The challenge of gifting

Don't you love it when someone you care about opens a gift you've painstakingly found for them and they smile broadly, look at you in the eye and say, "How did you know?!"

That moment to me, is priceless.

Still.  I hate shopping.

Always have.

Go ahead, take away my "girl card," but it's the truth. 

Racing through malls and shopping centers, in a desperate panic to find THE gift for the birthday, anniversary, shower -- you name it -- has always caused me to break out in hives.

There are few reasons for this:

1. I pick up other people's energy.  They say it's because I'm an intuitive and I guess that's true.  So you can imagine heading to a place full of people who are desperate to find something to fill whatever need they have is, at the least, stressful.  (yes.  I also know how to "protect" myself from all this energy and how to "decontaminate" when I get home.   The thing is - I forget.)
2. I need to be clear and focused on the recipient.  Sadly, I'm often in a last-minute panic at times like Christmas when there's an onslaught of people to gift with the perfect present.  I put a crapload of pressure on myself to do it just right.  I want the recipient to know how much I really do care about them and I have been known to spin out of control and then threaten to buy everyone the "fruit of the month club".
3. So many commercial trinkets and things are simply pricetags to me.  My friends and family are not just a number.  Yet I get all wigged out if the widget I found for my sister is less expensive than the doohickey I found for Dad.  It seems wrong that I do this, but still, I do.
4. I need to be in the mood to get this whole gift thing going.  I have a classic Earth Shaped heart line.  That means I may not be so good at using the perfect words to tell you how I feel, or to express joy, celebration or even heart felt condolences -- but I'm great at creating something with my own little hands that can express it all for you.

What about you?  Is gift giving fraught with angst or is it (like it is for Michael) a time of great happiness?

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FINISHED!

The Kindle Cover!

Overall, I'm pleased with the way it turned out.  Still I'm calling it a prototype - there are some things I'll change in the next go round.

What do you think?

Working for Yarn

This is what happened.

Last week, I sent a little email to a list of friends letting them know that I'd be opening up my intuitive knitting business and asked for their support.

Mostly I was thinking in terms of moral support. 

My friends have always supported me.

Not one of them snickered when I told them I was leaving a corner office and a six figure salary to start a business walking dogs and picking up poop.

They weren't even surprised when that business grew to 6 figures in 4 months and I started hiring help.

I'm the one in most of my circles who does her best to "just leap."  Meaning, after a bit of thinking and planning and blueprinting, it's time to take action.  I have a strong urge to simply move forward with my life.

Not ignore the past, nor avoid things in the present...but live big and on my terms now.

I believe we all have magic inside and that somehow society has done it's best since we were teeny tiny things to knock that magic out of us and get us to conform.  I suspect that was a good idea back in the Industrial Age, and the advent of corporate thinking.

It's stifling though.

Part of my life's calling is to prove that you can live on your own terms.  And in doing that you can actually change the direction of your life and the world around you.

Think about it.

When you move forward, directly in alliance with your deepest truth and your passions, you're going to make decisions that are for the highest good.

Back to what's happening here.

Two peeps asked for commissioned pieces.

One wants a Kindle cover and another wants a hand-crafted heirloom baby blanket for a shower coming up.

WOO HOO.

First the Kindle cover.

I searched around a bit on Ravelry and the web looking for a pattern to inspire me.  There were several that were intriguing but none really wowed me.  (although I did get a good idea of gauge and such).

Instead, I devised a Kindle cover based on the slip stitch hat I just completed.  I pulled out a self striping yarn and a solid and set to.  Here's what it looks like so far.

What pleases me most is that the inside will be cushy - an added bonus for those Kindle screens I think.

Essentially this is a tube that will have the bottom sewn up and the top will be secured with a velcro closure.

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The baby blanket.

The parents are having a little girl and they are decorating the nursery in a jungle theme.  The gifter asked for something mostly pink with perhaps some green.

I spent a few days searching for inspiration.  Babies are so precious and such a joy that it seems very important to spend much time thinking about the perfect pattern or inspiration.  Since I do not know the parents it was harder to intuit the perfect look than it is for me when I know the recipient.

This process made me realize that up til now I've been essentially knitting intuitively.  It's a big part of how I do all my work, so it wasn't all that surprising.  I think from now on I'll ask for a photo of the recipients if I don't know them.  Looking at photos turns on my intuition and makes it easier to do the design.

After some meditating and swatching, I remembered that one of my closest friends gave me an antique pattern book that had been her mother's.  (It was one of my most precious gifts this year!)

I pulled it out of the plastic casing I'd stored it in and flipped through.  I found the perfect crochet design for this little baby!

Here's what it's looking like so far.

This is a pretty basic crochet shell pattern. Keeping the stitches tight is important -- we don't want little fingers or toes to get snarled in the holes.

I'll add a lacey edging in green and variegated stripes.

That's where I've been.


So y'all, what are YOU up to?