Where the wild things are...

One aspect of gift-giving that I spend an embarrassing amount of time trying to wrap my head around is that the gift be something the person wants and not something I just want to give.

As you've seen from my pictures, my knitted gifts are pretty vanilla. I mean, other than me, I can't imagine many people wanting a HUGE dayglow yellow and green bag with pink flowers or a sweater that can be worn to work or as part of a Freddy Kruger costume. Personally, I think that's where the loving hands at home thing gets a bad rap. Many people think that everyone likes what they like.

But, that gift theory goes beyond crafty gifts. My Amazon wish list started because one year my dad gave me books about Hasidic Judaism. I'm not kidding. Boychiks in the Hood was an actual gift for a twenty-something working high-end retail. I totally understood the thought involved. Dad was in his Jewish phase and he was really moved by this book and wanted to share it. I get it. I tried to read it. After my dictionary failed to have some of the terminology I needed to understand the book, I started my Amazon list. How about you get me books/cds/dvds/stuff that I want? So, I try desperately to employ that thinking for others. Sometimes I succeed and sometimes I fail. But, if thought counts, crazy lady here wins.

On to today's finished object....

Its a bird, its a plane, its...


...a happy bear made out of organic cotton.

Ok Allison, you win. Organic cotton really does kick regular cotton's booty. I picked this up when Supercrafty was moving from L.A. to PA and Allison was having a sale. Now I'm hooked. I don't think I can make baby things out of anything besides organic cotton. It didn't hurt my hands as much as regular cotton does and after I washed the bear once to get my stitches even, I wanted to keep it....sooooo soft.

This little guy is going to a 20 month old with parents who I know will approve of the colors and the organic cotton. At least, I hope everyone likes it. Crazy lady strikes again!