I’m in full Christmas elf mode here thanks to the Christmas lights going up in town and the annual gift exchange with my knitter friends being well underway so there will be quite a few posts about gift ideas coming. I think what makes me really in the spirit though is knowing that when the sun rises this December 25th, it will begin a day in which we celebrate with our families. First time in five years we’ve been together (due to distance). Very exciting. Which makes me want to be super thoughtful and make this especially memorable for LB (my son). But I don’t have time to knit like I did pre-parenthood so I recently considered looking to other resources for handmade gifts, like Etsy and Grannies Inc. I mean, it’s still handmade with love, just someone else’s love.
I recently heard about Grannies Inc. and was intrigued. The knit-wear company boasts products hand-knitted by real grannies from around the UK. Don’t have a granny to knit for you? Now you do! I’ll admit I loved the idea when I heard about it because when I was a kid my Aunt Margaret crocheted all the great-nieces and great-nephews slippers and goodies each Christmas. They were impractical (very slippery) but so warm and made me feel very loved. Of course, Grannies Inc has one advantage over your own granny… no guilt and you get to choose what she knits! This Christmas, they rolled out three new pattern options, including personalized children’s stockings from £35 (not that they’re just for the kiddos), Santa beard hats from £30 and a design-your-own kit so you get just what you’ve always wanted.
Yes, I love to knit and make gifts myself but at the moment time is limited and the thought of spending every spare baby naptime to knit gifts that I’m not 100% certain will be cherished and adored isn’t greeted with enthusiasm by me. I know, it’s important to knit for the enjoyment of it and not for the appreciation received. I’ll get back to that ideal as soon as I regain a bit more spare time (like when my son goes off to university).
RedCraig’s granny, knitting in the kitchen. Modified from original full-color photo and shared here under Creative Commons.
This isn’t one of the lovely knitters from Grannies Inc, but I thought it seemed fitting to post an actual photo of a granny knitting in this post. This is RedCraig‘s granny. Check out her skills with the DPNs!