Homemade, Heart Felt

The majority of my finished knitted projects I do not keep. I knit gifts for birthdays, weddings, and holidays. There is no better joy than spending 10 plus hours working on a knitting project that ends up bringing a smile to a loved one’s face. I think I get more joy over seeing someone use my knitted project than the person who is using it.

Traditional weddings for a family member do not usually involve just one event. Usually there is an engagement party, bridal shower, rehearsal dinner, and then the wedding ceremony/reception. This means at least three gifts. There is usually a gift registry for one or more of the wedding events. If a person is creative and close to the couple, they may prefer to give a personalized gift.

I grew up with many of my cousins. We were family and friends. When one of my cousins got married in 2014, I wanted to give her more than a gift from a registry. So I looked online for a pillow pattern. I used it as an opportunity to learn how to cable knit. I used her wedding colors (the bride and groom’s favorite colors) and buttons to spell out their names.

There were two Winter Holiday Seasons that I knitted all my gifts. Each season ended up totaling 10 different gifts for my close relatives. Each season I had to create a strict schedule for how long I had to knit and then finish each gift. I had to start in May to have the gifts wrapped by November/December. I made hats, pillows, scarves, and shawls. I had to research patterns, pick out yarns and appropriate needles, knit the gift, block the gift, and then wrap it.

I usually make gifts, but I recently began to accept commissioned pieces. So far, I have made two coworkers commissioned knits: arm knitted blankets.

The projects use yarn weight called Jumbo; it is the thickest yarn. I literally used my arms as the knitting needles. Each project took about two hours to create.

I knit year round and have so much fun discovering new knitting techniques. Why not enjoy the challenge of a new knitting project with the outcome of a personalized gift? I love to create a gift with meaning for the intended user.