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Pressured to Crochet Gifts


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When I was w/ my mil a few wks ago at hobby lobby she got some yarn so I could make 2 of her friends scarves for christmas and it kinda ticked me off since I wasn't asked to and I don't even know these ppl but I've got one scarf done and half done w/ the other. I just wished I'd been asked if I would and/or had the time too. Now I feel kinda rushed since I"m making my hubby something and making a blanket for my toddler(he's the only one of my kids not to have one)and was making a scrap flower granny afghan for me but now that's going to the sil-I was telling her about it and she said I thought you were gonna make one for me(oops I'd kinda forgotten and again not really asked)so I said no I didnt forget it's gonna be a scap one. But I am finally gonna make me something and it's gonna be a round ripple(mum's the word on it too cuz it's all mine)

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I just completed the doll I made to give to Operation Christmas Child, so that some little preschool girl somewhere in the world will have her own forever dolly to snuggle ... and my daughter (17) has been relentless about wanting it, with asides about how I never do anything like this for her ... I know it's senior-itis but this is also the daughter who can't be bothered with a hand-knit or hand-hooked cable sweater. Oh no it has to be one of the American Eagle sweaters that are way beyond my budget.

 

I know I will make one of these but not right now ... we who do hand-work like this are way too often put upon and although we toss it off most times we reach moments when we really feel used. and/or un-appreciated.

 

However, every single artisan I know bounces back to his/her overwhelmingly giving nature.

 

Just as I know deep down that I will move past my own funk about my daughter's attitude I know that I will love making something special for her.

 

Just not tonight!!!!!!!:lol

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i am more pressured to share patterns than gifts...

 

So what patterns do you have for us? :eek Just kidding. :hug

 

I was the first thread in here and I still have not made that which I was pressured to make. At this point it will happen when it will happen. And then it will be with other gifts to those I choose to give to. In the meantime I'm practicing my crocheting on other items so that the intended gifts (yes it is plural) will be nice! :devil

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  • 1 month later...

Well it's just about done. :eek The gift I was pressured to make sooo long ago!

Cool pattern: http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art14841.asp

It's a convertible neckwarmer/hat. Should fit the recipient easily and be functional too! I used Lion Brand Fisherman's Wool and it worked up nicely. I don't have a picture or else I'd post it but the pattern is super easy if you need something quick before Christmas.

I like how it turned out. Interesting design that I didn't have when I was pressured to make a hat sooo long ago. Things turned out well.

Thanks all for your support and grumblings. :hug

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First of all its flattering to be asked so I don't mind that. If it is really something you don't have the time/inclination to do you can always just laugh and say, "Gosh it'll take me years to get caught up with all the projects I'm in the middle of right now! If I ever get caught up I'll let you know".

 

Also, I'm always up for TEACHING anyone to crochet or knit. If they really want something they should be happy to learn how to do it themselves so they can make all the items they want.

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I have a really good story for all of you. my SIL went to a farm auction and bought two large bags of yarn and half finished blankets. She then gave it to my MIL who gave it to me. She told me my SIL got these for me. I was in heaven! Then, about 2 weeks later my MIL asks me if I am done with the blankets yet. She says that my SIL would like them as soon as I am done, "but no rush." She had bought them for me to finish and give back to her! and the worse part is that she didn't even ask me. She didn't say a word!! Well thankfully I hadn't had the time to mess with them. I handed them back to her and told her I didn't have time to do them.

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Oh! All of this is getting to be toooo funny. I can relate to all of these stories. I guess I'm on both sides of the problem. I work mostly in crocheted clothing, so I've had friends who I've crocheted something adorable for, at least I think so, and I've NEVER seen them wear it. :blush Most of my friends are fellow crocheters, so they don't usually ask me to crochet. My problem is that I make my own designs. When I wear something new, they come around me asking for the pattern. This never fails. I love them all dearly, but they DO know I'm working on a new book. hee hee. When I finally get a book published they ask me for a copy. Go figure. :rolleyes The ones who ask are the ones who I know wouldn't crochet anything from it. I have 2 friends and my mother who I am very excited to give my books to. (One of them is Rachel from Crochet Pattern Central. I love you Rachel!) I don't need people fawning all over my work, because that embarreses me, but I do want them to appreciate it. I think that is what we all want, because it took a long time, and lots of frogging, to get where we are at with crocheting.

