Another example of underappreciated crochet gifts

[deneen]

This is another example of how clueless some people really are. I made my sister in law a poncho for Christmas and she loved it. She asked me to make her another one (okay, she begged). Yesterday, we went to Michaels to pick out the yarn. For the poncho she wants, I need 30 ounces of yarn. She is going through the yarn and when she realized she needed 5 or 6 balls of the yarn, she was shocked at how expensive it would be! She insisted on buying the yarn herself and ended up buying two Caron One Pounders at $5.17 each. She was picking out yarn that was $4.99 a ball and then realized she needed $30 worth and quickly changed her mind. She said "I thought this was an inexpensive way to make items". I think she now appreciates the time and money put into crocheted items. The poncho I made her for Christmas was with TLC Amore and Fun Fur, which blew her away the cost of a skein of TLC and Fun Fur.

It kinda felt good when she realized what goes into items made (lotsa time and lotsa money)

 

Deneen:sb

[Julie]

I'm shopping for yarn for a poncho for my niece today. My sister keeps pointing out how much the niece likes the "sparkly" yarn - Bernat Boa. And that it's expensive! Yes, I know!!

[Nashville Crocheter]

I agree! When we got together for Christmas, some relatives "hinted" that they would like me to make them some crocheted items but did not outright ask. I think I will offer to make the items but they have to pay for the yarn.

[threeolivemartini]

it IS funny when they realize (especially if they want an afghan even out of not so expensive yarn it can get pricey real quick) how much goes into something...

 

and how much time it takes.. i had a friend think ( and yes i am fast but not this fast) that I could make an afghan that was 60 X 80 in a weekend.....and that it shouldnt cost more than 10 dollars.. i asked her what planet she lived on and had she looked at yarn lately LOL... and if she had the fomula to warping time i would like to have it...

[lilhatshack]

FINALLY! I think its great that others (i'll call them non-crocheters) understand the value of crochet work - not just the length of time - but all the costs involved! Good for you! I made my sisters and mother hats and scarves out of chenille this year and I can't tell you how long it took for me to get a coupon - go buy a skein - get a coupon - go buy a skein....its just so expensive!

[RebeccaVelasquez]

scoot over girls, i'm jumping on :sb

 

my sister is forever calling me and requesting this and that... i used to just make and tell her how much it cost..... with her "forgetfulness" to send checks, i now just tell her how much yarn and say "send me yarn" haven't gotten any packages from her yet :irked

[DawnsRays]

That is great Rebecca! Way to go. It never quite dawns on people until the register rings up the total and they are the ones with their walllets out. That still doesn't even factor in the "TIME" that the crocheter puts in making the item.

 

Well done, girls!

 

~DAWN

[buggaboosmommy]

Sometimes when I buy yarn, I think WOW that is going to be one expensive scarf! But then I think, the SAME scarf at a major department store nowadays would probably cost double, if not triple what I would spend on yarn!

 

I'm glad crocheted items are "back" in style, it really gives me a chance to see what they are "worth" to the average person!

 

Donna

[Deb]

My 9 y/o told her mother (my SIL - who had just received a hand-made poncho from me), "And Mom, yarn is NOT cheap either! I went with Debbie to the Michael's... and that yarn was $4.99!!! and that's just for ONE thingie!"

 

hahaha. I laughed all the way home.

[woolandflax]

I totally agree, i made my mother-in-law one of my designs for christmas, an extra-large lined totebag, made with a frame for shaping, a fur cuff, and a beaded toggle closure. Considering the time I put into it and the cost of materials, I could have easily gotten $100 for my couture bag in the right boutique. And that's just using the yarn I had on hand, if I used specialty yarn I could've gotten $150 for it. I DO NOT THINK SHE KNOWS THIS. She crochets but not anything close to what I do, and her comments led me to believe it might end up on the far end of her top closet shelf. :irked

 

~Rebecca

[deneen]

Rebecca-

 

You could always wait a few months and then ask her if she's using it--if not, then ask for it back (yacky I know, but she is your family and if you can't be tacky with your family, who can you be tacky with????).

[Guest lillian1969]

The afghan I am currently making cost over 70.00 in yarn and thread.Plus all the labor this is going to be one expensive birthday gift,But at least the person i am making it for appreciates stuff.

[RebeccaVelasquez]

sounds like it is pretty! you better show pictures :camera

[Guest lillian1969]

www.crochetpatterncentral...fghans.php

 

 

 

click on angel afghan the one with the * that is what I am making

[RebeccaVelasquez]

wow!

