Something from (Almost) Nothing

I have these large plastic craft tubs down in my basement, and about six months ago I was noticing how full they were getting.

One was stuffed with unused yarn.

Another was overflowing with fabric scraps left over from old projects.

So I decided to make use of these things that were just sitting around.

I crocheted a baby blanket and a large adult-sized blanket from yarn I had bought but never used or that was leftover from other projects.  Surprisingly, I was satisfied with how they both turned out, even though I didn't buy any new yarn and so had to be somewhat creative in my color schemes.  I gave them both away before taking any pictures, so you'll have to take my word for it.

Then I decided to make a quilt from some of my leftover fabric scraps.  We have company often and sometimes it seems we don't have enough blankets for everyone, so making a quilt was a practical idea, anyway.  The problem was, the scraps of material I had really, really clashed with each other.  I had pink cartoonish fabric leftover from aprons I made Katelee, red and blue fabric leftover from a 4th of July craft, yellow fabric splashed with huge Hawaiian flowers, and multi-colored fabrics from bulletin boards I made years ago as a teacher, just to name a few.  I knew the blanket was bound to be ugly.  And I was right!  But it is soft and warm and fits on a queen-sized bed.  And to be honest, there is a part of me that loves the way the fabrics clash; it's like they are all trying to catch your attention at once.  

Here's how it turned out.

I'm pretty proud of it.  Even though I've made quilts before (that looked much better than this one!) I've never made a quilt for only $5.  That's what it cost for me to buy the batting.  Other than that, everything I needed I already owned.

And now I have a little more space in my storage bins.

I guess that means time for more projects!