 

I also draw and paint people. My bosses always thought that I would WANT to take their projects home with me to work on over the weekend. I tend to keep to myself what I do as a hobby. It's better that way. No hurt feelings.

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  • 3 weeks later...

My first post! (holidays.....nice....two FBB bags nearly finished, thank you all for the inspiration through all your discussions).

 

I guess I'm lucky. My younger sister is the main channel for any requests I may receive, and she ALWAYS makes sure I have time, and am paid for both materials and effort.

 

I tend to make bags and throw rugs the most, as well as some baby items, and all my friends/relatives have told me that even though they might not automatically think of using something crocheted, they always do, and always appreciate it for adding something different to their wardrobe/decor. They also always know it's going to be good quality, so that makes them happy.

 

So, back to it...with a cup of tea.....another week and a half before the daily grind sets in again!!!

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My son's step-daughter (29 yo) hinted around a lot about wanting more slippers and sometimes hats and scarfs. When I offered to teach her how to crochet she said she wasn't interested and the requests stopped. I do give her a pair of slippers on Christmas and her birthday. I don't make too many unsolicited items. I made hat/scarf/mitten set for her daughter and I never saw her wear it. She came by wearing an old, ragged cocheted scarf one day that my dil bought at a yard sale and when I asked what happened to the set I made I got an "I don't know." So, what I'm actually trying to point out is if someone likes to be gifted with crocheted items, offer to teach them how to crochet and see how quick the requests stop.

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I don't like to make anything under pressure or within a time frame. My DDs had this habit of coming to me and requesting for gifts for their friends like 2-3 days before they needed.

For this past Christmas I gave them a hook and a "gift certificate" for free lessons. :devil

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Since I've started I've mostly made things only for my family. Blankets mostly.

I would go spend time with my best friend Caitlin, and I'd crochet while I was there a lot of the time. She has a 4 year old son (then 2 & 1/2 at the time) and he was learning shapes and colors then. I made him a giant rainbow 8 pointed star blanket so he could learn his colors and stay warm.

It worked, he knows his colors and now when I go over he helps me unroll my ball of yarn!

 

I don't like being pressured into stuff though, and if I am, and take it up, I will take forever to finish the project.

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I have an idea. The next time someone (like a not-so-close coworker or a friend of a friend) solicits me to make something for them, I'm going to reply with "sure...and what will you be making for me???" I think that's only fair. :)

 

I did this with my past boss. She bugged me to make something for her, and I said, "Okay, and you can make me one of your quilts that you do."

 

Oh, no that went down like a lead you-know-what in a punch bowl.

 

I did make something one time that she bought from me, and I wish I had not sold it to her because I have since lost the pattern.

It was a scarecrow sewing project. Almost lifesize, you dress him up in regular clothes, set him on the porch in October.

Well, you could make different heads for it...a scarecrow head or a santa head.

Anyway, I let her buy it from me for $50.00. Then she let her boys play with the head and lose it. She bugged me forever to make her another head, I kept telling her I could not find the pattern, but she thought I should be able to come up with a head anyway. I couldn't and I didn't, and I won't.

She may as well forget it. It's gone and I'm not making another, ever.

 

Not for her....if I could find the pattern, I'd make one for me.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I guess my experience is a little different...I'm married to the military and live very far away from my family and close friends. I am overwhelmed with requests, but try to chug through them all steadily. It's like sending a long-distance hug in a box :)

Sewing is another story though. I forget not to mention it in those ice-breaking games people play to get to know each other, and people immediately want me to take in their jeans, or fix their son's coat zipper, or finish a quilt that they can't get around to doing themselves. That angers me. And what makes it worse is when I tell them "No, I haven't got time." They huff about because they were turned down and I smile inside and think, "I don't like you either!"

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