More Yarn to Give...

A few posts ago, I wrote about using the good craft supplies, specifically yarn, to make things.   And after writing that, I sifted through all of my yarn to determine how many good supplies I have.  Well, it splits up into one tub of "good" yarn, one of the bigger tubs of acrylic yarn and one of novelty yarn.   "Good" yarn to me means that the yarn is made with a natural fiber or at least part of the yarn is made of a natural yarn and part acrylic.  Novelty yarn - really???  Seriously???  What was I thinking?  I think that all the stores know that novelty yarn just sells by the plain fact that it is so scrumptious to look at.  Because all of us knitters get home and don't have a clue what to do with it. 
 
I recently learned that my daughter's friend is learning how to knit with a spool.  Her mom said that the daughter was using some all cotton yarn that she found cheap somewhere (isn't that why all Americans tend to buy stuff?) and it wasn't the best to knit with because it didn't stretch very well.  And so I came in with my cape and rescued her from knitting frustrations by giving her some more stretchy yarn, specifically yarn with cotton or wool and acrylic (even out of the "good" bin).  Still very soft but still easier to knit with. 

This is the scary part of being a craft hoarder or any type of hoarder.  This is the just-in-case scenarios that I live for.   I really like being able to supply other people with that little need they have - that one thing that they might not want to purchase or be able to find.  And that's (at least part of) why I keep things. 
So, how do I get rid of that feeling?  How do I let go of that "helper" notion? 

Projects finished: 9
Projects given away: 3+
Weeks: about 14

Yarn Wreath

Surprisingly (that's a total joke!)  I had all the supplies for this project at home.  In fact, this is the story behind why this is my next craft to complete.  I was putting away our winter comforter in this large box in our basement when I came upon a few random things, one of them a wreath form that I probably bought sometime last year for what reason ????  Not sure.  But now, it is gloriously made into a yarn wreath (not sure what that is?  just google it - some beautiful pictures are out there on the web).  And I found a Christmas gift for one of the boys - good thing their birthdays are coming up!. 

I should also tell about some of the supplies.  Craft supplies are usually my biggest guilty spending pleasure.  Even when they are second hand....
The First Lady "carefree" yarn came from a garage sale - just like the kind that I talked about two posts ago.  A lady down the street died and before her family sold the house, they had a garage sale.  Luckily, I had some of my whits about me at the sale because I only walked out with the white acrylic yarn (look at the label in the first picture - it's so out-of-date!).  I remember there was also a half-finished sweater that I was strongly tempted to buy and for some reason did not.
The felt came from another second-hand sale.  Do you remember the Clean House shows with Niecy Nash on the Style Network?  Unfortunately, our cable dropped the Style Network, so I don't get to enjoy watching them anymore.   I know they are almost all filmed in Califormia.  But, one year, the Clean House Messiest Home was in Cincinnati.  So, the premise is they have a big sale of all the things in the person's house that will not be going back into the house and whatever they make usually goes back into the decorating of the new uncluttered space, except for the Messiest Home episodes where the money all goes to charity.   My mother-in-law and I and my poor little 2 year old daughter, waited for 2 hours to get into the sale, which actually filled up an old Steve and Barry's store.  There were a lot of things - many of which were not even opened!  And that's where I came upon more craft supplies - who doesn't need previously purchased craft sticks and felt?  Well, I'm never one to pass up a good deal.  And now, 4 years later, the felt is finally getting used.
Here it is, the finished project.

 It turned out pretty well.   It's so bright and it makes me happy looking at it.  This is a pretty awesome craft.  Especially considering I had all the supplies at home....  And this is why I'm trying to stay out of craft stores, as much as I like them.

Projects finished: 9
Projects or supplies given away: 2+
Weeks: about 14

Getting it done...

Some projects, I just think, why didn't I do this earlier?  This one took me an hour tops and that's while helping 2 little kids paint.

That is also what I call Bang for Your Buck.  $2 + 1 hour = 8 homemade cards.  This may inspire me to complete the rest of these packets. 

