Lots of eye candy in this post, Sandi! I love the hat and sweater sets for children. Several years ago I knitted what I claimed would be my last “baby project”: a hat, sweater and blanket set for a friend’s son’s first baby. My problem with knitting for children is that the ones I knit for are far away and so I don’t often know if the knitted items are ever worn. I might get a thank-you card and on rare occasions, a photo might be uploaded to Facebook, but mostly I get crickets. My friend’s son made a point of visiting his parents while I was there, to show off his new baby attired in the hat and sweater I had knitted. The blanket was brought along too so the baby could be swaddled in it. I was moved. I know I shouldn’t mind if I don’t hear from geographically distant relatives who have received knitted gifts from me, but I’m only human.
Your friend's son was definitely a worthy recipient! I rarely knit gifts. When I do, I try to take the approach that once the gift is out of my hands, whether or not it is ever worn is none of my business. I try to give for the pleasure of giving, without attachment to whether the recipient uses the gift as I would hope.
But the lack of some sort of thank you would definitely mean no more hand made gifts (or gifts of any kind, really) for that person.
Thinking about it some more, I have received plenty of thanks, but living far away, I’m deprived of the joy of seeing my gifts worn in real life. I have gotten photos (sometimes even sent soon after the gift was received), and I enjoy those but it’s not the same. And children outgrow their clothing so fast! Still, my youngest nephew has two little ones—five and three—and they live in South Carolina so … I could knit now for the winter 😉 I do like those sets you designed. Also, a lot of the gift giving I do is just to justify my many yarn projects. I surely can’t use (and don’t want to use) all the potholders I’ve woven so occasionally I’ll send a couple out into the world to an unsuspecting cousin or two. I try to practice letting go as soon as the package is mailed 🙂 In fact, when I notified donors to my Knit-a-Thon team of one that I would be picking winners for the hat, socks, and shawl I was knitting to support the cause, one of them wrote back that she donated because she wanted to support me and the cause, not because she wanted to be rewarded. I responded that I just wanted to share my “joy of knitting.” She liked that, and good thing too because she “won” the socks 😆
I'm working on a pullover called Autumn Alpine I got off Ravelry by Caitlin Hunter. I'm using the Cashmere Blend from Little Skein and I am loving the softness and drape of this yarn. It really is decadent and is so easy to work with. Of course, by the time im done it'll be too hot, but things take longer than I think they will.
What a pleasure to find your Substack after Purl Soho casually mentioned it! I have always enjoyed your designs and love the baby sweaters although I don't have any current babies to knit for... Long ago I decided that my summer uniform would consist of a cotton t-shirt and an elaborate lace vest in Euroflax linen, so I have slowly been designing these. After knitting a bunch of shawls, it seemed to me that vests would be the perfect canvas for intricate lace patterning with the added bonus of no sleeves! Of course the grading of these became a hurdle for me, given the stitch repeat issue and the huge charts required, but I'm learning about this! Thank you for your inspiration and your lovely newsletter! I look forward to reading more of it...
Thanks for this lovely post full of inspiration, Sandy! Such beautiful sweaters and the baby model is so adorable. I am currently getting started with some yarn from Seachange Fibers I picked up in Lambtown last year. And your cotlin project looks especially inviting, given the current weather.
Isn't he the cutest baby? It's always a crap shoot when you send a project off to a yarn company—you never know how they will choose to photograph it. Baby sweaters are often shot laid flat, because working with little people often aren't into posing.
I'm looking forward to seeing what you make with your yarn from Sea Change. I enjoyed speaking with the owner at H+H. She is a lovely woman who donates a portion of her profits to environmental conservation organizations.
Lots of eye candy in this post, Sandi! I love the hat and sweater sets for children. Several years ago I knitted what I claimed would be my last “baby project”: a hat, sweater and blanket set for a friend’s son’s first baby. My problem with knitting for children is that the ones I knit for are far away and so I don’t often know if the knitted items are ever worn. I might get a thank-you card and on rare occasions, a photo might be uploaded to Facebook, but mostly I get crickets. My friend’s son made a point of visiting his parents while I was there, to show off his new baby attired in the hat and sweater I had knitted. The blanket was brought along too so the baby could be swaddled in it. I was moved. I know I shouldn’t mind if I don’t hear from geographically distant relatives who have received knitted gifts from me, but I’m only human.
Your friend's son was definitely a worthy recipient! I rarely knit gifts. When I do, I try to take the approach that once the gift is out of my hands, whether or not it is ever worn is none of my business. I try to give for the pleasure of giving, without attachment to whether the recipient uses the gift as I would hope.
But the lack of some sort of thank you would definitely mean no more hand made gifts (or gifts of any kind, really) for that person.
Thinking about it some more, I have received plenty of thanks, but living far away, I’m deprived of the joy of seeing my gifts worn in real life. I have gotten photos (sometimes even sent soon after the gift was received), and I enjoy those but it’s not the same. And children outgrow their clothing so fast! Still, my youngest nephew has two little ones—five and three—and they live in South Carolina so … I could knit now for the winter 😉 I do like those sets you designed. Also, a lot of the gift giving I do is just to justify my many yarn projects. I surely can’t use (and don’t want to use) all the potholders I’ve woven so occasionally I’ll send a couple out into the world to an unsuspecting cousin or two. I try to practice letting go as soon as the package is mailed 🙂 In fact, when I notified donors to my Knit-a-Thon team of one that I would be picking winners for the hat, socks, and shawl I was knitting to support the cause, one of them wrote back that she donated because she wanted to support me and the cause, not because she wanted to be rewarded. I responded that I just wanted to share my “joy of knitting.” She liked that, and good thing too because she “won” the socks 😆
I'm working on a pullover called Autumn Alpine I got off Ravelry by Caitlin Hunter. I'm using the Cashmere Blend from Little Skein and I am loving the softness and drape of this yarn. It really is decadent and is so easy to work with. Of course, by the time im done it'll be too hot, but things take longer than I think they will.
OOO! Autumn Alpine is a beautiful design. And since cashmere is my love language, I'm already jealous of your sweater.
What a pleasure to find your Substack after Purl Soho casually mentioned it! I have always enjoyed your designs and love the baby sweaters although I don't have any current babies to knit for... Long ago I decided that my summer uniform would consist of a cotton t-shirt and an elaborate lace vest in Euroflax linen, so I have slowly been designing these. After knitting a bunch of shawls, it seemed to me that vests would be the perfect canvas for intricate lace patterning with the added bonus of no sleeves! Of course the grading of these became a hurdle for me, given the stitch repeat issue and the huge charts required, but I'm learning about this! Thank you for your inspiration and your lovely newsletter! I look forward to reading more of it...
Thank you! and welcome to the party. Pull up a chair.
Sorry I missed you at H & H!
Next year, we'll need to make a plan to meet up. There are just too many people to count on running into someone.
True. I had dinner with Alison Green and she mentioned you, but I should have been more persistent!
Isn't Alison just the best?
Thanks for this lovely post full of inspiration, Sandy! Such beautiful sweaters and the baby model is so adorable. I am currently getting started with some yarn from Seachange Fibers I picked up in Lambtown last year. And your cotlin project looks especially inviting, given the current weather.
Isn't he the cutest baby? It's always a crap shoot when you send a project off to a yarn company—you never know how they will choose to photograph it. Baby sweaters are often shot laid flat, because working with little people often aren't into posing.
I'm looking forward to seeing what you make with your yarn from Sea Change. I enjoyed speaking with the owner at H+H. She is a lovely woman who donates a portion of her profits to environmental conservation organizations.