Sunday, July 29, 2007

IN which I admit to being Monkish and prehaps a lousy person

So, as most of my S'n'B friends can tell you I do a lot of charity knitting. A. LOT. OF. CHARITY. KNITTING. In fact, outside of a few things I have knit for my mother, my cousin, and my blanket (nope, still not blocked nor sewn up but the knitting? Yup, still finished) just about everything I have knit since starting again has been for charity. Since February of 2006 (when I began again) I think the list of recipients is as follows:
  • Warm Up America
  • Dulaan Project - both 2006 & 2007 deliveries
  • Afghans for Afghans
  • Blanket of Hope
  • Gracious Parcels
  • Red scarf Project
  • Warm Woolies
  • Caps to the Capitol
  • The Snuggles Project

I'm sure there are others, but these are all I can come up with at the moment.

Why am I reciting this? It's not to feel like a good person or lay all this out so that other people can tell me what I good person I am. I am laying this all out because I have come to a place I never thought I'd be - sick and tired of helping other people.

Does this make me a bad person? I got an email from the Friends of Pine Ridge Reservation about needing even more stuff and I deleted it unopened. I did the same thing to an email I got from Afghans for Afghans recently. I just feel good-works out, if that made any sense.

But that is not the sick (ill, not gross)part of the story - Even though the thought of more charity knitting right now hurts my brain, I have a nearly overwhelming compulsion to knit for whatever cause comes along. There is a pleading voice inside my head that whines on about how much need there is in the world...

So, I decided to rob Peter to donate to Paul. Does that make sense? Here is what I mean. I have a box designated for Warm Woolies. I was originally going to send them 25 items but somehow it has grown (yes, Virignia, knitwear really can multiply) to 34 items. Not happy with 34* I was going to add some more before mailing. For anyone else knitting for Warm Woolies, I earmark my things for the Rosebud Reservation. But then I got the email from Pine Ridge reservation and teh thought of cold women & children who are also victims of domestic violence set that voice a-chattering. It told me to knit, knit, knit wile my wrists beg me not to.

Now the real question: Is it ok for me to take out items from the Warm Woolies box (leaving the 25 I originally decided to send) and put the remaining 8 items into a box for Pine Ridge?

Am I a bad person for leaving people cold on one reservation while warming people up on another?

*To explain the Monkish tendencies, I like even numbers over odd numbers (except multiples of 5) but multiples of 10 are nearly perfect numbers. So, having 34 items needles at me to become 35 items and 8 items puches to be 10. But 35 and 8 are better than 33 and 7. Argh.

2 comments:

jennsquared said...

The Monkish symptom is okay. I have the same tendency.

I don't think you are a bad person to want to split the box up a bit. First, they will never know how much you wanted to send to them, and I am sure they are just happy to receive things from you. Second, if YOU are a bad person because you are done with charity knitting for awhile or forever, then I am a SUPER bad person then. I've NEVER done charity knitting! I always have way too many projects that I want to knit and you know me, I have a hard time making more than one project at a time... I say go for it!

Anonymous said...

Wow, just....wow! Emily, I love ya but you're nuts!
I have to say I agree with Jenn. If you're a bad person then we're all going to hell in hand basket. :-)
Look, just give them whatever you feel like giving...it shouldn't feel like an obligation, ya know?