Scrap Yarn

Getting rid of more scrap yarn...And I found the cutest pattern EVAR at ATERG Crochet's Etsy shop!  Who doesn't need a wee owl to keep company with??  ;)

Lowland Originals has a quick and easy shawl/wrap pattern to use up some of that leftover sock yarn you have lurking about...It's here.  You could totally make this out of worsted scraps as well, for when it's really chilly out.

I love how she's encorporated buttons into this little decoration.  Perfect for a kid's room, or your art room!

Patterns I Love

Great way to use up some of that bag of acrylic your cousin got for you at Goodwill "because you knit, right?"

I bet these could be prettied up a bit with some ribbon and pressed into service as holders for notions, makeup (washable, so yay!), or almost anything!

Free pattern available here!

Scrap Yarn

If you're anything like me, you have 5,641 balls of scrap yarn cluttering up your yarn room.  I am loathe to just pitch yarn because...well, it's YARN!  So I started scrounging around to see what ideas I might be able to find on constructive ways to use up that last little bit of sock yarn, or the worsted left over from the pillow I made for Mum, or whatever...Just how many scrapghans can you make, really?  ;)


Even good ol' Red Heart has some cute ideas:

If you have a bit more than just a hundred yards or so, or maybe if you have some handspun that's gathering dust, check out this bag on the Kathryn Ivy blog...I love it!!

Indigo Muse Knits has a pattern for fortune cookies!

And I could NOT resist this Rav pattern by Saartje Knits:

For the ecologically minded, you can save up all the tiny bits and pieces cut off after you finish weaving in the ends, and put them out for the birds building their nests this spring:

Organiza-SHUN

When I'm not busy studying or playing Plague, Inc. on my phone, I spend way too much time cruising Pinterest...Luckily, I have managed to convince myself that this is productive time, since I have found some really neat patterns, ideas for future projects, cute shoes, and awesome color schemes in case I buy a house one day.  Hooray for rationalization!!  :D

But while I hear other students on the bus planning their spring breaks in Cancun or Panama City Beach , I have plans to spend that time doing some serious organization, particularly in my Art Room O' Doom.

I already have a little date book I carry around with me to organize my schedule, but since I am a visual person, I thought that hanging something like this in the kitchen might help things along a little bit:

This has some really good tips...Sometimes the most obvious idea doesn't always occur to me, and the whole separating your WIPs from your stash?  ZOMGS, WHY DIDN'T I THINK OF THAT BEFORE???  I might have already finished that sweater's worth of olive merino if it wasn't sitting in a tote with all of the other stuff!  ;)

I absolutely love how she's displayed her finished shawls here, and the whole yarn room has such a finished look to it, while still being a viable (and beautiful!) workspace.

Then there's this...

Not so sure I want to sit around winding yarn onto old TP rolls, but maybe there's something to be taken from the concept?  Or not...  ;)

I Has A Crafty

Ever since I moved into my apartment over a year ago, I have been struggling with organization, particularly in the bathroom.  My old space had a large linen cupboard, and a long countertop where I was able to keep my makeup all sorted into bins, hang my necklaces on pretty scrollwork jewelry organizers, and all kinds of good stuff.  My new place, as much as I love it, has absolutely NO counter space, and nowhere at all to put my beauty junk.  I have hardly worn earrings other than for special occasions, because it is such a pain to dig them out of the bottom of my jewel box.

Since I have no counter space, and no extra room for additional storage, I have been wracking my brain for ideas to maximize the space I do have, and came up with this:

An afternoon of stitching around the edges of some plastic canvas with a bit of acrylic, some ribbon, and I have a handy little earring organizer!

The top part is my favorite bit...Little bows, and I used a decorative brad I had on hand as a hanger.

My local JoAnn's had some 12 x 12 decorative metal squares, and I looked at them a few times, wondering what on earth they could be used for...

Slap a few magnets on the backs of some makeup containers, and it's handy cosmetics storage!  (And you get a cookie if you notice the reflection of my little paw in one of the eyeshadow cases  :D )

Done and done, the bathroom counter is cleared!