Improving on the Thoughts That Count

How many times in your life have you received a gift not to your taste and subsequently excused it with the old stand-by: "it's the thought that counts"?

In almost all cases, that's true. I know nothing about my newspaper carrier, so if I give him something, it will be the thought that counts. Many host/hostess gifts fall into that category as well.

The only time when the expression may not apply is when the thought is coming from someone who should know you better than anyone else in the world.

I have a friend who says that she and her late husband never exchanged holiday or special occasion gifts once the children (and then grandchildren) came. While that's sad in many ways, they also managed to avoid the headache of "what am I going to get him/her" as the years went by. The problem is, once you reach a certain age and level of disposable income, you buy what you want or need yourself.

Gift giving then becomes this mind-bending exercise of determining what your other half doesn't know that s/he wants.

The advertising debacle that turned Peloton into the butt of all jokes over the past holiday season made it crystal clear that gift giving between partners is rife with potential landmines. If my other half decided to spend close to three thousand dollars on a gift for me, I wouldn't be so much impressed as annoyed... because we both would have played a role in earning those three thousand dollars and it wouldn't be right for one party to use it to make a big splashy gesture.

In the same vein, I was extremely offended when a brother-in-law suggested to my husband that he "should have bought [me] a Lexus" when we last purchased a new vehicle for my use. Had I been there when he made that chauvinistic suggestion, I would have told him that I don't need a man to buy me an effing car of any kind... not to mention that it looked like half the people in the city had bought the new Lexus.

After that bit of venting, you might be wondering, what is today's post really about? ;-)

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A couple of years ago, I confronted my other half about his "thoughtful" gifting. He had fallen into a habit of buying me clothing, usually in black/white, mirroring styles that I already possessed. I flat out told him that I didn't need more black and white print draped neckline tops (he had given me three). The thing was, it had gotten too easy for him to go to the mall at the last minute and grab some clothes at Christmas or birthday time.

I asked him to consider what I had given him as gifts over the years and said that if he really wanted to keep up this tradition of exchanging gifts, I want to see more thought in the results.

To his credit, he took it to heart, and I have received not a stitch of clothing since. Speaking of stitch, however — this is a sewing blog, right? — here is one of his gifts from this past Christmas:

A more "thoughtful" gift from hubby...

Let me tell you, I love the thought. Finally, (after how many years of me having this hobby?) he acknowledged my interest in sewing and got me something in line with that interest.

It absolutely does not matter that the item turned out to be so much less than what he imagined it would be... cheaply made with a stipulation not to exceed use for twenty seconds at a time or some such nonsense.

Unfortunately, this thing is cheaply made...

There are so many variants of this animal, some likely more durable than others. I'm sure that if I didn't have a full-fledged sewing machine sitting open all of the time, I might have a use for something like this.

... and uses just a single thread...

Unfortunately, after doing some research online and seeing how trying it might be just to thread the thing — mine came already threaded, leading me to believe that maybe it had been returned by someone — I knew it wasn't something that I would keep for that just in case I'm away from my sewing machine and need to stitch something in an hurry reason.

I'd probably have to look up how to use it every time I took it out.

... to sew a chain stitch...

So yes, I truly, truly appreciated the thought... because it was thoughtful and on the right track. That said, it was returned to our local Showcase store shortly after the new year. ;-)

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But what have we here?

A "perfecto" thought...

This is a Perfecto branded threader; another gift from hubby this Christmas. Another thought that was running in the right direction.

Slightly unclear instructions for use...

I have to admit that the graphics on the back did not lead me to knowing how to use this, but a quick visit to YouTube demonstrated the technique perfectly... or perfettamente.

See the "boot"?

The Perfecto has been added to my "downstairs" sewing kit. (The one that I've had since before I took up sewing again.) It doesn't always work on the first try, but it eventually does the job. Perfect for when my sewing glasses are upstairs, which is usually the case.

Hmmm... is this racist or just unnecessarily disparaging?

This warning on the package (under the item) is both questionable and amusing. If it doesn't work, it's the needle's fault. Is that how Italians think??

Can thread three different types of needles...

I'm particularly impressed that this threader will work with embroidery floss as well. I haven't taken up needlework again (I used to dabble in it) but if the mood strikes, it'll be good to know that any threading challenges will be met.

So there you have it: my own story about how I convinced my husband to ensure his thoughts truly count! (And just for the record, he also got me two other Christmas gifts that were right on the mark, but they have nothing to do with sewing.)

Are any of you in similar straits? Does your other half usually hit the bullseye with gifts... or is the effort totally missing the board?