[Guest lillian1969]

is me right now

[mythunderbird]

i agree girls with all of you. my mother who is on a very limited budget(who isn't right) but she really is, well anyways she called me and asked me if i would make my great niece a sweater and she would buy it from me so it would be from her. well i asked her what kind of yarn she wanted to use and she said the chenille, i asked her how much she wanted to spend and she says 10.00, i looked at her and said ma, have you priced this yarn? she says oh you can buy it and then i will give you 10.00, i didn't do it, as much as i love the little niece, couldn't do it as it would have been over 30.00 just for yarn. yikes, noiw my mom doesn't ask me anything anymore cause she realizes how much it cost just for supplies.even out of cheap yarn it would have been over 10.00. :loco vicki

[Guest lillian1969]

Yarn prices are getting way up there.Somtimes I get good deals at auctions or thrift stores,My current project yarn I am buying at a craft store so the dye lots will match

[Piper0110]

Oh, that bugs me. People don't realize how much yarn costs. Even a nice afghan made out of Red Heart can cost you upwards of $20.

 

Someone made a comment to me about this the other day. One of her aunts usually gives her really pricey gifts. This year, she knitted her a scarf (she just moved from a warm climate to a cold climate). She thought she had somehow made her aunt mad at her, since she "only" got the scarf. I saw the scarf a few days later and it was gorgeous! Long and thick and the yarn was definitely not inexpensive. And here she thought her aunt had cheaped out.

[Kathleen]

I spend SO MUCH MONEY on yarn, its horrible! I have discovered the better the yarn, the nicer the project turns out, and so I've spoiled myself. Friends really don't realize how expensive yarn is!

 

I had to laugh at to boys (probably ages 10-12) who had learned how to crochet in boy scouts of all places. They were looking at yarn while I was in my local Michaels. They had learned enough skills, they told me, to make a simple single crochet scarf, so they wanted to make one for their moms. When the yarn they chose was so expensive, they both went, "WOAH.. lets get mom something else"

[buggaboosmommy]

My husband, bless his , use to complain about the cost of yarn. He use to say "of all things you could collect something cheaper". So, I put him in his place.Without his knowledge, I made a list of all the times he spent money. Like his playstation games, xbox games, breakfast meetings at work, etc. I gave him the list after a week, attached to how much yarn I could order from Hancock's online...of course at the bottom it said "Keeping your wife content...PRICELESS! He didn't realize how much yarn I could buy with ONE Playstation game! Now, he doesn't complain so much and when he does make a comment I say that I could always have a more expensive hobby, like video games or drinking!! :nana

 

Donna

[Guest SamplerLady]

I spend SO MUCH MONEY on yarn, its horrible! I have discovered the better the yarn, the nicer the project turns out, and so I've spoiled myself.

I'm so thankful I have a daughter working in a yarn store and she likes fiber as much as I do. We couldn't play with half the nice stuff we do if she didn't have her discount and an amazingly generous boss.

 

And I'm twice as lucky now because she wants crochet samples in the store. I get to pick out the really, really nice stuff and make things with it!

 

Handmade stuff isn't inexpensive.

[ZingyZoid]

I must confess that until I started crocheting I was very unappreciative of crocheted gifts. When I was a child my Grandmother would make afghans and mittens and scarves and hats for everyone each Christmas. Way back then I thought it was so cheesy because it was her hobby and she didn't have to "go out of her way" to find us all something nice. ( I was really young please don't hurt me).

 

I am much older now and so is she. My children receive store bought items from her because she can no longer crochet like she used to. I MISS the mittens. I MISS the afghans and all the love and time she put into them. She is the reason I learned to crochet. I want my mittens back, lol.

 

What surprises me though is that my children seem to appreciate all it takes to make them something. My 10 year old cousin saw an afghan I made my mother and emailed me pleading for me to make her one. She constantly wears a skull cap I made for her. She really appreciates and loves these things.

 

So I guess there really is a point to my very long story...

I so appreciate everything everyone here makes. People can be converted. And even the young can be taught to appreciate your work.

[Deb]

Now, he doesn't complain so much and when he does make a comment I say that I could always have a more expensive hobby, like video games or drinking!!

 

:rotfl Donna! That made me laugh out loud! !

[Kathleen]

We couldn't play with half the nice stuff we do if she didn't have her discount and an amazingly generous boss.

 

I am GREEN with envy!