Projects finished: 8
Projects given away: 2+
Weeks: about 11

More Knitting & Using the "Good Stuff"

If I really want to move things along with getting rid of craft supplies by doing crafts - knitting will probably be a majority of the crafts.  Those balls of yarn take up quite a bit of space and when knitted or crocheted, usually turn into something that doesn't quite take up as much space as the original balls do.   So, here it is.....A mobius twist scarf, using Lion Brand Landscapes yarn.

 Nice.  Not as pretty as the picture on the pattern page but it will do.  And this was another one of those - why did I buy this yarn?

I have an account on Ravelry - a great knitting community, but it is also a great reality check.  The pattern pictures for knitting projects are so coiffed, they look perfect, the model looks great, maybe they're pinned in the back to make them drape the best way, like on other modeling-clothing shots.  But Ravelry is the great balancer - it really helps me figure out if that picture on the front of the pattern is real - will it really look like that when I'm done?  People can post pictures of what the items look like on them - no special lighting, no special hair or make-up, just real every-size people wearing wonderful items they made themselves.  There gave been quite a few patterns that I have not done because the reality pictures are not as flattering on anyone as the pattern pictures.

I'm also realizing that most knitting patterns that I like, really do look better in the more expensive yarns.  Hmmmm.... isn't that usually true in life?  It's better to buy the more expensive quality items, than a huge quantity of sub-mediocre items. 

Have you ever been to yard sales at homes where the person has passed away?  If they were a knitter or crocheter, it's always the cheap yarns that are piled high for sale.  If people are smart, they have used the "good stuff" - the merino and alpaca wools, the silks, the baby cashmere.  Really, when I wear items, the "good stuff" is what I would prefer to wear, so why don't I knit with it? 

My pile of yarn is mostly sub-mediocre yarns.  I'm afraid to use the "good stuff".  What if I mess them up?  Well, I'm making the resolution today that I'd rather make a few wonderful items with good feeling yarn than a whole bunch of stuff with cheap yarn.  And at the end of the year, if I really am going to give away the yarn that isn't used, wouldn't I rather be not using and giving away the everyday yarns, instead of the small amount of  "good stuff" I have?

 (Except for washclothes, where cheap cotton seems to do the trick.)

Projects finished:  7
Projects given away: 2+
Weeks: about 11

Expert vs. Jack of All Trades

I am obviously, a jack of all trades but would like to become an expert at something.  And I'm still trying to figure out what that is.  I'm hoping this year will help me figure it out...
I can cross sewing off the list - definitely am not a fan of that and crocheting bead ropes. 
What do you think?  Is it better to be a little good at everything or be awesome at just one thing.  From a clutter standpoint, it definitely helps to just be good at one thing.

It always impresses me when people seem to just know what they want to do for life.  I have a cousin who has known since since she was in high school that she wanted to be a pharmacist.  She got her 4 year degree in pharmacy (this was a few years ago), worked for awhile, went back and got her PharmD and now teaches pharmacy at a graduate level (I guess, that's the only level now.)  But she always knew what she wanted.  That helped her narrow her choices of schools down.  Plus, because she is so focused on pharmacy, she is very knowledgeable about the subject and has published articles on pharmacy.

I, on the other hand, had a difficult time narrowing down colleges.  I wanted to be a biochemistry major, at first.  And then, a biology major, then maybe pre-med, but wasn't really sure I wanted to put in the hours to be a doctor, which is kind of a joke because after getting a 4 year degree in bioloogy, I went back and spent 2 years more getting a degree in nursing and then, another 2 years getting a masters in nursing (do the math - its the same number of years as med school).  And still wonder if its the best fit for me.

That's kind of how I am with crafts.  I really started with crosstitch and embroidery kits.  I see beautiful embroidery items on Etsy and think about how much skill those people acquired.  But instead of continuing with crosstitch and embroidery, I decided to try my hand at knitting, and a little sewing, some quilling, card making, then jewelry making, then crochet.  Really, why don't I just find the true passion of one craft (maybe 2) and leave the rest to the experts.  I feel like I need to be the go-to person of how to do a craft.  Isn't that kind of how hoarding starts?  I'll keep this just-in-case.....  I'll learn this craft just-in-case.....    It's why I still have a sewing maching, even though I don't really like to sew. 

