Hand made items and their recipients
 

We have all had different reactions to giving handmade gifts. This is from one of my favorite columnists. Read the original question, Carolyn's advice, but make sure you read the follow-on. Truly lovely, and have a tissue ready.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifest...=nl-hax&wpmm=1

Pam

Great story!

Oh yes! Rings a bell. Very lovely that the daughter feels able to express herself so beautifully. Sniffle.

Very good. I shared it on my Facebook page.

Just goes to show no matter how bad the fight daughter still loves her mommy! Like healing a wound and making it all better!

Thank you, for sharing!!! Beautiful!!! Tears are now streaming down my face and my nose is running. It's exactly what I needed, to ease my sinus pressure! :thumbup:

I LUV Carolyn Hax!

Oh my, sometimes our teens say the darnest things. Chuckle!!

My daughter had a very rough time a few years back and she said whenever she felt blue she wraped up in one of the quilts that I or her grandma made for her. She has one special one that is a go to for those teary times. She does not use it for her bed cause she doesn't want it to wear out!!!

The older I get, the more handmade items mean to me -- whether they were made for me or I purchased directly from the artist. Thanks for sharing.

I have made quilts for every one in my family and they are very much used and loved by all. But a year ago my 18 yr old niece had a baby girl. I made a light wgt quilt and sent it to Fla. so it would be there for the shower. - They posted pics of her holding up each present and a special thank you and how much she loved the cheesy store bought quilts and blankies. But no pic or thank you of the quilt I made for her. So I call and leave a VM for my sister afraid it may have got lost in transit. A wk past by before my niece sent a Facebook message -yeah it got here ty --- I still don't know if she liked it or gave it to the Goodwill.

One of my quilts was buried with a great grandson. If it made the mom feel better it was okay with me. I have been told that several of them are in memory boxes to be passed on to future generations. I think that's pretty spiffy!

That was lovely. I really hope that the people that I make gifts for know the amount of time and love that goes into creating something for them. I have knocked myself out to make things that are unique to the recipient and very often have not received more than a "thanks" and on to the next gift. I've also noted that "Thank You" notes are mostly a thing of the past.

I have noticed that most "snarky handmade" comments come from people to whom creativity is a foreign language....poor them.

Some people just don't appreciate hand made items, they think store bought is better.

Wow! That story really struck home to me. The very first quilt I ever made was a baby quilt for a lady that taught me how to crochet and can items and so many other things. She had trouble getting and staying pregnant so this baby was special in so many ways. So I got the iron-on embroidery nursery rhymes, embroidered the patches and did the sashing and it was tied because this was back in the '70's so had never heard of long arm machine let alone hire someone. Any way, my friend and her family moved to Reno area and we have kept in touch for the 28 years and finally met up at Disneyland last week. She told me her daughter still has the quilt and it is still used to this day. Her daughter has 3 of her own children and each one has used it. My friend replaced the back a time or two but it is very well used and so is the one I made for her next daughter. That was so nice to hear and really quite a surprise.

I started quilting in 2005 when I got a job at the local quilt store. I got the first Turning Twenty book & started collecting fat quarters of hand tools & related items for make a quilt for my Dad. His birthday was 12/23 so it was a combo B-day/Christmas gift & he didn't wait for Christmas to open it. At his funeral last Jan. we incorporated hand tools & his "travel" tool box with the flowers and the quilt was draped over the casket. Many people let me know he was very proud of it & 'bragged' that I made it. I let my brother know the quilt was to go to him & be passed along. Maybe it will become a 'family' quilt if my great niece allows. She believes any quilt I send to MI is hers!:D

My in-law family has a tradition. Any handmade gifts must be returned to the maker of the gift upon the recipient's demise. If an other family member would like to keep the gift, they must ask for it. Many years ago I made for my mother and mother in law crocheted afghans. When my mother died, my younger sister asked me for the afghan and I of course gave to her. No one knows what happened to my mil's afghan. We were quite surprised that she kept the box, empty, for years on the closet shelf.

That's terrible....I am so sorry that this happened. Some people just have no kindness or class. Normal folks appreciate handmade gifts.

Thank you for sharing that. I also shared the link on FB.
Just an aside: my 13 yo grandson, who is a star quarterback on his middle school team loved his crocheted blanket until it was just threads. Well last football season when he got me (and grandpa) alone, he said "Baa" was on his last legs. After the football game when he had me totally alone he asked if I would make him another "Baa". It doesn't matter that this boy is bigger than me- he's a grandchild! Oh, and he asked for the same mixed pastels baby yarn.
Well, last month I slipped him the gift bag after a very impressive game. I made that blanket big enough for him to wrap in.
My DDIL told me last week that he wraps up in it every night & one night soon after he got it he was wrapped up on the sofa & took a sniff of the blanket & said, "It even smells like Mimi". One happy boy & another happy mimi!

Beautiful story, Mimi. And your grandson is a very special young man!

Awesome story!

I just dont get it, i would give body parts for anything hand made, i take hand made over store bought anytime, I have a quilt my step-mother made and i just love it and i take such great care in these quilts she made.She made a quilt for each of my kids I have a girl and two boys, they are grown, dd is 42, ds is 40 and a son 37, my daughters quilt i still have, she cant take care of herself and the quilt she would sell, my 40yr old son, i have his also, my younger son had his first child (a boy) 5 yrs ago, so i prepared his quilt, you know, washed it gently, ironed it and wrapped it, and wrote a letter to him about memories and put it in with the quilt, now, because it was an animal themed shower, the quilt had elephants on it, so i thought how appropiate. After my grandson was born, I started looking for the quilt and couldnt find it. Looked in there closets (yes i peeked, but i was taking care of my grandson while they worked) went through the babys room, finally found it in the bottom of the closet in the zippered bag i put it in, all wrinkled and shoved back into the bag, well, just let me tell you, i let all three of my kids and their spouses have it, yes, i screamed, yelled and through a big girl fit. I told them how pigish and ungrateful they were and I would make sure they never get anything home made from me again, these quilts were hand made and handstitched over 30 to 35 years ago, and it was thrown in the bottom of the closet.
They looked at me like I was a nut, I have 2 grandfather clocks my dad made one was my mil and the other mine, my daughter was to get hers, but when my mil died, i told my dd she wasnt getting it, the clocks are very delicate and i new she would ruin it or sell it, so i told her forget it.
Anyway moral is...my kids wont get anything since they cant take care of it.

Oh my, sorry I didnt know that was so long.

that's OK, we totally understand rants here at the QB. I made quilts for 2 grandsons, I expected more of a reaction from their mom than from them (ages 6 and 8) - she loved them, they barely looked up from their Ipads. Later the older one, whose birthday was a few days previous, asked if I had gotten him anything for his birthday. I said, yes, I made you the quilt. His reply - "oh yes, that was a very nice towel!!" Gotta laugh - my FIL used to call them blankets and I have had one mistaken for a rug, but towel is a new one!