Knitting with Anita ⋆ Knit. Purl. Repeat.

Traditionally, Quick Knits were born out of necessity. People needed warm blankets for their bed, so they learned to weave threads and eventually how to make quilts; they needed clothing, so they learned to make fabrics and sew them together. Today’s handicrafts are similar. Many people believe that the sustainability of our planet is a big issue for those living in our current times. The idea of recycling is often practiced in craft work through the reuse of yarns, fibers, and fabrics.

While it is fun to browse around your local craft or yarn store looking at all the variations of yarn skeins you can buy, it is also important to take the time to look around your own house, and your ever-growing yarn stash, and use up those left-over yarns from previous projects. Each of those skeins of yarn at your local store has had to be grown, processed, created, shipped, etc… and each task has taken its own small toll on the earth we all live on. I don’t consider myself a tree-hugger, but I do care about this planet and believe that mankind has a duty to protect it and use its resources carefully.

While buying yarn is a necessity for those of us who choose to knit or crochet, it is important also to use the yarns we already have, and those others have cast off at the local thrift and charity shops as well when we can. It is just as important to also use knitting needles and other supplies to their fullest usefulness as well.

Wasting your scraps of yarn is simply throwing money out the proverbial window. A much better option is to find a project where you can best utilize your scraps and make them into something beautiful and useful. What this project may be depends on what scraps you happen to have lying around the house.