I love giving people gifts. I’ve always loved how happy people can become when you hand them a little surprise. I also really enjoy putting together a stellar presentation. It took a full month of free time to get this package together for friends, making it something they would collectively like and designing all the pieces to work together. Hand-painted fiber, knitting pattern, stitch marker to go with the pattern, project bag. I made four to give away, and a couple extra stitch markers, for me. It’s all flowers and chevrons, purple and lavender and white, fields and mountains. The dog was so entirely bored by the end of it, and I couldn’t take the dejected expression on his little face anymore. So I made him a Tour de France present too, a new kerchief for his collar, and he was all wagging tail and kisses when I clipped it around his neck.
The only part of the gift package that I’m disappointed with is the fiber. It’s not the quality I would have liked to have given as a gift; and worse, it didn’t turn out to be the color I wanted. Lesson learned, I suppose: next time plan on one month just to dye the fiber, and dye the fiber first. The way it looked while wet is more what I wanted it to look like finished. I knew before I set it, that it wouldn’t. It turned out more Crazy Hydrangea, than Lavender Fields. It is spinning up well, at least. And the yarn will make a lovely cowl, when I get to knitting again, this Fall!