Jar Makeover

Due to my growing button collection, I had to come up with some storage for my already overflowing jars. As an indirect result of collecting buttons, I am also accumulating jars. Oh great! All of them are starting to look like one big sea of glass on my shelf. I happened to find this idea on Pinterest and thought it would break the monotony.

(Edward and Lilly- http://www.edwardandlilly.com/2013/09/using-stash.html)

I gave it a whirl last week. My husband forgot to take out the recycling, which actually turned out to be a good thing. I was able to rummage a couple spaghetti sauce jars and even a coffee can, which I'll save for another blog post once I figure out what to do with it. A wash with hot water and Oxiclean cleaned them right out. Some elbow grease and a rough sponge was needed for the sticky patches where the labels were.

Take a look at this beautiful spool of...actually I have no idea what kind of fiber it is. I found it at a reuse craft store, and I loved it's texture and all the different materials spun into it. The string is pretty rough, so it has been sitting on my shelf for a while since I couldn't find a use for it. 

The string works well for these jars. I'm not kidding with how rough it is though;I actually had to take a break from crocheting every now and then to put lotion on my hands because it was getting scratchy. Perhaps the rest of the string would be good for making some scrubbies for dishwashing.

I did not have a crochet pattern but went right to it. Meh, I figured I had enough basic crochet knowledge to just wing it. Or maybe it was just laziness...

Well, whatever the case, it turned out pretty well I think. Black acrylic was used to paint the lids. This jar is holding a bunch of old match books we had lying around.

Finding out how easy and fun this was to make could be dangerous. I may have to find more buttons to fill all the jars I'm going to start collecting ;)

Craft for Comfort

I'm almost done! Well, I shouldn't be so proud. I've been working on this thing for a couple months now; off and on I should say. But, one has to admit it's looking pretty good. The pattern is from a book titled, Comfort Knitting and Crochet: Afghans, which I borrowed from my wonderful library, of course. (If you have something against libraries you can also find the pattern on Ravelry.)
Speaking of comfort knitting and crochet, I think I can include comfort crafting in that category. As I've gone along on this journey of craft, I've concluded a couple things about myself...

1. I love making things!
2. I never finish anything I make...oops.

These are the cold facts. Over the past couple of months since the last time I've written, I've come to accept this about myself. Maybe what I make isn't as important to me, but it's the process that gives me joy whether I finish anything or not. I find comfort in working with my hands. It's more of a task that helps me think and appreciate the quiet and stillness of life.

I used to feel guilty for not using my skills for making crafts to sell. But worrying about making money sucks the joy out and so does having mental deadlines. Now, I just make. This blanket will be finished sometime, it doesn't matter when.