What Does "Being Creative" Mean To You?

When I think of being creative I think of 'out of the box' or 'out of our comfort zone'. Once you know the skills of knitting and/or crochet and how to follow a pattern, it becomes easier and easier to do what the pattern instructs you to do and be done with your project. Being creative means to look beyond what you see. Also, making it your own. Now those are my opinions on the matter. When you look at a pattern you could say yes I like that pattern that's why I chose to make it. And for the most part, with me, I go by the pattern because I like it the way it is or because of time constraints. But when you look beyond what you see you start to invision how you would like the end result to look like. You might start out with simple changes, such as the yarn color or type of yarn than what is used. Then you might go beyond and change the look of your project by adding a trim or different button enclosures.

How else can we bring out our creativity? What do you do with your scrap yarns? When I hear that people are throwing away little balls of yarn, I want to scream - NO WAIT! We need to bring out, release more of our creative juices and skills to take those small balls of yarn and make a masterpiece. We might not like stripes, but what about that senior at the nursing home that would love and appreciate a lap blanket in stripes. This would also be a great time to learn a new stitch. Baby items are small and don't require a lot of yarn. With your small balls of baby yarn you could add a small trim to the bottom and sleeves of a baby sweater or just top off a plain colored garment accenting it with one or two rows of extra color. And don't forget the preemie babies that would love a stripe blanket to keep them warm and comfortable. To give is divine. Also, there are senior places that would embrace those small balls of yarn for their knit or crochet projects.

It is so rewarding and best of all you are not wasting anything or putting it in the land fill. Someone could use your wonderful creation. And if you don't want to do it alone then get a few of your friends together and do a knit-along for charity. It's fun and you could help your fellow crafters to use up their scraps of yarn. With several in the room this could also mean more brains working and in turn more creativity juices flowing. Can't you just see it?

Don't get stuck in the full-skein syndrome. For this year coming keep forcing yourself out of the box. Think mixing colors in crochet granny squares or striped knit squares in a simple garter stitch. They could also be single colored squares that can be sewn or crocheted together to make a blanket. Don't just think blankets but other items such as this knit and crochet basket I made. I didn't write the pattern out - sorry, but this is a mixture of knitting and crochet. I used five different stitches. The five stitches from the top to the bottom: 1) knit ribbing; 2) knit seed stitch;
3) crochet shell stitch; 4) crochet V-stitch; 5) single crochet. I knitted a couple of rows in seed stitch with ribbon yarn leaving enough at the beginning and at the end to tie a bow.

Getting back to those small balls of yarn, I could have for example made each stitch section with a different color. I have to keep that in mind for my next basket. This would look great on one of those organized shelves you did (if you followed my postings on organizing your craft).

"You can teach a student a lesson for a day; but if you can teach him to learn by creating curiosity, he will continue the learning process as long as he lives."

Clay P. Bedford

Chisarai (Stay well)