Knitting for GIVING

One of the major joys of knitting is surely making items to give as gifts. Unfortunately, the abundance of Pinterest patterns sparks more gift-giving ideas than there is time to make them all. Sometimes it's a special occasion in a person's life that inspires a new project...a birthday, a wedding, a new baby. At other times it's just a notion that a particular someone would enjoy an item because it connects somehow to one of the passions of their hearts. And sometimes it's just the holiday season, and gift-giving is commonplace; it's good to be prepared.

The joy of a project is doubled when it is done to be given away. The knitting itself is enjoyable, whether it be the pattern or the yarn or the combination of the two that intrigues us. But there is also the constant anticipation of the recipient's reaction that keeps the needles clicking away. It is simply fun to put effort into something for somebody else's benefit. Perhaps the selflessness of the action produces happy hormones deep inside of us that add to the enjoyment of the process.

Sometimes, however, a deadline on a project detracts from the enjoyment I experience by adding a level of stress over whether I will have the item finished on time. One solution, of course, is to give myself plenty of advance notice in starting something that has to be completed by a certain date. A friend shared another: if her project isn't done on time, she wraps it up while it's still on the needles and simply gives it as it is, in it's unfinished state...so the recipient gets a sneak peak of what is coming their way... someday! I like that; the occasion is honored, the recipient is remembered, and the fun of the hobby is preserved! It sounds like a winner all the way around!

“Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all...”
(Galatians 6:10 NKJV)