What do you do with your finished projects?

Hi everyone :)

Here’s a question I’m curious about: What do you do with all your crocheted / knitted / ... items?
Sure, you keep some for yourself, and you give some away to family / friends / ... But... Eventually, your place is already full, and your relatives are all set.

With scarves and such, it’s less of a problem—you can always find someone to give them to...  But I mainly make amigurumi, and yeah… I’ve accumulated quite a few by now :D When someone comes over to our place, they might think it’s a kindergarten :D Since I don’t have any kids among my relatives or acquaintances, and I don’t want to be constantly bringing things to everyone, I give most of them to my grandma, who’s heavily involved in a charity campaign (Christmas in a Shoebox), so the stuffed animals go to children in poor countries. It’s basically a good cause, but do you have any other ideas for what to do with these things? :) Because I’m reluctant to donate some of them (especially if they contain wire or similar materials) to a campaign like that… You never know if the kids’ parents would actually want them… How do you handle this? :)

Thanks so much for your ideas! :)

Most of the things I make are intended for someone specific from the start. Either as a gift or as a commissioned piece. Usually family and friends, or even acquaintances. Some things are for me, too, but that usually comes last :)

Most of them are given away as gifts, and the rest are sold at the Christmas market.

@MyBatzi: do you really have anything left over for yourself? Enviable.... 

Best regards, Sabine

Friends often “steal” a lot of them when they come to visit and fall in love with them!
I recently dropped off a few amigurumis at a refugee shelter nearby. But for the most part, I already make them with a specific person in mind for whom they’re intended. 

I guess I’m the selfish one here. ;-)
I actually make everything for myself first, and I wear everything myself—after all, it’s also advertising ;-).
I make gifts for friends and relatives intentionally: either I create a new design right away, or I make an existing one again.
I just came up with a new design for a pillow that I want to give to a friend for her birthday. 

@Otterthaler: Yeah, about 20–30 pieces to one for me :))

This is brand new for me. I donate my baby and children’s items to a children’s shop. The owner sews children’s clothes herself, but she also sells fabrics and other materials. She was thrilled when I offered to sell her the one-of-a-kind items I’d made for my patterns. So for me, it’s not a commission-based sale or anything like that—she buys my items from me (though at a discounted price).
That way, I don’t have to keep track of anything, and I don’t get any items returned. It’s a good arrangement for me.
I had also planned to sell the items on CP’s new platform. But I think it’ll be a long time before it’s possible to sell things quickly there.

If I had small children in my family, I wouldn’t have to worry about it. But since that’s not the case, I’ve now found the best solution for myself (also as a businesswoman). Items that might not be that great, or that have minor flaws, I send to an address where they’ll still be put to good use.

Hi... Finished amigurumi that aren’t needed by family or friends go to the summer raffle during the year or to Christmas raffles, or are donated to children who could use a stuffed animal.

For donations, I have two women’s shelters and one dedicated family who often travel abroad to visit children’s homes and are always in need of toys, stuffed animals, and clothing for the children there.
I’d also looked into the “Christmas in a Shoebox” campaign before... but then decided against it.... I’d packed 50 shoeboxes.... and then the person listed as the drop-off point wanted an additional 6€ per box for shipping. I don’t know if that’s standard practice? But 300 euros seemed a bit much to me.

Looks like you’re not the only selfish one here, Michaela ;-)—but given the cost of materials, that’s no surprise, right?

I mostly knit for myself, too. The baby items I’ve just started making are going into a big box, because I’m assuming my two girls will need them in the near future.....

@Traudelina
That’s true. ;-)
Besides, a healthy dose of selfishness isn’t such a bad thing. ;-)
I’m curious to see when your baby items will be put to use. :-)

Edit:
Sorry, this post was meant for @KnitBig-FeelGreat. I got mixed up... :-\/

Almost all the amigurumi I crochet are made at my children's request. They give them to their friends as birthday gifts. Now even the adults in our family want these cute little things.
My mom has also started ordering from me for her friends—especially owls.
And I’d like to make a little animal for each of my coworkers, too.
Unfortunately, I haven’t had any time to knit anything for myself lately. That’ll probably happen again in the winter when the gardening is done and it’s just too awful to go ice skating or skiing.

Thanks so much for your replies :)

Wollnes-Oase: I don’t think that’s particularly selfish—it’s totally fine to make most of it for yourself. With clothes, that’s totally normal, too.... But since, as I said, I mainly make amigurumi, at some point you just have enough :D I don’t even know where to put them all anymore.

Bärlidesign, yes, the €6 fee is completely normal—that’s standard practice. There are a lot of costs involved, after all :) But we (or rather, my grandma) also accept shoe boxes without money, since a lot of people “just” donate money—so we redistribute it to make it work :)

On the topic of Christmas markets, etc.: I think that’s great! :) How do people here do it: do some set up their own booth, team up with others, or join in with a kindergarten or something similar?

I was just joking, of course. ;-)
I’d just read all your replies about how much you do for friends and family, and I thought to myself—then I’m the selfish one here, because I always make everything for myself first. ;-)))
But it’s true, scarves, shawls, and clothes are really a different story than making amigurumi. :-)

Hi, well, when it comes to clothing, I’d knit some for myself too :-)
And here’s how the Christmas market works for me:
I set up the table, the prices are marked, and the organizer collects payment for me. I can be there on the last day, since I’m otherwise away all day three times a week, and that doesn’t work because of my family.
It’s also really exciting, since I don’t find out until the last day what was sold over the four weeks. My mom does live there, but she keeps quiet about it.

I make clothes specifically for myself and my daughter (she’s still small enough and loves everything Mom cobbles together), my best friend snagged a sweater that was actually meant for me, and my guys don’t wear anything handmade.
I often make amigurumi for friends, but most of them end up in my daughter’s room because she’s worried the little animals wouldn’t be as happy anywhere else as they are with her...

"because she’s worried the little animals won’t be as well cared for elsewhere as they are with her..."

Aww, that’s cute :D Well, she’s got a point, doesn’t she? :D

Yes, but it’s slowly filling up...

Here’s the link again for everyone to Crazypatterns’ partner platform, where you can sell finished handmade items
https://www.freeminute.net/de/
You can log in there with your CP account

Hey, I knit and crochet for an organization that distributes these items to families who’ve lost a child and to premature babies. There’s always a need—unfortunately. They also serve as keepsakes for the parents of the children who’ve passed away.

Sternenkinder is a good idea. I do that too.