January for me is a time to take stock, both literally and figuratively. As this is my quiet time, I go through all my WIPs and decide what I’m going to finish and what I’m going to frog.
When my Nana taught me to crochet, more years ago than I like to think about, she got all her wool from pulling back hand knitted garments she sourced at jumble sales. That is virtually impossible now as handmade garments are rare to find and much cherished. But using up all your short ends of yarn and frogging things you don’t love are a great source of new yarn.
The rise in popularity of yarn cakes, self-striping colours in a flat ‘cake’, has also sparked a new trend of making your own cakes. Gather together all your bits of yarn, sort them by weight, then by colours. Use a knotless join, then wind them into a ball. You can get mechanical ball winders that produce a flat cake.
So, get sorting this January, you will discover a whole wealth of reloved craft materials.
What Kate Made Today 