The Precious

This is Jeremy and Beth. Beth is his Momma. She and my brother were a year ahead of me in high school so I've known her for a long time. I haven't seen her in a long time before the wedding (though we are Facebook friends.) One of the great joys of the day was seeing her again. (Considering we live less than five miles apart, it goes to prove how big and small the word is.) When she walked down the aisle at the wedding I turned to my sister and said, "She's always been beautiful." And she is. Beth is stunning.

And she gave me something to think about that I must share. Here's what happened.

I was saying my good-byes and she asked if she could see the wedding afghan. I, of course, said yes, before I realized I had placed the gift on the gift table which meant it was no longer mine to show off. Luckily, Lily was standing close to the table and we walked over and we asked Lily if we could look at the afghan. We were looking at it when Lily mentioned she might have to use it because the evening was a little chilly and her gown was strapless and Beth said:

"No, you don't use this." She said in that way that all knitters (heck, all crafters) love to hear their stuff talked about. Like this is something special.

And here we are at a knitting crossroads. Is it a precious object or is it functional? And who gets to decide? Do I decide because I made it? Does Lily decide because it was made with her in mind? Don't even ask about what Jeremy thinks - he won't even care. How often does it happen that we make an item with a person or purpose in mind and that person uses it differently than we imagined? Do we think they're clever or do we feel a little put out?

I didn't say anything in response because Lily and I started talking about the colors but it does make me wonder about how we think about what we make and what others may think about what we make.

I love that Beth said that. I love the idea that someone thinks it's special enough to preserve.
I also thought Lily would snuggle with a good book with the afghan wrapped around legs.
I also thought the afghan would look good at the foot of the bed.
I also thought it would make an interesting tapestry hung on the wall.
I also thought they would hide it until such time they knew I was coming for a visit.

I'm good with any of those option - even the last one. And I have come to the conclusion that it is up to Lily and Jeremy to decide. It's a win-win. I gave them something from my heart and spirit - I've gotten my Ya-Yas and now they can decide the value to their heart and spirit. I think that's how it goes.

Which side do you land on? Is it precious or functional?

BTW, Susie got a kick out of Mr. Honey buying the Glad storage bags to use as the gift bag. We did not use that. I took a trip over to the Container Store and purchased those zipped bags that sheet sets and blankets come in. It gave a nice, professional finished look. In fact, I am going to ship afghans and blankets from designbcb that way. I felt really good about the presentation - but I'm always glad to give Susie a good chuckle!
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