Make a Handmade Gift

“Earlier this year, I decided to make a gift for a friend’s birthday. I spent a long time trying to decide what I should make and then choosing fabrics that I was sure she would love. I was really happy with the result and was excited to give it, feeling sure that she would love it. She did. She really did love it, but somehow, I came away feeling a little disappointed. You see, after my friend had unwrapped her gift, she said to me ‘It’s beautiful! You’re so talented—I could never do anything like that!’ It took me a little while to realise exactly why this had made me feel so deflated, I mean, she had been delighted with the gift and clearly understood that it was a token of love, but there was something else lurking there, something darker. I was concerned that the gift that was supposed to demonstrate how much I cared about her had also made her feel diminished by her comparison of my supposed ‘talents’ and her own.”

“I decided one year to make afghans for our nieces and nephews for Christmas. I started crocheting the first week of January 1998. My sister was sick with breast cancer so I made the first one for her. It’s the most beautiful afghan I’ve ever made. My sister passed Feb. 19, 1998. I believe that the love I made her afghan with was passed on to her unborn granddaughter in her memory. Made thirteen more before Christmas. Our nieces and nephews are older now, but they still use and cherish them. They never fail to tell me how much they love their afghans.”