Inquisitive Felines and Fibers

A week ago Sunday, when the weather was rainy and raw, I started crocheting up octopuses from the left over bits of cotton I’d accumulated from making bags, towels, and dish cloths. They did turn out very nicely, but they also got me to thinking about the rest of the bits of cotton. A while ago I’d seen a pattern for crocheted teething rings and, after a bit of thought (yes, I gave my son a dishcloth with a bit of ice in it to gnaw on when he was teething) realized that it was a brilliant idea to add to my donation list of items. So, the last two days have been spent working through the rest of my cotton.

This is just a portion of the cotton with which I started. I didn’t think to take a picture until yesterday afternoon so about half of it had already been made into pouches, face pads, and the strips for future teething rings.

I sell the pouches with 7 reusable face pads in them at the craft fairs. These were my first clean up project with all of those little bits of yarn that multiply happily over time. The ball on the table will end up being a round bedside rug. It’s made up of the very last bits tied together. The cotton will just soften and fade gently the longer that it gets used. I’m very much looking forward to using it.

And here is the bag of strips. Not sure when they will become teething rings, but I will at least have this portion of the task done so when the urge to do the last bit of fussy work with them (we all know how I feel about sewing) I will settle in with a pot of tea and my bag of strips. Do you use your bits and pieces up in interesting ways? Please share if you do….I’m always looking for ways to use it all up!