Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Loving Those Scraps, Waste Not, Want Not


Forgive my ramblings.........


Waste not, want not. We have all heard that little saying sometime in our lifetime. It is crystal clear, we all know what it means. I think everyone of us can agree that there is way too much wasted in this day and age, especially by the younger generation who was brought up to think of everything as "disposable". Myself, I was brought up by a mother who grew up in Germany during WWII. Her father died in a concentration camp in Russia. There were 6 of us kids and we were made to clean our plates at meal time, often being reminded that mom, her mother and sister walked down the streets of Berlin while it was ablaze with only the clothes on their backs. They boiled grass to eat. There was no food. Then I married a man whose parents were raised during the Depression. Between the two families I learned about not wasting anything.

 Now to get down to brass tacks. This post today is about my obsession with yarn and the left over scraps. I don't think I have ever thrown a scrap of it away in my lifetime. I am a firm believer that even so much as an inch of yarn can be used for something. The next 2 photos are living proof of this. One day while scrounging around in my craft hoard I came across a large Joanne Fabric bag of left over yarn scraps in various colors and lengths. I discovered another bag, not nearly as full, but a large mess for sure. When I say "mess" I am not exaggerating. It was all a pretty nicely tangled monster wad of yarn scraps long and short.
 

I dumped them all in one big tote bag and tonight I started to try and tame the nightmare. What follows is my start of what promises to be a long process. I am sure some of you would throw the whole tangled blob on the trash and not waste your time fooling with it. But not me. I see value here and let me explain......


The above bunch is ideal for the first and second rounds when making grannies, or other motifs.


This next bunch is smaller amounts, too short for even the center of a granny, but useful for something else I have been dreaming up.


The above pieces are way too short for my recent project, but ideal for hanging Christmas ornaments, or for tacking the layers of a quilt together. They work well on colorful baby quilts if you don't have time to hand or machine quilt. 


These small 1 to 1-1/2 inch pieces are definitely way too short for anything but the birds will love them for building their nests. I will save them in a baggie until next spring. I'll put them in the grape vine ball I hang out for them.


Now remember I mentioned the recent project where I was using the pieces too short for grannies? I started the post with this picture and I am giving you a sneak peek and hope that by my next post I will have something more concrete to share with you. I have laid in bed at night thinking about it, trying to come up with something different. In the meantime my thoughts are jumping all over the place. Yes, you see an African Flower in the upper left of the photo (just experimenting here with the color combo), and yes, there are a bunch of grannies started in the upper right hand. When I get bored I hop from one project to the other. And so I say to you keep the scraps. You never know what you might come up with ♥

20 comments:

  1. OH my gosh..I just typed a loooong message, and it is gone! I will paraphrase....I never waste my yarn either. Or anything else! I get so frustrated at my kids at their wastefulness! UGH! They didn't get that from their Mama! I have missed you, and am hit and miss with my blog visits. I am so tired by the time I hit the sheets, that I read only a few, and then fall asleep! I loved visiting here tonight. Hope you are well my friend!
    xo Kris

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    1. Have missed visiting blogs too. I know so many of you are busy just like me. I know that all of you are talented in your own way and lead interesting lives, staying busy, working hard and making memories with loved ones. If there is a common thread to hold us all together it would be blogging. I know by what you post that you are one busy gal. A garden will keep you hopping because the produce will not wait till we are ready to fool with it. Perishable foods don't wait for us to be ready to deal with them. I see you are spending a lot of time in the kitchen. yes, I'm sure by the end of your day you are more than ready to hit the sheets.

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  2. I grew up with a mom that lived through the depression and she could make a meal out of this and that from the fridge. Bravo on your using your little bits! ((hugs)), Teresa :-)

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    1. How many times have I gone to the grocery store only to come home and rack my brain on what to fix for supper. Yep, my mil was kin to your mom. Those women could take practically nothing and make a sit down meal to serve a family. There was no drive thru windows in those days.

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  3. I agree with you entirely I hate waste of any kind too, I love your scrap yarn idea's. I save all the scraps and ends I cut off from my projects and put them into a scrap jar and they look very pretty I think, the birds in my garden are way too fussy and never take them when I leave them out, they are also good for stuffing toys or hearts, I have just finished a scrap yarn project and will be sharing it soon. I'm looking forward to seeing more of your project. :)

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    1. Wonderful idea Linda about using the bits of yarn to stuff toys and hearts. I am thinking they would also be good for stuffing pin cushions. Thanks for the ideas. Love them!

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  4. Oh boy, you must like sewing in lots of ends !!! :) The birds will love you for those tiny bits of yarn. Look forward to seeing your current project progress - its very colourful. xox

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    1. No Dorothy, lol, I hate sewing in ends, but I hate waste more than that. I am just a scrappy kind of gal. I believe I got that from my dear mil who taught me how to quilt. She even used old dress tails, as she called them, to use in her patchwork. If the dress was worn out it was still usable to her. She would salvage the parts that were not thread bare and incorporate them in her patchwork. For some reason I always loved those old quilts more than the newer ones.

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  5. True - very true. I save my scraps too. You know I love the look of a scrappy blanket. Have a great day Susanne. :)

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    1. A gal after my own heart, one day all those scraps will come in handy and you and I will be well-equipped and more than ready.

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  6. oh you are a clever-clogs Susanne! I don't know if I'd have the patience for all that. Your scrappy blanket will look awesome! PS. I dislike sewing in ends too. {{hugs}}

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    1. Hello friend, thank you for stopping by and checking out my latest project. I know how frustrating the loose ends can be, and definitely not any fun either, lol

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  7. You are brilliant Susanne, I love all of your uses for your yarn scraps. I have been collecting a lot of yarn ends especially from my loom, weaving wastes so much yarn. I am keeping them in a big pile to stuff a pillow or little crocheted animal with.
    Hugs to you,
    Meredith

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    1. Those are great ideas. Thank you for suggesting them. I'm glad you are happy with your loom. That is one thing I have always wanted to try but just never enough time. The closest I have come to weaving was making a pot holder years ago, heavens, have we not all done that back in the school days, lol

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  8. I love scraps too. I have posted about mine today! I am making a tea cosy with all my bits using them to make the cosy, make flowers for the top and then the short bits will sew it together. Nice to look around your blog. Jo x

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    1. Stopped by your blog and checked out the start of your tea cosy. I can't wait to see the finished item. On my Pinterest page I have a board devoted to tea cosies. Love them. I have a tea pot but no cosy. I really need to make one too.

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  9. Hi Susanne! Thanks for leaving a comment on my blog about the rag rag. I think your yarn stash is magnificent! You never know when a piece of yarn will come in handy and besides, they just look so pretty all gathered together in a pile!

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    1. Your rag rug is beautiful, I love it and I am telling anyone who reads this to click on Lynne's name and go to the link that will take you to her blog. She is listed on my right sidebar, you can click on that too. Her rag rug is awesome.

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    2. You can find Lynne at her blog titled "pieceful".

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  10. I too don't throw away the scraps. I started a rug last year to use up the scrap yarns and it is finished now but I am still left with almost the same amount of scarps that I had before the rug.

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