Non-Knitters Don't Get It

[Knitting_Guy]

I have a co-worker who constantly tells me that I can buy ‘whatever item I’m knitting at the time’ a lot cheaper at a store. She thinks I’m silly to pay more money for yarn and take the time to knit it myself when I can buy ‘the same thing’ for a lot cheaper at a store.

I find that so offensive! It is not now, nor will it ever be, the ‘same thing’. You cannot buy custom made, high quality, hand crafted items at a discount store!

I call that the Wal Mart mentality. They simply don’t understand the concepts of quality or hand-made.

[cftwo]

I think it’s more than just not understanding the quality of hand made - it’s also not understanding the therapeutic aspects of knitting (or other crafts). Most crafters seem to get that the PROCESS is just as (if not more) important than the PRODUCT.

[hainangel2000]

LOL I love this post! EXACTLY ON ALL OF IT :roflhard: :roflhard:

And eeewwwww your right on the dog. I love my dogs but I would never share my food :teehee:

[annomalley]

Triole EWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!.

And annomalley-- thank you:) . And a question-- you say in your OTNs that you’re making the gloves from the Handy Book of Patterns. Me too-- have you noticed that the 5th finger comes out a little too small? It feels tight to me, my hands are pretty standardly proportioned, and the stitch count did seem a little low for that part. And you?

I made those gloves for someone with bigger hands than what I have and they were a bit big for him. Not sure if it’s because the hand circumfurence measurement was off from what his actual hand circumference was or if it was the pattern. I had to have someone else measure the hands because these were for a present so the measurement I was given might have not been correct.

[annomalley]

I have a co-worker who constantly tells me that I can buy ‘whatever item I’m knitting at the time’ a lot cheaper at a store. She thinks I’m silly to pay more money for yarn and take the time to knit it myself when I can buy ‘the same thing’ for a lot cheaper at a store.

I have the opposite thing happen. I go into stores and see scarves and hats and I say out loud that I think I can knit that myself. :teehee:

[hocns]

I have a co-worker who constantly tells me that I can buy ‘whatever item I’m knitting at the time’ a lot cheaper at a store. She thinks I’m silly to pay more money for yarn and take the time to knit it myself when I can buy ‘the same thing’ for a lot cheaper at a store.

I find that so offensive! It is not now, nor will it ever be, the ‘same thing’. You cannot buy custom made, high quality, hand crafted items at a discount store!

I have never yet found very many places at all where you can buy high quality, hand knitted items. Friends and I knit a lot, and our local dollar store or walmart doesn’t sell lacy mohair shawls, beaded shawls, fingerless mitts made from Noro Silk Garden, Lopi mittens and hats, shawls and sweaters made from handspun, hand dyed yarn…people are so ignorant it is unbelievable. Yes, dollar stores do have mittens and hats and scarves, but no one with a modicum of taste would ever actually wear one of those things.

[mdog182]

I have the opposite thing happen. I go into stores and see scarves and hats and I say out loud that I think I can knit that myself. :teehee:

haha i do the same thing! if i’m shopping with my boyfriend he’ll nudge me every once and a while and say “could you make that?” and most of the time, i say “yes, it would take a while, but yes.”

[BlueEyezz]

Oh, I feel your pain. I knitted a cable scarf recently. . .a friend saw the picture of it and was like “Oh, I love it! Can I buy one from you??”

My first thought was “Do you think I mass produce these???” My second thought? For my time (because that scarf took me at LEAST 3 weeks to work on in my spare time)…it would cost you a lot more than you’re willing to pay.

[McKnitty]

I have never yet found very many places at all where you can buy high quality, hand knitted items. Friends and I knit a lot, and our local dollar store or walmart doesn’t sell lacy mohair shawls, beaded shawls, fingerless mitts made from Noro Silk Garden, Lopi mittens and hats, shawls and sweaters made from handspun, hand dyed yarn…people are so ignorant it is unbelievable. Yes, dollar stores do have mittens and hats and scarves, but no one with a modicum of taste would ever actually wear one of those things.

Love your post! Very well said!

[bip]

I meant to reply to this thread the first day it was posted. My other passion is horses, and I visit several horse bbs. The day this was posted, I am not making this up, there was a thread titled “Non-horsepeople don’t get it”. It was more oriented towards spouses not understanding the time/expense of horses, but overall, the theme was very similar.

I think that people have a hard time understanding other people’s passions, especially people that don’t have passions of their own. But even people who have their own passions seem to have a hard time understanding that WE feel about knitting the way that THEY feel about fly fishing or motorcycles or golf or tennis or miniature trains.

[VictoiseC]

Great place to vent!!!

Well I have a few friends that have been so pleased by what I’ve made them of course… but what’s amazing is
when a family member who doesn’t really want to keep in touch much (my sister in this case) after explaining how much you love knitting etc. they say “Ahhhhh, that’s so sweet, I know! Make me a long long scarf ok? White. Very soft. Very long. Okay???”

But it’s said like THEY are doing YOU a FAVOR. This total condesencion in their voice, how generous of them! I haven’t gotten around to making that scarf yet.

