Gift given

Have you ever noticed how giving a gift can sometimes make you just as happy as the person getting it?  Now, I'm not talking about those "Oh, shoot.  We've got to run to Walmart before the party to pick up a gift because I completely forgot.  Does she like Barbie or Littlest Pet Shop?" kind of gifts.  I'm talking about the gifts that take time.  Those gifts that you make for someone special knowing with each stitch, knit, or stir of the spoon that someone you care about is going to receive something from your heart.

I just gave one of those this weekend.  I mentioned on Wednesday that I'd finally finished up my one-row lace scarf for a friend.  She's a very dear friend to me and our children are good friends as well.  Her Daddy's been in the hospital for this entire month fighting a lung infection and she's been splitting time between the hospital (which is in the big city 45 minutes away) and home taking care of her 3 kids.  She has a tender heart and has been very stressed trying to be strong for everyone around her.  I can't imagine.

So, I decided to give one of those special gifts.  I'd had this yarn out at the Santa Shop in December and she'd commented that she LOVED these colors.  So I dropped the project I'd started to make with it (another scarf for me that was a little confusing) and found this pattern instead.  I used Turvid's One-Row Lace Scarf pattern and would recommend to any skill-level.  If you can knit and knit 2 together, you can make this scarf.  It's that simple.


But simple doesn't make it less special.  As I spent hours knitting while watching TV in the evenings, riding in the car on trips, or waiting at an appointment or the dance studio, I thought of my friend and her Dad and her family.  I prayed for each one of them.  I prayed for comfort, for health, for encouragement.  My scarf became a prayer shawl.  My hope was that the warmth of this scarf along with the prayers knitted into it will comfort my sweet friend.  And years from now when she sees it hanging in her closet she will know that she is loved, not only by us here on Earth, but by her Father in Heaven who listened to every prayer prayed for her.

I am new on Ravelry, but love how how friendly the community is with so many free patterns offered and so many groups to join for support or for knit/crochet-a-longs.  I would encourage anyone who enjoys knitting or crochet or would like to learn to join over there.  It's free and easy to use.

Here's to gifts that feel as much a gift to the giver as it does to the recipient. What is your favorite gift you've ever given?