Chiming in to say your socks are awesome and you should most definitely tell people you made them. I feel like we have such a hard time expressing pride in the things we do. There’s a difference between thinking you’re better than everyone else and being proud of something you put effort into. If someone complimented me on something I made, damn straight I would tell them I made it. And I’d also tell them I was proud of it because such and such pattern was a real challenge or it took me hours and hours or whatever. And when I talk about it, it’s going to be with enthusiasm. No bullshit, just 100% honest excitement that someone is acknowledging something I worked hard on.
When I had my first baby, people who came to see us in the hospital would tell me how beautiful and perfect she was, only to have me reply, “I know!!! Isn’t she?” My mother-in-law patiently tolerated this the first few times but eventually whispered, “I think you’re just supposed to say ‘thank you’.” While I understood where she was coming from and took no offense, in my mind what I was saying was perfectly ok—it’s not like I was agreeing that I was perfect and beautiful. It was just luck, basically, that I had this perfect baby.
These days when someone compliments me on one of my kids, I usually do just say, “thank you. We’re really quite lucky <that’s he’s so well-behaved or she’s so artistic or whatever>” or “Thank you. We’re really proud of them.”
But inside I am sometimes still going, “I know!!! They’re so awesome!!!”
I don’t have a solution, but please assure her that we DO, at least some of us do, see the value and the difference. My problem is that I don’t have $125 for a necklace. For me, personally, going without a necklace is a better choice than the cheaper import.
Oh! Should’ve said. I’m meghanm87 there.
I absolutely agree.
Well, I guess the thing to do is be sure you have someone nearby who can say “she made it” so you don’t have to! Last night I was wearing a sweater I just finished (and of which I am ridiculously proud; Ravelers can see it here). My sister-in-law had seen it in progress so when someone said “that’s a pretty top” she said “she made it” and I got all the glory without having to brag.
This is not to say that I don’t say “I made it” if there is no one to say it for me.
And yes, this post is a stealth brag!
That’s gorgeous, kayT! Cool of your SIL to be so proud and brag for you.
Not at all. 
Nice socks, **Rhiannon. **
I think casually mentioning that you made them yourself after thanking someone for their compliment lets them know that their compliment is doubly appreciated.
(CrazyCatLady, does your gynecologist frequently ask about your socks life?