So. Wandering around the Ravelry forums- giving my two cents where I feel like it- I came to a realization: I am NOT a selfish knitter.
Let’s look at this. Of the 42 projects I have finished- only 4 are mine. Some more may have started off being for me, but ended up with someone else. And when you consider that one of those 42 projects is a set of 10 scarves- one could arguably bring that total up to 51. And of the additional six WIPs (Works in Progress)- only one of those is for me. In all fairness- three don’t have designations, so they might end up with me, but only one is positively FOR me.
Let’s say it one more time, just for emphasis: I am NOT a selfish knitter.
Wait- I made a pair of socks for myself in 2010. I must take pictures and put that entry in my Projects. Okay. So that’s FIVE finished projects that are mine. That’s a whopping 9%.
Wow.
And 15 of them have been for various family member (including Hubby), so that total is 29%. So, I knit 63% of my projects for other people. And if I were to break it down FURTHER, more than half of that is charity knitting. Let’s break it down:
9% for me
29% for family
39% for charity
23% for swaps and other Ravelry-related knitting.
I THINK I want to slightly increase my selfish knitting… but the only way to do that is to bite into the knitting for family. I like my swaps (they keep me sane, and help me make new friends), and I do NOT want to decrease my charity knitting AT ALL. It makes me feel good to be able to give back, especially where I know that it will be appreciated.
That’s it. There’s really no point to this, other than it blew my mind and I wanted to share. 🙂
Duck And Cover 
I was always knitting for other people too but I decided that I would commit to knit for myself an hour each night. I’d knit for everyone else the rest of the time but I would give myself one hour for me.
Oh my knitting is also for me. I’m more of a process knitter, so I love the journey, not necessarily the end. So each time I pick up my needles- I’m enjoying myself (unless I’m under a deadline), so most times it doesn’t much matter who the end result goes to.
I am so proud of your giving spirit!
I don’t think there’s anything wrong with being a “selfish” knitter (and I know there’s no negative connotations with that word in this context), but I completely agree that you’re not one. I can’t even remember a project you’ve done off the top of my head that was actually for you.
Good thing there’s substantial reward in giving knitting to people who truly love it 🙂
I also enjoy knitting for the joy it gives to me no matter who gets the finished project.