Talking about high end knit items, Barney’s here in New York is right down the street from me. I can’t afford anything in there (except once I bought a handbag on sale) but I stop in to paw over the big knit hats and guess what their price is? $275. They’re big and ribbed and nice wool but completely plain. And $275.

The thing I am most pleased with about knitting my own hats and scarves and gloves is exactly that anti-Walmart thing Mason, but anti-everything is imported usually China and yes $5 for a hat or $6 for a pair of gloves. I find it wonderful to buy local wool from sheep raised in this country, it’s become an obssession with me almost. (although I do like some Peruvian wool from time to time)

ok, enough already

[VictoiseC]

condescension

there, right spelling…:teehee:

[MAmaDawn]

I think it’s more than just not understanding the quality of hand made - it’s also not understanding the therapeutic aspects of knitting (or other crafts). Most crafters seem to get that the PROCESS is just as (if not more) important than the PRODUCT.

I totally agree

[creativejesusfreak]

amen to that cftwo. I totally agree they don’t understand the quality of handmade. It’s also so much more rewarding to make something yourself, especially clothes. Not to mention it’s cheaper (boo to $275 mittens and hats). I was just at Gap and they had knit sweaters and stuff for less than that but still very pricey ($100’s). My first thought was, “why would i spend this much when I can make it myself?”

[tarrentella]

ok so i havnt got on to making garments yet (one day one day) and i do find kntting expensive, finding the right yarn and the right siz needles and so on. but i would still rather have me hand knit scraf than store knit ones because I MADE IT!
and my ex (im still close to) regularly thanks me for his hand knit socks when its cold, along with phrases such as ’ i can’t beleive you made these’ and crucially ‘[I]would it be to much[/I] to ask for another pair?’ he understood, therfore he gets another pair.

i have freinds who caft, although don’t knit, and understand the time money and effort put into things, they get knitted gifts, everyone else, sod’em.

i think it is down to understandng what a passion is, and what a [I]craft[/I] is. All those people i know who do apreciate knittin (either as gifts or in a general sense) are either hobbyists or passionate about somthing themselves.

[jennylozano]

I have a co-worker who constantly tells me that I can buy ‘whatever item I’m knitting at the time’ a lot cheaper at a store. She thinks I’m silly to pay more money for yarn and take the time to knit it myself when I can buy ‘the same thing’ for a lot cheaper at a store.

I find that so offensive! It is not now, nor will it ever be, the ‘same thing’. You cannot buy custom made, high quality, hand crafted items at a discount store!

:gah: I DO want to tell your co-worker that it is NONE of her bussiness!!! Can I?

[McKnitty]

:gah: I DO want to tell your co-worker that it is NONE of her bussiness!!! Can I?

Ha! I wish I could give you her number! Maybe someone else could explain to her what a craft or hobby is and why we do it. She just doesn’t get it at all.

I really don’t understand why, because she likes to cook. Hmm, why would you cook something yourself when you could buy it already made? Can’t you get the ‘same thing’ at a fast food restaurant???

Oops, sorry, didn’t mean to get all snippy!

[losnana]

Ha! I wish I could give you her number! Maybe someone else could explain to her what a craft or hobby is and why we do it. She just doesn’t get it at all.

I really don’t understand why, because she likes to cook. Hmm, why would you cook something yourself when you could buy it already made? Can’t you get the ‘same thing’ at a fast food restaurant???

Oops, sorry, didn’t mean to get all snippy!

:roflhard: :roflhard: :roflhard:

[bookbabe]

you know this is so interesting to me…my other hobby/ obsession is cake decorating and every one of these posts could apply to that as well. People ask me to throw together a cake all the time and then are appalled at how much I ask them to pay for it (and I don’t charge anywhere near enough…) I think people who don’t make things don’t truly understand the time, effort and love you put into designing and making something–whether it’s a hand knitted item or a special cake. You couldn’t charge enough for your time, not to mention the ingredients–baking or knitting! Someone on here called it the Walmart mentality–perfect description.

So I’m very picky about my cakes and don’t do them for just anyone…and as I get better at knitting, I’m going to be just as picky. Right now I’m not anywhere good enough to much for anyone besides myself.

It is nice to have other people who understand home made means high quality because a lot of my friends just don’t get it…

[ecb]

you know this is so interesting to me…my other hobby/ obsession is cake decorating and every one of these posts could apply to that as well. People ask me to throw together a cake all the time and then are appalled at how much I ask them to pay for it (and I don’t charge anywhere near enough…) I think people who don’t make things don’t truly understand the time, effort and love you put into designing and making something–whether it’s a hand knitted item or a special cake. You couldn’t charge enough for your time, not to mention the ingredients–baking or knitting! Someone on here called it the Walmart mentality–perfect description.

I had a WONDERFUL friend in Philly who baked for ‘fun’ She had this Boiled cake recipe and she made this cake for my daughters birthday, andother time she came with a decorated cake with rolled fondent can I hear a OMG
She even brought the cake she made first that was “ruined” for us grownups to snack on, and would REFUSE to let me pay her. So i would bring her leftovers (her family did not eat meat, so i would bring her the veggies from Corned Beef and Cabbage her favorite)
I never understood why she would not let me pay her, now that I knit, I understand a LOT better.

ecb