As we’re approaching the end of winter, you may be starting to think about that wonderful task, spring cleaning. Perhaps you’ve already pulled out your crochet dish cloths and started scrubbing. For me, the beginning of spring is not just an invitation to clean house, but also to polish up my yarn and craft supplies. If I don’t try to get my crafty stash under control at least once a year, I will definitely end up with tidbits lying about, staring at me screaming, “Why have you not used me yet?! WHY?! I want to be made into something!” *Yes, in my world craft supplies do indeed talk to me and they are all drama queens. I don’t consider it healthy, it’s just what happens.

This year, peering into my many bins, cupboards and drawers, I’ve noticed that there is way too much of the usual suspects—miscellaneous yarn balls and bags of fibre set aside for projects I’ve long forgotten about—but also a few crafty strangers hanging about. Given that I know I’m addicted to yarn and that this part of the stash won’t decrease quietly, this year I’m going to focus on those unusual suspects. So let’s see what I’ve got…

leather pieces and cording
seed beads
buttons
wire
twine/hemp/paper raffia
rope

While you never know when these items could come in handy, having too much of a good thing, say 10,000 seed beads for example, could result in beads stuck to the bottom of your feet and strewn about the floor. It happens, but it can be avoided.

Let’s take a look at some project photos (with links to sources) that can help use up these supplies. While each project may not look like crochet, I assure you that they all are. I simply wouldn’t want to craft any other way.

*Note: Nattypat Crochet is not affiliated with any of the projects featured in any way—they’re just cool projects that I’d like to make.