Does anyone else ever get disappointed

[pipi_k]

when something they've worked very hard (and long) on ends up dropping into some sort of handmade Twilight Zone, never to be heard of again?


I'm talking specifically about when you make something for someone...either at their request, or unsolicited...and you give it to the person expecting to see it worn or used, and it's not.

I've been sort of feeling this way for a while, but it's gotten stronger after the "Booties from hell" (see OP somewhere below for details on that one) episode.

I finished and gave them to my stepdaughter with the suggestion that she may want to tack the button closure loop if it keeps coming off the button since the tops of the booties are wide enough to get a kid's foot in without undoing the button each time. Also, that she might want to buy some suede elbow patches and use them to create non-slip soles. OK. I did my thing...all done...and I figured I'd see them on the granddaughter at some point.

Except...no. It's been nearly two months and while there are a ton of kid pictures on Facebook, none of them feature hand crocheted bootie slippers.

Someone I know asked me about them recently, and I told the person I don't know if the granddaughter has worn them yet, and I washed my hands of all of it once I finished the project. Whatever the stepdaughter chose to do with them...not my business.

But that's a lie. I guess it hurts a bit. Just like the special little fluffy pink hat I made for Christmas that didn't even get an acknowledgement, much less a "Thank you".

And that's the way it's mostly gone with stuff I make for people, except for in a few cases. Sweaters, hats, afghans, etc. I work on these things while thinking of how much the recipient will enjoy (and USE) them.

It's got me paranoid thinking what I make is crap, but I've been told my items are beautiful, and I do get compliments on stuff I have around my own home, like afghans and such.


So I'm thinking to hell with it. Maybe I'll start selling my stuff on Etsy or eBay, where people pay for it because they want it and they'll actually use it.

sigh.

[sinkingfeeling]

1. Yes. I made a lot of clothes for my granddaughter that were never worn.

[pipi_k]

5. Sometimes I wonder...

are they being saved for posterity, or what...

[libodem]

2. .

[pipi_k]

6. thank you

for the hug

[bigmonkey]

3. As a kid I didn't appreciate the sweaters.

At that time I always thought of them as those things my grandmother kept making for me without my input. When, in my twenties, I went to the store to "pick up a couple of sweaters", I finally found out about their monetary value.

I will say, though, that one time she asked for my input on a sweater and when it came out as I expected I wore that thing until the elbows disappeared! Natural wool crew neck fisherman's knit. I still have it, and wish I could get it repaired.

Despite my cavalier behavior at eighteen, I really respect crafts like knitting now. Matters of taste, though, are notoriously contentious: even the Romans remarked on it.

[pipi_k]

7. Reminds me of

the hats my grandmother always made for us girls at Christmas time.

Same pattern each year, but different colors.

And she made the most beautiful Irish crochet potholders for my mom

I was fascinated, even as a child, by the pretty 3 dimensional rose on top.

She taught me how to knit when I was 10. I wish my own granddaughters had the same interest...

[Arkansas Granny]

4. I know exactly what you're talking about. I've been disappointed in the same way.

Here's the one that really takes the cake. I love the process of knitting and crocheting and give nearly all of my items away to friends and family or charity. I always have some kind of a project that I'm working on (OK, 2, 3, 4 maybe 5 projects) and last winter I really got into making hats and they were turning out really nice. I gave one to a co-worker for his wife and he said she really enjoyed it. She enjoyed it so much that he asked if I could make her another one. Sure thing. I had a few of them already made up so I brought 3 of them in so she could take her pick.

The next day he told me that his wife really liked the hats. Maybe he misunderstood that I only meant to give her one, but no big deal. I would have given the others to someone else anyway, so I just let it stand. Then a couple of days later he tells me the "funniest" thing. One of their dogs liked one of the hats so much that they are letting him keep it in his bed. WTH!!! I didn't intend for any of them to become dog toys. Not counting the cost of the yarn, I spent several hours making each one of those hats.

I didn't say anything then, but even if I've got hats stacked to the ceiling, they will never get another one of them.

[pipi_k]

8. OMG, that never happened to me

as far as I can tell, but it did happen to my MIL, and she was still steaming about it years later!!!

The dog toy, I mean.

She made a pretty lap blanket for her eldest son's stepdaughter, then found out that the girl was using it for her dog's actual bed.


God, what an insult!!


anyway, I'm with you...I don't care how many of whatever item I have around, some people are not going to get them.

I have a pretty knitted vest I made like 4 years ago that I've been saving to give to someone. Only trouble is, I can't think of anyone who would like the style and appreciate it.

[eShirl]

9. Make handmade items just for yourself; give them giftcards.

or better yet, donate handmade items to a charity dear to your heart *in that person's name* - and let that be their gift

[shanti]

10. yes, happens to me too

Last edited Mon Jul 28, 2014, 01:11 PM - Edit history (1)

i knit A LOT since i'm now retired, different kinds of things too. i was so happy to have a granddaughter after having four sons, but my son and his wife have specifically told me that they don't want any of my handmade items. it's not "their style", they say. i'm no slouch in the knitting department either. my son told me that the things i made "fell apart". this is after i told them to hand wash the items. i'm sure they just threw them in the machine.

so phooey on them, they'll get no more from me. my youngest son does like my hats, so i'll continue to make some for him, but the others just don't appreciate my time and effort.

i have a huge bin full of finished items, which i'll probably end up donating or putting up on etsy.

[Nay]

11. Oh, yes. I've made things for my son and grandson -- my son appreciated the

afghan so much that his best friend wanted one, too. So I made one. That set of afghans is still being used. I also used to make do rags for my son's head when he was working outside as an electrician. He loved to get them - no one else had such cool fabric do rags. I could have sold them at the job site, LOL.

However, I've sewn lined summer hats for my grandson which were actually worn, but several other things I made (like a small play tent for stuffed animals or dolls, which was a BITCH to make, and a requested stuffed cat ) mysteriously disappeared. After the few disappearances, I stopped making stuff for that household. Mom gets into a toss mode (which is funny, because she's essentially a real slob) and my stuff seems to go first. Hmmmm.