Giving a hand-crafted gift is the most rewarding way to express your love and engage in INTENTIONAL GIFTING. Knitting a scarf is so satisfying and creates dedicated time to think about the recipient. In this case, the scarf was for my son. I began knitting it in February on a romantic weekend road trip to Northern Michigan with my husband. The soft, rhythmic clicking of the needles and keeping track of each step in the custom Aran pattern I created occupied my mind and the time as my husband drove. (He does long-distance highway, I do city and rain.)

Because knitted pieces take so much time to make and are far from cost-effective no matter what kind of yarn you choose, I allow them to be a special treat. I only choose super soft organic alpaca / merino / cotton yarn from my favorite purveyor, Rowan yarns out of Britain. With the exception of my husband and son, I only knit or quilt for another knitter or quilter, someone whom I’m sure will appreciate the craft.

I bought these eight 50g balls of goldenrod almost 10 years ago with no project in mind. They’ve been lovingly stored and transported from one house to the next when we moved, too pristine to unravel, until in a fit of Konmari cleaning, I forced myself to cast on the first stitches and give it a go. Finding the perfect-sized sturdy gift box and wrapping it around my son’s neck on Christmas morning brought me all the joy I imagined I’d feel. I soon after made my husband a simple ribbed scarf with the wheat yarn.