Thread: most are disappointed with reactions to gifting hand made

Very well said Feline Fanatic.

Beautiful, what is that pattern being held up?

I made a quilt for my 28 year old GS last year, not for any occasion. I was a bit disappointed in his reaction, but a short time later his fiance came in and her reaction was worth waiting for! I won't hesitate to make another one for them sometime in the future.

I totally understand what you are saying...I have several friends I know not to give something handmade to as they just turn their little noses up, smile ever so graciously, accept it, and say "That's nice", with you knowing it will never be seen or heard from again...Then I have some friends who would prefer that I make them something special....:) I've learned to look at what they like, what is in their home, would I be happy receiving this (Of course, I would..lol) Example in point, I have a friend who absolutely hates quilts (I know, it's shocking!! lol)...However, she is a horse person, and I made a horse-themed quilt for another horse friend of mine ....and guess what........my friend that hates quilts...well, she loved it..)) Go figure....lolol

San :D

When I make gifts, I, like all of you, try hard to choose colors and themes that I'm sure the recipient will like. But I honestly do not expect them to jump up & down. Just like with a purchased gift, sometimes the items just don't appeal to the person receiving it. If they choose to shelve the gift, or re-gift it, or donate it to a charity, I honestly am not affected emotionally. For me, the giving is all about me. I enjoyed the creative process and was excited to hand it over. If it goes to goodwill, someone will see it and love it and purchase it and it will end up in a good home. lol...

I love the fabric choices!!! Beautiful quilt and model.
My family loves handmade items. But I do have family members that for some reason do not appreciate hand made items. I think that they are not crafty and do not understand the time and love that goes in to them. That is fine with me, I just do not make things for them.
I knit prayer shawls, charity quilts and give away to total strangers, but for some reason when I give a quilt to someone I know I do want them to love it.

Originally Posted by Annaquilts

I have just the opposite. Both of the daughters that received a quilt this year were very happy. Just last night my 20 year old daughter came just before bed time and was hugging me and telling me how much she loved her new quilt. I had not seen it on her bed. Turns out she has a pile of blankets on her bed and the quilt is under it so it is close to her. LOL I made it for her to take to college so I thought maybe it was stacked some where to go. My 22 year old DD ( the eldest) received a similar quilt and she is using it on her bed as the top cover.

Waht I was happy about is that they were still very enthusiastic opening it eventhough they have seen me working on these quilts since this summer.

:lol: :lol:

I gave my son and his fiance a quilt for Christmas and they were really excited. They knew it was coming and his fiance said she had told everyone they were getting a quilt!

I saw my son a few days later at my daughter's graduation and he told me the quilt is really warm!! More than he expected. :)

Originally Posted by Hosta

I swore off giving any handmade items to family 20 years ago. no one appreciated my work so I thought bleech on them. now I only give to others who really know the value and want the gift. so why do you keep torturing yourselves by gifting to those who don't appreciate them. They are not going to change. I hope I am not sounding rude but why continue to do it?

Right on...I learned that lesson too...I only give to those who really appreciate my effort and time...I put a lot of time into things I make, and they only go to people who appreciate them..:)

There are probably a good number of groups in your communities that would love to have a hand-made quilt to raffle or auction off. You can bet that whoever "wins" your quilt will really love it, if they took the time to bid or buy a ticket. And you will be doing good for your local public library, historical society, food shelf, etc.

We may be too hard on some people--I'm not sure I would have totally appreciated a quilt until I started quilting--nor would I have totally appreciated all of the work that went into a cross stitched piece if I hadn't learned to cross stitch.

My DH never saw the value in Waterford crystal until we had a tour of Waterford crystal in Ireland. Now he totally understands its value due to the workmanship that makes each individual piece. He also understands the value of a quilt and cross stitch project because he knows the time I've put into it.

Also--I think age has something to do with the appreciation of gifts--the older we get the more we tend to value what we receive and we understand more.

Ten years ago an Aunt (who has now passed away) gave me a quilt. I never cared for the colors (orangey) and had it packed away. Last year our oldest son needed a quilt for a futon that he had in his 'computer' room in his apartment. We gave him the orangey, wonderfully soft, tyed quilt. He loves it! The quilt found its home.