In this search of simplifying, I'd like to be the expert on something.  I read a book once, the Outliers, about how it takes 10,000 hours to really become the expert in something.  In that case, I better get moving.

The Knitted Blanket

It takes quite awhile to knit a blanket.  This one - well, I've had the yarn for a few years.  I bought the pattern back when Lion Brand used to sell their patterns - now I believe all their patterns are free, even this one.  I think I started last fall.  I thought this may be a *quick* way to pare down some of the yarn (quick is kind of a joke).  It uses 24 balls of yarn - 135 yards each and the colors are gorgeous!  (That is 3240 yards of yarn to knit and crochet.  Yikes!)   Panel by panel it got completed. 

Here's one completed panel, folded up, and a pile of yarn taking up precious space on our foosball table.  I kind of feel like my Mom.  We had a ping pong table in our basement for as long as I can remember.  And when we were kids, it was used.  My brother and I would try to hit ping pong balls at each other as hard as we can, hoping to smack our opponent.  But, as we grew older and used it less frequently and especially, after we left, well, the ping pong table disappeared - under piles of stuff.  My husband often joked to my Mom that he had always wanted to play a game of ping pong but was unable to - and this went on  - for at least 10 years.  She finally cleaned it up and it was pretty clean the last time we went home.  Once a surface gets something on it, it just seems like a slippery soap before the entire surface is covered!!

Well, our foosball table is a better sight right now.  And all those skeins of yarn turned into this beauty.  So excuse the lack of blog entries lately but this craft was certainly worth it.  Warm, fuzzy and so colorful.  I love it. 

 And the kiddos like to cuddle up with it in front of the tv... or just lay on it.

Projects finished:  6
Projects given away: 2+
Weeks:  about 9

I think I have some catching up to do :)

Just stop!

It may seem like I am not working as diligently on getting the crafts done or on posting them.  That is definitely not so... I've been working daily on finishing a knitted blanket.  Anyone who has knitted a blanket before (bedspread size) knows it takes quite a while and I'm even using fairly large needles!  It should be done within the next week. 

In the meantime, I decided to take an interlude and do something that was a bit quicker, just to keep the momentum going.  

My mom told me this story about when she was younger and into doing crosstitch kits.  She said she had an Amish looking crosstitch kit - you know the country looking types that were popular in 1980s decor, except she had bought it a few years earlier before she started making it.  When she finally got the time to make it, she said she was sitting in the living room with my dad, probably both watching tv, but she was also working on the crosstitch kit.  And she wasn't very motivated and finally said to my dad something like "I'm not sure I still like this crosstitch kit", to which he replied, "Then, why are you still doing it?  Just stop."   And that was a revelation, so to speak, that she didn't always have to finish what she started, that it was simply okay to give up, to quit and no crafting police were going to come out of the wordwork and tell her she must finish it. 

Well, I think I needed someone to tell me that on this latest craft.   I say this over and over, but the packaging looked so beautiful.  The very small directions must imply that this is a super-easy craft and any dummy could do it.  I've should've known when I started.  First, number 653 of why you do a craft when you initially buy it - the floral tape in the package didn't stick anymore.  So I searched and found the floral tape that I had bought for one or reason or another 10 years ago and still had - unopened - and found that one no longer stuck either, so I opened another one of the flower craft kits ( I have 4 of them) and grabbed floral tape out of another one - which kind of sticks. 

But I'm just not into this craft and easy directions or not, some of the flowers just aren't turning out the way I expected.  Seriously, this flower looks pathetic.

 Some flowers were easier.  The accordian style flowers - well, I made them when I was a little kid.  And I think I need a pretty background like the one on the package, instead of the miscellaneous piles of newspaper, homework and backpack!

This one took quite a while to get it just so.  And it still doesn't look quite like the picture on the front of the package.  (I hear someone saying "Just stop!  Don't feel guilty about a failed attempt - just stop!")

The verdict?  I'll probably leave it out for a week or two and then throw it away, but I would have been better off buying fresh flowers or some nice fake flowers that they sell at all the craft stores.  This craft is not for me.  I have a second of this exact same craft (really, see the previous post) and the 2nd will be given away.  I have no desire to do it again. 

 

Projects Completed:  5

Projects Given Away:  2+