Saving Money on Yarn & Crafts Supplies and Creative @ Home Wednesday Link-Up Party

Don’t forget to join in the Creative @ Home Link-Up Party! To find it, simply scroll down to the bottom of this post! We’d love to have you join us! Link any and all the creative things you do at home!

Since I’ve been doing a lot of crochet and knitting lately for charity, I’ve started looking for inexpensive sources for yarn. One place that I’ve found yarn and other crafting supplies cheap was at my local Salvation Army Thrift stores. Since seeing the yarn there so cheaply, I’ve been keeping my eyes open at all the thrift stores I frequent, as well as garage sales. Another good source is to ask for the items on Freecycle. A few years ago, I got a huge trash bag full of fabric. Some of it I couldn’t use, but there were several pieces large enough to make dresses or skirts from. Last, but not least, ask around at church, a lot of times people have yarn or craft supplies they aren’t using that they would be more than happy to get rid of. I just let the ladies at church know about my charity crochet and knitting and have had several of them give me yarn to work with. I’d also place an want ad on Craig’s list. So often people have left overs from projects or have inherited yarn that they don’t know what to do with and would be more than willing and happy to get it out of their house. It never hurts to ask and it certainly doesn’t cost anything to ask!

Creative @ Home Wednesday is a weekly Link-Up Party all about those creative things you do at home! We are looking for all your creative posts, crafts/hobbies, food/cooking/recipes, home decor/remodel, fun & games for the kids, homemaking, etc. If it’s creative, we want you to share it! Please join in the fun and do a little blog hopping! This is a fun way to discover new blogs and make some new friends. Leave a link to ANY AND ALL of your creative blog posts

Instructions:

1. Post a link to your creative posts to the linky below. Simply click on the text link that says: You are next… Click here to enter
2. Enter your DIRECT link to the post you wish to share and fill out the remaining information requested.
3. You may enter as many links as you desire.
4. You MAY link to other link-ups, giveaways, and reviews..
5. Once you post a link to your blog post, please place a text link or use the graphic below to link back to the Creative @ Home Link-Up Party. You should have a link to this link-up part on EACH post you share here.
6. Be sure to also click “like” on any article you liked to vote for that article. I will be featuring the most popular articles next week on the blog and my Facebook page!
7. Have fun! I can’t wait to see what links you leave behind!

If you would like to use the graphic below, simply cut and paste the html coding out of the box below the graphics to quickly link back to here.

Linking To: Women Living Well Wednesday, Homemaking Link-Up Wednesday, Encourage One Another Wednesday, Wisdom Wednesday, Wise Woman Wednesday, Works For Me Wednesday, Proverbs 31 Thursday, Thrifty Thursday, Hearts 4 Home, Beautiful Thursday, Frugalicious Friday, Frugal Friday, Consider the Lilies Homemaking Link-Up, Faith Filled Friday, Big Family Friday, Homemaker by Choice Homemaking Friday, Weekend Whatever Link-Up, Making Your Home Sing Monday, Mama Moments Mondays, Better Mom Mondays, Modest Mondays, Monday’s Musings, Welcome Home Link-Up, Titus 2sday, Teach Me Tuesday, Making a Home, Domestically Divine Tuesday, Thankful Homemaker Tuesday, Titus 2 Tuesday, Two Better Tuesday, Living Green Link-Up,

Knitting & Crochet for Charity & Creative @ Home Link-Up Party!

Don’t forget to join in the Creative @ Home Link-Up Party! To find it, simply scroll down to the bottom of this post! We’d love to have you join us! Link any and all the creative things you do at home!

My Mom first taught me the basics of crochet, although at the time, I really wasn’t that interested. I did learn the basics and how to make Granny Squares. It’s wasn’t until years later that I decided to try my hand at it again and fell in love with yarn. After crocheting for several years and pretty much learning how to do just about everything, I decided to challenge myself to learn how to knit and I’m totally hooked! I love to crochet and knit because it’s something that I can put down as needed and not get lost or forget where I am. It’s also very relaxing and comforting. I’m able to make useful things that my family and friends can use. A hand crocheted or knitted item is a gift from the heart. As I knit or crochet, I like to pray for the person who will be receiving the item, so each item I crochet equals hours of prayers for that person. It’s a blessing for me to be able to spend that time in prayer.

