Stashing the Bits and Pieces II (The Sequel)

I showed my solution for storing small balls of yarn bits in a previous blog post. But what about the really tiny bits?You know... the tails and ends a meter or so long? Or even shorter? Don't tell me you throw them away! I won't hear of it!  There are tons of projects you can do with bits and scraps, and it might also save you when an older project needs a quick repair and you have actually kept a few tails of the yarn.

Projects/uses for little tails:
1) use yarn to attach tags to your work if you sell it
2) make a scrappy steps project
3) make something small (headband, bowtie, face scrubbie) - links to some patterns for the "small stuff"
4) if you still don't have enough of one colour make something with lots of stripes or patches
5) tie ends together and make a "Scrapghan" or other simple project!

There are LOTS of ways to use those little bits... and here is a great way to store them, without getting tangled, until you need them:

1. Save some plastic pull tabs from cartons of milk or juice.
2. Loosely loop a scrap of yarn by folding it several times. In half, half again, etc. until it is about 6" long.
3. Slide the looped yarn through the loop of the tab.
4. Tie the yarn on itself in a loose knot around the tap loop.
5. You can write on the tab with a permanent marker if you wish. I sometimes add a number for the weight of the yarn, i.e. 2 for fine, 3 for light worsted, 4 for worsted, 5 for bulky.
6. Toss in a bag or basket in your yarn stash for later use.

Happy Stashing and Scrapping!

Cheers,
BusyLizzy

Stashing the Bits and Pieces

How do you deal with those little bits of yarn that you just can't bear to toss? Yarn bobbins (pictured above) are one option. I find they leave a straggly end that can tangle while stored. They are also a bit fussy to wind, and even fussier to unwind when they are used in a project. Time for a new solution!

Look how neat these little bundles are, and no stragglers! All you need is some soft hair elastics. These are about an inch in diameter but will stretch quite a lot, and won't tangle or fray the yarn, because they are made of a stretchy terry-cloth like material. You can find them by the dozens at discount stores. 

Here is how I did it!  

`1. Tie one end of your yarn to the elastic. Keep it fairly loose.

2. Wind the yarn around your finger (not too tight) creating a centre-pull ball.

3. Remove the ball from your finger carefully.

4. Loop the elastic over the ball, securing the loose end and keeping the centre-pull end ready to use! 

Ta-da! Happy stashing...

The 3 R's Plus One: Recreating

The Three R's - Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

One thing that I've always been "into" is the adage: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle! Way back when I was a teen, (well before the days of gift-bags) I attempted to set a family rule: we had to use reused paper or alternate wrappings. While not everyone complied, the majority of gifts that first Christmas were wrapped with saved stashes of wrapping paper, newspaper, or decorated

boxes. There were even a few tea towels and other useful items that hid the contents effectively, and became part of the gift. I was very proud, and continue to encourage re-use of bows and ribbons, wrappings and bags, year after year for all gift-giving events! In fact I get teased about it, because I take great care to fold tissue and paper into neat little squares as everyone unwraps.

Toilet Roll Cord Keeper

Neat and easy use of a paper towel or toilet paper roll.

My mom has always been a good influence in this regard! She has a knack for re-purposing things that most people toss out. Take toilet rolls for example. She cuts them in half to make them shorter, and then uses them to secure electric cords on appliances that are stored in the cupboard. Try it: just fold the cord up accordion style and stuff it in the toilet roll.

Benefits:

• tames tangled cords in the cupboard or on the counter
• easy remove when you need the appliance (much less fiddly than a twist tie)
• greasy or crushed or damaged ones are easily replaced
• easy to find when putting the appliance away (not like that dang twist-tie!)

Plastic Pull Tab Cord Keeper

A variation of this: use the little white plastic pull-ring tab from the milk carton spout to tame your earphones in your purse or briefcase! Here's a real-life image:

Neat cord in pull tab ring (left, white); messy cord that would get tangled in your purse or pocket (right)

I literally pulled these headphones out of the pocket of my purse: the white ones are neat and tidy, the black set were tangled in the pocket... I must buy more milk so I can fix it, as shown!

Tabs are easily collected from milk, juice and other cartons. Rinse and save!

One further re-purposing... mom uses the tab, held as shown in the photo above, to protect her finger as she gets the last bit of cheese through the grater, and as a quick thimble when quilting. Told you mom thinks out of the box!

The 4th"R" is ReCreate!

My craftiness has been influenced by my love of reusing... but in this case I like to call it "re-creating" and some of my favourite materials to work with are:

T-shirts (new, hardly worn, or worn-out)

• transform into new garments (halters, tanks, dresses, shrugs)
• transform into useful accessories and gifts (pet scarves, baby hats, headbands, belts)
• rip up and crochet or braid or weave into new stuff (rugs, bags)

Inspiration for this is a book called Generation T: 108 ways to transform a t-shirt, and it's sequel, Generation T:Beyond Fashion... 120 NEW ways to transform a t-shirt. And I just discovered the website...sweet! http://www.generation-t.com/

Cottons and Yarns (Reclaimed from a crafter's neglected "stash" or unraveled sweaters)

• Almost anything I can knit or crochet with NEW yarn!

Here is a great resource for keeping things out of landfill:

Freecycle is a group that encourages local people to connect and GIVE their un-needed stuff to other freecyclers on the network. I joined our local group in Orangeville and have both given and received lots of items that will continue to be useful!

Cheers for now!

BusyLizzy