us there and maybe you’ll let us know what you are working on!
Aw, it wasn't a bribe! It was a Valentine gift! It's a long way to come to learn to knit. You could take some travel days and come to the northwoods to teach me. Bring the socks!
ReplyDelete