Charitable Stash-busting

There was a time when I thought that I was the only one with a problem. It was my dirty little secret. But as I spent more time on crafting blogs and began to make some crafty friends, I realized that I was not alone. Hello, my name is Brooke and I have a yarn and fabric problem. You know the deal, right? It starts out small. Maybe you find a great sale and you just can't pass up 2-for-1 skeins. Or maybe you find this fabric that would be just perfect if your sister's neighbor's best-friend ever has a baby, and you'd better buy it now because it may not be in stock by then. Over time, these little treasures begin to pile up. You (I) have the best of intentions, of course, but eventually the whole thing just gets out of control.


Maybe you don't have a love of yarn or fabric, but if you're crafty I bet you have a stash of something tucked away. Remember that awesome scrapbook paper that was just perfect for preserving your memories of your child's first birthday...ten years ago? You are not alone!


I have been paralyzed by the enormity of the task of de-stashing for some time. My excuse? I just couldn't bear to throw it all away. So wasteful! Gasp! But I have come up with a solution that left me with no excuses: charitable stash-busting. Here are some ideas:

• Project Linus provides blankets to children (infants through teens) in need. Blankets can be sewn (or no-sew fleece blankets), knit, or crochet. They will also accept donations of supplies, so if you don't have time to craft from your stash just send in the goods!


• Caps for Good provides caps to newborns in high-risk areas around the world. A joint effort of Save the Children and Warm Up America. They accept knit or crochet hats and have some very basic, even child-friendly, patterns on their site. They will accept caps through February 28, 2011. If this appeals to you, don't fret about the deadline. This is their second cap campaign and I suspect there will be more to come.


• Make a Child Smile maintains a list on their website of seriously ill children who would love to get a card from you. Put your paper crafting skills - and stash - to good use by making a few special cards for some special kids. BTW - you can send store-bought cards as well, so if this idea appeals to you and you are not a card-maker you can still contribute.


• Ask your child's school if they can use any of your supplies.


• Sell it on e-bay! You could use your earnings to make a charitable donation here, here, or here.

For now, I am putting my stash-busting energy towards Caps for Good. I have some yarn in my stash that was originally intended to be a baby blanket for a "baby" who is now four years old. So, I'll probably turn to Project Linus next. I was going to take a picture of the yarns I cleaned out of my stash, but then once I actually cleaned it out, the amount was a teensy bit embarrassing. And by "teensy bit embarrassing" I mean shameful bordering on obscene. So, once I have a few baby hats to show for it, I will take a pic with the hats and the reduced stash because then maybe I won't feel so ashamed. Forty lashes with a wet noodle for me.

This is certainly not an exhaustive list of crafty charities. If none of these trips your trigger, just google craftivism, crafting for charity, or something similar. You will be amazed with what you come up with. Do you already have a crafty charity? Do share!

~B