[pamjlee]

I have a friend who said "Oh I have this afghan kit that I have had sitting around forever. Would you like to knit it up?" Oh course I should have just said "no". Instead I said "oh bring it over and I will look at it." When she did I should have said "no" but of course I said, "oh It may be a year or two but I will try to get to it."

So it turned out to be a Mary Maxim kit I think from the 70's. It was a roving type yarn of a very old style acrylic. The colours were from the 70's, rust beige browns. Done in a linen stitch. It looked like some kind of rodent had been trying to nest in parts of it. There were bits of debris and pulled yarn and I had to cut out parts that could not be salvaged. At least it was a fairly chunky yarn so it knit up quickly. I ran out of yarn and had to shorten the tassles. I washed it when done for obvious reasons and the tassels went all wonky and I was tempted to take them out.

My hubby kept bugging me to get to it so I started last fall and finished it when we returned from the south this spring. I was afraid she might just tell me to keep it and I certainly didn't want it. So I put it into a gift bag and gave it to her the last time they were over.

She says " oh you got it done, thanks" Didn't even take it out of the bag and I have not heard a word about it since.

All I can say is lesson learned!

 

[carrottop71]

I have a friend who said "Oh I have this afghan kit that I have had sitting around forever. Would you like to knit it up?" Oh course I should have just said "no". Instead I said "oh bring it over and I will look at it." When she did I should have said "no" but of course I said, "oh It may be a year or two but I will try to get to it."

So it turned out to be a Mary Maxim kit I think from the 70's. It was a roving type yarn of a very old style acrylic. The colours were from the 70's, rust beige browns. Done in a linen stitch. It looked like some kind of rodent had been trying to nest in parts of it. There were bits of debris and pulled yarn and I had to cut out parts that could not be salvaged. At least it was a fairly chunky yarn so it knit up quickly. I ran out of yarn and had to shorten the tassles. I washed it when done for obvious reasons and the tassels went all wonky and I was tempted to take them out.

My hubby kept bugging me to get to it so I started last fall and finished it when we returned from the south this spring. I was afraid she might just tell me to keep it and I certainly didn't want it. So I put it into a gift bag and gave it to her the last time they were over.

She says " oh you got it done, thanks" Didn't even take it out of the bag and I have not heard a word about it since.

All I can say is lesson learned!

Even with all the problems, it turned out nicely. I'm sorry our friend didn't appreciate your love and time took to salvage her afgan

 

[Jeannie2009]

Did that lady invent the word Rude? Under truly trying circumstances your talent saved the day. It almost has a Navajo look.

 

[Annekeetje]

Wow, sorry to hear your "friend" didn't even bother to take a look at it… And it looks like it took a lot of hours to make this very nice Vintage afghan. Well done, you can be proud of yourself!!!

 

[bpj]

I know just how you feel. Been there and done that also. I have learned that when I face something like that, I just say Sorry I only knit for my family.

 

[bwtyer]

well, like you said, you should have said "no". Obviously she does knit so she knows how much goes into it. I am not sure if I would call her a friend.

 

[Glennis]

You have done a lovely job.

 

[Cindylu]

It's very beautiful and your "friend" is very rude ! We all run into that sometime or other don't we ?

 

[Engprof]

well, like you said, you should have said "no". Obviously she does knit so she knows how much goes into it. I am not sure if I would call her a friend.

I'm with you, bwtyer, this is no friendly way to act. Talk about cheek! I'd have donated the beautiful end result to a worthy cause, personally.

 

[johannecw]

Nice job on the afghan, good friend, and another star in your halo!

 

[alvadee]

Are you not going to ask her how she likes it ? Beautiful knitting.

 

[sharyncd]

A friend asked me to knit a cost for her. She picked the pattern and the yarn. I doubled the yarn so it would be warm enough as it was a coat. We didn't like the way it hung so I donated that one and knit another one with a single strand. Bought beautiful buttons for it. I never saw her wear it and never heard a word of thanks. So I know exactly how you feel and have never knit for this former friend again.

 

[sharyncd]

Sorry the item was a coat!

 

[quiltdaze37]

I went through the same thing recently---another time came up...and i said,"thanks so much for thinking of me---but---i think I will pass

 

[Beachkc]

Lesson learned; Just say no. There is no way I would take on someone else's old project. I don't knit just to be knitting, I love knitting and am not going to let anybody spoil it for me. No! No!No!

 

[DonnieK]

I think I would have said "That's nice dear, when will you finish it?" after her comment "I have an unfinished afghan".
I have learned over the years that friends sometimes just expect too much of us when they are not into knitting and don't know the first thing about good quality "Thank yous".

I believe that I would have said, "Hey girly, take that thing out and have a look see at it at least". Life is too short to have to go venting because of rude people. Trust me, I know this.

 

[kerles]

I know just how you feel. I knit toys for people at work and do not charge for them. Recently I knitted two dinosaurs for one of the ladies for her nephews
as she doesn't have any kids herself. She opened the bag and looked inside , closed the bag and just walked away with it and did not say one word to me.
I was so angry I felt like asking for them back!

 

[seamer45]

To tell you the truth,I love it, but I'm an earthy color person anyway. And another truth, that's no friend.

 

[taznwinston]

First of all, my disclaimer... I LOVE rusts and browns. I LOVE the way it turned out. The stitch looks like it was tedious, in a knit one purl one kind of way. Yes the finished product is beautiful,but to knit an entire afghan in it,you must have been ready to join the looney bin by time you were done. LOL
The friend thing is another story. IF she's not a knitter/crocheter she has NO idea of the amount of work that goes into the making. I'm sorry the response was like a dud firecracker. The first few times I agreed to make things for others,that they ASKED me to make,and their response was"ok thanks" I was hurt. But the next time they'd ask I'd simply say I had too many projects going to take on any more.
Just as a little lighter note... my son asked me to make him an extra large afghan since he's an extra large person, LOL and I agreed. I ordered the yarn from another KP member,waited for it to arrive,and casted on. A WEEK later he asked if it was done!! What?? LOL. He said he wanted to use it before the warm weather set in. I told him he'd have it by time the cold weather returns. LOL They simply have NO idea.

 

[oneofthegriffins]

I agree that it is a question of your friend not knowing how much work was involved! I asked a friend to knit a sweater for my grandson, which she did. I thanked her for it and offered to pay for the yarn, which she declined. Then I took knitting lessons so that I could knit the sweaters myself. That's when I really appreciated how much effort (and money) had gone into the sweater she made.