I often start up projects just to keep my hands busy or to relieve boredom (like I’m ever really bored with my 2 boys! LOL!). I don’t have any particular person in mind when I start these projects, so I decided to look into some charities that accept hand crocheted or knitted items to help those in need. I’m going to pick 1-2 charities and create items for them. It will be a blessing to know that my work will help those in need. Whether it’s to provide warmth or just show that someone loves and cares for them, it really doesn’t matter.

We have received so much love and support from individuals who didn’t even know us, except through the blogging community. I want to return some of that to others in need. I don’t do this for acclaim or to be recognized, I do it because it was first done for us. Christ died on the cross to give us the greatest gift of all. He did it not to become famous or for other selfish reasons, He did it soley out of LOVE for US! We, as Christians, are called to be Jesus to those around us. We should do this not for fame or acclaim, but quietly and simply. We should do it because that’s what Jesus would do and what He DID DO FOR US.

There are so many charities out there that accept crochet and knitted items. The one’s listed below are just a sampling. I have found that there are generally at least 1 sort of these organizations in nearly every average size town. Because of our past history with both infant loss and premature/ill babies, I will most definitely be making baby items. This is a cause very close to my heart. When Gabriel died, we were given the sweetest infant cap and sweater, as well as a beautiful afghan. These items were created by volunteers and they mean so much to me. They are something that I can hold, smell and snuggle…they give me comfort.

The Preemie Project – Founded in the spring of 2005, The Preemie Project strives to bring warmth, comfort, and support to critically ill infants and their families.

Knit Your Bit – The National WWII Museum is proud to launch its own Knit Your Bit campaign. You can help the Museum honor WWII veterans by Knitting Your Bit- in this case a simple, but cozy, scarf to be donated to a veteran in a Veterans Center somewhere in the United States.

Mother Bear Project – The Mother Bear Project is a grass-roots, non-profit group dedicated to providing comfort and hope to children, primarily those affected by HIV/AIDS in emerging nations, by giving them a gift of love in the form of hand-knit and crocheted bears.

Warm Up America – Warm Up America! (WUA!) is an organization made up of volunteers who create handmade afghan blankets, clothing and accessories to help those in need. These items provide warmth and comfort to people who have lost their homes, fled abusive relations, or are being cared for in hospices, shelters, hospitals, and nursing home.

Also, don’t forget to think about your local hospitals, nursing homes, shelters, hospices, etc. Most of these places take in donations of this type and they are given to people in need in your area.

Creative @ Home Wednesday is a weekly Link-Up Party all about those creative things you do at home! We are looking for all your creative posts, crafts/hobbies, food/cooking/recipes, home decor/remodel, fun & games for the kids, homemaking, etc. If it’s creative, we want you to share it! Please join in the fun and do a little blog hopping! This is a fun way to discover new blogs and make some new friends. Leave a link to ANY AND ALL of your creative blog posts

Instructions:

1. Post a link to your creative posts to the linky below. Simply click on the text link that says: You are next… Click here to enter
2. Enter your DIRECT link to the post you wish to share and fill out the remaining information requested.
3. You may enter as many links as you desire.
4. You MAY link to other link-ups, giveaways, and reviews..
5. Once you post a link to your blog post, please place a text link or use the graphic below to link back to the Creative @ Home Link-Up Party. You should have a link to this link-up part on EACH post you share here.
6. Be sure to also click “like” on any article you liked to vote for that article. I will be featuring the most popular articles next week on the blog and my Facebook page!
7. Have fun! I can’t wait to see what links you leave behind!

If you would like to use the graphic below, simply cut and paste the html coding out of the box below the graphics to quickly link back to here.

Linking To: Works For Me Wednesday, Women Living Well Wednesday, Homemaking Link-Up, Encourage One Another Link-Up, Simple Living Wednesday, Wisdom Wednesday, Wise Woman Wednesday, Proverbs 31 Thursday, Beautiful Thursday, It’s A Keeper Thursday, Mama Moments Mondays, Better Mom Mondays, Monday’s Musings, Welcome Home Link-Up, Titus 2sday, Making a Home, Teach Me Tuesday, Domestically Divine Tuesday, Titus 2 Tuesday, Thankful Homemaker Tuesday,