Tonight I’m tackling my inspiration magazines. I rarely tear out pages, but after seeing all of the advertising that is just cluttering things up, I started ripping. How inspirational can all of these beautiful photos really be when they are mixed in with ads for all kinds of uncreative things? I’m cutting out what I love and recycling the rest.

Both of these steps are in addition to thinning out my craft books, which I did a few weeks ago. I put a lot of stuff on swaptree.com and have given some away to friends. My spring cleaning goal is to only have things around my creative space that are inspiring to me.

I know some of you are out there spring cleaning, too. What are you tossing?

I’m spring cleaning in my creative space today. Three bags of fabric and craft goodies are going to my friend Sarah, who gave me the yarn from last week. I also packed up three bags of clothing that I had planned to upcycle into something else. That’s going to The Mission. I figure there are folks who need those jeans more than I do, and I’ve still got plenty of stash to keep me busy.

I’m already feeling inspired by my uncluttered creative space. Now I’m going to pop over to Kirsty’s blog for more inspiration.

I can’t believe it, but I am out of red acrylic yarn. I had to use some gray to finish this scarf. It turned out nicely: thick and warm. I think I’m going to add some tassels to the ends. I’m excited to finish this so far ahead of the Craft Hope deadline. Now, if I can only get it mailed out just as fast!

Finished dimensions: 76 x 5 inches.

thrifted stash: All of the red yarn from this scarf and these hats came from one big grab bag at the thrift store. I’ve still got some black and gray left. What a score for $4! And all of it is going to keeping students warm this winter. Makes me feel good!

*Here’s my first hat finished with a flower and my third hat. (Hat no.2 here.)

While on Craft Hope’s website, I saw that they had recently partnered with The Orphan Foundation of America’s Red Scarf Project. I’ve wanted to do this, but always seemed to miss the deadline for some reason or another. I was excited to hear Craft Hope has a special deadline: Valentine’s Day! I grabbed some red yarn (I have a lot!) and got started.

Things were going well until today. I took it to the library to work on while my daughter was in Story Time. I forgot my hook and using a different size was really noticeable. As I sat there with it in my lap, I realized I didn’t like the direction this scarf was taking. I had a dilemma: work through it anyway or rip and start over. I decided to rip.

I restarted it tonight at knitting group. I have nothing to show you except some re-wound yarn balls. I really like where the new scarf is headed, though, and I’m glad I ripped. Hopefully it will be ready for pictures next week.

donate: It feels like I’ve been making a lot of projects for others lately and I promised myself this year I’d make more things for me. It’s just so darn cold outside. I can’t get over the need to bundle everyone up!

Thank you for all of the flower pin purchases! There is one more left that I’ve donated to Craft Hope. Have you been to the Craft Hope for Haiti shop? Crafty folks from all over are donating amazing handmade items to help provide earthquake relief: purses, jewelry, patterns, accessories, hats, prints, quilts — there is something for everyone. Go now and spend some money!

attention crafters: You really need to check out the Craft Hope website. There are so many ways to do good!

As soon as I hit “publish” last week on my flower pin post I decided to donate all of the proceeds from my flower pins to Doctors Without Borders. I figured I needed a few more in my shop, though. There are currently four, but I plan to make more. I’ve also created a special section for them in my shop.

recycle: These pins are crocheted from unraveled sweater wool. Remember these balls of yarn?

I’ve got too much acrylic yarn. I like to keep a stash on hand for spontaneous amigurumi projects, but it’s gotten out of hand. I was planning to give it away, but it’s been so cold out, I thought maybe I’d do something useful with it.

A few months ago, my friend Lisa asked all of her crafty friends if they would consider making some hats for students at her school who needed warm clothing for winter. I actually started one and then the holidays hit and I completely forgot about it.

As you probably know (unless you’ve been living under a very warm rock), it’s been pretty cold in Nebraska the past week. I’ve been thinking about the kids who usually walk to school. Then I remembered the hat I started.

I was surprised how fast this worked up. (I was also surprised that my daughter agreed to wear it for a photo.) I definitely plan to make a few more of these.

pattern: This is a basic double crochet beanie like this one. I modified it a bit as I went along. My yarn was sport weight, so I double stranded it and used a larger hook. It is thick and warm!