What do you do when someone doesn't like your gift?

Yesterday I got together with a friend that I hadn't seen in a while.  I was excited to be able to give her and her husband the mitten "stockings" (they are pictured in a previous post and in my projects slideshow) I made for them, and the stocking for her youngest that was almost identical to her older sisters.  For the girls stockings I made sure I used different trim so they could be told apart.  And for the mittens I used the rest of the fabric that my friend picked out and loved, when I made them a tree skirt and table runner.  It's not my favorite fabric but I thought the mittens turned our really cute!

So I gave them to her and nothing.  I guess there was a half hearted thanks, but that was it.  She did go to hang them up right away, but then turned and said that they all could really use their names to tell them apart.  I was a little (yeah more like a lot) frustrated and told her that "they" could probably use fabric paint to do that.  Then I had to turn around and teach them how to sew tote bags as Christmas gifts, using really weird fabrics that she let her 7 year old pick out.

I don't know why this bugged me so much!  When I make homemade gifts I try very hard to make things that I think the recipients will like and enjoy.  However I know that my taste might not fit what they like no matter how hard I try.  So I preface a lot of my gifts with this "I had a lot of fun thinking about you and the good times we've shared as I made this for you, however if this isn't to your liking than please feel free to give this to someone else who you think will enjoy it."  So I'm not sure what got to me this time.  Maybe it's that I really thought she would like these.

Oh well, at least I can take a perverse pleasure in the fact that even if she doesn't really like them, my friend will never give these away.  In fact she will probably keep using them every year just because I made them for her!