Every year, my immediate team at work (7 of us) draws names for a gift exchange. This year, I got my manager's name. Not only is he a good manager, he's also a really great person (competent and nice, what more could you ask for!). I often show him what I'm currently knitting, and my FOs, and he has always shown great appreciation. So, naturally, I wanted to knit him something.

I was thinking about it one evening, and decided that a scarf would be perfect. No sizing issues to worry about, and there really is something nice about a hand-knit scarf. But I didn't want to do something thick and bulky (aka fast and easy), I wanted to do a classy, lightweight (but warm), reversible, manly scarf. So I grabbed a ball of Meilenweit Mega Boots Stretch in shades of grey that I had bought to make Sidney a pair of socks. For a pattern, I chose the Corrugator, which Paula designed (look on her sidebar for a link to this free pattern). It's a great scarf pattern – easy and mindless, without being boring. Even though it is fingering weight yarn, it knit up quite quickly, because I had a lot of time on buses and in the dentist's office that week, so I had lots of time to work on it. One skein of yarn yielded a 7" x 66" scarf, after blocking.

We had our gift exchange last week, and Jonathan loved the scarf. As he was opening the package, he started smiling as soon as he realized it was something I had knit. He's been showing it off to people, and wearing it all the time – it looks great with his black coat. I'm very choosy about who I knit for – it sure is nice to have the work be appreciated!

At the same gift exchange, my colleague Monique got my name. Monique is the only other knitter in the group, so I fully expected some lovely yarn as a gift, or at a minimum, a gift card to a yarn store. I opened the box, and here is what I found.

Yup, that's right. Four skeins of Phentex "Craft yarn", made of 100% Olefin (whatever the hell that is), in lovely 70s shades of beige and brown. My immediate reaction, which I said out loud, was "Ewwww, Phentex. Gross" I knew instantly this was not my real present, so I reached under the yarn to see what was there. I found this:

Translation: For knitting only

Monique had gone to Wool-Tyme to buy me some yarn or a gift card, only to discover that they are closed on Sundays. And then she was heading out of town for a couple of weeks, and only returned the night before our party. But she didn't want to just give me cash, so she hunted through her yarn to find the ugliest, ickiest yarn she could. She certainly succeeded!

I'm sure my other non-knitting colleagues must have thought at first that my reaction was a little harsh. I opened up one of the packages so that they could touch it, and then they realized why I knew it was a joke. Man, that's vile stuff. Someone asked me if I was going to make slippers with. Yeah, right. That would mean I would have to touch it!

I will be sure to buy myself a skein of something lovely the next time I'm shopping! I also have some gift money from my mother I still need to spend, but I'm under strict instructions that I can't buy any yarn that I would buy anyway. It has to be something special that I wouldn't normally purchase. Oh, the possibilities!