I gave the middle hat to my boss on Tuesday or Wednesday for an Xmas gift. For 6+ years we've had a joking/teasing relationship about my knitting, which involves me occasionally showing him something I have knitted or crocheted and and him saying, "great job! but you know that you can find hats/socks/whatevers at walmart for much less effort, right?" At one point I taught him how to knit, because I'd been teaching pretty much everyone in our group how to either knit or crochet. After about 10 stitches he lost patience but I thought it was very cool that he'd tried it, especially after all the good-natured mocking.
Then two weeks ago I showed him the Divine Hats I was mailing to Teri and he said they were too nice to trust to the mailroom! Which was a very unexpected reaction, and it earned him an immediate spot on the Knit-worthy list. So instead of the yearly bottle of vodka, this year I gave him vodka + the hat in the photo, which he tried on and seemed to like :)
This morning he sent me the nicest thank-you email!
"Thank you very much for the gift. The bottle was verynice but I want you to know I was really delighted by the hat. I know Ihave made a few comments about knitting, Walmart and the efficiency ofmachinery but the hat made my day. It was so thoughtful of you to knitthat for me and I really do appreciate it."
I was originally going to share this story only to my Knitters circle but then decided to share it to all of my circles. People, if someone ever gives you a handmade gift, this is a perfect example of how to respond. Even better: an action shot of the item in use, but for a work colleague the above is plenty.
