I’m having an odd kind of conflict with myself right now – should I knit some of my coworkers small gifts?

Now, this isn’t an odd question to most knitters – many folks knit for friends and relatives and even casual acquaintances all the time.  But not me.  I am a Selfish Knitter.  With a very few exceptions, I knit for myself. Period, end of sentence. My husband and my Mom get knitted things from me, and that’s about it.  Once a long time ago, I knitted a sweater for my sister-in-law.  And I will occasionally knit a baby thing if I really, really like at least one of the baby’s parents.  Partially this is because quite a few of my loved ones live in Florida, where they do not need knitted things except when it plummets down into the 60’s.  But mostly it’s because I just like knitting for myself.

I always appreciate the things I have made for me, they always (mostly) fit, and they are always the right color.   I will never complain that I really wanted an Amazon gift card.  I will never offer myself $20 to make an alpaca sweater. I will never throw them into the washer and drier, or use them to dust, or any of the other terrible thing non-knitters who do not understand the amount of work that goes into these objects will so often do.

I don’t knit for others to the point that when people ask if I’ll make them something, I just laugh uproariously like they just told a good one, even though I know in my heart they weren’t joking and really actually meant it.

So why suddenly consider it?  Well, a couple reasons.  First, I really do like the people I’m considering knitting for.  They are pleasant ladies all, and have been pretty nice to me.  Second, I think they would all appreciate the effort enough that I wouldn’t wind up sorry.  Third, I’m thinking small – “a hat and mittens made with bulky weight yarn” small.   Fourth, well, ’tis getting to be the season to be generous.  Maybe I’ll give it a try and see how it works out for me.

How about you?  Do you craft for others?  If so, how has that worked out for you?