Winners and Gift Stories

Knitspeak Winners!

I would like to congratulate...

Samantha and Ellen who both will be receiving a copy of Knitspeak. Please email me your address and I will get these in the mail today.

Samantha's favorite gift- I think one of the favorite things I crocheted for a gift was little purse and stuffed doll for a friend of my sons. He contributed lots of the ideas that made the project extra special.

Ellen's favorite gift- I'm having a hard time thinking of "the best" gift I have given, because it really has nothing to do with the gift itself and everything to do with the 'Thank you'. I have kept every 'thank you' I have received, either in written form, or engraved on my heart from people who have received a gift. And when people tell me years later, what my gift meant to them, I am aglow all over again. It happened just today, when I ran into a neighbor at a store and she said that her son loves the blanket I made for him (5 years ago) and it is "his" blanket. That kind of story makes my day.

Thank you everyone for your stories! I really enjoyed reading each one that came in. Here are some of my favorites:

Deneen says "My favorite Christmas gift I have given are my annual NICU donations to the hospital where my daughter was born and where she stayed for a week. My daughter was the bruiser of the NICU and when I saw how small and alone (big city hospital)so many of these babies were, I decided we would make donations every year for Elena's birthday, which happens to be 12/21-so we go as a family and make the donations."

Sara says "My favourite gift was a backwasher I made for my 96 year old dad who is in a nursing home in England. He was complaining that he could manage to wash everything except his back so when I got home I made one and sent it. The cost of postage far exceeded the cost of the gift but for my dad it was priceless."

Kate says "My favorite gift was a baby blanket I crocheted for my sister when she was born. I was 16 at the time and it was a granny square pattern in rainbow pastels."

As for me, my favorite gift was the very first item I have ever crocheted. It was a mini-sampler afghan. Each block I learned a new skill and technique, which was very challenging but super fun. But that is not why it is so special to me. See I learned to crochet to make that blanket for my newborn niece. But even more special was that I got to stay with my sister and help take care of them for a week when she was born. So really we learned together. I crocheted while she napped in my arms. She was so tiny and so sweet. I will never forget that time, and neither will she; since five years later that blanket still sits on her bed.