I recently came across a blog post presenting a humourous take on the travails faced by a guy in choosing an appropriate gift for his valentine. The segment relevant to this blog post is reproduced below.
“You are missing the whole point, Ashok. You do not express love by buying stuff. Buying is easy. Essentially, its like saying that you just don’t have the interest and inclination to spend your time doing something special for her, so you just get it done by some one else in exchange for cash”
My take is that the above applies not only to gifts given on Valentines Day, but also farewell gifts and the like.
Now, what has this got to do with a hobby blog?
Right since my undergraduate days, I have felt that a perfect gift is one in which the recipient can appreciate the time and effort put into it, rather than its monetary value. This is where your hobby comes into play. You could create some work of art, such as a painting or a portrait. Basically, anything that you feel you are good at. In fact, some of the best gifts that I have given (as farewell gifts for college friends, or even just a note of thanks for being a person who has influenced my life in a major way) are embroidery kits that I have worked on.
The kit nature makes the start up easier, and you can still put in your time, effort and patience to ensure that the final piece is your own result.
A month or so back, I came across a 'Sew Say It' kit while shopping. The kit included printed fabric, felt backing, buttons, embroidery floss, needle, threader a painted frame and two chipboard cards for framing. It was more of a craft kit rather than an embroidery one. I purchased it, and worked on it for close to 6 hours spread over 2 days. The result is here:
Stitches used: Running, Blanket, Back and Lazy Daisy
Does this make a good gift for Valentines Day? Too late (or too early!) to ask, right?!
“You are missing the whole point, Ashok. You do not express love by buying stuff. Buying is easy. Essentially, its like saying that you just don’t have the interest and inclination to spend your time doing something special for her, so you just get it done by some one else in exchange for cash”
My take is that the above applies not only to gifts given on Valentines Day, but also farewell gifts and the like.
Now, what has this got to do with a hobby blog?
Right since my undergraduate days, I have felt that a perfect gift is one in which the recipient can appreciate the time and effort put into it, rather than its monetary value. This is where your hobby comes into play. You could create some work of art, such as a painting or a portrait. Basically, anything that you feel you are good at. In fact, some of the best gifts that I have given (as farewell gifts for college friends, or even just a note of thanks for being a person who has influenced my life in a major way) are embroidery kits that I have worked on.
The kit nature makes the start up easier, and you can still put in your time, effort and patience to ensure that the final piece is your own result.
A month or so back, I came across a 'Sew Say It' kit while shopping. The kit included printed fabric, felt backing, buttons, embroidery floss, needle, threader a painted frame and two chipboard cards for framing. It was more of a craft kit rather than an embroidery one. I purchased it, and worked on it for close to 6 hours spread over 2 days. The result is here:
Stitches used: Running, Blanket, Back and Lazy Daisy
Does this make a good gift for Valentines Day? Too late (or too early!) to ask, right?!
